History
The history of using ibogaine to break the cycle of
drug-dependence is relatively short. While it is likely that
the CIBA pharmaceutical company and the US government were aware of ibogaine's anti-addictive properties
as early as 1957, the anecdotal observations of Howard
Lotsof in 1962 are generally accepted as the starting point,
initiating waves of interest that have continued spreading
since that date.
Reading through the early anecdotal literature, the
overall tone is overwhelmingly positive. The experiences indicate instant and abrupt cessation of desire to
use drugs, the idea being that you take ibogaine once and
never want to use drugs again. It is hailed as a "cure" for
addiction.
The problem with most
of these reports is that they
do not withstand the light
of day, or correspond with
our own experience. Over
the last five years, we have
treated a total of 45 individuals with ibogaine, for the
specific purpose of breaking
a cycle of drug dependence.
The vast majority of these do
not fall under the "instant
cure" category. Four people
could be categorized as
such, having had extremely
profound experiences, which
facilitated complete cessation
of their drug dependency after a single dose. The rest have
required additional treatment or more formal follow-up
care in order to maintain their goals. "One-hit wonders," it
seems, are exceedingly rare in the 21st
century.
Information regarding follow-up
treatments is not publicized. "I did
ibogaine once, and was no longer an
addict!" is not followed up with the
information, "Oh, and then
I took it another 15 times that year for
spiritual insight!"
There are a variety of factors which may account for
the discrepancy between initial claims made for ibogaine
and subsequent results. Firstly, the categorization of what
constitutes a "junkie" is hugely variable. All heroin users
eventually develop a tolerance, needing larger doses to
achieve the same effect. Daily use combined with ever-increasing tolerance results in physical dependence. However, there is a significant difference between someone
who is experimenting with drugs within a social context,
and happens to become inadvertently drug-dependent,
and a hardcore dope fiend who has been IV-ing heroin for
20 years and whose whole life revolves around junk.
Early reports of individuals dosing with ibogaine may
be paraphrased as, "I took ibogaine once, saw God, found
myself, came down to Earth, food tasted great, I stopped
smoking, starting experiencing life as I haven't since I was
a child, and rode off into a rosy sunset."
In 2005 there tends to be one additional sentence
following up all of that, "...and two to four weeks after I
wrote those words, I had a needle back in my arm or was
sucking on a crack pipe."
Another issue is incomplete or missing data. Information regarding follow-up treatments is not publicized. "I
did ibogaine once, and was
no longer an addict!" is not
followed up with the information, "Oh, and then I took
it another 15 times that year
for spiritual insight!"
The published history of
ibogaine administration for
drug dependence is relatively
consistent in reporting a
single-dose modality. In our
experience, this has proven to
be sub-optimal or ineffective
for many people.
However, some treatment
providers must maximize
the benefit of a single dose
because many clients will not have the chance to re-dose
with ibogaine following the initial treatment. "Detoxing"
prior to treatment, by tapering opiate intake down over
a period of months, is one method used to ensure easier
reintegration post-ibogaine. Subsequently, patients often
return to their home country, where ibogaine is a Schedule I substance, and therefore cannot be retreated if neces-
sary. The "detoxing" strategy has both pros and cons, but
evaluating these is beyond the scope of this article.
Boosters
After an initial treatment with ibogaine, the physical
dependency is no longer there. However, the complex
series of psychobiological interactions that caused someone to become addicted in the first place are still present.
Ibogaine is not a "cure" for drug addiction.
Booster doses of ibogaine HCl can be extremely beneficial and often make the difference between relapse or
success. Individuals with a long history of being drugdependent who have detoxed from extremely high doses
of narcotic analgesics will usually have at least 85% to
90% of their withdrawal symptoms lifted after the initial
reset.
However, a few days out, many people derive tremendous benefit
from one -- or more -- booster doses. Typically
a booster will fall within the 500800Mg (total dose)
range. All the same precautions should be observed, as
when doing the higher dose of ibogaine HCl (1618Mg/ kg. range).
Tune-ups
Tune-ups differ from boosters in intent and timing.
While boosters increase the efficacy of an initial full-blown dose of ibogaine HCl, tune-ups usually happen
anywhere from several weeks to many months following the last full-blown dose of ibogaine. The dose-range
tends to fall within the same 500-800Mg category (as
with most things there are no absolutes, someone may do
a gram as a tune-up) as boosters. Tune-ups are used by
people who reach their goals (presupposing their goal was
to remain clear of narcotic analgesics), maintain sobriety,
and discover that they're depressed, overloaded, starting
to come undone, or simply develop a desire to do ibogaine
again. And for whatever reasons, they want to avoid a
full-on psychoactive dose.
Another category is people who haven't managed to
achieve their goals, and have slipped back into active
drug-use. These individuals often want to get "reset"
again, but have a strong aversion to doing full-blown
resets. Dislike of tripping and fear of facing the self may
be strong deterrents. A tune-up, followed by a few boosters, will bring someone to roughly the same state they
would achieve with an initial 1618Mg/kg reset.
"Clean" Maintenance
Ibogaine is metabolized by the liver and converts
to noribogaine (12-hydroxyibogamine). There is also
evidence that ibogaine has a high propensity for being
deposited in adipose tissue, resulting in a depot-like effect.
In practice, for roughly seven to ten days after dosing with
ibogaine -- assuming you have relatively normal bodyfat levels -- your
mood will be noticeably enhanced. Life will seem particularly good.
This is the mythical "window of opportunity" that
has been mentioned repeatedly with regards to ibogaine
administration. It is extremely important to plan ahead
and make use of this time in the most effective manner
possible, because it will pass. A week later, ten days at
most, the warm fluffy clouds will break, and you will be
left dealing with your life.
The concept behind clean maintenance is
this: What if you could take someone who
has been detoxed, and is presently drug-free,
who is trying to put their life back together
again, and extend the time-frame during
which all things are possible to a period
of weeks or months, giving them time to
develop new coping mechanisms for dealing
with life sober?
Many people who are self-medicating can derive significant benefit from conventional medications which can be
extremely helpful during this time period, but the bottom
line is many people go from feeling like everything is possible, to . . . nothing is possible. People crash and hit reality.
The concept behind clean maintenance is this: What
if you could take someone who has been detoxed, and is
presently drug-free, who is trying to put their life back
together again, and extend the time-frame during which
all things are possible to a period of weeks or months,
giving them time to develop new coping mechanisms for
dealing with life sober?
Individual 1: Male, early 40s and in overall good health,
who has done four full-blown resets using ibogaine over
a three-year period. He initially did ibogaine with the
intent of ending his addiction to crack cocaine. Post-ibogaine he entered aftercare, sought psychotherapy
and attended self-help groups. In short, he was the ideal
patient. He is extremely intelligent, has a high level of
self-awareness, functions within society and has no limitations due to a lack of financial resources.
He thrived immediately post-ibogaine but gradually
wandered further and further out, until at roughly three
months, he hit the wall, fell apart, and relapsed. This
occurred after each session. After the initial relapse the
downward spiral began and continued until he was smoking crack on a daily basis and eventually re-dosed with
ibogaine once more. Each bottom was getting progressively lower. He had fears that if he repeated this cycle
again, he would reach the stage where he simply would
not be coming back from the last binge and either die, or
come to his senses five years later instead of pulling out
after a few months.
The last time he hit the initial relapse, he was dosed
with 350Mg of ibogaine HCl in an attempt to halt the
downward spiral. This worked in helping him break
through this critical phase and allowed him to move
onwards. After the initial 350Mg dose, he has continued
using ibogaine HCl on an "as needed" basis. For him this
amounts to 50Mg twice a week on average, and 100Mg
every 45 days or so.
At the present time, utilizing this methodology, he has
been clean for seven months, which is his longest period
of abstinence in the last ten years. He has continued with
psychotherapy but stopped attending self-help groups,
and plans to do a full-blown 18Mg/kg dose of ibogaine
HCl sometime in the near future, for the purpose of spiritual insight.
"Dirty" Maintenance
For some, abstinence from narcotic analgesics is not a
reality-based goal. Many chronic pain patients are really
not going to cast off their crutches, light up some medical
marijuana and dance in the meadow, after ibogaine.
In addition to chronic-pain patients, there are many
people who are using narcotic analgesics to self-medicate a variety of
comorbid conditions. In some cases a
"successful" detox from opiates means
that somebody can look forward to a
lifetime's worth of maintenance on
neuroleptics.
Given the choice between opiates
and neuroleptics, there is no simple
answer, but the side-effects of current anti-psychotic medications can be devastating. When
you compare the quality of someone's life when they are
controlling schizophrenia, for example, through the use of
opiates (which tend to have extremely mild side effects)
vs. the qualify of life attained using sanctioned medicines
(usually neuroleptics, with Cogentin to alleviate some
of the side-effects anti-psychotics produce), it is entirely
possible, even probable, that the person is happier with
the opiates.
Ibogaine is remarkably effective in addressing one of
the primary problems in any sort of opiate or opioid maintenance: tolerance. Over time, individuals find they must
do extremely high doses of their medications in order to
achieve any effect whatsoever.
WARNING: the following category should be considered highly experimental. There is a complete lack
of published scientific data regarding the following
examples. The difference between 50mg. And 500mg. Is
extremely significant and quite possibly fatal. Ibogaine
potentiates the analgesic effect of opiates and opioids.
Individual 1: Male, mid-30's, in good health, who has
experienced full-blown resets using ibogaine HCl in the
past. His average daily intake was 20Mgs oxycodone and
46Mgs hydromorphone (Dilaudid), which he is pre-
scribed for pain management.
Currently, however, ibogaine boosters,
tune ups and maintenance are improving
the long-term effects of ibogaine
administration.
By using a very low-dose regimen of 2550Mgs of
ibogaine HCl on a daily basis, he was able to taper down
to a point at which 3.75Mg of oxycodone is subjectively
providing him with identical pain relief.
He began by taking 25Mg ibogaine HCl per day, and
was able to immediately halve his intake of narcotic
analgesics with no withdrawal symptoms or discomfort
whatsoever. After 6 days he increased the ibogaine HCl
to 40Mg, and at week two, he went up to 50Mg a day of
ibogaine HCl. After 22 days of ibogaine maintenance, he
took a ten day break, before returning to 50Mg which he
presently takes every other day. His intake of oxycodone
has remained consistent at 3.75Mg/day.
In his own words, "The goal with adding ibogaine to
the oxycodone is to minimize if not end the need for it
[oxycodone] for pain management. The HCl seems to
help with the pain, or at least gives me awareness to take
better care of my body by stretching, drinking more water
and to get outside for exercise and sunshine."
"Most importantly the HCl has
given me a feeling of well being and
feeling comfortable in my place in
the universe, allowing me to process
through a depression I have been
suffering from. I feel GREAT. The
darkness has lifted, the impending
doom is cast away! The low dose regimen has also been extremely helpful
in musical inspiration; songs I had
half-written are coming to completion and new songs are
being created. There is a distinct connection between ibo
and rhythm/melody, and further underscores for me the
important aspect of music in the Bwiti ceremonies."
Individual 2: Female, early 40s, overall good health but
suffering from anorexia, has been physically dependent
on narcotic analgesics for 19 years. Her use started with
heroin and eventually shifted to methadone maintenance
and finally hydromorphone (Dilaudid). She has extreme
fear and dislike of "tripping" and has repeatedly refused to
take a full-blown ibogaine reset.
For some chronic pain
patients, abstinence from
narcotic analgesics is not
a reality-based goal.
Her average daily intake was 28Mg of hydromorphone
which she "cold-shakes" (breaks down the pills in a cooker
so they can be injected) and IVs.
She began by doing 35Mg of ibogaine HCl and was
immediately able to stop injecting the hydromorphone
and obtained similar analgesia from 24Mg of Dilaudid.
Over a period of five days she maintained on 35Mg of ibogaine HCl
while continuously decreasing the hydromorphone, which she was taking orally, as prescribed.
After five days she was on 16Mg of hydromorphone.
At the start of day 8 she began attending psychotherapy. Over the next two weeks she gradually increased
her intake of ibogaine HCl to 50Mg/day, and decreased
hydromorphone to 6Mg. On
day 19, she took a 10 day
break from ibogaine HCl, and
her hydromorphone intake
rose back to 12Mg/daily
(oral), before tapering back
down to 6Mg/day within
hours of restarting ibogaine
maintenance at 35Mg.
At six months out, this
cycle appears to be consistent. She takes a break from ibogaine maintenance every
20 days. Slowly drifts from 6Mg/day of hydromorphone,
up to 12Mg, before restarting ibogaine at 35Mg/day, at
which point she drops back to 6Mg -- which appears to be
her comfort zone -- while gradually increasing ibogaine
HCl to 50Mg/day.
She has plans to try a 500Mg dose of ibogaine HCl, and
attempt complete cessation of narcotic analgesics.
Ibogaine Maintenance: Hitting the Wall
Whether an individual is doing ibogaine maintenance
while clean, or with narcotic analgesics -- utilizing daily
maintenance, or skipping days -- there seems to be a point
of diminishing returns somewhere between day 20 and
25. At this point people discover that for all intent and
purposes they're "speeding". There is a general feeling of
being wired, jittery, and severe sleep disturbances begin
manifesting themselves.
Taking a break from ibogaine for a week or two at
this point appears to be sufficient time to allow roughly
another three-week cycle of ibogaine before once again
hitting the wall. Three weeks "on" followed by ten days to
two weeks "off" has been a cycle people have maintained
without any particular side effects.
Conclusion
Drug-dependent individuals have a variety of obstacles
to surmount. One of the largest tends to be years -- or
decades--of being at the receiving end of what passes for
drug treatment in Western society. This includes years of
being categorized as disease-afflicted criminals.
Ibogaine is akin to the
peeling away of a veil, the
removal of the soft focus
glasses. After the noribogaine
disappears (the so-called
window of opportunity) the
harsh reality of life is often
unbearably uncomfortable.
Ibogaine doesn't eradicate
the underlying causes of addiction, which for many people
may take years to understand and come to terms with.
Ibogaine is more than a detox, but it's a catalyst, not a
"cure."
Ibogaine treatment is in its infancy. The future holds
the possibility of second-generation drugs such as noribogaine and 18-mc,
which may -- or may not -- supersede
ibogaine maintenance. Currently, however, ibogaine
boosters, tune ups and maintenance are improving the
long-term effects of ibogaine administration.
Post-ibogaine, all that anyone absolutely must have in
order to progress towards whatever goal they have set for
themselves, can be distilled down to one word: BELIEF.
What exactly you choose to believe in is irrelevant, so
long as you infuse it with enough energy to make it real.
Unfortunately, what most drug-dependent individuals
have been taught is that they are powerless, diseased,
and flawed. Which creates the need for two more words:
SUPPORT SYSTEM. This is some sort of environment
where your beliefs and goals will be supported instead of
attacked and invalidated.
http://ibogaine.mindvox.com
http://www.ibogaine.org/manual.html
http://www.ibogaine.co.uk
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