I've heard in the past of programs that claim to take a person from Opioid-dependent to "normal" in a matter of 72 hours. It was probably 10 years ago that I first heard of such a thing. This is an indication, in my opinion, that the treatment was never really feasible. If it were feasible, we hospitals would be all over it, as they wouldn't need to staff a detox center.
This sort of thing made sense to me back then. Now that I'm older, I have major doubts that such a thing could ever work. If the treatment is like the type I'm thinking of, it involves sedating a person and pumping them full of Opioid antagonists, theoretically allowing the person to experience the whole horror of the withdrawal process while under anesthesia. If this were a truly feasible thing, then why do people with dependencies receive Naloxone that puts them into full withdrawal, only to have their tolerance, habit and dependency resume once the Naloxone wears off? I think they're missing a major piece of the puzzle. This all takes a long time. It can't be done overnight.
Ibogaine is something that has always interested me. I hear a lot of success stories, though I've also heard from folks who it did not work for. I guess this is the nature of any kind of treatment though. It's hard to find Ibogaine-recipients, as the treatment is illegal in a lot of the developed world, including the largest consumer of Opioids in the world, the United States.
This is further complicated by the fact that, if treatment must be taken in an informal setting in international waters or whatever, there isn't going to be the necessary oversight that guarantees a person is actually getting what they think they're getting.
A lot of people seem to think, and it's not at all a strange suggestion, that Ibogaine has not been given its fair chance as the market for maintenance drugs, more specifically Buprenorphine that Methadone, would be devastated by such a treatment. Buprenorphine implies a potential for lifetime treatment, whereas Ibogaine supposedly cures the problem with one or two treatments.
This sort of thing made sense to me back then. Now that I'm older, I have major doubts that such a thing could ever work. If the treatment is like the type I'm thinking of, it involves sedating a person and pumping them full of Opioid antagonists, theoretically allowing the person to experience the whole horror of the withdrawal process while under anesthesia. If this were a truly feasible thing, then why do people with dependencies receive Naloxone that puts them into full withdrawal, only to have their tolerance, habit and dependency resume once the Naloxone wears off? I think they're missing a major piece of the puzzle. This all takes a long time. It can't be done overnight.
Ibogaine is something that has always interested me. I hear a lot of success stories, though I've also heard from folks who it did not work for. I guess this is the nature of any kind of treatment though. It's hard to find Ibogaine-recipients, as the treatment is illegal in a lot of the developed world, including the largest consumer of Opioids in the world, the United States.
This is further complicated by the fact that, if treatment must be taken in an informal setting in international waters or whatever, there isn't going to be the necessary oversight that guarantees a person is actually getting what they think they're getting.
A lot of people seem to think, and it's not at all a strange suggestion, that Ibogaine has not been given its fair chance as the market for maintenance drugs, more specifically Buprenorphine that Methadone, would be devastated by such a treatment. Buprenorphine implies a potential for lifetime treatment, whereas Ibogaine supposedly cures the problem with one or two treatments.
