Editor's note: On Nov. 14, the FDA issued an advisory about "deadly risks" associated with kratom, saying there is no evidence to support using it for opioid withdrawal. Calls to U.S. poison control centers about kratom have incrased 10-fold from 2010 to 2015 and the agency reports 36 deaths associated with the herb.

Oct. 26, 2017 -- Eric Mayhew Jr. wanted to break his more than decade-long addiction to opioids -- one that started when his doctor prescribed them for knee pain.

But he didn’t want to do an in-house treatment and tried to detox on his own.

Nothing worked, until 2 years ago when he tried kratom.

“What kratom does is kills your brain’s desire when you are addicted to opiates and you want opiates,” says Mayhew, 37. “It dulls your pain and you start to get your wits back again.”

Now he takes the recommended dose of two to four capsules a day. He says he has had no side effects but admits he still needs his willpower.

“You have to want things to work. Nothing works unless you understand that,” says Mayhew.

He says he hasn’t relapsed since.

When it comes to withdrawing from opioids, medical experts and addiction counselors agree that you will be far more successful with support than trying it alone. But traditional treatment can be expensive and time-consuming, if it’s even available. Many treatment centers have long waitlists.

One study from 2015 found that only 21.5% of people with opioid abuse disorders are getting treatment. At the same time, about 91 Americans die every day from reasons related to opioid dependence.

That’s why some people dependent on opioids are rejecting traditional, medical-based withdrawal and seeking a do-it-yourself path.

Experts say -- and conversations online show -- that one of the most talked about methods is using kratom, a little-known herb made from the leaves of a tree that grows on the other side of the world. A recent survey found that nearly 70% of people using kratom were doing so to cut back on or get off of opioids or heroin.