Health - Using Kava-kava every day throughout the day?

[zornthro]

SWIM has used kava some before and the past two days has drank from morning throughout the day for its anti-anxiety properties. Is it completely unheard of to do this or do most people just drink kava in the evenings? SWIM feels slightly more mentally exhausted after drinking all day but it may be unrelated to kava consumption.

[enquirewithin]

As a treatment for anxiety, apparently people do take capsules (small amounts) all day every day.

[Bajeda]

A certain panda has done this before on multiple occasions, but tolerance and incidence of side effects seems to rise with frequency of use (the panda actually got dry and sort of scaly hands by the end of his longest continuous binge). The panda would recommend a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening as a better alternative that won't tire swiy out so much (especially mentally) but should help with his anxiety.

As enguirewithin mentioned, swiy may want to take a look at other preparations of Kava as they may work better for continuous use.

[enquirewithin]

Originally Posted by Bajeda

A certain panda has done this before on multiple occasions, but tolerance and incidence of side effects seems to rise with frequency of use (the panda actually got dry and sort of scaly hands by the end of his longest continuous binge).

That sounds like the prelude to

A dermatological condition known as “kava dermopathy” which appears during prolonged and heavy use. This condition is reversible upon discontinuation!

I have read that heavy kava use can lead to this condition which includes scales and small bumps on the skin, but I've not even seen a photograph.

[zornthro]

I was under the impression that things like kava dermopathy only happened when you drank something like 100 grams a day. I've read that people in East Asia sometimes drink this much but I don't see how swim could ever consume even half that. How much exactly was the certain panda drinking per day?

[Synesthesiac]

Originally Posted by Bajeda

(the panda actually got dry and sort of scaly hands by the end of his longest continuous binge)

Yeah, swim just noticed this. Its very weird. Literally two minutes after finishing his drink his hands felt really dry and tight, like when you spend a hard day doing labour intensive work and your hands get really hard and dry. They are also considerably paler than usual. Cant be good. I wonder why this happens? It does seem very localised to the hands, swim cant feel it anywhere else on his body. It obviously depletes the moisture in the upper skin in some way, and very quickly after consumption too. hmmm. weird.

Just for the record, Swim has had two drinks of kava in the last four hours, using three heaped teaspoonfulls of Chiefs extra strong jungle Kava. Swim finds that the three teaspoonfulls in the sock he is using to strain it out of will be able to keep being used for about five nice drinks over the next few days, the good stuff seems to just keep coming out of it no matter how much you try to put in the previous ones.

[Bajeda]

It may have happened more than once, but its hard to associate it with only the Kava if he doesn't know for sure what caused it. The time the panda noticed it most prominently it was after a week of final exams where much Kava was consumed to help ameliorate the effects of stimulants being taken for study-aid. The panda was probably consuming 4-6 cups a day for at least a week, with maybe 10-20 grams (rough estimate) per brew, plus occasional chewing (for quick relief).

[Thirdedge]

Swim has binged on 50 grams a night for approx 3 weeks without problems other than fatigue / lethargy.

[Bajeda]

^^^^ Making Kava-Java in the morning helps with that. The aforementioned panda likes to mix in caribou coffee (it comes in a can-like container) with his morning kava blend to give it a kick, and fresh brewed coffee or espresso is even better. The panda enjoys the combination very much, as it helps him to get a start to the day without the early morning caffeine jitters.

So long as the Panda doesn't take Kava within an hour or so of bedtime he is generally fine the next day, aside from the usual grogginess he experiences waking up and tumbling out of bed.

[testodan]

Originally Posted by Bajeda

^^^^ Making Kava-Java in the morning helps with that. The aforementioned panda likes to mix in caribou coffee (it comes in a can-like container) with his morning kava blend to give it a kick, and fresh brewed coffee or espresso is even better. The panda enjoys the combination very much, as it helps him to get a start to the day without the early morning caffeine jitters.

Nice,..just what SWIM wants..
Do SWIY think kava would help to eliminate the Ephedrine's peripheral sides,(jitters/anxiety etc.),as well?
Have SWIY tried this BTW?

[zornthro]

Well SWIM has had great success using kava. Now SWIM drinks a glass in the morning, sometimes a little during work, and occasionally after work in the evening (usually "for fun" but sometimes SWIM's nervs are just shot after a long day). SWIM likes using green tea (green tea with ginseng and honey, makes it taste better and helps get him up) but SWIM is sure kava helps with high levels of caffeine as well. The immediate effects wear off before lunch if no more is drank but SWIM is quite pleased with regular kava use. SWIM has also taken up Buddhism and believes that has helped as well. SWIM never used to suffer from high (moderate?) levels of anxiety, it might have been a temporary problem, so SWIM might try cycling off it soon to see what happens (though kava is definitely something SWIM will keep around).

SWIM also has [high functioning] autism and has found kava to be benificial for this as well, especially with sensory problems but also with sociability. SWIM used to always be so happy despite not being neurotypical and is doing much better again.

SWIM hasn't noticed any major side-effects. What side effects SWIM did notice have gotten better with continued use. Mainly just a sense of being full eg not something to drink very much of directly after a large meal, but this is to be expected as SWIM thinks kava has lots of fiber. A sense of nausa was only encountered a couple times and was never a problem, just a mild sensation.

[Lobsang]

Well based on everything that I have studied on it. I would say that it probably is not a good idea to do it at high doses every day. Some links exist to liver dysfunction but there are different opinions on this. It can cause skin changes. And occasionaal nero problems may be linked.