Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

[Charlieboy]

Hi

I was AF for four and a half weeks but was drinking kava. I did not attend meetings and I was finding it pretty easy to avoid alcohol. Sure, there were moments when I was tempted but I had the ability to not take a drink. Haveing an alternative like Kava seemed to really help beacuse it gave me another option, one that did not make me do crazy things or have any negative consequences.

HOwever, On Tuesday, I met with a friend. I shd not have met with him. He has serious problems with alcohol and cocaine. I normally avoid cocaine as have had problems with it in the past and have found I have been able to drink Kava without craving it at all. I have had numerous kava nights in last 4 weeks and I like the way it relaxes me a bit and helps me to enjoy a party or social event much more than when i am totally sober.

HOwever, on Tuesday, I was drinking kava all night and my friend(if you can call him that...) was talking all night about how good his cocaine was....eventually i had some. Before i knew it, I was having a beer cos I felt so awful and edgy. I am so upset with myself. It turned into a big binge.

My question is....if I just make a point of avioding friends who take this(luckily, most of my friends do not) will I be ok to drink the kava? Or is drinking the kava dangerous because at some point I am going to want a bigger rush? Should I just stop everything and be totally clean. This concept is of course scary to me as I am just so worried that I will relapse on alchohol if I do not have something to enjoy......and I donlt feel that Kava is such a bad thing, after all, its non toxic, non addictive and until Tuesday, I had four weeks without any alcohol or drug problems. I never normally last that long.

Thanks,

Charlie

[IAD]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

Kava........Very interesting. It has a stimulating effect.....But is that the way you want to go through life !?! Stimulate yourself with other things.....like Arts, Reading, music.. etc. IAD

[BPleasant]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

KAVA

learn as much as you can about the products you take... you did great for a few weeks and those weeks are still great, just keep on keeping on with not doing cocaine and drinking. Is coke even coke anymore? Isn't it crank and crack and harsh?

You have read about the LGLUT and Kudzu, yes?

[startingover]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

Hi there Charlieboy.
For me, I have had to give up any substances that alter my thinking/mind in any way. Even too much coffee is not good for me any more. For most of my life, well, since about 14 I have used substances to make me "feel better". Giving them all up is very very scary, but its been the only way for me. I cant let myself have what I call "unnatural" highs any more. At first it was terrifying, I thought basically that my life was over unless I could catch a buzz with something. But I am learning to live a different life, the company I keep is different too in some ways. I do have a laugh though, and I do enjoy life so much more than I ever did before though. Yep there are difficulties, of course there are, thats life. But I can deal with them now. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you still need to take something to relax/stimulate/change you in any way, there will always be that risk that you will go down the road of alcoholism again. Ihave used alcohol to keep me off heroin,opiates to keep me off alcohol etc etc. its turned into a 30 year habit that impacted every possible area of my life it could. I would seriously try and look at the reasons you need to use something to help you get through.

[Sarasmiles]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

Charlieboy,
I've read that Kava is toxic to the liver, and has been banned in most European countries, though not in the US, because the FDA doesn't regulate herbs and supplements. You have probably done more reading about this than I, though, so I'd be interested in what you know.

As for the psychology/physiology of substance abuse...Do you think you used coke and drank because you were disinhibited by the Kava? If so, that sounds dangerous. I don't know just how "mind altering" it is. I take Valerian and sometimes Passionflower for relaxation and sleep. I don't consider that to be mind altering...But this thread has got me wondering. I guess it would be healthiest, physically and psychologically, to use nothing but yoga, meditation, deep breathing, relaxation exercises...all those "natural" alternatives to taking any substances.

[Charlieboy]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

Thanks for your replies. Starting over, I guess you are right. It scares the sh*t out of me not having 'something' to rely on. The Kava was really helping...went to a few parties where all my friends were partying hard and stuck to that without any temptation to join in and actually had a really good time. Had I been stone cold, I wd have been miserable and worst of all, probably cracked and started drinking. So, I thought that maybe Inhad found a solution. But I guess deep down I knew that the buzz was not gonna be enough on a long term basis. Perhaps it was a matter of time before I cracked....perhaps I should just not have seen that friend who was pushing the cocaine so hard on me. Who knows?

I think abstinence from all substances is best...but then I just live in fear that at some point I will crack. I have done so many times in the past. At least the Kava gave me something to fall back on.

This 'disease' is just such a nightmare. I can't even watch a film where people are drinking or 'having fun' without plunging into a depression that I can never enjoy those momenets. I know there is more to life than that but everyone i know does it, it glues together my society and damn it, I want to be part of it without the negative consequences. But hey, there's the challenge right there. I am 32, miserable witout, miserable with. I need to find happiness. I have so much yet this problem, well, I struggle so so hard with it.

I will keep fighting, I will get there in the end.

Thanks for the support

[Charlieboy]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

p.s

Sarasmiles - Kava has recently been made legal in Europe. It is not damaging to liver if you use the roots of the plant. They have been drinking it in South Pacific for 1000's years.
Buy Kava | Instant Kava | Fresh Kava Root| Free Shipping in US has all the details. But I am not necc recommending it!!! the jury is out as to whether it is safe for a person with alcohol problems to use it as it will likely lead back to alcohol.. Please be careful.

[momof3]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

Charlieboy,

Have you ever looked into the possibility of having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). When I was in rehab years ago, many of the folks who were addicted to coke discovered along the way that they had ADD/ADHD that went untreated. Just wondering...also Kava Kava is also a stimulant which is what ADD/ADHD folks often crave.

[Funny Girl]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

I think the Kava is the least of the problem - hanging around with people still doing coke is going to be a guarantee of failure for you . . . .You need to get rid of those people unless you want to keep repeating the cycle. I don't care how strong you think you are . . . .that's the reality plain & simple. I do know a bit about this one. if Kava helps - great - but stay away from situations & places where people are "partying hard" - you need a different set of circumstances & need to rebuild a life around a set of different priorities & behaviors. Until you can do that you will continually repeat this cycle. Take it from a person who has done this . . . .

[Greg]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

If kava was still available here in bulk I admit I would also be trying it right now as a nightly alcohol substitute. I do use cannabis sometimes as an alcohol substitute, but know I can't keep using it due to the risk of developing a severe dependence on it in place of alcohol.

For some people the psychological need for an alcohol substitute can just be out of habit and the lingering desire to keep getting a buzz in place of alcohol, but it can also be due to a very real need to try and cope with unresolved emotional issues. This is likely to be true for those who have been drinking heavily as a form of escapism. Insomnia can be another factor. My own continued desire to take something psychoactive at the times I formerly drank is due to a combination of these reasons. I know I must work through a pile of psychological stuff and maybe take an antidepressant for a while in order to get my life in better shape. Going for drives and to AA meetings at night, finding an evening job, or getting involved in study are other things that may help me. Some of these things may also be able to help others who are now sober but feeling a need for something in place of alcohol. For those like me who are single, staying sober and away from drugs may also allow you to enjoy a new relationship or maybe even just a friendship for the time being...something that is probably unlikely to happen (except for unhealthy drug-relationships) within your former lifestyle.

If someone still feels they must take something no matter what, then you would be better off sticking with something fairly safe like kava instead of any of the heavily addicting CRAP you will find on the streets. I also totally support the idea of getting right away from people who still lead a lifestyle based on drugs or heavy drinking. I wouldn't have stayed sober this long if I had still included heavy drinkers or drug users in my life. I just realised that there was no longer anything for me in that scene, and I honestly don't miss anyone or anything from that lifestyle. Seriously, what sort of "fun" are you going to have within a group of drug-taking/heavy drinking partiers or clubbers? No matter how hard it is to walk away, I don't think there is a choice for someone wishing to stay sober and free of drugs, and you may never become part of other social scenes until you do this.

This isn't meant to be a lecture of any sort, but rather my honest opinion.

[dancingon]

Kava Kava - the alcohol alternative - will it lead me back to danger

I don't know how safe Kava is. It smells and tastes like diesel oil to me. In the islands it is used in ceremonies, but there are also lots of seedy kava bars. When I visited Vanuatu the people seemed to rank it right up there with alcohol.