After decades of living with chronic pain, I finally found something that helps. Last year, I started taking 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, a concentrated version of a chemical found in the kratom plant.

A light dose gives me a few hours break from anxiety and other mental wellness issues, as well as the fatigue, insomnia, headaches and stomach problems I’ve suffered from every day for as long as I can remember.

The naturally derived chemical is particularly useful for the arthritis in my shoulder – a notorious condition that makes basic movements excruciating. You don’t realize how much use your shoulders get in daily life until you spend years helping your wife get out of bed. 

And that may be the most important benefit of 7-OH. I’m still processing the loss of my wife, whom I cared for through eight long years of dementia and slow decline. She was just 59.

For me, 7-OH is a better option than antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. By carefully measuring the amount of 7-OH I take and........

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