There is a common misperception that Kratom tolerance steadily rises, and that higher and higher doses of Kratom are needed long term. This misperception can cause some Kratom users to unnecessarily raise their dose. This article proves that Kratom tolerance does not rise long term according to scientific and subjective data.
First off, it is important to clarify where this misperception comes from. With synthetic opioids and opiates it is well known that tolerance rapidly rises, and it is normal for synthetic opioid and opiate users to raise their dose every week or even every day in order to obtain the benefits that they desire. From what I understand, it seems that synthetic opioid and opiate users who switch to Kratom often continue with the mentality that the Kratom dose needs to be continuously raised due to tolerance, even though this principle does not apply to Kratom.
The Science Which Proves That Kratom Tolerance Does Not Rise Long Term
One of the most important articles that has been posted on Kratom Cafe is about how Kratom has practically zero overdose and risk and causes very little withdrawal due to a lack of beta-arrestin-2 recruitment. Notably, in the same scientific study which that article is based on, it is empirically proven that Kratom tolerance never fully develops.
Specifically, the scientific study is titled ‘Mitragynine/Corynantheidine Pseudoindoxyls As Opioid Analgesics with Mu Agonism and Delta Antagonism, Which Do Not Recruit β-Arrestin-2‘, and there is an entire section in this study which discusses Kratom tolerance.
In this study an experiment was conducted where one group of mice was given Morphine, and complete tolerance to Morphine developed in just 5 days. On the other hand, another group of mice was given Kratom, and tolerance never fully developed even after 30 days. In-fact, the development of Kratom tolerance slowed to a crawl and was on a trajectory to plateau without developing complete tolerance.
In other words, this scientific study proves that Kratom tolerance does not go up long term. Rather, a partial tolerance to Kratom does develop within the first month of use, but after that tolerance stops rising. Compare this to Morphine where complete tolerance develops within less than a week!
Subjectively, this scientific data matches up with my own experiences. I have been using Kratom for a decade, and at the very beginning my tolerance was perhaps lower. I remember a 10 gram dose had effects so powerful that if I stood up I would get nauseous. However, then some tolerance developed, and I don’t get nauseous/dizzy anymore from a 10 gram dose.
The most important thing that I want to relate is that I have settled into a pattern of taking 7-10 grams a day every day for years, and I’ve never needed to raise my dose. Literally, in my experience the same dose of Kratom works just as effectively every single day even though I have used it daily for many years.
Thus, if you believe that Kratom tolerance is an issue, and you are caught in a cycle of raising your dose, throw that misperception out the window! Kratom is simply nothing like synthetic opioids and opiates when it comes to tolerance, since Kratom tolerance never fully develops, unlike Morphine where complete tolerance develops within a week.