How Kratom Can Affect Your Brain Chemistry

Kratom, often sold as an herbal supplement, is both unregulated and addictive. Whether you’re using it recreationally or to self-medicate your anxiety, you should understand what kratom is doing to your brain and why you should stop using it now.

At Revolution Psychiatric and Addiction Treatment, our board-certified addiction medicine specialist, Richard E. Repass, MD, has extensive experience treating kratom addictions. Dr. Repass offers services on-site to help you safely detox from kratom and to restore your normal brain function.

The backstory on kratom

Kratom is a plant-based product containing compounds that stimulate receptors in your brain the same way opioids do. In low doses, kratom can have a stimulating effect on your body. When you use kratom in higher doses, it has a sedating effect on your body that’s similar to morphine.

The leaves of the plant are what makes the kratom people use. The product is not considered illegal and is available in pills, powders, and gum. You can also chew the kratom leaves or brew dried leaves as a tea.

There are some health benefits of using kratom in proper doses. The plant may help treat conditions like:

Nausea
Seizures
Constipation
Loss of appetite

But using kratom without medical supervision can lead to dependence or addiction.

Signs of a kratom addiction

Similar to opioid addiction, a kratom addiction can change the chemistry of your brain. As a result, the longer you use it, the higher the dose you need to feel the same effect. Higher doses and regular use can easily lead to a kratom addiction.

You may start craving kratom throughout the day and adopt reckless behaviors to ensure you have the substance at all times. If you stop using kratom, you may start feeling such immediate withdrawal effects as nausea, vomiting, and cold sweats.

Other signs of a kratom addiction can include:

Irritability
Insomnia
Aggression
Muscle aches
Jerky muscle movements

Many people don’t seek help for their addiction to kratom because of the discomfort of the withdrawal symptoms. At Revolution Psychiatric and Addiction Treatment, we offer detox solutions that ease the effects of kratom withdrawal, so you can achieve a successful, long-term recovery.

How BR+NAD™ infusions treat kratom addiction

Often, kratom addictions are treated like opioid addictions. There are medications like Suboxone® that help reduce your cravings for addictive substances. But many times these medications aren’t effective at relieving the side effects of the other ingredients in kratom.

For this reason, we offer infusions of BR+NAD, which increase the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in your brain. NAD is a biochemical that your body needs to produce energy, repair your DNA, and regulate the neurotransmitters in your brain to maintain normal brain and body function.

Your NAD levels decrease with kratom use. By rebuilding these levels with the specially formulated infusions, you can restore your brain’s chemistry and function to end kratom cravings for good.

A big benefit of BR+NAD therapy is that its effects work quickly to improve your moods and your cognition.

Treatment involves intravenous (IV) infusions of BR+NAD once a day for about 10-15 days. We offer the treatment in a comfortable office environment. You should experience a significant reduction in your cravings throughout your treatment.

We also offer general psychiatric services as a part of a follow-up care plan to help you stay mentally and emotionally well in recovery.

You don’t have to fight a kratom addiction alone. Call our Mercer Island, Washington, office today to schedule an appointment or book a consultation online.