iboga

[tipz]

I have a friend who suffers from severe alcoholism. For some time now i have been discussing the use of ibogaine in breaking his addiction. It seems i may have come across ascess to the compound.

I have a lot of experience with entheogens but have never come across iboga in my travels. I feel i am definately the right - if not the only person to help him out with this in this way. I am quite confident in my abilities to steer this and am aware of the psychological complexities that may be encountered.

My initial plan was to experience the substance first hand before i would attempt to administer it and sit/mind/council my friend through his experience.

I have done a great amount of research into the physiological effects, possible dangers, dosing, sitter requirements etc etc. I was planning on getting myself and my friend to have a health test in preperation. Mainly to test cardiac health and liver functionality.

So a few quick questions. Being an alchoholic i would presume his liver is not in the best shape. Could this be a cause for concern ? And exactly how hard on the cardio-pulminary system is the compound. I understand from my research there has only ever been ten deaths due to its use.

I have also read that it is not so much of a concern with the pure compound, as it is the rootbark material that seems to create the most bodyload. Is this also correct ?

If anyone else has any advice or guidance in my quest it would be very much appreciated. Perhaps you may think im biting off more than i can chew - and i may well be.

I will not attempt this unless i am fully confident in my knowledge and abilities to cope with any possible adverse affects.

Edited December 23, 2011 by tipz

[Torsten]

My initial plan was to experience the substance first hand before i would attempt to administer it and sit/mind/council my friend through his experience.

Good idea. Although his experience might be very different.

I have done a great amount of research into the physiological effects, possible dangers, dosing, sitter requirements etc etc. I was planning on getting myself and my friend to have a health test in preperation. Mainly to test cardiac health and liver functionality.

The tests are absolutely necessary. LFT and ECG at the very minimum. Most deaths have ocurred because of drug combination. In particular most deaths are due to opiate addicts not being honest about their last intake or the administrator not adhering to the minimum clearance times. This is not as much of a problem with alcohol as alcohol does not attach to the same receptors as ibogaine. Hence the heart risks are lower.

You are right about being concerned about the liver though and the best approach might be a well supervised week of limited alcohol intake before the dose. The liver will quickly get back to whatever it's maximum potential is in a compromised individual, ie even a few days of reduced alcohol consumption will make a huge difference to the liver enzyme levels. However, do not allow other drugs to take the place of alcohol as these can introduce dangerous variables.

The pure compound is less toxic, but also considerably weaker. A compromise many use is to use half extract and half pure. You could even reduce the extract part more.

The most important thing is to be prepared for the worst. While a nice natural setting is conducive to spiritual development, it is also usually a death sentence if something goes wrong.

Ideally you'd want to do it in a hospital, but since that is not possible I suggest to be as close as possible in logistical terms. Being 3 minutes down the road from an emergency ward does not necessarily help. I once saw a woman die outside my shop because it took the ambulance 25 minutes to arrive to take her just 800m to a hospital. So have a plan ready. Either be proficient at CPR and have the local ambulance on speeddial, or find a hotel that is within carrying distance of an emergency entrance. Keeping in mind that if you stop CPR to put him into a car to drive even 2 minutes could be the end of that person. If you need to be at a driving distance, then maybe have two sitters, one for CPR, the other for driving, and maybe have a van so the CPR can continue during transit.

Also, make sure to do an allergy test [trace amount] for iboga a few days before. And maybe even give a 10% dose a few days before to see if there are any extreme reactions.

[Bretloth]

Iboga leaf makes a really nice tasting smoke. Maybe a few Iboga leaf joints each night could help with addiction and cravings. Couldn't hurt I wouldn't think. Sometimes just keeping the hands occupied helps. Good luck anyways bro.

[tipz]

Thankyou for the detailed response Torsten. What you have advised is very much along the lines of how we were going to proceed. You have made me reasess certain aspects of the gameplan though. Some good food for thought there.

This is obviously something not to be toyed with and it may be some time before i am comfortable I have all bases covered.

I have a close friend who happens to be a cardiac nurse who has today offered to assist. So that will make me feel more at ease.

To be honest, I think that if he keeps going he is going to be a dead man anyway. I really think it is the time for drastic measures.

I am definately jumping in the deep end, but 'something' tells me I am on the right path here.

Thanks again - tipz

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[Torsten]

cardiac nurse is perfect. I used to do this stuff with an emergency ward nurse present, so quite a similar approach. The tricky part i when to decide that this is the point where you need a doctor, and a trained nurse is much better at that.

I cringe at people wanting to take ibogaine for nicotine addiction or similar because the risk of ibogaine is far greater. But for someone who is going to kill themselves with a drug anyway I think ibogaine is a good option.

I also have no problem with people using it spiritually, but they tend to be healthier anyway and they accept the risk on the basis of the potential benefits.