Kratom is praised by customers as helping them in a variety of ways. But are there any negatives associated with regular kratom use? Any uncomfortable side effects that accompany the wonderful benefits of kratom?

There is certainly the fact that kratom is dehydrating. This removal of moisture from your system can result in some undesirable conditions. Being a diuretic (an agent that moves the liquid out of your body), kratom’s biggest downside is how it depletes you of liquid.

Kratom powder sucks all the moisture out of you, it feels like you have a ball of cotton in your mouth, you feel dried up, parched, craving liquids. This is not a terrible side effect, but it does need to be counter-acted by drinking lots more water than you ever have. Every day, with every dose, you need to crank up your consumption of liquids like fruit juices, smoothies, berry drinks, herbal teas, and vegetable extract beverages.

You can’t just wash down your kratom powder with orange juice, and hope for the best, then start drinking coffee. This routine will really dehydrate you, and might even constipate you, too, especially if you don’t move around enough.

So we must continually keep in mind that we, while taking kratom, need to seriously ramp up our intake of healthy fluids. You probably have a delicious, economical form of beverage that you are fond of, and now is the time to drink much more of it.

Unfortunately, coffee, black tea, and alcohol are also dehydrating, so those are beverages to avoid.

On various kratom forums online, this topic of kratom dehydration comes up constantly. You see people wondering why they are so parched when they take kratom, people who do not realize that one of the most basic rules of kratom use is to drastically increase your intake of fluids.

Dehydration internally makes your skin dry and cracked, thus more exposed to infections. It also causes a depletion in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in your system. So we need to combat dehydration, especially in warmer months, when having fun outside can cause us to forget to keep our bodies properly hydrated.

Symptoms of moderate dehydration, according to WebMD, include:

• Thirst
• Dry or sticky mouth
• Not peeing very much
• Dark yellow pee
• Dry, cool skin
• Headache
• Muscle cramps

Signs of severe dehydration include:

• Not peeing or having very dark yellow pee
• Very dry skin
• Feeling dizzy
• Rapid heartbeat
• Rapid breathing
• Sunken eyes
• Sleepiness, lack of energy, confusion or irritability
• Fainting

Kratom is so extremely dry and absorbent, you need to remind yourself constantly that “I’ve taken kratom – and now I need to drink a lot more liquid refreshments to counter-act the dehydration kratom causes.”

Not talking about alcohol. Alcohol is dehydration and acts as a depressant. It can also be very dangerous to mix kratom with liquor of any type. If you combine the effects of alcohol and kratom in your system, you put yourself and others at high risk of injury. There could also be facing you the prospect of severe health problems in your own body.

Just plain water will do the job best, keeping you hydrated while you take kratom. But other, healthy drinks are easy to come by these days. Be careful with the energy drinks, since kratom provides it’s own energizing, and you don’t really need to kick that into a higher gear. Be satisfied with what non-psychoactive beverages can do for you, with kratom supplying the motivation or relaxation you seek.

Besides that awful parched feeling when we’re depleted of liquids in our bodies, there is is also the reality of constipation. Having trouble with bowel movements is a glum situation indeed. Kratom, by dehydrating, sucking all the moisture out of your body, can make your stools very hard and difficult to pass. But again, our friend water to the rescue.

Drinking water, more than ever before, will help you avoid feeling parched, dry as a desert, and experiencing bowel irregularity. Both conditions can lead to further health problems, so be sure to take them seriously.

Pickle juice is loaded with sodium and vital electrolytes. Sometimes eating a big dill pickle, drinking pickle juice, or helping yourself to several slices, will help your body become replenished with liquid.

While we’re on the topic of what to do when taking kratom, be sure to move around a lot, but not operating dangerous machinery. By exercising in some way, you make the kratom circulate through your system faster and more powerfully.

Be sure to take the smallest possible, and least frequent, dose of kratom that provides the effects you seek. More is not better, and unlike opioids, you dose amount and frequency will not escalate as time goes on. Once you arrive at the ideal amount and timing of your kratom dose, you will be able to stick to it for years.