How to start?

[Roofdog]

Good morning all
Quick question. My Dad has stage 4 cancer and just got a blast of radiation to his lymphnodes. It cause sepsis which is an infection. He got rid of that finally, but has a lot of joint pain from it. He called me asking about the "tea I take" and if would help him. I believe it will. I got into kratom in an almost panic situation from my pain Dr getting shut down overnight. I honestly had no clue when I first started taking kratom. I started taking 6g per dose when I first started, which I know now is way too much. I want to get him started and started correctly. I have a pretty good idea on how to start him but am always willing to listen to experience. I know there is a lot of experience on this site so if anyone can chime in on how they started that would be great. I just dont want him at 6gpd in a year. I know there are people on here that are at less than a gram per dose which is great. Thank you in advance. Have a great day everyone!!

[MetalMamaRocks]

I'm so sorry you and your family are having to go through this. I went through it with my dad. Cancer is a bitch, and hopefully your dad will kick it's ass!

I would start him off with 1 gram and make sure he can stomach it okay. If he drinks coffee, decaf or regular, I would just add it to that. The warm water helps me digest it easier. Remember to watch for constipation and have him keep some milk of magnesia on hand. A lot of people get bad constipation when they first start.

If he can tolerate 1 gram and can feel the effects I would have him take it 3 times a day. Maybe give him more at night to help him sleep. I've been using kratom for going on 7 years and I take 2 grams 3 times a day for pain.

[Roofdog]

I'm so sorry you and your family are having to go through this. I went through it with my dad. Cancer is a bitch, and hopefully your dad will kick it's ass!

I would start him off with 1 gram and make sure he can stomach it okay. If he drinks coffee, decaf or regular, I would just add it to that. The warm water helps me digest it easier. Remember to watch for constipation and have him keep some milk of magnesia on hand. A lot of people get bad constipation when they first start.

If he can tolerate 1 gram and can feel the effects I would have him take it 3 times a day. Maybe give him more at night to help him sleep. I've been using kratom for going on 7 years and I take 2 grams 3 times a day for pain.

Yes that what I was thinking. 1g to start and see how he does with that. He already takes stuff for constipation (from radiation and whatever other pills he takes) so he should be ok there. Ill let him know though. Thank you for the advice i appreciate it!!

[Lokey]

So sorry Roofdog, my dad also had esophageal cancer and had radiation, it's so hard to see them suffer. I think you got great advice and if he doesn't feel one gram within 30-45 minutes I'd have him take more, some start at 2-4 grams. I know you have good quality, that's for sure. If he hates the taste maybe try capsules with holes poked in them.

[Roofdog]

So sorry Roofdog, my dad also had esophageal cancer and had radiation, it's so hard to see them suffer. I think you got great advice and if he doesn't feel one gram within 30-45 minutes I'd have him take more, some start at 2-4 grams. I know you have good quality, that's for sure. If he hates the taste maybe try capsules with holes poked in them.

Thank you!!

[BallzDeep9]

My Dad has stage 4 cancer and just got a blast of radiation to his lymphnodes. It cause sepsis which is an infection ....

Important question, Did they NOT give him any "Pain Pills" ?? usually with cancer they do prescribe opioids. Oxycontin. But these days, the pills are being held back, EVEN from cancer patients ? Hard to believe but we've heard stories. Doctors are being pressured by FDA to not write any scripts. SO... that's the first thing. IF he's been taking opioids, THEN he'll tolerate kratom and he'll need more.

Also, sepsis, is bacterial infection - You might wanna go Red Bubble prep 1-2-3 ANY raw kratom powder. Sanitize the powder, before giving it to your Dad.

[Arob1000]

Yeah, I’d actually agree with Balls that pain meds might be better. Taking a lot of powder might be tough on his digestive tract, I’d consider extracts if that becomes an issue but with cancer doctors are usually good with giving pain pills as needed.

[Kelleytoons]

Not sure that Mr. B was saying pain pills were better, only if the dad was on them he will need MORE kratom as he may well have developed a tolerance for opioidal stuff.

I think that particular thing depends strongly on the person. I was taking a TON of opioids (my doc prescribes them like candy) prior to finding kratom, and it didn't affect my ability to use low doses of kratom to great effect. Indeed, the opioids have (mostly) lost their ability to affect me, whereas kratom seems to hit something different. In any case, I MUCH prefer taking kratom over the scripts because those scripts have a ceiling at which you need to constantly increase them in order to get any results and kratom doesn't seem to have this.

As long as he is aware that kratom isn't as strong as pain pills are at first - it's just more consistent over the long run. That's why I WOULD recommend it over any prescribed stuff.

[Arob1000]

Not sure that Mr. B was saying pain pills were better, only if the dad was on them he will need MORE kratom as he may well have developed a tolerance for opioidal stuff.

I think that particular thing depends strongly on the person. I was taking a TON of opioids (my doc prescribes them like candy) prior to finding kratom, and it didn't affect my ability to use low doses of kratom to great effect. Indeed, the opioids have (mostly) lost their ability to affect me, whereas kratom seems to hit something different. In any case, I MUCH prefer taking kratom over the scripts because those scripts have a ceiling at which you need to constantly increase them in order to get any results and kratom doesn't seem to have this.

As long as he is aware that kratom isn't as strong as pain pills are at first - it's just more consistent over the long run. That's why I WOULD recommend it over any prescribed stuff.

Good points Kelley.

One other thing that makes taking Kratom difficult is that there are so many alkaloids in Kratom (40+) and I’m sure the cancer patient is on some treatments. I’d just be careful, there could be some unknown interactions going on between the cancer meds and Kratom…most cancer patients take pain meds and although they don’t work for extended periods of time they work pretty well for cancer pain, it’s one of the few acceptable uses in the medical community.

Hope your dad gets the relief he deserves, if the Kratom works great! If not he should ask for pain meds…

[Roofdog]

My Dad has stage 4 cancer and just got a blast of radiation to his lymphnodes. It cause sepsis which is an infection ....

Important question, Did they NOT give him any "Pain Pills" ?? usually with cancer they do prescribe opioids. Oxycontin. But these days, the pills are being held back, EVEN from cancer patients ? Hard to believe but we've heard stories. Doctors are being pressured by FDA to not write any scripts. SO... that's the first thing. IF he's been taking opioids, THEN he'll tolerate kratom and he'll need more.

Also, sepsis, is bacterial infection - You might wanna go Red Bubble prep 1-2-3 ANY raw kratom powder. Sanitize the powder, before giving it to your Dad.

Thanks for the info. Yes he can get pills but doesnt want them. He knew how much pain I was in, then saw what kratom did for me and said he would rather go the natural route for as long as possible. He got rid of the sepsis but an after effect is pretty bad pain in his joints (all of them). He says he feels like he was run over by a truck everyday. I told him to start with a half gram and go up a half gram until he felt it. He gets relief from 1.75gpd, and he only needs to dose once per day. I just texted him to see how things were going.

[Kelleytoons]

That sounds great - sounds like he both hit a decent sweet spot AND a great dosing schedule (my hunch is he doses first thing in the morning, when it's most effective for most people).