DOSE: T+ 0:00		oral	Poppies - Opium	(tea)
T+ 15:00	1300 mg	oral	Tabernanthe iboga	(roots)
T+ 15:40	750 mg	oral	Ibogaine	(powder / crystals)

BODY WEIGHT:

225 lb

For approximately the past 5 years I was addicted to opiates. It began with percocet, progressed quickly into oxycontin and then when supply ran low I turned to opium tea. As I write this, only four days ago I was drinking two large, dark glasses of opium tea per day. I was pretty much opiated-out most of the time from a series of depression issues ranging from the suicide of an ex-girlfriend to horrible job situation to the love of my life cheating on me. After prices for poppy pods went sky high, I simply could not afford my addiction any longer and I searched for what my options were. Tapering off the tea didn't seem possible and it would take months of will power. There was no way I was going to simply turn to methadone for the rest of my life and going cold turkey, well, if you have ever experienced the effects of withdrawal from opiates, you know the hell that can be and it would probably last a couple weeks or more.

I finally found several great documentaries about Ibogaine, the African root that supposedly could cure even veteran heroin addicts in a couple of days. I watched a video called 'Rite of Passage', which I highly recommend, and that gave a lot of information on how to proceed. Now, there are clinics in Canada, Mexico and Europe who will administer this drug to people, but the price was thousands of dollars that I didn't have. I found a company who was willing to ship some Iboga capsules (325mg each) along with a gram of Ibogaine. So, I did the research and decided to venture into the experience on my own. From what I was told, I should take at least 2.5 grams of Ibogaine for my weight and type of addiction. I figured that, since I was doing this alone, I would take a fraction of that amount, and I am glad I did. The experience was MUCH more aggressive than I imagined or what really was explained in the available information. I feel that, had I taken the full dose, I may have been hospitalized. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how it felt.

Here's the steps I followed: My last full dose of opium tea was taken at 11pm on a Wednesday. I had a full nights rest, then I started the treatment, alone in my apartment, around 2pm on Thursday, right around the time I would be looking for another dose. I did not eat that day, I was not supposed to as I would very possibly be throwing it up anyway. You are supposed to wait at least 12 hours since your last shot of opiate to start the Ibogaine. I started with what is called a 'test' dose, which was 4 325mg capsules of Iboga (the raw root powder, KNOW the difference! Iboga is the pure root powder that comes from the root, Ibogaine is the synthesized extract which is several times more powerful than just Iboga). I waited about 40 minutes after I took the test dose to make sure I had no adverse reactions. I felt weird, but good. In fact, it seemed as if the capsules alone stopped my craving for opium in a matter of minutes. So then I went ahead and took about 3/4ths of a gram of the Ibogaine (I took the powder and put it in a couple of vegetable capsules, which I simply swallowed). I laid down in my bed (you MUST be laying down through this process), put on my .mp3 player, which I loaded with soft, new age music and tried to relax. I did find that the music helped me not panic.

My stomach was empty so the effects kicked in within maybe 10 minutes or less. The first effect I felt was a high, intense buzzing throughout my body. Sort of freaked me out, but I just breathed and let the drug do its thing. A few moments after that, the hallucinogen part kicked in. Now, I've done LSD, Mushrooms, Mescaline, Salvia and DMT and this was nothing like anything I've experienced. The weird part was, my mind was actually fairly clear throughout the hallucinations. Oddly enough, I could have held a coherent conversation with someone throughout the process if I had to. The patterns behind my closed eyes were so intense, I often had a hard time telling if my eyes were opened or closed. But the most disconcerting parts were: 1. My energy absolutely fell out of my body within 20 minutes of taking the last dose. I could hardly lift my head or move and that scared me because I was alone. I had no idea it would be that powerful. 2. I was in such a total state of dizziness, that it felt as if I had downed a liter of vodka and a few hits of acid. If I turned my head just a little, the whole room spun and swam. I wish I had put an eye mask over my eyes to avoid this.

After maybe 90 minutes, I threw up twice. I was prepared with a bucket, so this really didn't bother me. In fact, I felt much better after I puked. The strong hallucinations only lasted two hours at the most. Then the Ibogaine went to work on stripping down my body and blocking the opiate receptors. I was still slightly tripping, but that didn't bother me anymore. This 'stripping' lasted about the next 20 hours and it was possibly the most awful thing I've ever had the discomfort of experiencing. It was akin to being scraped head to toe from the inside, out. All I could do was writhe in pain in my bed and take it. After a few hours of that, I absolutely HAD to get some water in me and I had not brought any into my room. It took every last bit of my energy to crawl on my hands and knees down the hallway to the kitchen and pour water for myself. Each subtle movement I made felt like it would turn my stomach. I dry heaved twice just trying to crawl back to my bed. So, if you are insane enough to do something like this alone, which I DO NOT recommend, make sure you have everything you may want in arm's reach of your bed.

Now, I had a few friends offer to babysit me while I did this and I turned them down. I was afraid they would panic or make me even more nervous as I embarked on what I imagined would be a very private journey. I now wish I would have had someone there just to retrieve things for me. There really would not have been much else they could have done for me.

By around 6 the next morning, Friday, I was still chained to my bed, but I felt the pain slowly, slowly subsiding. For a long while, I felt like the Ibogaine wasn't working and I panicked that I needed more opium tea. Apparently, this is common to think its not working right at first. My suggestion is to have faith, it will work and just let the process happen. It WILL go away and your energy WILL return to you quicker than you realize. The way I felt while it was cleaning my system was that I would be stuck in bed for days, maybe a week, from this drug, but I was wrong. By eleven the next morning (Friday still), I forced myself to stand up and get more water and I was amazed that, once I stood up, I actually felt much better. My body was already beginning to stabilize. Slowly, throughout the day, my energy came back and my stomach began feeling a little better. I was exhausted but sleep was still impossible. The drug acted almost like a type of speed. I slowly began putting basic juices and simple cereals into my system. That made me feel better, but it was irritating that I could not sleep. This lasted a few days until I managed to start sneaking in a few hours here and there. The dizziness slowly subsided and I was able to move freely about the house by Friday night. My mind was on overdrive, though. I felt like my brain was processing all sorts of data at an incredible speed. It didn't really bother me, but again, it made sleep impossible.

By Saturday, I was convinced that it had worked wonders. I had almost no signs of detox and there was very little pain. My whole body felt raw but it wasn't anything close to the horrible detox withdrawals. I now write this report on Sunday since my detox on Thursday. I still have not slept a full night, but I feel normal. I'm clean of opiates, I can feel it. The only issue I'm still dealing with now is the experience of having all of my nerves suddenly be operating at full capacity at the same time. Its not painful, per say, but it is a little freaky. I feel like my nerves are jumping out of my skin sometimes, but again, I have nothing to complain about compared to where I would be right now if I had just gone 'cold turkey'.

Right now, I can't even imagine putting another drug into my system. It's too raw. It feels like I'm in a brand new body. So, overall, despite the harrowing experience, I am so glad I did this treatment. I DO NOT recommend doing what I did and going it alone, selecting your own dosage. Do your homework. But, if you do choose to go down this path, just keep in mind while the Ibogaine is in full effect that IT WILL PASS and you will be a new person in no time. It was scary, but absolutely worth the journey. I feel like I have been given a second chance to make better choices and my cravings for opiates are zero right now. Let's work to spread the word of this alternative detox option and get the US government to declassify this as a schedule one drug. Peace.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 86662
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 38
Published: Aug 6, 2010	Views: 47,061
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Poppies - Opium (43), Ibogaine (28) : Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Multi-Day Experience (13), Hangover / Days After (46), Addiction & Habituation (10), General (1), Alone (16)