Hello, I wanted to share my experience with Iboga by sharing a letter a wrote to my doctor, following my experience. I used painkillers for years on and off before I got into Heroin for about 2 years, I then started a Suboxone regimen at 64mg and took me about 6 years to lower my dose to 0.1 mg which I still could not get off of due to the PAWS. I tried Iboga and the first time it did not work; I believe this was due to the fact that I went straight into it while on 2mg of Subutex. I researched a lot and found its best to switch to Codeine or another short acting opiate for 2-3 weeks and I did this. Below is my experience:
I was administered a combination of Root Bark Iboga and TA Extract Ibogaine which I believe had a potency of about 50% Alkaloid.
This was not a flood dose, but they gave us a few grams at a time over the course of roughly 16-18 hours. They asked I not take any Codeine for the day, but I found this very difficult and since I was already lowering my dose every day I figured I could take 0.3ml at 8am on the day and it would be 12 hours before I was administered the first dose of Iboga. The week before I had lowered by dose to 0.9ml per day, which I was only able to do because of the sleeping pills; otherwise, my restless legs and general anxiety would have prevented any sleep. That was the hardest part.
Back to the Iboga, with 2 hours I began to feel better from the withdrawals of the day. You must lay down during the whole session because the nausea is very intense and there was vomiting involved, which is normal. One problem I had for about 12 hours was a really intense headache because we are also asked not to eat the whole day for detox reason, and I can assume it makes the Iboga work better. So, the nausea and the headache were a hinderance but it wasn’t too long before a subtle hallucinogenic effect started to take over.
I have past experience with hallucinogens but this was nothing like any of the others. Iboga is an experience where you go inside yourself and it sort of shows you a mirror with your true feelings, your inner child, and your pure thoughts. You really confront the emotions most effecting you and are able to analyze them from a “higher perspective”. Its not so much visual except your imagination goes wild and you tend to get a lot of subconscious feedback, some people experience this too fast but since I have experience with meditation I was able to slow this down and really “see” what I was thinking about. The most powerful point was when I started thinking about my friends who have either died, most of them from overdoses. They appeared in a que waiting to greet me and show me a message, all of their messages were really deep and encouraging. To me, this experience was very healing and part of me realizes that these thoughts came from within myself, and I don’t really attribute it to Iboga, but I also think that it opened the door for me to be able to have those thoughts.
Hours pass and I just stared at the wall thinking, very subtle effects sort of like alcohol or valium but very deep in thought. I thought a lot about my addiction, my childhood trauma, why I ever used opiates, I saw all of the times I was in pain which was hard to relive. Then I fell asleep for what seems about 20 minutes to 1 hour. This happened the first time as well, and around 8am after 14 hours of Iboga I wake up feeling more sober, enough to walk, with the same withdrawal symptoms that I have come to expect every day. This was extremely disheartening and left me thinking that I don’t have much hope but to take many months of recovery. At this point, they administer (what I believe) was 0.5 gram of the TA extract Iboga which continued another 6-8 hours of this.
After about 8 hours I began to sober up again and start to feel like it actually worked. I get up and take a shower and I felt like my nerves had not felt my body heat in the six years of being addicted to opiates, I was clear and focused. In the shower, I cried a lot because I really had the feeling this was the end and I just remember looking at my hands and touching my head as if it was the first time.
Still continuing I think the effects of Iboga are going on, taking my withdrawals away. The past two days I have had a renewed view on life. I have started exercising and I love it. I also do stretches in the morning, which really helps. I still feel a bit of uneasy and anxiety that comes up every 2 hours or so. I notice my appetite is back! Every time I eat, drink tea or water I feel better. The only problem, like I mentioned is my sleep pattern. I am going to bed at 10 and waking up around 7-8am, but the sleeping pills are pretty necessary for me. Since, not being able to sleep and the rest less legs was a huge trigger for me to use opiates. Today, I exercised and went for a two hour walk. I absolutely feel like its the first time I’ve went outside in years!
In short, I would say that Iboga is somewhat of a miracle for someone like me who is constantly traveling and working, and I don’t have any family support. My girlfriend has been very support and this helped me tremendously. Iboga has left me with an intense gratitude for everyone who put up with my addiction, knowingly or not. I would recommend Iboga to anyone.
It is to be known that Iboga seems to not work with Subutex or Suboxone, and you definitely have to do your research. I mentioned before that I did Iboga about 18 months ago while on Subutex and it did not work, I was taking 2mg at the time and though the Iboga seemed to mask the withdrawals I was using again within 24 hours. The Iboga people recommend you switch to Heroin for 6 days because they have the best results, I’m not sure this is good advice but I can personally say that I would have done anything to get to the point where I am. I am very glad we made the right decision to switch to Codeine for a few weeks. It definitely made the experience work properly. I also recommend extreme caution for people using Tramadol, Methadone or any other long acting opiates similar to Subutex. It requires a lot of research.
When someone is ready to really get clean, like me, then its possible and Iboga really helped the physical and mental side of my addiction. I don’t know how much I appeared to be desperate to get clean, but I really was desperate to be clean… I just wasn’t desperate enough to go through the turmoil of months of withdrawals. A friend of mine, from the states, said she was able to get off Subutex from tapering but it was not until 3-6 months until she started to feel normal again. Of course, everyone has a different experience but it seems the consensus was deal with this for over a month or two. From my experience of not taking it for two weeks, it starts to really feel like its not going away or even getting better.
I have absolutely no desire to use opiates again, no caffeine, no smoking, no alcohol (I have been not smoking or drinking for 18 months). Subutex can be a great substitute for street drugs, but the constant headaches, constipation, fuzzy head, lack of memory really puts a cloud on your whole life. It took me over 2 years to lower from 2mg to 0.1mg and still I found it very very difficult.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.
I was administered a combination of Root Bark Iboga and TA Extract Ibogaine which I believe had a potency of about 50% Alkaloid.
This was not a flood dose, but they gave us a few grams at a time over the course of roughly 16-18 hours. They asked I not take any Codeine for the day, but I found this very difficult and since I was already lowering my dose every day I figured I could take 0.3ml at 8am on the day and it would be 12 hours before I was administered the first dose of Iboga. The week before I had lowered by dose to 0.9ml per day, which I was only able to do because of the sleeping pills; otherwise, my restless legs and general anxiety would have prevented any sleep. That was the hardest part.
Back to the Iboga, with 2 hours I began to feel better from the withdrawals of the day. You must lay down during the whole session because the nausea is very intense and there was vomiting involved, which is normal. One problem I had for about 12 hours was a really intense headache because we are also asked not to eat the whole day for detox reason, and I can assume it makes the Iboga work better. So, the nausea and the headache were a hinderance but it wasn’t too long before a subtle hallucinogenic effect started to take over.
I have past experience with hallucinogens but this was nothing like any of the others. Iboga is an experience where you go inside yourself and it sort of shows you a mirror with your true feelings, your inner child, and your pure thoughts. You really confront the emotions most effecting you and are able to analyze them from a “higher perspective”. Its not so much visual except your imagination goes wild and you tend to get a lot of subconscious feedback, some people experience this too fast but since I have experience with meditation I was able to slow this down and really “see” what I was thinking about. The most powerful point was when I started thinking about my friends who have either died, most of them from overdoses. They appeared in a que waiting to greet me and show me a message, all of their messages were really deep and encouraging. To me, this experience was very healing and part of me realizes that these thoughts came from within myself, and I don’t really attribute it to Iboga, but I also think that it opened the door for me to be able to have those thoughts.
Hours pass and I just stared at the wall thinking, very subtle effects sort of like alcohol or valium but very deep in thought. I thought a lot about my addiction, my childhood trauma, why I ever used opiates, I saw all of the times I was in pain which was hard to relive. Then I fell asleep for what seems about 20 minutes to 1 hour. This happened the first time as well, and around 8am after 14 hours of Iboga I wake up feeling more sober, enough to walk, with the same withdrawal symptoms that I have come to expect every day. This was extremely disheartening and left me thinking that I don’t have much hope but to take many months of recovery. At this point, they administer (what I believe) was 0.5 gram of the TA extract Iboga which continued another 6-8 hours of this.
After about 8 hours I began to sober up again and start to feel like it actually worked. I get up and take a shower and I felt like my nerves had not felt my body heat in the six years of being addicted to opiates, I was clear and focused. In the shower, I cried a lot because I really had the feeling this was the end and I just remember looking at my hands and touching my head as if it was the first time.
Still continuing I think the effects of Iboga are going on, taking my withdrawals away. The past two days I have had a renewed view on life. I have started exercising and I love it. I also do stretches in the morning, which really helps. I still feel a bit of uneasy and anxiety that comes up every 2 hours or so. I notice my appetite is back! Every time I eat, drink tea or water I feel better. The only problem, like I mentioned is my sleep pattern. I am going to bed at 10 and waking up around 7-8am, but the sleeping pills are pretty necessary for me. Since, not being able to sleep and the rest less legs was a huge trigger for me to use opiates. Today, I exercised and went for a two hour walk. I absolutely feel like its the first time I’ve went outside in years!
In short, I would say that Iboga is somewhat of a miracle for someone like me who is constantly traveling and working, and I don’t have any family support. My girlfriend has been very support and this helped me tremendously. Iboga has left me with an intense gratitude for everyone who put up with my addiction, knowingly or not. I would recommend Iboga to anyone.
It is to be known that Iboga seems to not work with Subutex or Suboxone, and you definitely have to do your research. I mentioned before that I did Iboga about 18 months ago while on Subutex and it did not work, I was taking 2mg at the time and though the Iboga seemed to mask the withdrawals I was using again within 24 hours. The Iboga people recommend you switch to Heroin for 6 days because they have the best results, I’m not sure this is good advice but I can personally say that I would have done anything to get to the point where I am. I am very glad we made the right decision to switch to Codeine for a few weeks. It definitely made the experience work properly. I also recommend extreme caution for people using Tramadol, Methadone or any other long acting opiates similar to Subutex. It requires a lot of research.
When someone is ready to really get clean, like me, then its possible and Iboga really helped the physical and mental side of my addiction. I don’t know how much I appeared to be desperate to get clean, but I really was desperate to be clean… I just wasn’t desperate enough to go through the turmoil of months of withdrawals. A friend of mine, from the states, said she was able to get off Subutex from tapering but it was not until 3-6 months until she started to feel normal again. Of course, everyone has a different experience but it seems the consensus was deal with this for over a month or two. From my experience of not taking it for two weeks, it starts to really feel like its not going away or even getting better.
I have absolutely no desire to use opiates again, no caffeine, no smoking, no alcohol (I have been not smoking or drinking for 18 months). Subutex can be a great substitute for street drugs, but the constant headaches, constipation, fuzzy head, lack of memory really puts a cloud on your whole life. It took me over 2 years to lower from 2mg to 0.1mg and still I found it very very difficult.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.
I am on poppy tea, a long-acting opiate, and I am so ready to be done... I started using kratom addictively 10 years ago, for most of the years I used kratom but it eventually stopped working entirely and for some reason the many alkaloids in it make for the worst withdrawal I have ever felt, I find the poppy tea to have a more bearable withdrawal but the thing about kratom is it's over in 5 or 6 days and I feel fine. So I'm at a bit of a crossroads... I am attracted to the ibogaine experience but it's expensive. I do know I have to stop this, the negative effects on my life have been widespread.
