OjaMentabe

Hello everyone,

Today is day 4 for me and I am not doing great. I am still 'on the wagon' so to speak but my temperament has been short and I just generally feel like crap.

So I was doing some research for alternatives to alcohol, and I saw a lot of youtube posts about Kava Kava root.

I guess it goes in Vanuatu or some very exotic Polynesian place. It's supposed to be made into some tea with milk and it is supposed to be relaxing but not like 'drunk' inebriating relaxing, you know?

Anyway, I was just curious if anyone has any experience with this. I haven't tried it, but I DO know that I am looking for a safe analog to alcohol at this point.

Surrendered19

I've not heard of Kava Kava root OjaMentabe but I'm not sure it sounds like a good idea 4 days in. Nice work on Day 4 by the way. On my Day 4 I still felt terrible, shell shocked and irritable, but it will get better. Ask your doc or a health care professional about Kav Kava root. Stay with it Oja.

Dee74

The drink made from natural Kava root as made in the Pacific is intoxicating. It tastes like soil and water.

I'd assume that commercially available stuff would not be, but I don't know - I've never had any desire to test that out.

I know you're worried about your brain racing and it's common to start to think about other things to 'take the edge off' on day 4

My advice is to stick with sober life, edge and all - you'll find it's not that scary.

Give it a go - like me, you may even come to like living with edge

D

fini

in the long run, it will likely serve you better to learn relaxation techniques as opposed to relying on a substance.
wanting something, anything, to help with edginess, short temper, irritability, restlessness, un-anchordness....all “normal” when dealing with life and yourself without the substance-solution you are used to.
but going for another substance doesn’t really address the problem.

OjaMentabe

Ok. So just to clarify, even tea-toddling isn't good enough for tea-toddlers like I am trying to be now?

Man, there sure are a lot of rules now.

fini

i don’t know what tea-toddling is, Oja.
and there are no rules...you set them for yourself if you want, and don’t if you don’t.
you did ask for input, though, and that is what you are given.
it is entirely up to you whether you consider the input or not.

sounds like you are a bit pissed off....maybe you are not hearing what you were hoping to hear?

day 4 is great, yet early on. keep going and you will likely find that things will change.

do you have any “real life” support to access?

soberbythesea

I agree with everyone else... relying on another substance isn't the best idea, especially so early on.

If you push through it, you'll feel so much better a couple weeks in. At least I did.

joe801

From my experience water and rest is the best course of action. Some people feel better at 7 days, some take a couple weeks, and for others even longer.

Dee74

Outside of my job on this site, I don't set rules for anyone but myself.

I shared my experience and my opinion on why it might not be the best idea for you at 4 days.

You're absolutely free to do whatever you want though

D

newhope01

BarbieKen

Oh wow, I remember going to my health food store and buying Kava Kava pills for my anxiety. I was still drinking. Having panic attacks while driving etc.

When 9/11 hit, I remember watching lots of I Love Lucy and going to see my doctor to deal with my worsening anxiety. The Kava Kava pills (with my drinking) didn't help me. My doctor put me on low dosage --10 mg. --anti-depressants. After awhile (about a month) I finally felt relief!

This is just my experience. I'm certainly not a doctor.

Bobbi

rainbowalien

Delilah1

Hi Oja,

I found chamomile tea, breathing techniques, yoga, walking, and bubble baths all to be good ways to lessen anxiety and calm my mind. It really does get easier with time, I promise, you just need to give it some time.

HeadEast

I just googled "kava kava problems". So should you.

Nonsensical

Like 5 years ago I bought a bottle of 250 kava kava tablets. Bottle said take 2, so I did. I didn't notice any effect. Next day I took 4 and didn't notice any effect. Then I read how high doses of kava kava can damage the liver. Day after that I threw 244 kava kava tablets in the trash.

Meditation is free is works much better for me.

Best of Luck on Your Journey!

DriGuy

Never heard of Kava Kava, but from this thread, it sounds like a horrible alternative. What you need to do is open a can of Whoop-ass, and hold onto your chair for a few days. It gets better, and then you can start thinking without those screaming racing thoughts yelling in your brain.

Surrendered19

OjaMentabe, the main thing for you right now is to never drink alcohol again and string together each sober day as you accomplish it. In the early days, if some sort of Kava Kava potion does it for you, do it. I just don't want it to do further harm to your health which I would guess leads to many slips and relapses. I'm still new at this so don't listen to me, but early days suck any way you want to slice the bologna, and it doesn't sound like to me Kava Kava would necessarily make anything easier for you. No rules though Oja except what you set for yourself. If you try the root and it works, or it doesn't work, let us all know. No judgments whatsoever. A few disagreements perhaps, but no judgments.