Mother, 27, ends up on life support after taking kratom for a week, family says

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AZFamily/Gray News) - Just a week after an Arizona woman started taking a kratom supplement, her husband found her unresponsive in their bed.

Amanda Goodsell, a 27-year-old mother of twins, had never taken kratom before, but after she experienced persistent leg pain, her husband, Mike Goodsell, suggested she try the herbal supplement.

“Everybody knew what kratom was. So, I was like, ‘Well, here, just take this.’ You could just buy it at the gas station. It’s not going to hurt you,” Mike Goodsell said.

Amanda Goodsell bought the over-the-counter gummy supplement at the gas station. After nearly a week of taking it, her husband found her unresponsive in their bed.

“She was red, her lips were blue and she was foaming. So, I jumped out of bed. I grabbed her, and then, she was trying to wake her up,” Mike Goodsell said.

He says he thought his wife was dead.

“You freak out a little bit. I thought she was gone,” he said.

Doctors warn of heart failure, possible transplant

Amanda Goodsell was taken to the hospital, where she was put on life support, with her heart barely pumping.

“They had to have her on a ventilator to help her breathe, and then, they had to put her on a bunch of medications because her heart percentage was at 15%,” Mike Goodsell said.

Doctors said Amanda Goodsell was suffering from heart failure and would need a heart transplant. After two weeks in the hospital, she began to recover.

“Her heart kind of did a miracle turnaround, and the percentage came up to a stable point,” her husband said. “It was a sense of relief that they told me that she didn’t need one.”

What is kratom?

Kratom supplements are often used to self-treat conditions such as pain, anxiety and depression and opioid withdrawal, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Kratom has been tied to cardiac arrest, seizures and liver toxicity in rare cases. It is also known to trigger opioid-like effects in higher doses and is sometimes referred to as gas station heroin due to comparisons to opioids.

In Arizona, kratom is legal but heavily regulated under the state’s Kratom Consumer Protection Act.

Family urges others to avoid kratom

Doctors say Amanda Goodsell will need a defibrillator and heart medication for the rest of her life. While she continues to recover at home, her husband is warning others about what he sees as the dangers of kratom.

“I say give it up. It’s not really worth it, to be honest with you,” Mike Goodsell said.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with medical costs.

As of this report, the company that makes the product Amanda Goodsell used had not responded to a request for comment.