Thanks for this info. I agree with your P doc friend. It is particularly difficult to measure accurate mortality/ morbidity stats for unregulated or illegal treatments due to absence of quality control; high variability in concentration & lack of studies to determine contraindications etc. It's also true that plenty of licensed pharmaceuticals have known & unknown risks, (Vioxx etc).
I wouldn't regard treatments like Ibogaine as a first choice of therapy but for addicts who have failed standard therapies time after time & who have little quality of life, the risk reward calculation is different.
The benefits of mind altering substances have been lost due,understandably to the reckless unscientific behaviour of some of the main proponents in the 60s & 70s.
However, there are reputable studies establishing the long term benefits of hallucinogenics when used in scientific conditions, they have produced deep peace of mind which has been sustained 20 years later.
I am not advocating substance use. The safer & preferable option will always be meditation & prayer but for some who have altered their natural brain chemistry or were born with imbalances, a chemical shift can give them the base to rebuild on.
My personal interest in this subject is that I do have a close relative for whom 20 years of different therapies have failed to achieve any mind shift in her alcoholism. She is undoubtedly killing herself & has little to lose by trying an alternative therapy under medically supervised conditions.
I am hoping that your psych colleague might agree to you PMing me his details as I would be very interested in hearing more about Ibogaine therapy.
Thanks again for introducing this topic.
wow that was a more interesting explanation then i was expecting thank you so much. I'll have to use that one on friends and maybe seem smarter then them..lol.. sorry don't mean to make like of someone addicted to it
Ibogaine is derived from tropical plants. It has value to native peoples for hunting and for ritual use. While hunting, the ibogaine has a property that will allow the hunter and aide to reamain practically motionless for hours on end. This helps the hunter greatly when stalking a subject.
Not many Westerners aware of ibogaine......some speculation as to whether a "cousin" in the plant family is involved in the Voodoo mystique........ it never hurts to learn something new......
I am just curious as to what it is. I have never heard of it. Don't worry anybody out there I am not trying to find a way to get any or even want to try it. I was just being curious as to what it is. I thought I had heard of just about everything but it just goes to show you that you learn a new thing everyday
Caregiver 222 has a reference for this statement regarding Ibogaine. New England Journal of Medicine, Jan 15, 2009, Vol 360 No. 3 page 300.
I read this Journal cover to cover every week because I don't have a life.
I was immediately censured for this post by a friend (a psychiatrist) using Ibogaine to treat various addictions, who swears by it. He said "that figure is meaningless, because it doesn't have the patient histories or the number of people treated." He added "aspirin is also dangerous."
So you get on the roller coaster, give the man your ticket, and go for the ride.
Ibogaine was readily available in my neighborhood until the drug enforcement administration discovered it was halucinagenic and produced LSD like experiences. It is still available in many African botanicals "under the counter".
i'd be very interested if you could tell me more about this drug as i have just heard about it recently [looking at options]....or if anyone else knows anything more?????......i know it is only in Mexico....[what's that tell you].............