The Use of Kratom as Pain Reliever
As more and more products carrying cannabidiol (CBD) and kratom are being marketed, many pharmacists and pharmacy students are increasingly invited to discuss the use of these products, particularly painkillers.
As General Ingredients
Kratom, or Mitragyna speciosa, has been praised in some communities as a useful natural pain control tool. According to the studies, it was revealed that different types of kratom could be found and typically purchased in grocery stores or cow shops. Kratom’s impact depends on the dosage you take to experience the effect you wanted. So, people often start taking it at the lowest dosage possible between 1 and 5 grams and get a stimulating effect. It acts almost like an amphetamine, increasing labor productivity, which is what it has been used for in the past.
Effects According to Dose
It was also explained that when the dose is increased to 10 or 15 grams, opiates have more effect than a painkiller. Due to a lack of regulation, the purity of the products may also be questionable. Studies have shown that kratom’s adverse effects can lead to seizures, kidney diseases, and multiple organ failure when kratom is taken with other substances.
Experts said some patients found kratom helpful in stopping opioids. However, when treatment options are discussed with people, it is almost always a risk assessment versus benefit, as explained. This is particularly true when it comes to substituting products such as THC and kratom.
Explaining the Effects of Kratom
Difficult discussions about health care are not usually an innate skill and often require a basic theory and often a lot of practice. So even experienced pharmacists or healthcare professionals can still struggle to have these uncomfortable conversations with patients. A good starting point for this topic is to build a positive relationship with patients.
In general, experts should examine the patient’s knowledge, uses, and expectations about pain, medication, or treatment, Sayre explained. To do this, the issue should be reviewed whenever possible, towards the highest quality of patient care, taking care to create a safe space for the patient. This safe space can allow for open discussion without any assessment of the balance between benefit and harm. Also, experts say they noted that it might be useful to reuse available evidence on the use of kratom or CBD in pain by creating an impression that lists the risks, research summaries, or the former.
