Her Son Took Kratom for 6 Weeks. It Killed Him (Exclusive)

Wyatt Wheeler was looking for an alternative to alcohol when he found kratom.

The 27-year-old was attending the rigorous Neely School of Business at Texas Christian University, and “he found this kratom alternative to try to take the edge off during a party,” his mom, Patti Wheeler, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We just had no way of knowing that it was as addictive as it was.”

At the time, she hadn’t been concerned about him or his behavior. “I had seen these herbal vitamins in his bathroom,” says. “I said, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘Oh Mom, it’s just supplements.’ “

But two weeks later, on October 25, 2022, Wyatt had a seizure and died as his twin brother, Gannon, desperately tried to save his life.

After reviewing Wyatt’s credit card receipts for any clue as to what happened, his devastated family discovered he’d only been using kratom for, at most, 6 weeks.

Kratom, which is available at gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores, is a supplement that comes from a tree native to South Asia. When consumed in low doses, it produces “stimulant effects” like “increased alertness, physical energy, and talkativeness,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says. At high doses, it’s a sedative; the DEA says it can lead to addiction and has listed it as a “Drug and Chemical of Concern.”

Kratom is often bought as pills, or in powdered form, and is currently under fire as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, moves to ban 7-OH, a concentrated, synthetic version of kratom. Per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it’s “a potent opioid that poses an emerging public health threat.”

The agency lists a host of side effects kratom causes, like “nausea, itching, sweating, dry mouth, constipation, increased urination, tachycardia, vomiting, drowsiness, and loss of appetite. Users of kratom have also experienced anorexia, weight loss, insomnia, hepatotoxicity, seizure, and hallucinations.” 

Some people become addicted to the substance and take too much.

“It’s not pretty at all. There’s convulsing…people bite their tongue and there’s blood,” Patti tells PEOPLE about kratom overdoses. ”I heard the stories. I know what my son Gannon went through that day.”

Christine Carter, director of medical services at Sana Lake Recovery in Missouri, previously told PEOPLE kratom works on the opioid receptors in your brain. Yet kratom, and kratom products, are widely available.

Patti wanted to do something meaningful after Wyatt’s death. She joined forces with producer Joanne Rubino of Be Brave Media and directors and writers Jason and Jamie Neese for the documentary Kratom: Side Effect May Include, which, along with personal stories like Wyatt’s, looks at the industry behind kratom. As the documentary points out, many kratom products register as food to sidestep the guidelines around drugs.

“I’m completely perplexed by the fact that we can pull a head of lettuce, or a cantaloupe that has Listeria or eggs that are in question … if it’s detrimental to the population,” she tells PEOPLE, pointing out that kratom regulation is a state-by-state decision.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

But kratom has its supporters, who are also featured in the documentary. They strongly disagree with a ban, and some are so angry that they have turned to cyber threats against Patti and others who share stories of kratom addiction. But Patti will not be deterred. “I’m in it for saving lives,” she says.

She hopes something positive can come from Wyatt’s overdose. “I really do hope to circumvent that for other people. I don’t want them to go down the path that my son did. I want people to be able to identify kratom.”

“As a parent, you teach them everything about every danger: how to look both ways, how to cross the street, how to watch out for people in dark corners. And then, he walks into a gas station. And buys something off the shelf. And he’s gone at 27.”

“It’s unfathomable.”

More details on Kratom: Side Effects May Include are available on the documentary’s website.

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