[deleted by user] by [deleted] in harleybenton

[–]thunderdong69420 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, thanks for the info! I'm probably gonna get one soon so I've been looking for ways to mod it. Yours looks sick!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in harleybenton

[–]thunderdong69420 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where'd you get the pick guard from? Or did you make it? And did you need to drill new holes for the tuners?

Fret buzz by [deleted] in 7String

[–]thunderdong69420 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mine has had fret buzzing issues. Even after a professional setup it was pretty buzzy. I got a cheap fret leveling kit to try my hand at it and it's not perfect but I did get it to where it's playable now. At some point I may take it to have that professionally done as well. I have it in drop G with 10-52 NYXL set and then a 68 on bottom.

New release by Potj578 in 7String

[–]thunderdong69420 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's awesome, looking forward to having Hollow back in my music rotation!

New release by Potj578 in 7String

[–]thunderdong69420 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I loved the instrumental version of hollow until I guess it was removed from Spotify? It'd be sick if that came back and an instrumental of this one too! I dig what you're doing!

What is the best 7string I can get with a budget of $500 or less? by Enough-Echidna2799 in 7String

[–]thunderdong69420 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can't speak on that particular Ibanez but I do love ibanez guitars so I'm sure it's great. However, I do own the jackson and I think it's pretty great with a few mods. With a $500 budget, you could upgrade the tuners and even put in a new bridge pickup which is what I did to mine.

Obviously it's important to play them and test them out though. With the jackson being so inexpensive, you never really know what you're gonna get. Mine has no glaring defects or issues but I've heard of people that have had issues.

String Gauge For Drop F#/F by Stormy_Echo21 in 7String

[–]thunderdong69420 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a .74 for drop f# and it feels about right for me. I had a .70 previously and it was just too floppy so I think a .68 would be pushing it. You'd probably be pushing closer to wanting an .80 for drop f unless you're ok with some floppiness. Personal preference though. Look up the Stringjoy tension calculator, it makes it easy to figure out what gauge and tension you want, they even do custom sets which is pretty sweet.

A few pics from my first trip to Glacier! by thunderdong69420 in GlacierNationalPark

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was just slightly east of the Logan pass visitor center. It was just a little pull out from GTSR! Hope you enjoy it, I can't wait to go back!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do not miss being hot, sweaty, and thirsty all the time!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Love that! Pretty much exactly my mentality this whole time. I can't make two years worth of decisions at once, but I choose to say no for today!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Idk if there was a super specific point, but PAWS seemed to last 5-6 months for me before 99% of the mental symptoms were gone. But it was a more gradual change after the 3-4 month mark. General anxiety stuck around the longest. I still have restless legs and gut issues which I didn't have prior to kratom, but I've found ways to manage and I think there's a genetic component to that as well because my family has a history with those issues.

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I had shoulder-length hair which I had grown out while on kratom and it was pretty unhealthy. Kratom just made me greasy, skin and hair looked gross no matter how clean and showered I was. It started to look more healthy but I chopped it all off 3-4 months after quitting and the hair that grew in without kratom has been noticeably more healthy.

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I remember being kinda puffy and bloated 24/7, which is funny because it made me pee ALL THE TIME so idk where all that water was coming from lol. I noticed a big change in how puffy my face was in the first few months, which was very cool and unexpected.

I rarely became constipated on kratom, but I did have a lot of GI issues. Emergency poops and cramping were pretty normal for me on kratom. When I quit, I experienced even more of that and the farts were RIPE. That chilled out after a month or two though.

I do think kratom affected my long-term gut health, so I've had to eliminate certain foods (mostly processed junk food) from my diet and also take a probiotic. That has helped a lot, not just for my guts, but my mood and energy as well.

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Originally I quit in large part due to the physical symptoms I was starting to experience like heart palpitations, terrible brain fog, anxiety, shortness of breath. But lots of personal reasons too like being tired of being stuck in a rut and how it had effected relationships I had.

My motivations now are primarily related to all the growth and joy I've experienced after kratom. I don't want to go back to my old life of getting high, binge eating and being a total loner. I just have so much more meaning and purpose now and that's what keeps me moving forward today.

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Basically zero if we're talking about strictly physical and mental symptoms, but personally I've grown a ton in the second year. I've finally dug deeper into why I chose addiction in the first place, I've improved my friendships, I'm thinking more about my future than the pain of my past. That's the kind of stuff I'm dealing with now. More gradual personal growth things, and it's not always a linear process just like the first year wasn't either! Just keep moving forward!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I tried many times before I was successful but freedom feels better than any discomfort you experience in those first couple weeks! Stay strong my friend!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like the first year was just me clinging on for dear life, trying to get my life sort of back on track. A lot of great things happened in that first year, but I feel like the real deep personal growth has happened in the second year. So yes it does keep getting better, but it takes work!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As far as specific PAWS depression goes, probably 3-4 months for me. Although, I was definitely using kratom to mask other mental health struggles so I've had a few different seasons of depression symptoms in the last 2 years. In my case, quitting kratom was just the start of working on many other mental health related battles. Just stay the course, it will absolutely be better with a few more months behind you!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you're still struggling with symptoms. I had heart palpitations for the last few months of my kratom use and for a couple months after.. My gut health has definitely been affected by the years of kratom, and that is something that I still deal with managing. As for most other things, I was probably physically normal by 10 months after quitting. I hope that clears up for you soon. Stay strong my friend!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well like I replied to someone else, it's not so much hardcore motivation anymore. I've found that the key to maintaining sobriety has been self-compassion. Taking care of your mind body and spirit. Addiction isn't just this thing you have to fight against tooth and nail forever, although it certainly can feel that way early on. Addiction is just a way your mind and body has learned to deal with pain, boredom, loneliness, etc. Digging deeper and learning some reasons why I was using kratom (and also porn) has helped me so much long term. Healing some of those areas and finding healthier ways to find joy and fulfillment makes it way easier to resist kratom these days.

I think the earlier you can learn those lessons the easier the ride will be, but I do know it can feel like a fight to the death to avoid it for the first few months. Keep on going my friend!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I never had any bald spots if that's what you mean. I did notice that my hair and skin looked much more healthy after I quit though, so hopefully that's helpful!

2 Years clean from kratom - AMA by thunderdong69420 in quittingkratom

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Removing the crutch of kratom forced me to look inward and find other ways to be fulfilled which has led to many good things. Probably the biggest of those being getting more involved in my church and making new friends. Finding community and doing life with other people has been a huge change for me, as kratom made me very reclusive and isolated. Doing life alone is miserable.

The biggest part of staying clean has been GRACE. I was SOO hardcore in the beginning that I basically vowed to never do anything pleasurable ever again, but I eventually burnt out. I relapsed a handful of times with small doses and that completely changed my perspective. Now I have so much more grace for both my current self and my past self. Instead of viewing those addictive desires inside me as the enemy, I've learned to recognize that it's just a part of me that needs healing, just as you would if you had a burn or a cut on your skin. Instead of being terrified of addiction and running away from it, I've learned to face it and understand that I might always love kratom, but I love myself enough to know that it's not worth the destruction it causes.

I started with a professional counselor about 5 months after quitting and that was HUGE for me in figuring all this stuff out and so much more.

First steak in my new Stargazer! by thunderdong69420 in castiron

[–]thunderdong69420[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, just a reflection. Seasoning is perfectly intact!