Congratulations to you for checking out the Kratom Playbook For Opiate Recovery! You’ve already taken the first step to getting off opioids by looking for a recovery plan, and that’s exactly what this book is – an actionable recovery plan for you to take back your life.

No matter how long you’ve been struggling with addiction, this book is designed for you to achieve your goal of getting off opioids from home in the most painless way possible.

I’ve been working towards creating a book like this for a long time. I was addicted to opioids myself for years. I had a huge wake-up call when I overdosed and almost left my little girl without a father. That was the turning point for me.

I knew I had to completely change my life and that I never wanted to be in this position again. Probably like you, I didn’t know exactly where to start or what to do for recovery at the time. I completely threw myself into recovery research spanning all kinds of topics from psychology to overall health and wellness to philosophy and much more.

I not only succeeded at getting myself off opioids but dedicated my life to helping other people recover from addiction. I went back to school and became a Drug & Alcohol Counselor and, although I found this position very rewarding, I felt like I wanted to do more for people struggling with opioid addiction. I started blogging and personal coaching and, through years of experience helping people recover and lead successful lives, I learned what worked best and put it into an actionable plan you can do from home.

You are totally capable of turning your life around. You have greatness within you, and with the strategies and tactics revealed in this book you’ll be able to recover from addiction in the most painless way possible and start creating the life of your dreams.

I truly honor you for the courage it takes to embark on this formidable and intimidating journey. I’ve had to battle my own demons and conquer severe opiate addiction, and have coached people through some of the hardest times of their lives with addiction. There is no reason why you can’t take back your life and get off opioids for good.

Furthermore, I can guarantee you one thing. If you put 100% into following this Kratom-Transition-And-Taper Method™  (K-TAT Method™), there is no way you can fail. Read the entire book, complete the exercises, follow the protocols, and you can quit any opioid drug using this unique method of detox and recovery.

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Disclaimer

The statements and products referred to throughout this book have not been evaluated by the FDA. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you have a health condition or concern, consult a physician or your alternative health care provider. Always consult a medical doctor before modifying your diet, using any new product, drug, supplement, or doing new exercises. It’s recommended you educate yourself on the scientific/nutritional facts.

Copyright

Copyright © 2017 by Matt Finch

You are welcome and encouraged to share this free online book with anyone you wish. The more people this book reaches the better. Thus, I hereby allow anyone to share this book, but please email me at matt@opiateaddictionsupport.com for permission to re-publish it on your website.

Foreward by Chris Scott

Years ago, as I practically crawled out of a 12-step rehab center for alcohol addiction, I had an inkling that something in our addiction recovery system wasn’t quite right. I had just been surrounded by fellow alcoholics and opiate addicts for 12 weeks, and we had been assured that our newfound Higher Power would miraculously lift our desires to drink and use. Yet every week, we had been gathered into a large meeting room and informed that several of our recently discharged friends had relapsed – or even died.

I was all for the Higher Power concept, but I knew that there had to be something else that could be done. Why were these people dropping like flies as soon as they went back into the real world? Why hadn’t doctors discovered a “third way” between benign talk therapy and harsh medications? Would it really be that difficult for doctors to invent something – anything – that would allow alcoholics and opiate addicts to feel real relief without disconnecting them from reality?

Fast forward to 2016, and I realized that this “third way” had already been invented – not by humans, but by Mother Nature. I was experimenting on myself with the plant called kratom, having learned that millions of opiate addicts and thousands of alcoholics had found relief by transitioning to this plant before finally declaring victory over their addictions. I was baffled by the many raving accounts I had read. I was especially taken by the ease with which most people simply tapered off of it after they no longer needed it.

It was during this phase that I was fortunate enough to find an ally, mentor, and friend in Matt Finch, the author of this SUPER-informative book. About a year before I wrote my own popular article about the use of kratom for alcohol withdrawal, I randomly came across Matt’s website and subscribed to his email list. I was immediately blown away by Matt’s genuine enthusiasm and the wealth of in-depth information he shares on his website, OpiateAddictionSupport.com. To say that he has been a role model for my own efforts to project an optimistic, inspiring, and science-based vision for alcohol recovery is a major understatement!

Matt Finch is a true maverick and a pioneer in the addiction recovery field. I am sure that this book will save many lives. I fervently hope that it will also convert some of the misinformed deniers of kratom’s true medicinal value. May it help guide you in your own efforts toward a quicker recovery, optimal health, and the life of your dreams.

Chris Scott

Proprietor, Fit-Recovery.com

Author, Drinking Sucks!

Please Help Keep Kratom Legal

I’ve published this book for free online in hopes that you will make a donation to the American Kratom Association.

It’s a nonprofit organization that is trying to keep kratom legal, even though the FDA and the DEA have both made it clear they don’t want American’s consuming kratom.

Here is a direct quote from the donation page of the AmericanKratomAssociation.org website:

“The more supporters, the larger our movement and the louder our voices! Show you stand with Kratom through a donation, even if you wish to remain anonymous.

Donations cover operating costs, management of state-specific programs, public relations, education, outreach and advocacy work, volunteer training and organizing, travel to states facing potential legislative action and much more. As we grow, we even plan to raise money toward research initiative and studies.”

If you find value from my book, I ask that you please make donation of $5 or more to the American Kratom Association. I feel like pretty much everyone can afford to spend $5 on a book to support a great cause.

Click here to donate now.

And an even better way to help keep kratom legal is to take action in the following ways.

Below I’ve copied and pasted info from the American Kratom Association’s page on FDA CAll-To-Action:

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Due to todays most recent concerns from our team in Washington DC, we are now being advised to start calling your FEDERAL legislators…. Congress and Senate….

Start calling, writing and emailing your federal legislators.

Contact Your Congressperson (see letter template)

Find yours here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Contact Your Senator (see letter template)

Find yours here: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

Use the letter template below.  However, when writing

Some of the things to be doing as we are working on this ATTACK

WRITE:

Scott Gottlieb M.D.

Commissioner
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

10903 New Hampshire Ave

Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

CommissionerFDA@fda.hhs.gov

CALL THE FDA:

“I am a responsible adult who consumes Kratom to improve my health and well-being and I urge you to reconsider your stance and look at the science in support of kratom as well as all the testimonies of people that have and continue to use kratom for their benefits.”

1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332)

FDA Contact PAGE

EMAIL your story to the FDA:

CommissionerFDA@fda.hhs.gov

Letter Template*

*It’s important not to copy and paste, please use your own word

We need YOUR help to fight the FDA and their negative info being released to the public.

My name is ________, I’m a __-year old _________ from _________

I would like to voice my support of Kratom and my disagreement with the FDA and their recent smear campaign. This puts kratom, a plant helping millions of people suffering chronic and acute mental and physical conditions that is also safely easing the nation’s opiate epidemic problem naturally, on the same level as illegal drugs like heroin. It would also prevent further research which, to date, has shown kratom to be an effective painkiller that does not cause respiratory depression; the main cause of death from opiate overdose.

-How you came to use kratom….. (did you learn about it in a chronic pain support group, etc?)

-What ailments you suffer, what treatments haven’t worked (prescriptions, surgery, etc.), how long you’ve been dealing with your condition, how long you’ve been using kratom and how many/what medications you’ve been able to quit.

-What kratom means to you (has it given you your life back, have you gone back to work, can you play with your, exercise or travel, etc., something anecdotal about why kratom is important and should be available).

-Conclusion: Kratom is a safe alternative to pharmaceutical drugs with important benefits for many issues and has changed my life. I fear this action by the FDA will only lead to more tragic deaths of victims of the opiate epidemic, maybe even my own (if you think this may lead to illicit drug use). I know that my own quality of life as a productive member of society will not be the same without kratom.

If you have questions about kratom, please visit https://www.americankratom.org/

Thank you for your time and service to the state.

Sincerely,

— Include your name, address and phone number.

Please be professional and polite, keeping it as short as possible.

SUBMIT your success stories, testimonials on our WEBSITE. There is strength in numbers:

SHARE this AKA INFOGRAPHIC:

There are multiple other studies and info available to use and share here:

When you see a negative story, comment and use these links to educate them in a polite, professional and courteous manner.

When you see a positive story, take the time to share it and tell them thank you.

AKA MEDIA Package

SHARE this Google Doc LINK, assembled by Robert McMahan

SHARE the contest videos from these links:

The WINNERS

The HONORABLE MENTIONS

Send these documents/link to journalist, legislators, law enforcement, friends and family so hopefully we can educate everybody including those higher up to better understand where Kratom stands as a beneficial herb.

JOIN our FACEBOOK GROUP for up-to-the-minute updates and join the #IAMKRATOM Group photo & video campaign.

Be  sure to check out the over 1,000+ (and counting) videos from the continuing  #IamKratom online CAMPAIGN

JOIN our AKA FORUM

JOIN the Twitter campaign:

Tweet to all the influencers you can find, follow us on twitter, retweet, tag #FDA on all your tweets and remember to use the #IAMKRATOM #KEEPKRATOMLEGAL #TEAMAKA hashtags in all your tweets  @SGottliebFDA  @US_FDA   AKA Twitter

SIGN the whitehouse.gov PETITION created by Andrew Turner:

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Fighting for Kratom

Right now there are an estimated 2,000,000 people using kratom for medicinal use as a natural alternative to prescription drugs, and even illicit drugs such as heroin.

I’ve never been an activist in my 38 years of life thus far, but keeping kratom legal is a cause that I feel very strongly about, and one that I also believe I can make a difference in affecting the outcome.

I was going spend more time on this book, but due to the recent FDA public announcement stating that kratom is dangerous, and stating they were seizing incoming shipments of kratom, I had to act fast and make sure the book was good enough to publish so that I could get it to the masses. So please, if you find spelling or grammatical errors, don’t hold it against me, but instead, notify me so I can make corrections.

My hope is that this free online book will go viral. I’ve published it in a blog post with social share buttons to make it very easy to share on social media platforms.

If it goes viral, and enough people donate money to a non-profit that is trying ferociously to help keep kratom legal, it would be an extraordinary accomplishment. However, even if all this book does is help a few people conquer their opioid addictions, it will have been worth creating it.

Chapter 1: My Story of Opiate Addiction & Recovery

If you’re not familiar with me or my work yet, here is a brief background of how I came to create this powerful opiate recovery program. The purpose of this program is to help you get off opiates as easily as possible. I was an addict for years and tried lots of ways of getting clean. Though it was a long journey for me to get here, you can avoid making the same mistakes I did.

Becoming an Addict

Before I got on opiates I was able to keep a job, enjoyed surfing and other hobbies, had plenty of money, a relatively stable girlfriend and good relationships with my friends. I abused alcohol and marijuana and, although I could still function in my life, I was using these substances to feel better. It all changed when my girlfriend and I broke up for good when she was two months pregnant. To deal with my grief and the anxiety of a new baby to parent as a single dad, with my family being 3,000 miles away, I started snorting OxyContin.

OxyContin made all the pain and anxiety go away. I felt happy and good every day. I took it every day for months until I couldn’t find any more to buy. I tried to go to work and had a massive panic attack. My boss was worried about me and let me go home for the day. I drank all day to try to feel a little normal but couldn’t sleep and felt awful. It was the first time I experienced opiate withdrawal. I managed to buy some Valium which helped but ended up getting more OxyContin a few days later. I was addicted.

Once I was really addicted to opiates everything I did was just to get more drugs. I was lying and trying to hide my addiction from everyone I knew. I sold anything I could to have more money for opiates. It became all I cared about. I had hopes of getting clean and turning my life around, but I ended up smoking heroin.

My life revolved around getting money for more heroin, meeting up with my dealer to buy more heroin, and finding places to smoke heroin every couple of hours. My dad found out and made me go to the doctor for help, but they just prescribed Methadone and Valium. I ended up overdosing in my parents’ house on this combination of medication and was within minutes from total brain damage by the time I was able to be resuscitated.

Pivotal Moment

I was an opiate addict for a few years before I overdosed in my parents’ house. I had taken a lethal dosage of Methadone combined with Valium. My mom found me unconscious in my room with a grey face, blue lips with vomit dripping out and barely breathing. If she hadn’t checked on me when she did I’d be dead. My parents would have found a corpse instead of their son and my daughter would have lost her father to drug addiction. Luckily, she found me when she did and the EMTs arrived quickly, gave me a Naloxone shot which put me into immediate opioid withdrawal and saved my life.

Having a near-death experience completely changed the way I had been thinking about my life, my family, and my future. My doctor said that if the EMTs had arrived just minutes later I would have been braindead. That seriously freaked me out, and coupled with the all-consuming guilt I felt regarding my family, I felt the consequences of my addiction and knew I had to turn everything around.

After leaving the hospital, I knew I had to do things differently this time around. I had almost left my precious daughter without a dad for the rest of her life, and acknowledging that fact was a true wakeup call. Having a glimpse of death radically transformed my outlook on life, and with this new outlook came a strong new mindset that motivated me to become the type of person that would never get addicted to drugs.

To become this new person, I knew there were certain things I had to do. I didn’t figure it all out at once, but within six weeks after being clean from opiates, I was walking down the “Path of Meaning and Fulfillment,” and no-thing could stop me from manifesting my Dream Life.

New Recovery Habits

To outgrow my addiction, I had to become strong and balanced in Body, Mind, Emotions, and Spirit. Since I didn’t know exactly how to do this, so I began reading books on the subjects I was interested in. I enjoyed learning so much that I became a voracious reader.

A month after quitting opiates, I was reading 1-2 books a week on the following subjects:

 

Supplements for Opiate Recovery

Along with reading books, I also began taking supplements for opiate recovery. These supplements contained amino acids, herbs, and other nutrients that helped my brain to start producing neurotransmitters such as endorphins, dopamine, GABA, and serotonin. These are very important for feelings of relaxation, happiness, motivation, and a positive outlook on life.

Long-term opioid use, whether taking them as prescribed by a doctor or taking them without a prescription, leads to a depletion of these neurotransmitters (especially dopamine and endorphins). I cover the importance of these neurotransmitters in detail in Chapter (INSERT CHAPTER HERE).

Positive Addiction to Exercise

I was feeding my mind with books, and I was taking supplements that helped me rebalance my brain chemistry, so the next step was to begin exercising. Everyone knows that exercising is one of the best things you can do to enhance your physical and psychological health. For individuals just getting off opioids, exercising at least 3-4 times a week is absolutely crucial if you want to feel as good as possible (which I did).

Within 90 days of quitting opiates, I was engaging in the following types of exercise 3-5 days a week:

 

As a result of this new exercise habit, I not only felt very high levels of mental and emotional, but I also got into pretty good shape, which enhanced my confidence and self-esteem. Here is a picture of me after surfing some nice waves my family and I scored while camping right next to the ocean in Southern California.

Opiate Recovery Nutrition Plan

The final component of my Holistic Opiate Recovery Plan was nutrition. For my entire life up to that point (age 32), my diet was pretty bad. I consumed a lot of processed foods, sugar, foods with chemicals and meat with antibiotics and hormones, and much more unhealthy dietary choices. My diet was severely lacking in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, antioxidants, healthy protein choices, and much more. Within about 60 days after quitting opiates, I completely changed my eating habits.

With my new and improved nutrition plan, I was consuming mostly:

 

Between the nutrition, supplements, exercise, and reading, I started to feel really good. And in just a couple of months, I felt better than I had in my entire life. I was finally strong and balanced in Body, Mind, Emotions, and Spirit. After quitting opiates, first I had to learn how to crawl. After that, I started walking. Next, I picked up the pace to a light jog, then I started running…then flying…and within about six months…I was SOARING like an eagle.

Getting healthy in all areas after quitting opioids is a process. It’s not something that happens overnight. What I learned through my process was that you need to have a  clear vision of what you want your life to look like in the future and that Vivid Vision needs to really excite you. It needs to motivate you and ignite your inner FIRE and PASSION, which will be the fuel you use to manifest your Vivid Vision.

Once you have a clear picture of how you want your life of recovery to look, you need to write it down on paper in detail. Then you must write down a list of short-term and long-term goals, and write an action plan to achieve these goals. I’ll go deeper into this process in Chapter 9.

Choosing a Life of Helping Others

To create a life of Meaning, I decided to make it my Life’s Purpose and Mission to help others recover from opiate addiction. To start living the Purpose-Drivin Life, I became a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor and began working full-time at an Opiate Treatment Program (OTP). I absolutely loved being a counselor for the first six months. However, we got a new Clinical Director (CD), and she looked and acted very much like the Wicked Witch of the West from the beginning of The Wizard of Oz.

She made everyone’s life a living Hell, and I started to look for other places to work.

It became a very stressful environment, and people started quitting left and right. First a counselor, then a nurse, then a Clinical Supervisor (CS), and on and on. Fortunately, within a few months, we got a new Clinical Director, and she was totally awesome. I respected her very much, and she was a joy to work for.

However, after 18 months working in the field of counseling, I felt an inner-calling to move on and do something else with my life.

I gave my two weeks notice, then, on the last day of work, I said goodbye to all of the wonderful people that worked there, cleaned out my office, and drove off into the horizon, passionately moving towards the next chapter of my life.

Over the next year, I was working for my parents from home. They are both famous herbalists that own and operate the Self-Heal School of Herbal Studies and Healing, in San Diego, California. I helped them out by putting my dad’s natural pain-relief balm and beauty cream into jars, then labeling them, and I also helped them with internet marketing and social media marketing.

It was a great gig, but before long, I found myself longing to help people overcome opiate addiction. I didn’t want to be a counselor again. It was a very stressful job, and it only paid $10 to $18 an hour depending on where you worked. After taxes and insurance were taken out of my checks, it was a very small amount of money, and it just wasn’t worth it anymore.

I still wanted to help people recover from opiate addiction, but I wanted to do it my way. I didn’t want to be confined to the limited abilities and reach of a counselor, and I didn’t want to be trapped in the box of traditional drug treatment modalities.

One day I thought of a great idea.

I decided I was going to write a book on opiate addiction recovery!

This got me EXCITED. I immediately signed up for a live online Writer’s Workshop where one of my mentors, Dr. Wayne Dyer (now passed away), was the keynote speaker! In this workshop, I learned the step-by-step process an individual needs to go through to publish and sell books. But more importantly, the President of Hay House Publishing (Reid Tracy), said something that radically altered the course of my life, which created a butterfly effect, and has since positively impacted the lives of countless opioid-dependent individuals.

Reid Tracy stated that in order to actually sell your book(s), you needed a following. Then, he informed the audience that the best way to get a following was to start a blog.

Becoming an Opiate Recovery Blogger

This statement changed my life. After the weekend writer’s workshop ended, I purchased two books. One was on internet marketing, and the other was on blogging. I read both of these books in less than three days, and after learning the material, I was PUMPED on the idea of building a blog where I could write about opiate withdrawal and recovery strategies.

The best part was that my book on blogging had a link to a free online course I could take, where the author had video tutorials of him building a blog from scratch. These videos were instrumental in my success creating a blog.

Today, as I write these words, it’s been over three years since I created my blog, called OpiateAddictionSupport.com. There are close to 100,000 monthly visitors on my blog, and there are over 200 free articles to read. Between all of these articles, there are over 6,000 comments combined! I’ve created two free online courses and one course that costs money, which is called Ultimate Opiate Detox 2.0.

The funny part is that even though I started my blog to get a following, so I would eventually have people that would buy my book…it’s been close to three and a half years…and I’m just now getting around to writing my first book!!! I actually started writing my first book two years ago, but a few weeks into the project, I decided to make an online course instead, as I thought that would be more helpful.

The online course, Ultimate Opiate Detox 2.0, has Video, Audio, Text, PDF Downloads, a Private Forum, and much more. Close to a thousand people have taken the course, and countless individuals have gotten off opioids with ease as a result of using the strategies and tactics they learned in the program.

My Present Life

It has now been six years since I was an opiate addict. My life is unrecognizable from how it used to look. I’m living in a 2,200 square foot Dream Home on the Hawaiin island of Oahu, and my house is right next to Kaneohe Bay, which is the most beautiful bay I’ve ever seen. I live here with my seven-year-old daughter Willow, and our green cheek conquer parrot named Papaya.

I’m a stay-at-home dad that gets to run my business from anywhere I want. Sometimes I write blog posts in my bedroom overlooking the canal that connects to the bay. Other times I coach clients on the phone while I’m laying in my hammock.

One of my favorite things to do is read blog comments and emails from people that have successfully quit opioids using the information they learned from my blog. It’s quite a joy to me. For me, there is nothing better than dedicating my life to help end suffering in the world.

It’ what drives me.

Knowing that there are millions of people currently addicted to opioids is what propels me to continue creating articles, products, and services that can help these individuals overcome addiction and create a life of meaning and fulfillment.

This is my great obsession.

I’m constantly asking myself the following questions:

 

After six years of studying and perfecting the “Art of Opiate Recovery,” I’ve learned some amazing things. There are over 200 articles on my blog, and I’ve personally written over 175 of them. As you can probably imagine, it took a lot of research, passion, curiosity, dedication, energy, and time to publish that many articles on the subject of opiate addiction recovery.

At this point in my life, I have some great strategies and tactics for getting of opioid in the most painless way possible. What I’ve learned over the years is that there are well-over 100 things a person can use to minimize their opioid withdrawal symptoms. Some of these remedies are so powerful they can eliminate 90% or more of the magnitude of severity of a person’s physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms.

Since I’ve learned so much, and have already assisted countless individuals to recover by method of publishing articles and videos, creating online courses, and coaching, I now STRONGLY BELIEVE that it’s my moral, ethical, and spiritual obligation to continue honing my craft, and continue investing a great deal of time to expanding my reach and impact, which will help end so much suffering in the world.

That’s what excites me.

What excited you? What are you passionate about? Are you ready to learn my K-TAT Method™ so you can get off opioids for good and transform your life into a beautiful masterpiece? I hope you’re ready! Now, let’s move on so I can teach you about how I came up with the K-TAT Method™, what it is, and how you can use it to get off ANY opioid drug with ease.

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Chapter 2: The K-TAT Method™

Before I provide you with an overview of the K-TAT Method™, let’s go back in time to the beginning of my short-lived career as a counselor at an Opiate Treatment Program. One day, a client of mine, whom we’ll call Ashley (not her real name), was very disturbed during her 60-minute counseling session with me.

She stated that the methadone had made her gain about 70 pounds in six months. Furthermore, since she was only 5’3”, this extra 50 pounds was extremely visible. In fact, she was almost unrecognizable from the day of her intake, in which she weighed no more than 120 pounds soaking wet.

Her big dilemma was this:

On one hand, the methadone was really helping to reduce her cravings for pills, as she had a big oxy habit prior to entering treatment at the program. Yet, on the other hand, methadone was causing her significant weight gain, constipation, unhealthy and red facial skin, among many other side effects, though the weight gain was the only one side effect that causing her significant psychological anguish.

It was devastating for her.

One day she was a petite blonde in good shape, with at least moderate levels of self-confidence. Then only months later, the weight gain made her extremely depressed and very self-conscious, which of course led to her constantly searching for ways to lose weight.

She couldn’t afford to switch over to Suboxone or Subutex, which she stated she used before with all of the benefits that methadone provided, but without the weight gain. After a few more months of feeling horrible about her image due to the weight gain, she told me that she was going to use an herbal supplement called “kratom” to get off methadone.

An Underground Plant for Opiate Addiction

I had never heard of it, so I asked her why it worked. She didn’t know the specifics, but she did say it prevented a person from going through severe opioid withdrawal. My interested was piqued, and later that day when I got home, I Googled “kratom.”

I began researching this herbal opiate withdrawal solution, and what I found out blew my mind. Kratom helps opiate addicts’ withdrawal symptoms because it contains active alkaloids that bind to the same opioid receptors in the brain that drugs like methadone, heroin, hydrocodone, and oxycodone bind to, thus preventing withdrawal (more on this in the next Chapter).

I learned that kratom was sold at some herb shops, smoke shops, and also online and that it was very effective for withdrawal. Several months after Ashley quit the treatment program to use kratom to get off methadone, I was walking down Newport Ave in Ocean Beach (pictured below), a beach town Southern California where I was living at the time.

As I was walking towards the beach, I saw a familiar face walking towards me. Within a few seconds of spotting this familiar face, I figured out who it was.

She recognized me as well, and as we intersected in our walking paths, we both smiled. It was my old client Ashley, and she had lost about 40 pounds. I wasn’t permitted to say high to current or ex-clients in public, per the confidentiality agreement, however, if a client chooses to say high to me first and strike up a conversation, that is permitted and I can then engage.

This is exactly what Ashley did. She came in for a big hug, and it was great to see her happy. We caught up for a few minutes, and she stated that she had been using kratom powder to prevent methadone withdrawal symptoms, as she left the treatment program on 90 mg.

Ashley stated that the kratom prevented at least 90% of her withdrawal symptoms and cravings. She was also delighted to inform me that while taking kratom in place of methadone, the weight she had gained was melting right off. It made me so happy to see her doing so well mentally and physically. After briefly catching up and partying our separate ways, Ashley said they had really pure kratom powder for sale at the herb shop two blocks away in the direction I was going.

I thanked her for letting me know about the very helpful resource and wished her the best.

From that point on, whenever I had a client tell me that methadone was causing the weight gain or other side effects that were so bad they considered getting off methadone, I let them know about how well kratom worked for one of my past clients. As far as I know, none of my clients after Ashely used kratom.

Probably somewhere around six months after learning about kratom, I put in my two weeks notice and left the field of counseling. I didn’t even think about kratom for over a year, and when I finally did think about it again, it was because I had started my blog, OpiateAddictionSupport.com, and I was brainstorming ideas for new articles that could help people quit opioids naturally.

A Different Type of Blogging

That’s when I remembered the kratom plant, how well it had helped my client Ashley, and how easily accessible it was since I lived only six blocks away from the herb shop that sold it. I spent many hours online researching the mechanisms of action, benefits, and possible risks associated with using kratom. After a week, I decided that I wanted to try the plant out for myself. I didn’t want to be the standard blogger-type that simply does objective research and writes a boring article that is pretty much exactly the same as all the other articles online.

From early on I wanted my blog to be different. I wanted to stand out from the rest of the blogs on opiate recovery. I was so passionate about helping people, and I was also thinking about creative ways to make my blog the most helpful resource online for people wanting to get off opioids at home with relative ease. Thus, I decided I would become an “investigative blogger,” and my definition of that term was a person that goes above and beyond simply copying what Wikipedia and other articles have to say about a subject.

I had never heard of the term investigative blogger before, though I had heard of an investigative journalist. Some of these journalists went to foreign countries during times of war, and put their lives at risk. When you totally immerse yourself in the subject you’re planning on writing about, I believe this makes your work more credible and a lot more fun and exciting to read.

Thus, I decided I was going to be an investigative blogger who actually tried the opiate withdrawal remedies I was going to write articles on. Luckily for me, during my years of drug addiction, I had tried many of the prescription and over-the-counter medications for opiate withdrawal. So that was a huge plus.

When it came to kratom, I had never tried it, so that’s what I did. I went to the local herb shop that carried kratom.

I  bought some kratom, went home and mixed it with juice in a blender, then drank it on an empty stomach. 60 minutes later, I was almost in disbelief. I felt a mild and pleasant effect of kratom-induced natural well-being that lasted a few hours. It wasn’t exactly like taking hydrocodone or any other opioid I had ever tried (and I had tried almost all of them), but it was an herbal and mild opioid-type effect mixed with effects of drinking a cup of coffee or tea.

Over the next two weeks, I experimented with different kratom strains, dosages, and potentiators (substances that make the effects greater and the duration longer). Eventually, I felt like I had enough scientific knowledge and subjective experiences to create an epic article on using kratom for opiate addiction.

Thus, on January 7th, 2015, I wrote my article, which I titled How To Use Kratom For Opiate Withdrawal. It has now been three years since I published that article. It has over 500 comments at the end of it, and it’s by far the most-viewed page on my entire blog. Furthermore, out of those 500 comments, there is a superabundance of success stories and positive testimonials of people using kratom to get off opioids for good! I’ve also received a myriad of emails from grateful people that found my website and kratom article and used the detox-plan I created in that article to get off opioids at home in a relatively painless manner.

Over the years, numerous individuals have asked me the same few key questions regarding the use of kratom for opioid detox. Furthermore, I’ve received a plethora of comments and emails from people that have hybridized and customized my kratom detox plan to fit their own individual needs. Basically, for three years my kratom article and the comment section beneath it have served as an anecdotal “laboratory.”

Many people spend hours reading through all of the comments, and then become very excited and motivated to use my kratom protocol to the tee, or to use a variation on it based on the success stories they read in the comments section, other tips they learn on my website, and more.

The common theme that keeps showing up in these successful protocols is a 3-phase approach to using kratom to get off opioids.

Here are the 3 phases:

Phase 1 – Transition from current opioid(s) to kratom.

Phase 2 – Take a therapeutic daily dose of kratom for 2-6 weeks. A therapeutic dose is defined as taking enough kratom to prevent most or all of a person’s opioid withdrawal symptoms and cravings, but not enough to get a high from it.

Phase 3 – Begin a kratom-taper protocol in which one lowers their kratom dosage at regular, scheduled intervals (e.g. every 7 or 10 days), with the intent of gradually reducing blood-opioid concentrations to significantly reduce shock to the brain and body. During Phase 3, one also uses specific supplements that may help a person feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally while tapering their kratom dosage. Finally, things such as exercise and nutrition, among other alternative modalities, are employed.

Benefits of Transitioning to Kratom

Common naysayers and opponents of kratom have very weak cases (in my opinion) as to why they don’t think kratom should be used to help someone get off opioids. In this section, I will simply provide the opposing view, and then talk about my beliefs.

I’m certainly not saying I’m right and others are wrong. But what I am saying is that I have my beliefs, and others have theirs. So, here are two sides of the story, and people have strong opinions about both.

Top Naysayer Complaint:

“Opiate addicts shouldn’t use kratom because they’ll just get addicted to it.”

This is by far the most common reason the naysayers don’t like kratom. Now I’m not mad at them for saying this, but I do have a different opinion which I need to express whenever someone brings this belief up.

Here’s what I believe:

Since I have a blog that sees a million visitors a year, I get lots of blog comments and emails from people that used kratom for opiate addiction. From my experience, it appears that, at least with the people that write to me on my website, a very small percentage of people use kratom to get off opioids, and then end up getting addicted to kratom and not being able to get off it in the timespan they wanted to.

However, here’s what I really want to hammer home on this subject. Even if 100% of the individuals using kratom to get off other opioids did, in fact, get addicted to kratom and stuck on that natural herb, isn’t it a step in the right direction?

In my opinion, being stuck on kratom is so much healthier for your body and mind than being stuck on any other opioid drug known to man. Synthetic drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, and buprenorphine are much stronger than kratom, and they are much worse for your body, especially your liver, which is the organ responsible for dealing with all these drugs.

Manmade prescription drugs are hard on your liver. Kratom is nowhere near as powerful as these drugs, and furthermore, it’s a natural plant.

Kratom has immuno-modualting effects, it contains high levels of antioxidants, and oh ya, did I mention that it’s a natural plant that grows in the wild that is in the coffee family?

I just don’t see how being stuck on kratom is a bad thing, compared to being stuck on methadone, buprenorphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, tramadol, codeine, morphine, heroin, fentanyl, or even opium.

Do the naysayers really lack that type of common sense? I don’t think so. I think they are just uninformed. They likely don’t have a clue what kratom is, what’s in it that’s healthy, etc. And they probably don’t realize how harmful prescription drugs are on the liver.

I’m positive they’re all coming from a place of wanting to help, and thus I really respect and appreciate them, and I do also value their opinions and beliefs. I just have a different viewpoint, and I feel the need to share it with as many people as possible, as do they.

Most kratom opponents come from a different background than I do. They are most often coming from a “total abstinence” background. People that identify with this school of thought don’t believe drug addicts should use drugs like Suboxone, methadone, or even natural herbs like kratom to try and quit drugs. They think it’s wrong and not effective. I do see their reasoning with this, and many people feel so strongly about their belief that they will become very enraged and outspoken towards people like me, who come from a different school of thought, and one that is entirely opposite to their beliefs.

I believe in something called “harm reduction.” Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.

Suboxone and methadone are the main types of harm reduction used for individuals with opiate addiction. While there are countless individuals that are opposed to opiate addicts being able to use these opiate replacement medications, the statistics prove that these medications are indeed significantly reducing harm.

Here are just a few of the statistics:

 

Harm reduction proponents such as myself believe that traditional drug rehab and 12-step philosophy is simply passing too much judgment on the individual and that as human beings we all have imperfections that must be accepted as a matter of course. The harm reduction viewpoint states that we need to work within our limitations in the safest, healthiest ways possible to keep those suffering from addiction alive and well.

In the case of kratom, the plant will always be under judgment from the masses of people that believe in the traditional drug treatment approach. That drug addicts need to quit all drugs and even potentially habit-forming herbal remedies, admit powerlessness over their addictions and choose to live a completely drug-free life.

I guess it’s my innate and even learned stubbornness, but when someone tells me what to do or especially how I should live my life, my gut-response is to the do the complete opposite! I always admire and respect these people for choosing to live in a way that is congruent with their beliefs, but I’m of the opinion that one should not try to force or coerce others to have these same beliefs and lifestyles.

It sort of reminds me of the ancient times long ago when certain groups of religious people would force others to adopt their religion, or they would be killed or enslaved.  Of course it’s nowhere close to as serious as this, but still, it does remind me of it.

To sum up my point, I believe in the following:

1. My K-TAT Method™ is a very effective way to get off any opioid drug(s).

2. Even if a person tried the K-TAT Method™ and became addicted to kratom instead of tapering off the drug, this is a much better position to be in than being addicted to methadone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, buprenorphine, heroin, or any other opioid drug.

3. People on opioids should do what they feel is right based on their own beliefs, not on the beliefs of others. Don’t just take my word for it because I sound like I know what I’m talking about. Go deep inside of yourself, do some inner-reflection, and think long and hard about this subject. Listen to both sides of viewpoints. Then, you can decide how you want to live your life, either in a way that you don’t use any drugs at all, natural or manmade, or even herbal solutions such as kratom, to get off opioids, or, you decide on using prescription drugs to get off opioids.

Okay, now that I’ve spent some time talking about the benefits of the K-TAT Method™ as well as what the opponents have to say about it, let’s move on to the next section, where I’ll be providing you with detailed information on kratom, where I’ll be discussing everything from the current legality of the plant, what it’s commonly used for, it’s mechanisms of action, and much more.

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Chapter 3: Kratom Overview and Legality

A few weeks ago, CNN.com released a story titled Can the kratom plant help fix the opioid crisis? For kratom advocates such as myself and online-kratom-vendor Jim Sourek (owner of TopExtracts.com), this CNN article was a HUGE step in the right direction for keeping kratom legal in America.

Unfortunately, shortly after the FDA released a public announcement warning about the alleged dangers of kratom. In light of the FDA’s stance on kratom, it appears as though the DEA will soon make kratom illegal.

In this chapter, I’m going to provide you with detailed information on kratom, and I’ll also share my most effective methods to-date for using kratom for opiate addiction recovery.

So fasten your seatbelt…and get ready to learn how this miracle plant can help you improve overcome opiate addiction once and for all.

Kratom

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a plant that is a member of the coffee family. For many years, countless individuals with opioid dependence, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and PTSD have been using this plant as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.

Kratom is an herbal product under FDA and DEA policies and, as such, is considered to be a legal substance in most of the U.S. (but this is probably changing soon).

DEA Attempts to Ban Kratom

In August of 2016, kratom’s legality was in serious jeopardy. The DEA announced its intent to temporarily place mitragynine (kratom’s main active alkaloid) into Schedule I on August 31, 2016.

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) empowers the U.S. Attorney General to place a previously unscheduled substance temporarily into Schedule I if the DEA (in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services) determines it is necessary “to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety.

Placing a drug on Schedule I means that in the DEA’s view, the drug has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Public Outcry in Defense of Kratom

According to an article written by Gerald Gianutsos, PhD, JD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, “The DEA’s action did not go unnoticed. A public backlash to the proposed ban quickly developed. This included organized efforts by advocacy groups such as the American Kratom Association and the Botanical Educational Alliance, a demonstration near the White House, phone calls to Congress, and a petition sent to the White House with over 100,000 signatures.

In general, the reaction stressed the view that kratom does not possess the harm that the DEA claimed and that it is useful in managing pain and other conditions, as well as in reducing opiate addiction; therefore, it should remain available to the public without restrictions.

Advocates maintained that kratom is safer than prescription opioids and that the relatively low number of deaths attributed to kratom when compared with opiates is due to other drugs being used simultaneously. Many testimonials from users touting kratom’s beneficial effects quickly appeared on numerous websites.”

Due to all of these efforts, the ban on kratom was postponed, and things were looking good for it to stay legal up until recent unfortunate developments.

Here is an infographic on the ordeal:

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Chapter 4: What is Kratom and How Does it Work?

Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) is an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia and is a member of the coffee family. Kratom has become a very popular natural remedy for opiate withdrawal due to its action on the body’s opioid receptors.

Though kratom is not an opiate (defined as any drug derived from the opium poppy plant), it is, however, a partial opioid agonist. Opioid agonists are natural or synthetic (man-made) substances that do not come from the opium poppy plant, yet still, bind to the same opioid receptors that opiates bind to.

Kratom is not a full opioid agonist, but rather only a partial opioid agonist. It only activates the opioid receptors partially. This means that it’s not as strong as most opiates and opioids. Furthermore, it doesn’t cause respiratory depression like opiates do, making kratom a very safe herbal remedy.

The following diagram provides a visual representation of this phenomenon:

Thus, kratom can be described as “a natural plant that binds to the opioid receptors in a gentle and soothing way, which enables it to be used medicinally for a variety of both physical and mental health issues.

Mitragynine

Kratom’s painkilling and opioid withdrawal relief effects are due to its active alkaloids. Mitragynine, the major alkaloid in kratom, is a partial opioid agonist producing similar effects to morphine. An interesting minor alkaloid of kratom, 7-hyrdoxymitragynine, has been reported to be more potent than morphine.

Both kratom alkaloids activate supraspinal mu- and delta- opioid receptors, which is the main reason the plant alleviates withdrawal symptoms so well.

Medicinal Effects of Kratom

Kratom has a wide range of medicinal benefits that most people don’t know about. The medicinal effects of kratom are highly flexible and diverse due to its unique alkaloid profile, which is unlike any other plant known to exist.

These effects are:

 

In addition to this large range of medicinal applications, kratom also has other positive secondary properties such as high-antioxidant and vitamin content, which has made it worthwhile for general health purposes as well. The following info was found in The Kratom Bible: A Complete Guide to Kratom.

Here is a list of the 28 identified active alkaloids present in kratom:

 

Are there Risks with Kratom?

Due to kratom’s ability to bind to opioid receptors and cause opioid effects (euphoria, pain relief, mood-lift, etc.), this means it does have the potential to be habit-forming.

Most individuals are able to use kratom medicinally, although a very small percentage of kratom users take the plant for recreational purposes, and some develop a habit.

After long-term daily use, it’s possible to develop a physiological dependence on kratom. When this occurs, you can avoid experiencing withdrawal symptoms by tapering off kratom over the span of a few weeks or longer. Otherwise, kratom withdrawal can lead to irritability, in a similar way to caffeine withdrawal.

Kratom is safe in almost every regard, as there have been no known deaths from this plant, except in combination with other dangerous substances.

Best Kratom Strains For Opiate Addiction Recovery

Due to kratom’s action on the opioid receptors, it is extremely effective at assisting an individual to quit opiates and mitigate withdrawal symptoms for both prescription opiates and illicit opiates.

You can find many cases of people using kratom for opiate withdrawal and addiction to both help transition to sobriety, and to combat cravings and post-acute withdrawal symptoms as a maintenance substance.

My favorite kratom strains for opiate withdrawal:

 

The kratom effects vary depending on the strain color and dosage used.

Kratom Strains and Dosage Effects

For instance, lower dosages in the 2-6 gram range could produce stimulating effects, while higher dosages from 7-10 grams or more can lead to more pain relief and sedation.

Furthermore, the red kratom strains tend to be the most sedating, while the white strains are typically more stimulating. The green strains are typically not as stimulating as white strains, and not as sedating as red ones, and fall somewhere in the middle of the two.

Dosage has been a key factor for those looking for specific effects. By dosing too low, the medicinal capabilities are nulled, while dosing too high can often lead to relatively harmless, but potentially unpleasant side-effects, such as the “wobbles” and minor nausea. To learn about kratom dosages, refer below.

Average dosage by grams:

 

Where to Buy Kratom Online

These days there are plenty of online kratom vendors to choose from. However, all kratom vendors are not created equal. I’ve tried many kratom vendors that had low quality kratom where the kratom either had weak effects, or it made me sick, or both.

After trying several online kratom vendors, I finally found one that I could do permanent business with. My favorite online kratom vendor is TopExtracts.com. I highly recommend and endorse this company as it has premium kratom that is pure, high-quality, and priced to sell.

You can read my full Top Extracts Review to learn more and also get a coupon code to save 15% off your first purchase.

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Chapter 5: Opiate Addiction 101

Now that you have detailed knowledge on the medicinal benefits of kratom, it’s time to provide you with an overview on opiate addiction, and how you can use kratom to comfortably transition off any opioid drug.

Let’s begin by talking about how opiates work in the body…

Opiates are drugs that are derived from the opium poppy plant. Opioids are synthetic or natural drugs that do not originate from the opium poppy plant, however, they still bind to the same opioid receptors in the brain and body that opiates bind to, resulting in the same types of effects.

Despite all of the associated negative aspects (addiction, overdose, crime, etc.), prescription opiates still have a positive intent. They are commonly prescribed in the treatment of moderate to severe pain.

These drugs, along with heroin, attach to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are located on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, GI tract, and other organs.

Once these drugs attach to the opioid receptors, their effects come on, which include, but are not limited to:

 

As human beings, we already have an endogenous painkilling system that is capable of producing pain relief, sedation, and euphoria.

This natural pain relief system is activated when we exercise, eat certain foods (e.g. dark chocolate and chili peppers), or perform other activities.

For example, imagine a man who has just run five miles along the beach.

As a result of this intense physical exertion, his body naturally produces its own opioid chemicals, known as endorphins and enkephalins, thus reducing pain, and promoting euphoria naturally (“runners high”).

Tolerance and Dependence

We already produce natural opioid chemicals (endorphins/enkephalins) in the precise amounts our bodies were designed to handle. The problem arises when an individual has been using an opioid drug for a period of time.

After prolonged use of opioid drugs, the production of endogenous opioids is inhibited, which accounts in part for the withdrawal syndrome that results from the immediate cessation of the drug.

The continuous use of opioids overrides our natural ability to produce endorphins and enkephalins.

The brain comes to rely on the drugs to create these neurotransmitters.

When a person stops using the opioid drug, the brain doesn’t start creating these endogenous opioids right away. It short-circuits, leading to withdrawal symptoms, and deteriorating psychological function.

Whether an individual is abusing opioids or even taking them as prescribed by a physician, the continued use quickly leads to tolerance. Tolerance is a state of adaptation in which exposure to a drug induces changes that result in a decrease of the drug’s effects over time.

If an individual continues using opioids after a tolerance has been established, they will eventually develop a physiological dependence.

Dependence develops when the neurons adapt to the repeated drug exposure and only function normally in the presence of the drug.

Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome

When a dependent individual abruptly stops taking opioids (leading opioid-blood concentration to fall below the required level), the now opioid-tolerant central nervous system (CNS) goes haywire. With no inhibitive stimulation to satisfy receptors, the pathways of the CNS fire signals strenuously, performing at a level much higher than pre-dependence levels.

Now the locus coeruleus responds by triggering the autonomic fight or flight response. What results is known as the opioid withdrawal syndrome, and it’s one of the most horrific experiences an individual could even go through.

Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms

Now that you have a good overview of how the whole process starts, we can now review the physical, mental, and emotional opiate withdrawal symptoms that result from the abrupt cessation of opioid drugs.

Please note that these opiate withdrawal symptoms can also result from lowering your dosage too quickly on an opiate taper. Tapering is lowering your dosage systemically over a predetermined time frame, which significantly reduces the shock to your body that a cold-turkey detox creates.

Physical opiate withdrawal symptoms include:

 

Mental/Emotional opiate withdrawal symptoms include:

 

As you can see, there are plenty of unpleasant opiate withdrawal symptoms that can afflict you while lowering your dosage too fast, or coming off opioids cold-turkey. The really awful aspect of opiate withdrawal is that you get hit with a ton of different physical and psychological opiate withdrawal symptoms.

If it were just one or the other, it wouldn’t be near as horrific of an experience.

But alas this isn’t the case.

Opiate withdrawal symptoms are both physical and psychological, and most of the time these symptoms are very severe.

Now let’s move on to the next section, where you’ll learn about the opiate withdrawal timeline.

Opioid Withdrawal Timeline: Short-Acting Opioids

How long do opiate withdrawal symptoms last? That depends on a number of factors. The main element which determines when your opiate withdrawal symptoms will start, when they will peak, and when they will finally subside, is the type of opioid drug you’ve been taking.

For instance, if you’ve been using short-acting opiates like oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, heroin, or other short-acting opiates, the opiate withdrawal symptoms typically begin around the 12-hour mark.

So 12 hours after your last dose of a short-acting opiate, the mild opiate withdrawal symptoms will begin to arise.

Here is a brief overview of the opiate withdrawal symptoms timeline after stopping the use of short-acting opiates:

 

Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms Timeline: Long-Acting Opioids

If you’ve been taking long-acting opiates such as Morphine Extended-Release, or long-acting opioids such as methadone, Suboxone, Subutex, Probuphine, or Zubsolv, the acute withdrawal starts much later than the 12-hour mark.

Due to the long-acting and long half-life effect of these drugs, you’ll typically start to experience acute opiate withdrawal symptoms around 30 hours after your last dose. If you haven’t tapered off these drugs, but are going through a cold-turkey detox, the acute withdrawal phase might last a lot longer than 4 days.

The acute opiate withdrawal symptoms might last up to 7 days or even longer.

I’ve had several clients at the methadone clinic I used to work at tell me they went to jail and had to come off methadone cold-turkey with no medicine to help.

Many of them stated they went through acute opioid withdrawal for a month or longer.

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome

Many opiate users have successfully managed to get past the acute opiate withdrawal symptoms phase, only to realize that the struggle was far from being over. Though the symptoms, duration, and severity vary, an estimated 90% of all opiate abusers experience Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) to some degree after the acute withdrawal is over.

To accurately and simply define PAWS, let’s break down the meaning of each individual word:

 

Simply put, PAWS is a group of symptoms that occur after an individual has gone through the serious withdrawal phase induced by the discontinuation of drugs.

In his popular book, Staying Sober: A Guide For Relapse Prevention, Terence Gorski states the following:

Post-acute withdrawal is a group of symptoms of addictive disease that occur as a result of abstinence from addictive chemicals. In the alcoholic/addict these symptoms appear seven to fourteen days into abstinence, after stabilization from the acute withdrawal. Post-acute withdrawal is a bio/psycho/social syndrome. It results from a combination of damage to the nervous system caused by alcohol or drugs and the psychosocial stress of coping with life without drugs or alcohol.”

PAWS Timeline

PAWS can last anywhere from a few weeks to several years. In fact, there is even a possibility that opiate PAWS can continue for the rest of an individual’s life after quitting opiates. Unfortunately, there is really no way to determine how long it will last.

Luckily, things like supplementation, nutrition, and exercise can help you reduce the severity and timeline of PAWS symptoms. My K-TAT Method™ is going to provide you with a holistic bio/psycho/social treatment plan that can help you have a relatively easy time with PAWS.

PAWS Symptoms

There is a wide range of symptoms an individual might experience from PAWS. Post-acute opiate withdrawal symptoms will vary from person to person. Post-acute opiate withdrawal symptoms will also vary in severity from person to person.

Some common post-acute opiate withdrawal symptoms include:

 

I strongly believe that the last two symptom (“pleasure deafness” and fatigue) is the #1 reason why most individuals going through PAWS relapse within the first 90 days of getting sober.

Going weeks to months without feeling any pleasure in life, and on top of that having no energy or motivation, is in my opinion more detrimental to recovery than any of the other post-acute opiate withdrawal symptoms.

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Chapter 6: How To Use The Kratom-Transition-And-Taper Method™ For Opiate Recovery

Now we’ve reached the “nuts and bolts” section of the book. Here you’ll learn exactly what to do in a simple step-by-step action plan, which will guide you through the process of using kratom to conquer opioid addiction once and for all.

It’s been close to three years since I wrote my first article on kratom, which I titled How To Use Kratom For Opiate Withdrawal. There are over 500 comments at the end of that article, and many of them are success stories of people using the plan in the article to quit opioids from home!!!

Now that it’s been three years since I wrote that article, I’ve learned a ton of new strategies and tactics for using kratom to get off opioids, and I’ve incorporated the best ones in this book. You’re going to be stoked!

This system can work for anyone.

It doesn’t matter if you’re taking oxycodone, hydrocodone, Suboxone, methadone, Subutex, morphine, codeine, tramadol, heroin, poppy seed tea (PST), or even kratom…this plan will help any person taking any type of opioid(s).

Make a Decision!!!

Learning how to get off opioids with kratom is not difficult. Anyone can read this plan I’ve created and understand the principles I teach. That’s the easy part.

But I can tell you right now with absolute certainty…most of the people on opioids do not recover from addiction long-term.

Why??? Because most individuals on opioids never make it A MUST. Rather, they tell themselves things like I SHOULD get off opioids. They hope they will be successful, and when they are not, they take it as a failure.

But I’ll tell you right now, every time you fail you learn something. You learn what doesn’t work. Then the next time you try it you have less anxiety. That’s progress in every sense of the word.

Do you think I was able to get off opioids the first time I ever tried? No way!!! I fell FLAT ON MY FACE.

Life will always knock you down; that’s inevitable. But it’s not whether or not you get knocked down…it’s how many times you are able to get back up, brush yourself off, learn from your mistakes, and try even harder (+ smarter) the next time.

In the end, I was successful at getting off opioids because somewhere along the line I made a decision that I didn’t want to be on medication.

One of my top values in life is health, so I couldn’t stand the thought of being on a medication that altered my brain chemistry…especially one that made me go through a horrific opiate withdrawal syndrome if I stopped taking it!

Make Getting Off Opiates A MUST

If you’re serious about learning how to use kratom to get off opioids and doing whatever it takes to achieve your goal, this plan is for you. If you want to be successful, you’ll need to decide right here and now that using the K-TAT Method™ to get off opioids is a MUST, not a SHOULD.

Get out a pen and piece of paper and write down all of the reasons why you MUST use kratom to get off opioids. Commit to your goal. Know that you might fail several times, but as long as you keep going for it and learning from your mistakes, you’re sure to succeed in the long run.

Transition to Kratom

Regardless of what opioid drug(s) you’re currently using, I’m here to tell you that it’s possible and simple to make a comfortable transition onto kratom. Are you taking 100 mg of methadone a day? 40 mg of oxycodone? 150 mg of hydrocodone? 16 mg of Suboxone? A gram of heroin?

No matter what unique situation you’re in, trust me when I say that kratom has the healing power to help you transition off what you’re currently taking.

I’ve seen people on well-over 100 mg of methadone or even several grams of heroin transition to kratom with ease. And not only do these people not report feeling bad after transitioning over to kratom, in fact, many report that they actually feel much better after switching to the natural plant that Mother Nature has created for medicinal use. Check out how beautiful Mother Nature is in the image below.

How to Switch Over to Kratom with Ease

Transitioning from your current opioid(s) to kratom is simple. You simply purchase some kratom from a reputable online vendor (I recommend TopExtracts.com), then you plan which day you’re going to make the switch.

On the morning of Day 1 off your current opioid(s), you simply take between 1-3 teaspoons of kratom mixed with water or juice, or in a cup of tea, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, depending on your current level of opioid dependence severity.

Then you repeat this process 3-6 times a day. Start off with 1 tsp, wait 60 minutes, and if you still have opiate withdrawal symptoms, take another teaspoon. And if that still doesn’t do the trick, you may need up to 3-4 tsp of kratom.

Typically 3 tsp is plenty, as that is around 9 grams, though not exactly because different kratom strains weight different amounts as some are heavier than others. You can also use a digital scale to weigh the kratom out to exact dosages if you like, but it’s not necessary.

The first day of your kratom transition you’re simply trying to figure out the perfect size kratom dose to eliminate opiate withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Once you experiment on yourself, by Day 2 you should have your routine down solid.

Duration of Kratom Stabilization

Your main goal is to take a daily amount of kratom that is enough to stabilize you. Stabilization is when you feel decent on kratom, allowing you to complete your daily responsibilities such as work, school, childcare, or whatever things you have to tend to.

The duration of your kratom stabilization period will vary depending on what opioid(s) you were taking before making the transition to kratom. If you were taking short-acting opioids, you could remain stabilized on kratom for 1-2 weeks before starting your holistic kratom taper (explained in next step).

If you were taking long-acting opioids before making the transition to kratom, you should remain stabilized on kratom for at least 3 weeks before starting your kratom taper plan.

The reason for a longer kratom stabilization period after using long-acting opioids is because it typically takes around three weeks for these drugs to completely leave your system.

Once you’ve been stabilized on kratom for at least 1-3 weeks or longer, you’re ready to begin my Holistic Kratom Taper Method, which I’ve optimized to a level of complete…utter…AWESOMENESS.

Create Your Kratom Taper Plan

Tapering kratom is systemically reducing the amount of daily kratom usage at regular, preassigned intervals and dosage decreases. Tapering off kratom is preferable to coming off opioids cold-turkey because it’s much less of a system-shock to your brain chemistry, thus significantly reducing withdrawal symptoms.

Now, let’s go over a few Tapering 101 basics:

 

Since everyone reading this book is going to have varying levels of addiction severity and their own unique biochemical makeup, there is no way I can outline a “one size fits all” kratom taper schedule. However, I will provide you with some detailed examples so you can get a good understanding of how to implement a kratom taper plan into your own life.

Example #1: Garrett the Surfer

Garrett is a surfer that started taking Percocet after he injured his back performing a technical maneuver on a fast wave. His doctor prescribed him to take 5 mg oxycodone pills, 4 times per day. Mike found that the oxy gave him more than just pain relief. The medication also gave him energy, confidence, happiness, and the feeling that he could do anything he wanted in the world.

He quickly started taking more oxy than was prescribed, and within three months Garrett was purchasing illegal oxy off the street, and taking an average dosage of 100 mg per day.

Garret transition from oxy to kratom with ease and his daily stabilization dosage was 6 grams of Classic Red Bali kratom, about 4-5 times a day. Garret remained stabilized on kratom for 2 weeks before starting his Holistic Kratom Taper.

If I had to come up with a kratom taper plan for Garrett, it might look like this:

 

Example #2: Luke the Firefighter

Luke started working as a firefighter a few years after he graduated from high school, following in the footsteps of his father and two older brothers. After 10 years on the job, he began to have issues with his right knee. He finally had knee surgery, and his doctor placed him on 30 mg of hydrocodone per day. Two weeks after the surgery, Luke was in a car crash and severely injured his neck and back. His doctor upped the hydrocodone dosage to 60 mg per day.

After taking 60 mg of hydrocodone every day for six months, the doctor told Luke he was taking him off the medication because his injuries were healed. The first day Luke went without pills he didn’t know why he felt so bad. He had a runny nose, teary eyes, and he had anxiety, fatigue, and stomach discomfort all day long. Luke called a friend, and they told him he was going through hydrocodone withdrawal.

Luke’s friend came over and brought him some Classic Red Bali kratom and White Borneo kratom. He told Luke to use a mixture of 50/50 of each of the strains of kratom. Luke became stabilized on kratom quickly. He was very impressed and surprised that he only needed to take 5 grams of the 50/50 red strain/white strain kratom blend to feel better. He took this kratom dosage 4x per day, for a total of 20 grams of daily kratom to remain stabilized.

After three weeks being stabilized on 20 grams of kratom per day, Luke was ready to start his Holistic Kratom Taper Plan.

If I had to come up with a kratom taper plan for Luke, it might look like this:

 

Example #3: Heidi the Construction Worker

Heidi started working construction straight out of high school, following in the footsteps of her father and two older brothers. After twenty years on the job, she was married with children. However, she found out that her husband was having an affair with her best friend, so she divorced him, and then he married her best friend.

This whole situation led to Heidi going through a deep and long depression. One day at work, Heidi complained that her lower back was hurting. A male co-worker and friend of hers at the construction site offered her a 10/325 Norco. She had never taken an opiate before but decided to because her friend assured her it would take care of the pain.

And he was right, only it took care of more than just the physical pain. After nine months of depression and anxiety, Heidi finally got the complete relief she had been wishing for. She felt great. No more emotional pain from her loved ones stabbing her in the back, and no more feeling sorry for herself.

The Norco made her feel like she could conquer the world. Heidi asked her friend if he had any more, and he kicked her down a few extra. Fast-forward 90 days and Heidi is in a relationship with her friend that gave her the Norco. Both Heidi and her boyfriend were addicted to Norco, and Heidi had a habit that was costing her all of her savings in the bank. Six months after being addicted to Norco, she was taking an average of 140 mg a day.

Heidi could no longer afford to purchase Norco illegally at the high price their dealer sold it for, so she transitioned from Norco to kratom. It took a dose of 8 grams of kratom, 4-5 times a day to stabilize Heidi. She ended up being stabilized on kratom for 37 days before she started her kratom taper.

If I had to come up with a kratom taper plan for Heidi, it might look like this:

 

More Tips on Tapering off Kratom

At this point, I need to stress the fact that it takes more than just a strategic kratom taper schedule to get off opioids with ease. Having a great taper protocol planned out is just one element of the Holistic Kratom Taper Plan.

In the steps that follow this one, you’ll learn how to harness the power of nutrition, supplementation, exercise, and more to improve your chances of getting off AND staying off opioids for good! So use one of the kratom taper schedules I mentioned above in the examples, or create your own taper schedule using what you’ve learned.

Here are some more tips to help you taper off kratom with ease:

Chapter 9: Follow the K-TAT METHOD™ Supplement Protocol

Opiate Withdrawal Supplement

Opiate Withdrawal Supplement is a popular product that was specifically designed for people getting off opioids. It contains a powerful and synergistic blend of amino acids, herbs, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that have been shown to significantly ameliorate opioid withdrawal symptoms.

This supplement may help you taper off opioids in the following ways:

 

Directions: Take as directed on the bottle.

DL-Phenylalanine

More and more individuals are starting to enjoy the benefits of using DL-Phenylalanine to taper off kratom. DL-Phenylalanine, also known as DLPA, is a combination amino acid supplement consisting of L-Phenylalanine and D-Phenylalanine.

L-Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid found in protein-rich foods. It has the ability to radically spike dopamine levels in the brain, so it gives your brain chemistry a much-needed boost while tapering off opiates.

D-Phenylalanine is made synthetically in laboratories. It slows the action of the enzymes (particularly carboxypeptidase A and enkephalinase) that destroy endorphins. DPA does this by acting like a “downfield body blocker” in football.

When the endorphins are trying to reach the traumatized area, the endorphin-degrading enzymes are on their way to eat them “Pac-Man” style. DPA comes right up and blocks them from reaching the endorphins, thus enabling the endorphins to successfully reach the traumatized area.

In one study, a man that took a single dose of DLPA experienced a 300% increase in endorphin levels, and they stayed that high for six days. Taking DLPA while tapering off kratom can result in a rapid increase in dopamine and endorphin levels in the brain, thus boosting mood and energy levels.

DLPA Directions: Take between 1,000-2,000 mg of DLPA on an empty stomach (45 minutes before meals) up to 3x daily while tapering off kratom, starting from the second day taking kratom. Continue this dosing protocol (or decrease dosage if needed) for up to 3-6 months after getting off kratom completely. If you already have issues with high blood pressure and/or anxiety, start with a low dose of 500 mg to see how it affects you. If it exacerbates these issues, switch over to D-Phenylalanine (DPA), as this doesn’t worsen anxiety or high blood pressure, but actually reduces them. DLPA is also an “opioid potentiator,” so it increases the effects of opioids, making it a very beneficial supplement to use while tapering off kratom.

Other Beneficial Supplements

Along with Calm Support and DLPA, there are many other supplements that I highly recommend taking on your kratom taper. I know you might not have a lot of money to purchase supplements with, but I urge you to do whatever you can to afford the products I’m about to review.

Omega 3’s

Krill are small crustaceans that slightly resemble shrimp, which are found in all the world’s oceans. Why are they important for opioid addiction recovery? You’ve probably heard that taking a fish oil supplement is beneficial for your health, but you might not have known just how paramount these supplements are for addiction recovery.

And what most people don’t know is that krill oil supplements provide you with the same essential nutrients and benefits as fish oil, only krill oil is a much more effective more effective supplement.

Krill oil and fish oil are both helpful due to them containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3’s). Our bodies are able to manufacture most of the fats we need to survive, but this is not true for omega-3 fatty acids, which makes it necessary to obtain these nutrients from our diet, from supplements, or both.

Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFAs. Fish oil and krill oil both contain two very important omega-3 PUFAs, which are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

In very simplified terms, DHA is essential for brain development and EPA improves behavior and mood.

Omega 3 Deficiency and Addiction

Many studies have suggested that there is a relationship between low omega-3 consumption and substance addiction. Omega-3 deficiency has been linked to causing anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, ADHD, impulsivity, mood swings, and more. Many people with these mental health disorders end up using drugs to self-medicate.

Additionally, when an individual is tapering off opioids or going through PAWS, these symptoms can lead people to relapse, as they just can’t deal with the symptoms and still function in their lives.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that generational deficits of omega-3 within families can produce more mental health problems in children and teenagers, and as we know, many people use drugs to self-medicate these mental disorders.

Second-generation rats with omega-3 deficiencies showed higher rates of anxiety and hyperactivity. One of the reasons I clung to opioids, alcohol, and benzos in my adolescence and early 20’s was to self-medicate my anxiety.

Along with the strong case that a deficiency of  omega-3’s can actually increase a person’s proneness to addiction, these essential fats are also extremely important to for the process of coming of addictive substances. Research has found that cocaine addicts were more likely to relapse after treatment if they had low levels of omega-3’s. Scientists at Indiana University found that “alcoholic” mice who were given DHA supplementation in their diets drank much less alcohol than mice who were not given DHA.

Here’s more important information on why you need to focus on consuming plenty of omega-3 fatty acids:

My dad, John Finch, is a world-renowned Herbalist and Nutritionist teaches classes on these subjects at his school, The Self-Heal School of Herbal Studies and Healing. He teaches that the vast majority of health problems in the United States can be traced back to having an imbalance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Omega-6 fats aren’t necessarily bad for you, but if they’re consumed in large amounts without omega-3s, they cause inflammation.

Inflammation and free radicals are two of the main causes of health issues, both physical and mental.

I remember when my dad taught me that the ideal ration or omega-3 fats to omega-6 fats is around 2:1. Then, he informed me of the staggering statistic that the average American has a 20:1 ratio of omega-6 fats to omega-3 fats.

Americans typically consume an abundance of omega-6 fats from things like fried foods, fast foods, and boxed foods that contain vegetable oils like soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil and corn oil. By consuming an excess of foods containing omega-6 fats, your body’s ability to metabolize healthy omega-3 fatty acids is significantly reduced.

And as I stated earlier, a deficiency of omega-3’s in the diet can lead to anxiety, depression, ADHD, mood swings, sleep disorders, and many other symptoms that are commonly treated with addictive drugs, which can lead to addiction. Once a person is addicted to drugs, this typically leads to them not focusing on health as much, and so they consume even less omega-3 fats, which in turn causes more mental illness, which of course needs to be medicated with more drugs.

It’s a vicious cycle and one that I was stuck in for many years. Luckily for you, you don’t have to eat tons of fish or krill or other seafood if you don’t want to. Seafood can be healthy, but one way you can significantly increase your omega-3 fats is by supplementing with krill oil and decreasing the number of processed foods, fried foods, and other foods that are sources of high amounts of omega-6 fats.

At this point, I’ll share with you why I like supplementing with krill oil instead of fish oil. 

Krill oil contains around half the amount of EPA and DHA, however, the phospholipid structure of these fatty acids makes them much more absorbable. Fish oil has very low levels of antioxidants and is prone to oxidation and rancidity, which can release damaging free radicals inside your body.

Krill oil contains astronomically higher amounts of antioxidants. Krill oil is totally sustainable, but fish oil is questionable in this regards, and many experts such as Dr. Mercola state that “on average, fishing fleet quotas are 15 to 30% higher than scientist-recommended safe limits.

Supplementing with krill oil is much safer for the environment, and it does not accurate dangerous levels of heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins, and other contaminants, because krill are at the bottom of the food chain. Take a high-quality cold-pressed krill oil supplement every night right after eating dinner.

B-Complex

B-Complex – Referred to as vitamin B complex, the eight B vitamins — B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12 — play an important role in keeping our bodies healthy. Supplementing with B-Complex helps you produce natural energy, relieve stress, and is also important for creating neurotransmitters in abundance.

I’ve always felt way more relaxed and energized in life when I’ve supplemented with a high-quality B-Complex supplement. Take B-Complex every morning after eating breakfast while using the K-TAT Method™.

Calcium/Magnesium/Vitamin D3

Calcium/Magnesium/D3 – This is a combination supplement that has calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D3 in it. Calcium and magnesium are referred to as the body’s main “relaxation minerals.” When you take a powerful supplement containing these minerals with dinner, your body and mind release tiredness and tension, allowing you to get deep, restful sleep, then wake up with less tension and stress. These minerals in abundance also can help with the production of neurotransmitters.

Vitamin D3 also helps you sleep. Many people with dry skin, chronic pain, and/or insomnia have those conditions due to a vitamin D3 deficiency. For several years as an adult, I was plagued by dry skin, chronic pain, and insomnia. As soon as I started taking a D3 supplement with dinner, all of these issues went away within a few days.

Sunlight is a natural source of D3. Due to smog, radiation, and other pollutants in the atmosphere, the powerful benefits of the sun are now diminished from what they used to be. Furthermore, many Americans work 40 hours a week or more indoors, so they are not spending as much time outside as our ancient ancestors did.

For these reasons, there is an epidemic of individuals that are not getting enough vitamin D3, making it a very important nutrient to supplement with for people that aren’t spending enough time outside to get the natural D3 production from the sun. Take a high-quality calcium/magnesium/D3 supplement every night after eating dinner while using the K-TAT Method™.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, or l-ascorbic acid, is an essential nutrient for humans and certain animals. Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant that is necessary for normal growth and development. Most people supplement with Vitamin C for its antioxidant benefits, that is, for its ability to destroy free radicals. Perhaps you’ve taken Vitamin C at the onset of a cold before with hopes of stopping the sickness or at least shortening the intensity and duration. The RDA of Vitamin C is 90 mg for adult males and 75 mg for females.

I recommend supplementing with 1,000 mg of liposomal vitamin C or Ester-C in the morning and again in the evening while using the K-TAT Method™.

Additionally, when it comes time to come off kratom completely, using mega-doses of vitamin C is a research-proven method for decreasing opiate withdrawal symptoms.

Click here to read my mega-C opiate detox protocol.

Maca Root

Maca root powder is a powerful adaptogen that can help you increase natural energy while you’re getting off opioids.

According to DrAxe.com, “Maca Root benefits include increased fertility in both men and women, hormone balance, booster for the immune system, and increased energy, stamina, improved sexual function, memory, and focus.”

Maca root supplementation is an inexpensive way to naturally boost energy, mood, and vitality while getting off opioids. Mix a tablespoon of raw organic maca root powder in a glass of water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for best results.

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