The use of a traditional West African shamanic hallucinogenic has been used for decades in the treatment of addiction, and advocates enthuse that a single dosage of ibogaine eliminates painful withdrawal symptoms and induces self awareness away from drug seeking behaviors
Although an illegal hallucinogenic substance within the United States, hundreds of Americans have use the drug either illegally within the country or at clinics within Canada, Europe or Central America, in search of a promised overnight cessation of addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
Advocates of ibogaine purport that a single dosage of hallucinogenic ibogaine is enough to interrupt the neuro chemical need for opiates and other drugs, and that the therapeutic properties of the intensive dream state period reveal inner truths that allow addicts to come to a better understanding of their use behaviors.
What is ibogaine?
Ibogaine is a hallucinogenic drug derived from a West African plant. The usage of Ibogaine within African traditional shamanic medicine has an ageless history, but only within the last few decades has there been a western awareness of the drug's potential in the treatment of addiction.
Minimal research has been done on the usage of the drug, but strong anecdotal evidence points to an incredible ability to erase the occurrence of normal opiate and other drug withdrawal pains, and to seemingly condense the benefits of years of psycho therapy within a single 24 to 36 hour ibogaine trip of self exploration.
Critics say that the drug is simply too dangerous to be used, and there have been 8 reported fatalities of people who have died shortly after taking the drug. Although coroners have never been able to conclusively link the consumption of ibogaine to the deaths, and in some there was evidence of concurrent drug abuse with ibogaine (something that is very dangerous) the stigma of danger remains permanently attached to the treatment, and has delayed attempts to bring ibogaine therapy into the mainstream.
Ibogaine seems to have its effects within the cerebellum of the brain, and greatly increases neural activity within this area that controls basal parts of cognition and memory, as well as physical functioning. Research using ibogaine in animal studies has shown that when given at very high doses, the drug induces permanent cell death within the cerebellum; but proponents counter that the doses as given to the animals far exceeded the recommended human doses, and that autopsies of people who had died after taking the drug had revealed no evidence of cerebellum cell damage.
What happens during an ibogaine experience?
An ibogaine experience is composed of three essential parts. The first part of the trip, which lasts for a period of 3-4 hours, consists of an intense hallucinogenic period in which many users report a waking dreamlike state in which they view their life experiences and struggles. The second stage, which can last for as long another 12 hours, is an intensely therapeutic phase of transcendent consciousness, and during this second stage ibogaine users are capable of recalling memories at will, and objectively examining all past behaviors, motivations and actions. This objective analysis brings greater understanding and clarity on the effects of drug abuse and as well on the factors in life that cause drug abuse.
Many ibogaine users report the sensation of a healing or guiding force leading them through this journey of self discovery. In addition to a perceived spiritual healer, most ibogaine therapy is performed with a trained adviser and counselor partially leading the ibogaine patient through this therapeutic state.
The third stage, lasting as long as 24 hours, of the ibogaine experience is characterized by a normal hallucinogenic reaction of altered lights and sounds.
Ibogaine is illegal in the United States because of its potentially neural destructive properties, but the drug is not addictive, and its high is too long and unsettling for the drug to have any abuse potential as a recreational hallucinogenic.
The benefits of ibogaine
Proponents of ibogaine therapy say that while one session of ibogaine is enough to interrupt a physical dependence to drugs and eliminate the experience of withdrawal symptoms, that a second or even third session in the following weeks and months can be beneficial to consolidate the therapeutic and self awareness gains made during the initial session.
The largest clinical study of Ibogaine occurred in Holland, and out of studied heroin addicted participants, 15% remained abstinent forever after ibogaine therapy, 15% relapsed quickly back to abuse, and the remaining 70% all returned to drug abuse over the follow up months and years of study.
Ibogaine does seem to have a remarkable ability to eliminate initial dependency to opiates and other drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol and meth; and it does seem to offer something of therapeutic value in self awareness towards abstinence, but it may not be enough on its own to promote long lasting sobriety without additional clinical intervention and aftercare of some sort.
The current state of ibogaine research
For the moment, the use of the drug remains illegal and controversial. It does seem to offer potent efficacy, but some argue that the risks of neural degeneration make human trials on the drug too dangerous and unethical to pursue. While it does seem to work, no one can say exactly why it works, or even exactly what it is doing.
There has been renewed interest in the therapeutic uses of ibogaine, and NIDA is currently involved in studies of the hallucinogen in drug cessation programs. Anecdotal evidence clearly indicates efficacy and a remarkable ability to stop addiction in its tracks.
It will be interesting to see if researchers can gain a better understanding of the mechanisms at work in this ability to eliminate the symptoms of withdrawal, and potentially use this knowledge either for a safer administration of ibogaine, or for the development of a replacement medication with similar effects.
I don’t think I would offer myself up for ibogaine therapy, and the risks and uncertainty of the treatment are worrisome, but if ibogaine works when all else has failed, maybe the risks are worth the rewards.
Recently in Detox Category
During rapid detox, patients are kept under sedation and injected with a cocktail of drugs to accelerate and intensify the withdrawal process. After a few hours, the worst of the withdrawal pains are over, and patients undergoing the procedure over a weekend will be well enough for work on Monday morning. There are some controversies surrounding this relatively new technique, and critics argue that the risks of the procedure and the lack of any training or therapy towards future drug avoidance make the program both dangerous and unlikely to offer any long term benefit.
Rapid detox, or instant detox, sounds like a miracle cure. I mean what addict wouldn't welcome the avoidance of a few days in hell? The withdrawal period in an opiate cessation program is agony, and the fear of this withdrawal is enough to keep too many addicts using for years. And if as rapid detox promises, addicts can beat the majority of their withdrawal pains in just a few hours under anesthesia, isn't it the best and most humane way to go?
Maybe…maybe not. The issue, like most issues surrounding addiction, is not very clear, and an early practitioner of the procedure has even faced criminal charges for medical negligence over the deaths of 7 patients who underwent the procedure while under his care.
How does rapid detox work?
A patient undergoing rapid detoxification is put under anesthesia, and the opiate antagonist nalexone is administered. This drug completely blocks the opiate receptors, and leads to both accelerated withdrawal, and unimaginable agony if conscious. But since participants are kept under full sedation, the procedure remains completely pain free, and addicts wake a few hours later with no memory of any withdrawal pains experienced, and finished with the worst of the withdrawal symptoms.
What do the critics say?
Critics of the procedure argue that the cocktail of drugs injected to speed the withdrawal process is simply too damaging on the body's of already health compromised addicts, and a number of eminent scientists have called the procedure unsafe. Proponents argue that although the procedure does carry risks, the risks of a life of opiate addiction are far greater, and since too many addicts remain using for years to avoid the pain of withdrawal, the rapid detox procedure saves a lot more lives than it ends.
Additional criticism of the procedure occurs when rapid detox centers release their abstinence statistics. The procedure, which costs upwards of $15 000, is reported to "cure" the majority of people that undergo it, and these statistics are garnered from follow up phone calls with participants of the program. Addictions professionals skeptical of the numbers point out that there has been no independent confirmation of the numbers as released, and that the abstinence statistics as given are only for opiates, and there is no way to known whether these addicts have not simply moved on to alcohol abuse, or abuse of another drug.
Addictions professionals, aware that essentially no therapy or training is offered in conjunction with the procedure, say that the basal causes of the initial abuse remain even after the physical addiction to opiates has been cured; and that even though the addict may not experience physical cravings for opiate type drugs, there remain the unresolved issues that led to the abuse in the first place, and if left un treated are very likely to contribute to further abuse down the road.
With their relatively high price tags, the rapid detox centers have been very popular with people who can both afford to pay for the accelerated treatment, and are also very attracted to a program that does not disrupt their lives, and allows for the complete detoxification over a weekend, and a return to work on Monday.
The controversy surrounding the risks and benefits of the treatment continue, and while the procedure is certainly not "quackery" many suggest that the practitioners of the rapid detoxification procedure are guilty of making false promises, and that the risks of the procedure itself, and the risks of returning to the environment with no therapy or training towards drug avoidance, make the likelihood of long term success relatively low.
I wouldn't do it
As a recovering addict that has gone through the pains of opiate withdrawal, I have mixed feelings on the procedure. I dearly would have loved to have skipped the pain of withdrawal, as my week of vicodin withdrawal was one of the worst weeks of my life; and yet on the flip side, I can't help but be suspicious of a program that suggests that addicts are "cured" after a day under sedation, and that offers them no additional skills for drug avoidance in the future.
I now know what led me to abuse drugs and alcohol, and I also now know enough to recognize the situations that make relapse likely, and have the concrete skills needed to deal with the cravings and pulls to abuse when they arise. I am skeptical that withdrawal avoidance therapy alone would have been enough to change my behaviors and thinking over the long term, and have offered me enough to remain drug free to this day.
There are a lot of reasons why I don't go back to use, but one of those surely is the memory of the agony of withdrawal, and if I had passed painlessly through detox, I wouldn’t now have that incentive to sobriety.
I guess, although the technique is exciting and it does appeal, I can't say that I would recommend it to anyone contemplating their recovery options. I don’t think that there is any "easy" way out of addiction, and perhaps by making the recovery process too easy, you lower the incentive to stay sober?
Recovery takes time, and in my opinion, the therapy, counseling, peer sessions, and education are all an integral part of the process; and are all very likely needed for long term success. I wish anyone undergoing the procedure the best of luck, and if it works, it's a very attractive option; but when your life hangs in the balance, and when the technique can be as hard on your body as to potentially kill you, I think that the risks overwhelm the benefit. I would not recommend this very tempting procedure to anyone that I loved.
There are no shortcuts in life, and that goes double with addiction and recovery.
