The agency cited no studies to support its claim that kratom was being “misused” to treat pain, so we decided to ask the people who actually use it:

"Honestly, I was blown away at how good it was for my pain and also had the benefit that it lifted my mood, which was important because of the depression I had been experiencing from the chronic pain."

"This natural approach to pain management has allowed me to work full time as a school teacher and be an actively involved mom. These are things I never thought I would be able to have in my life as a result of debilitating pain from a neurological condition for which there is no medical cure."

"I have acute chronic migraines that, unmedicated, result in pain that is completely debilitating, and at times have landed me in the emergency room with stroke symptoms. Multiple doctors have okayed my use of kratom for pain management, as over-the-counter medicine simply does not work and I cannot take opiates."

"My wife has fibromyalgia and has taken kratom for more than 12 years with no adverse effects. Prior to finding kratom, she had tried all of the medication that was prescribed to her. The prescription medication either didn't work, or the side effects outweighed the benefits. Kratom has been a godsend for my wife and has allowed her to function as a mother of 4 children for more than a decade."

"I have been living with chronic pain from multiple reconstructive foot surgeries for 20+ years. Kratom not only effectively treats my pain, but it enabled me to tell my doctor that I no longer wanted my monthly tramadol prescription."

What pain conditions does kratom work best on? Again, this is not a scientific study, and we don’t have a lot of data for certain conditions. For example, 100% of the people who used kratom for cancer pain said it was “very effective” for them, but we only had 27 respondents who identified cancer as the primary reason they used kratom.

On the flip side, over 1,700 respondents said they used kratom for back pain, so the data is probably more reliable for them. And 92% said kratom was very effective for back pain.

Percentage Who Rated Kratom “Very Effective” for their Pain Condition