Kratom and Adderall Combination: What you Should Know

COMBINING KRATOM AND ADDERALL

Kratom has been used for centuries – predominantly in Southeast Asia – as a 100% all-natural herbal remedy and pain reliever, as well as by folks looking to enjoy a mild buzz now and again.

In the last two decades, though, more and more people have become aware of everything that kratom has to offer, and its usage has skyrocketed across the globe.

Today millions of people are enjoying everything that kratom brings to the table. Still, some folks are mixing kratom with other compounds – including opioids, alcohol, and cough syrup – to ramp up the mild buzz it offers while putting their health and wellness in jeopardy.

You must know what exactly you are getting into should you decide to mix and match something all-natural like kratom with modern pharmaceuticals and chemical cocktails cooked up in laboratories.

The last thing you want to do is shortcut your lifespan or compromise your short or long-term health just because you cobbled together a mixture of kratom and other ingredients that you shouldn’t have.

Because Adderall is so popular these days (as a medication and as a recreational drug), you should know whether it’s safe to mix and match it with kratom. To better help you navigate this, we’ve put together the information below.

What is Kratom?

Traditionally sourced almost exclusively in Southeast Asia, kratom comes from a leafy tree-like plant that grows in this part of the world – a plant that is considered a close cousin to coffee.

The leaves and the roots of kratom contain a variety of biochemicals that are known to have psychotropic and mind-altering effects, not at all dissimilar to what you get from traditional pharmaceutical opioids, as well as a host of natural pain-relieving and sedative/stimulant benefits (depending on the dosage).

Currently 100% legal in the United States (though some localities and municipalities have banned the sale of kratom), it’s not hard to find reliable suppliers of this organic material – including a variety of companies that are based out of the United States, companies you know you can trust to offer high-quality kratom at a fair price.

Kratom products are sold in different forms, ranging from pills and capsules to powders and raw extract. Some folks even buy kratom leaves that they brew into tea or chew them in their raw form for a milder release of the benefits that different strains of kratom have to offer.

The FDA recently classified kratom as an opiate because of the potential impact it can have on the body.  However, more research is necessary to fully understand exactly what it does and whether or not it is as risky as traditional opioids.

What is Adderall?

Adderall, on the other hand, is anything but 100% all-natural and is instead a chemical cocktail cooked up in laboratories by pharmaceutical engineers all over the world.

Technically a Central Nervous System (CNS) stimulant that is only ever available – legally, anyway – as a prescription drug, this compound falls under the Schedule II classification of drugs in the United States and is a heavily regulated substance.

Most commonly prescribed to individuals as a treatment option for an ADD and ADHD diagnosis, Adderall can also be used in a prescription situation as a treatment option for something like narcolepsy.

Folks that have used Adderall regularly report that it has a host of benefits not at all dissimilar to what you’d get from methamphetamines and other amphetamines. It can range from a mild stimulant to a much more potent one, flooding your body with chemicals that interface with your synaptic spaces and your neurotransmitters while also unleashing a lot of extra dopamine that leads to higher levels of alertness, lower levels of fatigue, and general feelings of excitement and euphoria.

A lot of people use Adderall on a recreational basis or as a study aid, with colleges and universities, in particular, having high populations of students that haven’t been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD using this drug to help them “crunch” and full overnighters without feeling tired or wiped out.

Why Would You Combine the Two?

Many people out there combine kratom with Adderall because of the synergistic relationship that these two substances have, particularly at lower-level dosages.

As we highlighted above, Adderall is a powerful stimulant even with low dosages – but so is kratom. Combining the two can produce an amplified effect, all while still enjoying the physically relaxing benefits that kratom has to offer.

Some folks report that this cuts down on jitteriness, helps people relax and remain energized, and can really crank up the feelings of euphoria that both of these compounds produce separately all on their own.

Combining lower-level dosages of Adderall with high-level dosages of kratom, though, has an almost “canceling” kind of effect – simply because kratom becomes a powerful sedative once you start to ramp up individual dosage levels.

Some people combine higher-level dosages of kratom specifically to counteract high-level dosages of Adderall. Using higher amounts of Adderall on a regular and consistent basis can trigger sleep issues that include insomnia, but as a natural sedative, kratom can help people get to sleep without having to cut back on their overall Adderall usage. At least in theory, anyway.

Is This Combination Safe?

It’s really hard to say for sure with any real certainty that mixing and matching kratom and Adderall is perfectly safe, if only because there really isn’t enough research into how these two substances combine on a biochemical level and how they impact your overall short and long-term health.

We can tell you that the DEA and US FDA are currently looking into the combination of kratom and Adderall, specifically looking to figure out if this combination is a contributor to any of the kratom related fatalities that have started to ramp up in recent years with people mixing and matching this all-natural herb with other compounds.

According to the DEA, 100% of all cases that involve a kratom-related fatality were found to have been triggered by a mixture of kratom with other substances in a person’s system.

High-level dosages and chronic abuse of kratom alone can lead to issues like hepatotoxicity, elevated liver enzymes, and a host of other serious issues – issues that can be exacerbated when combined with pharmaceutical drugs that have similar negative impacts over the long haul, too.

As of right now, though, there’s just not enough research out there to know conclusively whether or not mixing and matching kratom with Adderall is something that you’ll want to consider doing going forward.

It may be something that you can get away with every now and again, but it might also have a horrific impact on your long-term health prospects, particularly at higher-level dosages of these two substances.

Potential Side Effects

The general side effects you might notice from using kratom all on its own are quite mild (for the most part), ranging from general itchiness and dry skin issues to feelings of nausea, constipation, and overall appetite loss.

At the same time, though, some of the short-term side effects of kratom that you might start to notice with higher-level dosages can include hallucinations, seizures, and liver damage.  Long-term side effects include significant weight loss, chronic fatigue, psychosis, and dark spots permanently appearing on your skin.

Adderall’s potential side effects are a little more severe, but that’s to be expected when you’re talking about a pharmaceutical drug and not a 100% all-natural plant-based compound.

Dizziness, drowsiness, nervousness, and a general sense of restlessness are all pretty common symptoms of Adderall usage in the short term. A decreased appetite, weight loss, and headaches or migraines aren’t all that uncommon in the short-term with Adderall, either.

More serious and potential long-term side effects of Adderall usage can include seizures, difficulty breathing, pain in your chest, hallucinations and delusions, and irregular heartbeat, and changes to your vision.

As you can see, combining kratom and Adderall can mix and match these side effects – with these two substances potentially compounding the issues as well.

Final Thoughts

All in all, though there are certainly some people that swear by using kratom to “come down” from Adderall on a regular basis – and certainly there are people that use kratom to combat the sleep health issues that Adderall can bring to the table – this might not be as powerfully effective or as safe a combination as some people think it is right now.

It’s not a bad idea to stay away from this combination until more information is available.

Sure, you can continue to use kratom and Adderall separately (and may even want to “cycle” their usage to get the best benefits of each option individually) but mixing them together may not be the best thing for your health in the short or long-term – especially if you start to notice some side effects like the ones we highlighted above.