Spiral Erowid Zip Hoodie
This black mid-weight zip hoodie (80/20) has front pockets,
an Erowid logo on front chest, and a spiral design on back.
Donate and receive yours!
Scary Effects on Heart Rate !
Kratom
Citation:   Neuromancer. "Scary Effects on Heart Rate !: An Experience with Kratom (exp81443)". Erowid.org. Aug 8, 2018. erowid.org/exp/81443

 
DOSE:
7.1 g oral Kratom  
  1 glass oral Vitamin C (liquid)
BODY WEIGHT: 80 kg
Substance : 7.1g 'Indo super green' Kratom powder bought from a specialized online shop, in a glass of cool orange juice.

Setting : At my place, 5:35 PM. Alone. Nothing special.

Set : Nothing special ; I'm a mostly happy and positive person in general and was just feeling that way. I had 3-4 hours free time before meeting friends in the evening, so I decided to spend it playing video games and reading, and I thought taking some kratom would make it more pleasant. I had already taken kratom 3 times and I believed I knew what to expect.

T+0 : I start drinking the stuff while checking my mail. The taste is bitter, but much better than with tea !

T+0:05 : My glass is empty. I feel mildly nauseous, but nothing serious. I start a video game (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

T+0:15 : The nausea is gone, and the effects are there, astonishingly quick as usual. I feel both a bit more focused and a bit intoxicated.

T+0:40 : Still playing. I feel really warm and comfortable in my chair, and time passes quickly.

T+1:00 : Still comfortable, but my neck is a bit tense and I'm thirsty. I go get a glass of water, and I notice my muscle coordination is really hampered, like with alcohol. My mind is still clear, though.

T+1:25 : I stop the game and decide to go read a book. I start climbing the ladder of my mezzanine bed, with extra caution because of my decreased coordination... and I stop. Suddenly, my heart is going wild. It's racing and pounding in my chest in a way I have never felt before.

I stop climbing and go back to my chair. My heart doesn't slow down. I'm totally scared ; I think I could have a heart attack and die. I hesitate to call the medical emergency number. I don't want to be alone, so I take my keys and my phone and goes in the street out of my place.

The cool air seems to help a bit. I recognize that panicking can only make the matter worse, so I start trying to relax and do breathing exercises. It really helps and my heart rate decrease, but it's still very fast ; I count about 3 beats per second. I call a friend (who knows kratom too) on the phone and explain him how I'm feeling. Speaking with him helps much, and my heart rate starts decreasing steadily ; it remains fast, but not in such a frightening way.

T+2:00 : I hang up the phone after spending about 30 minutes speaking with my friend. My heart is back to normal. I'm still anxious and feel a bit dizzy, however. I go back to my place and start surfing the web.

T+2:10 : The dizziness is worsening, I feel very weak and I think I could pass out. I go back outside but it doesn't really help ; sometimes I feel better but a moment later I think I could faint again. I call my friend again ; I'm not feeling really better but chatting with him eases the anxiety.

T+2:20 : I decide to go for a walk while talking on the phone. I'm still feeling bad but it goes better with time.

T+3:00 : I'm back at home, the effects are mostly over. I'm still anxious and weak but I don't feel I could faint at any moment. I cook some food for dinner.

T+3:20 : I eat. I'm still tired, but the kratom effects are completely over.

T+3:30 : I leave my place to meet my friends. Nothing special in the evening. I avoided drinking any alcohol, having no desire to experiment the famous alcohol-kratom cross-interaction after that afternoon.


The first hour was a pleasant experience analog to what I knew of kratom, but the rest was just the worse time I've had with any psychoactive substance until now. The racing heart thing was just outright scary. I counted 3 beats per second which would make 180 bpm, but my heart had already started slowing down at that time. On the other hand, I was scared and my measure is probably very imprecise. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was dangerously high. I don't wish someone older or with a weaker heart to have the same experience.

What's odd is that I had taken the exact same dose of the exact same kratom 3 weeks before without any harm. I think the bad effects were triggered by effort (trying to climb my mezzanine's ladder) ; everything was fine before that. But since kratom is commonly used for physical labor, I'm surprised to find no report or other trace of similar problem anywhere on the Internet. I had taken no other drug of any kind, and I don't have any heart problem (I used to have premature ventricular contractions when I was a child, but it was totally harmless and it completely disappeared when I was about 15). Why did it go wrong ? Most sources don't even mention Kratom to have any effect on heart rate, and those few people who do only write about a mild rate increase.

I don't think I'll take any kratom soon, and I will definitely do some research about what that kind of problem before experimenting with any new stimulant/sedative. I really don't want to run into that again.

Exp Year: 2009ExpID: 81443
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: 25
Published: Aug 8, 2018Views: 4,754
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Kratom (203), Breathing (470) : General (1), Difficult Experiences (5), Health Problems (27), Alone (16)

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.
No AI Training use allowed without written permission.
TERMS OF USE: By accessing this page, you agree not to download, analyze, distill, reuse, digest, or feed into any AI-type system the report data without first contacting Erowid Center and receiving written permission.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


Experience Vaults Index Full List of Substances Search Submit Report User Settings About Main Psychoactive Vaults