In this article, you’re going to learn what happens when a person takes Kratom and Suboxone together. This is a subject that confuses a lot of people.
I’ll provide you with the key concepts regarding the combination of Kratom and Suboxone, and in doing so equip you with the info you’re looking for.
Let’s get started…
Kratom vs Suboxone
Kratom and Suboxone have similarities and differences. They are both technically opioids, although Suboxone is semi-synthetic and Kratom is natural.
Here are the similarities of Kratom and Suboxone:
- Kratom and Suboxone are both partial opioid agonists (meaning they both fill opioid receptors partially and have opiate-like effects)
- Kratom and Suboxone can both treat opioid addiction
- Kratom and Suboxone can both help with pain relief
- Kratom and Suboxone can both cause physiological dependence
- Kratom and Suboxone can both be addictive
- Kratom and Suboxone dependence can both lead to withdrawal if a person stops abruptly
- Kratom and Suboxone both have antidepressant qualities
Here are the differences of Kratom and Suboxone:
- Kratom is a natural plant that is not regulated federally, meaning anyone can purchase it and use it (unless you live in a state or country that has banned Kratom); Suboxone is a prescription medication that you need to get from a doctor
- Kratom can vary in its alkaloid content and thus medicinal quality and can vary in purity; Suboxone is always 100% the same
- Suboxone is prescribed for opioid use disorder (OUD) while Kratom is taken for opioid addiction, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, ADD, PTSD, premature ejaculation (PE), and more
- Kratom is a short-acting opioid and Suboxone is a long-acting opioid
- Suboxone contains the addition of an opioid antagonist (naloxone) to prevent people from injecting the medicine, while Kratom does not contain any opioid antagonists
- There is a “ceiling effect” for Suboxone, meaning at 32 mg if you go any higher nothing happens; Kratom does not have a ceiling effect so you can continue increasing effects by raising dosage
The Kratom and Suboxone Dynamic
Millions of people have used Kratom to help them get off Suboxone, and much fewer have used Suboxone to get off Kratom, but it’s still common.
Doctors are trained to always prescribe Suboxone or Subutex for patients that present with Kratom addiction.
It’s much easier to use Suboxone for Kratom addiction than it is to use Kratom to quit Suboxone.
The transition from Kratom onto Suboxone is usually quite easy and fast.
But the transition from Suboxone onto Kratom is usually harder and slower.
Here a simple way of explaining the science of why the above scenarios work:
- The long-acting Suboxone helps to prevent withdrawal when quitting Kratom cold-turkey; you essentially replace the Kratom opioid in your blood and CNS with buprenorphine, the long-acting opioid in Suboxone
- The short-acting Kratom helps to prevent withdrawal when quitting Suboxone cold-turkey or when tapering off; you essentially replace the buprenorphine opioid in your blood and CNS with Kratom, a short-acting opioid
- During both transitions, you’re still on opioids the entire time, and since your blood always has opioids in it you don’t go through an acute or post-acute withdrawal syndrome
- If you decide to come off Suboxone quickly after using it to quit Kratom, say 4-7 days, you won’t go through acute withdrawal from Kratom or Suboxone but you’ll go straight into post-acute withdrawal
- If you decide to come off Kratom slowly after using it to quit Suboxone, say 3-4 weeks, you won’t go through acute withdrawal from Kratom or Suboxone but you’ll go straight into post-acute withdrawal
Using Kratom and Suboxone Together
If you’re already taking Suboxone daily and you take Kratom, one of a few things might happen. Depending on several variables, the Kratom might make you feel good, feel nothing at all, or feel bad.
Here are some of the main variables on how Kratom will feel on Suboxone:
- Suboxone dosage
- How long you’ve been taking Suboxone
- Kratom dosage
- Kratom plant strength
- Kratom purity
- Kratom strain or combo of strains
- Your individual biochemical profile
Typically the only time a person actually feels benefits from taking Kratom while on Suboxone is when their Suboxone dosage is lower than usual or low enough to let some Kratom effects in.
The main ingredient in Suboxone, buprenorphine, has a high binding affinity at the mu-opioid receptors.
This means that high dosages of Suboxone pretty much eliminate the effects of taking another opioid.
But when a person is either tapering quickly off Suboxone or doing a cold-turkey detox off it, that is when the Kratom can help and offset Suboxone taper or withdrawal symptoms.
The reason so many people are able to quit Suboxone nowadays is due to using Kratom for Suboxone recovery.
Kratom works extremely well for most people quitting Suboxone.
The only problem is that Kratom itself is an opioid and one that causes physiological dependence and even psychological addiction.
So Kratom works as a short-term bridge when transitioning off Suboxone and it works for long-term maintenance use as well.
Some people have a pretty easy time getting off Kratom after using it to quit Suboxone, while others have a difficult time doing it and others still cannot even quit Kratom.
What People Say About Kratom and Suboxone
Depending on who you talk to, you’ll receive mixed feelings and thoughts on Kratom and Suboxone. There are people who recommend using Kratom to quit Suboxone or Suboxone to quit Kratom, and there are those who are against using either of these.
I don’t believe there is a “one-size-fits-all” approach to treatment.
Each person has choices that will work better or worse for them, but depending on their situation and goals, these best choices will not be the same for 100% of all people.
Key Concepts
- Kratom and Suboxone are both partial opioid agonists that used by millions of people worldwide
- Kratom is a natural opioid while Suboxone contains buprenorphine, a semi-synthetic opioid
- Kratom is legal federally but banned in some states, while Suboxone is a prescription medicine
- There are many similarities and difference between Kratom and Suboxone
- Millions of people over the years have used Kratom to quit Suboxone
- Doctors are now trained to prescribe Suboxone when patients present with Kratom addiction
- Depending on a variety of factors, taking Kratom while on Suboxone could lead to you feeling good, nothing, or bad
- On high dosages of Suboxone, it’s doubtful a person will feel the effects of Kratom
- On low dosages of Suboxone, it’s more common for a person to feel the effects of Kratom
If you’ve come to this article on Kratom and Suboxone to learn how to use these for opiate addiction, make sure you check the Ultimate Opiate Recovery System.
And you’ll also love checking out these supplements for opioid addiction recovery.
Comments on Kratom and Suboxone?
If you have any comments regarding Kratom and Suboxone, feel free to post them below.
Take care.
The amount of kratom I had to consume in order for any symptoms to be literally just kept at Bay was far from healthy, made it three days and even the kratom wouldn’t stop the WD. GUYS SAFELY WEEN TO AS LOW AS POSSIBLE AND STAY THERE TIL YOURE STABILIZED. Don’t give yourself a heart attack because you’re sick of the judgement from subs. I’m going to attempt to get back down to 2 mg then once stabilized only take 1 mg as my body demands, slowly replace it with music or excercise and if you’re attempting to get off a proper diet and hydration are vital. If I didn’t have work I would have stuck it out but it really was unnecessary hell don’t kill yourself trying to get off, you’ll get there
Mixing suboxone and kratom was a painful, uncomfortable experience for me. At 4-16mg of suboxone, taking kratom gave me terrible headaches, heart palpitations, kidney pain, and other uncomfortable side effects. When I got down to 2mg suboxone, the negative side effects were mostly replaced with positive kratom effects of well being, stimulation, etc. This improved more as I dropped further down on suboxone. For me, obviously mixing the two at higher blood levels was a bad idea. Hope this helps someone!
hi i have ibs also. benzo ween down is very hard. i asked matt for help.i hope someone sees this. thanks all. anyone write me at the gmail adress if you need anything. anyone. GOD bless you ALL , mike p
hi matt and all. GOD bless everyone who is trying! im epileptic and weening off klonopin so far succesfully [at 2 mg a day from 6 in a 4 month period. im 40 and have quiting drug expierience. i wanted to know the best ways to upload gabba besides exersize ect. do sinthetic gabba suplements work? they cant get to blood/brain barrier. is your calm supplement good for benzo-withdrwal? any and all help is super appriciated. if i wasnt computer illiterate id have joined this chat room long ago. mike persan says good for all seeking any kind of help or self improvment. these days we need people like you. strong worriors who stand up to bullies like bad drugs. anyway.. sorry for the long speech, i need some guidence and you [Matt] seem to know more than i do . i been on benzos scince 14 years old. and im mentally handicapp. physical problem now is weight loss. from 247 lbs. to 116 lbs in 4 -5 months! GOD bless you and everyone that reads this . keep fighting the good fight yall! your friend mike persan 🙂 i love this site.
Using Kratom to go off Percocet 7.5 mg x 6-8 tables per day. Good idea? Also using Phenobit for anxiety and depression. Comments anyone? What else should I take? Been on percocet a few weeks, then off few weeks. Was on Librium for years at high doses like 125 mg /day which I was forced to quit Cold turkey which, I believed, caused Irritable Bowel Syndrome which is horrible!! I wouldn’t wish disease on my worse enemy!!!! So I am hoping the Phenobit will help since the GABA transmitter system is affected. ANY ADVISE would be appreciated. I get fearful what to eat since I am never sure how it will come out the other way!