sugarbear1

Thank you for the response, Pixy.

Are you considering stopping drinking? I was under the impression the kudzu would help with abstinence and not moderation.

Whatever works, do it.

Pixy1

Nands

I read what I could on it and the company I ordered it from seemed the most reputable. I know that some uk health stores sell it but it's not strong enough for addiction. I am also aware that you can have it as a tea but again you would have to take advice.

I can only say how it has been for me and that there has been a profound change.

Sugarbear, YES!! most defiantly.......every other way I have tried has failed. This has put me in a place I can think straight, read and work on me.

Everyone of us is different. What works for one doesn't always work or another, if I have learned anything on SR I have learned that. We are all going in the same direction and each of us needs to find the path that works for ourselves.

Im not telling anyone what to try, do etc I'm simply just trying to find what works for me

Natom

You're using this supplement as a replacement for alcohol. If you had a medical withdrawal. Which would be much safer, you would only be using drugs to detox. You don't need a drug to stay stopped but you might need some to detox without any ill effects.

Natom.

Fandy

The last clinical trial (not study, there is a difference) i could find was from 2005, but from Harvard. I haven't been able to find the Dr.Oz article, but he may have featured it on his daily show last year.
By reading reviews for brands, it seems many people are using it for cluster headaches, they review that it lessens the severity, also lowering BP, but bp goes down when you stop booze anyway, at least for me...so that sounds a bit skeptical.
And, i had this strange dream that some doctor was writing a scrip for me for Naltrex, idont even know what that is, lol.

wibble

All I know is that its reduced my alcohol intake to about 10% of what it was and i'm not obsessing about alcohol constantly.

Harm reduction is the key to all this.

Obviously people with agendas will refuse to even look at something like this, but hey i'm good with that. Its me thats reducing my alcohol intake not you.

Fandy

Wibble, when and how much do you take? Does it work better with food or empty stomach? Tia for info.

Ananda

LOL....body chemistry has tons to do with cravings and with abilities to stay sober. Obviously many believe that any supplement is necessarily "bad", even though it is commonly accepted that sugar products can help reduce cravings.

Even if I don't believe in a particular path, I try to be very careful. People do need to try what seems to work. At some point we do need to utilize our own expereinces while seeking others expereince. For you it is a replacement for alchohol. You don't get high on this stuff...As someone with some issues involving my brain chemistry, I know that all the desire in the world by itself didn't help. This is a very huge topic, that is wether or not you can take medication (natural or man made).

Sorry I had to rant guys...I just hope this thread stays on track with how Kudzo worked for different people. As with many single prong solutions, by themselves they may not help or may even give an illusion of "control". That seems true regardless of the path.

I also will say that I do believe in "harm reduction". I don't see it as a "final" answer, but you can't get sober if your dead and you can't "save" a dead drunk. I have no doubt that the posters here truley want "permanent sobriety", but what ever gets them to that is great..it's where I am at myself. 3 days, 3 months, 3 years...in the end it is about reaching a state where alchohol is no longer a part of your life.

I'll be talking to my Dr. about this option, cause he needs to know everything I do diet, medicine and psychologically as we walk through this. I'm pretty sure if I decided to take heroin or speed or some other addictive drug to stop drinking he would...well he wouldn't buy that idea LOL.

I hope that people will keep sharing about how this Kudzu works out for them and anything else they do in addition to create sobriety in their life.

thanks to all of you posting your expereince.

Nands

Fandy

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Her...|Kudzu,00.html

in doing a search a thread called "Kudzu pills" came up...2005, Carol and others discussing the use. it was in the Alcoholism section.

I copied the link someone had posted about Drug Interactions.

Dee74

That link is kaput.

This is the thread Fandy referred to

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...dzu-pills.html

D

Coldfusion

HEALING

"Oliver Amouak and his wife use stinkweed. Their daughter still collects it for them. It grows all around here. They take baths with it and drink it in tea and juice. Olga and Oliver Amouak are old but they're hardly ever sick. They say it's a cure all for everything, even for cancer.... Just think, so many things right here and we don't even practice using it."
--Josephine Roberts, Athabaskan Elder
Tanana, Alaska

We have finally started to notice that there is real curative value in local herbs and remedies. In fact, we are also becoming aware that there are little or no side-effects to most natural remedies, and that they are often more effective than Western medicine.
In listening to old people, I hear many tales of the church and Western authorities telling them that their healings are evil and sorcery and that they are forbidden to practice healing in the old way. What kinds of minds have tried to eliminate effective forms of healing in favor of a "one party" system?

The Old Ones probably have many ways to help us be healthier than we are. We only have to listen.

--Anne Wilson Schaeff, Native Wisdom for White Minds, Ballantine: 1995

Pixy1

Well said Coldfusion.

The problem is there is no money to be made in old remedies and the simplicity of them is just to complicated for the so called educated mind.

Fandy

I found it very interesting that kudzu was also a tool in treating cluster headaches. At one time i was prescribed Topamax for severe headaches (i have a 4mm aneurysm in my head, not treatable at this time, i've had one small seizure). Topamax has awful side effects, affects my sense of taste, memory, ugh.

Pixy1

My brother suffers from cluster headaches and was given oxygen to use at home when he got the headaches. Thats the problem with prescribed drugs, they can come with awful side effects but they are also necessary at times. Do you still take them Fandy?

Fandy

no, my neurologist discontinued them for daily use....once i stopped drinking, many of the symptoms and headaches stopped as my BP came down. if i have a severe headache that doesn't go away with Advil i will take 50mg. of topamax at night.

Topamax makes everything you eat taste like you are chewing on aluminum foil. i could not even drink a can of coke without this horrible taste in my mouth.

Pixy1

Gosh that doesn't sound good. But I assume its easier to deal with than the headaches.

It's amazing what ailments disappear when we stop

My brother rarely drinks so he's still trying to figure out why he gets them. They started when he was around 11/12yrs old he's nearly 40 now :/

needing2change

I've been taking Kudzu pills for about 3 or 4 months (2 - 750 mg. X2 day). It has reduced my craving for alcohol. It hasn't stopped it but it seems to make it little easier. No adverse side effects as of yet. 240 pills costs $21.00 USD (about 16€/14£). There seemed to be some good research and I figured why not give it a shot?

Fandy

What brand do you use? From what i've read there is wide variety of strength and standardization....i ordered the swanson, but they haven't arrived.....
Do you drink at all?
Welcome to SR too.

Cleopatra1

this is such an interesting post pixy,,,if yr brother suffers from cluster headaches,,that he started getting when he was young,ie under 16,,he MAY just grow outta them,,i did ,,and touch wood do not get em anymore,,im not giving advice ok????
kudzu , also helps with them,,iv pm'd you and keep on doing whatever makes you happy my darlin,,it worked for me,,and hey,,what are herbal supps ???? herbal???
so,,what are vegetables and fruit????
i used to be really into herbalist foods and cures,,even used to go foraging (not correct spelling),,,and its so amazing what we can eat,,let alone what aids us in times of ills.
good luck and keep strong,,even if u are boshing loadsa veggies xx lol
lv cleo xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pixy1

I too have always been into herbal cures. I'm a qualified Clinical Aromatherapist and have used essential oils and herbs all my adult life. I also used to make my own lotions and potions for my children when they were young. My fav natural oil is good old Lavender, I use it for everything lol

Dee74

If you guys want to discuss brands and prices please take it to PM thanks.

D