Beaubien

You can call me B. I am new here. My story is that I am 62 years old, drank most of my life, got into trouble with a DUI 6 years ago, went to outpatient rehab for a year, and have been attending AA meetings for nearly 5 years. I was sober for 4 years and than slipped. I have been drinking off and on this year and am sober now. Feels pretty good but I do have problems with certain aspects of the AA program. I'm currently trying Kudzu and am wondering if anyone else has tried it?

Dee74

Hi beaubien

I moved your post from our chat admin forum to here - you'll get more response

Never tried Kudzu myself.
what are your problems with AA - seemed like it worked for a long time?

D

SoulShine8

welcome B. Going thru a DUI right now - so a real rough patch. How is the kudzu working (and what led you to take it)? I like taking vitamins/supplements but have never tried it. Congrats on starting sobriety again.

canguy

I'm really interested in this.....and have some on order.

Some ppl say its fantastic. Others say it's nothing. Studies seem to say that it
doesn't remove the cravings, but allows them to be satisfied with less alcohol.

But......I'll give it a go, having respect for Chinese traditional medicine. Will provide a trip report in a few weeks......

I thought this seemed a realistic summary:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...alcoholic.html

(Dee....pls delete link if inappropriate)

Meraviglioso

Hi and welcome to you. I tried kudzu in the past and it did nothing for my cravings or to reduce the amount I drank.

Let me preface the following by saying I am absolutely all for taking any medications or herbs that might help with cravings or help one stop drinking. I have taken Campral (an anti-craving prescription drug) with great success and also antabuse.

However, no pill, herb r vitamin will replace having a solid plan to stay sober. It would be fantastic if there were a magic pill we could take and just have this nightmare go away. And maybe one day there will be, who knows where modern (or ancient) medicine will go. But for now there is not and you really have to put the work in to staying sober, even if you are using the support of a pill.

It could be that kudzu works for you, as I do believe the many reviews of it saying it worked for them, but it still won't magically keep you sober, you have to do something else for it to stick.

What, in addition to AA, and the kudzu obviously, could you add to your plan to help you get and stay sober again. You did a really great job staying sober for 4 years so it is clear you can do this. But having a relapse means something is missing, or you slacked off somewhere and it is time to re-evaluate things. Having just had a relapse 2 months ago I feel your pain. It is rough but coming back to sobriety is so worth it.

Good luck with the kudzu, I do hope your find it an effective tool for you.

Behappy1

I too hope it works for you! It did nothing for me. If you are female it messes with your hormones, just an FYI.

Dee74

CarolD - One of the former mods here - used to say kudzu grows at the side of the road down in GA.

Be that as it may...it might interact with other meds or impact on other health issues you may have, so I recommend everyone see their doctor before starting this or any other supplement.

D

Seren

Just a little trivia: Kudzu grows everywhere in these parts....very, very quickly, too. It looks like a leafy, green blanket that is thrown over power poles, hillsides, cars if you leave them parked somewhere for too long. The tiny flowers grow on the underside of the leaves, and I'm told they smell like bubblegum.

Tonymblue

I tried it for a while. I didnt see much of a response. Of course, my alcoholism was so bad at the time not much could help. I do have friends that swear by it though. Let us know how it works.