WHAT IS IBOGAINE

Ibogaine is an indole alkaloid derived from the rootbark of an African plant – Tabernanthe iboga. Tabernanthe iboga is a perennial rainforest shrub and hallucinogen. This plant is used in West African rituals. Ibogaine is derived from Tabernanthe iboga and Ibogaine is one of at least 12 alkaloids found in the plant. Iboga is the sacred essence of the religion of the Bwiti tribe of Gabon and Cameroon. Most members of the tribe ingest it just once in their lives, during an initiation ceremony in which massive amounts of the powdered bark are consumed. Bwiti use Eboga for initiation ceremony  for becoming a man.

Ibogaine comes in 4 different forms: First one is HCL hydrochloride - ibogaine. Second one is Total alkaloid extracts of T. iboga - often called "Indra extract". Third one is Total root  and Forth one is Botanical product root bark

Studies undertaken by leading research and academic facilities have shown that ibogaine is invaluable in treating physical dependency and the associated withdrawal symptoms of Heroin, Methadone, and Prescription Opiates. It alleviates 90% of opiate withdrawal symptoms. At the same time it changes habitual thought patterns and helps to restore the proper functioning of the brain's neurochemistry.

Ibogaine is also extremely beneficial in the treatment of Alcohol, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and/or Nicotine addiction because it resets the dopamine uptake pathways in the pleasure and craving centers of the mind that are thrown out of balance by the abuse of these substances.

Ibogaine is  useful in treating a wide variety of psycho-spiritual maladies that often underlie the addiction process including: Depression, Childhood Trauma, PTSD, Compulsive Fear, Bi-Polar Disorder, and OCD.
Iboga is very expensive because it is harvested after 10 years. If Iboga was harvested much sooner it will be too weak to do anything.
All doses are determined on a patient by patient basis. Doses of ibogaine or total alkaloid extract of Tabernanthe iboga should not be used by persons without experience. Most doses fall in the 15mg/kg - 20mg/kg dose range to reach full therapeutic effects.
Ibogaine is a potent psychoactive substance. Ibogain therapy is a personal experience, and each individual's journey will be unique. Ibogaine visions comes from the unconscious. The action of ibogaine is always to attempt to bring repressed material to light - to make conscious what is unconscious.
Generally, there are three stages in Ibogaine treatment.
Ibogaine has potential side effects that make it extremely difficult to take care of oneself without assistance. 
The principal effects of ibogaine treatment will last two days. It is suggested to read more about Ibogaine experience.

The legal status on iboga differs from country to country and costs of Ibogaine therapy are slightly different over the world.

Ibogaine C20H26N2O is an indole alkaloid derived from the rootbark of an African plant – Tabernanthe iboga. Tabernanthe iboga is a perennial rainforest shrub and hallucinogen. Iboga stimulates the central nervous system when taken in small doses and induces visions in larger doses. This plant is used in West African rituals.

Iboga root bark

Iboga root bark is ingested in a ceremonial ritual whereby the participants travel on the astral trip to meet with their ancestors. There is singing, dancing and drumming until a high state of excitement is reached under the influence of the plant. The believers then sit quietly in front of a mirror, gazing at their image until they see visions of their ancestors.

The Bwiti people explain that when they use the plant, it allows them to return to infancy, to experience re-birth and life in the womb. They say that the ceremony helps them to return to what they call Mang Ayat, the land of the dead beyond the sea. They believe that this place is where the Spirits reside before birth and where they return after death.
The iboga bark's visionary power is produced by a complicated cocktail of alkaloids that seems to affect many of the known neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine. Its complex molecular key may lock into the addiction receptors in a way that resets patterns and blocks the feedback loops that reinforce dependency.
The legal status on iboga differs from country to country. In Gabon iboga is considered as a sacred plant and a national treasure, in the United States of America it forbidden. In the most of the European country’s iboga is not scheduled. This means that it is not illegal to have but it is neither recognized as a medicine. Iboga is not controlled; anyone can call themselves a treatment provider, therefore be careful seeking for a provider, and make sure you’ll find the right person. Ibogaine may be illegal to possess & sell in Australia, but it does not appear to be listed in the controlled substances lists. Ibogaine is clearly illegal to import into Australia without a license. Ibogaine does not appear to be controlled in most countries in Mid and South American country’s. There are several treatment centers located in the Caribbean and Mexico. In Brazil it is illegal. Ibogaine does not appear to be controlled in Asia.
Even where Ibogaine is not illegal it is unlikely that it is available to be administered in a clinic or hospital for the simple reason that these institutions can use only registered medications, which iboga is not. The difference between Ibogaine and Iboga root bark is that the root bark alkaloids, contain and include the Ibogaine Tabernanthe from the iboga root. Ibogaine however merely contains scientifically recognized alkaloid with the known actions.
Ibogain has ability to treat both drug and alcohol addiction. Ibogaine has the ability to remove the symptoms of drug withdrawal and reduce drug-craving for a period of time after administration. The drug’s psychoactive have been credited with helping drug users understand and reverse their drug-using behaviour.
Ibogaine also accesses REM sleep in a powerful way - many people need considerably less sleep for several months after taking Ibogaine.
The psychoactive properties of Ibogaine induce a spiritual experience. The patient experiences profound insight, giving them clarity into their lives, which motivates them to change on a psychological level.
The plant has been patented for the purpose of treating drug addiction under the trade name End-Abuse. It is used to treat addiction to heroine, cocaine, methadone and nicotine. Patients who have undergone treatment have said that they forget the sins of their lives and are restored to their own integrity. They claim that they experience their whole lives before them, as if watching a television screen. They are able to confront their entire life, facing situations and conditions which they have not been able to confront, situations that have caused them psychological problems throughout their lives. It is like having instant release in psycho-therapy simply by taking one dose of ibogaine.

Iboga initiation ritual for becoming a man

They have a three-day initiation ceremony  for becoming a man. Initiation starts when the initiate eats the sliced root of the Iboga tree over a period of hours, monitored by his Bwiti father who guides the initiate in the visions. The Iboga allows him to see into his true self and vividly revisit the consequences of his past actions. After 24 hours, the initiate is taken to the river by the men. They lift him through a construction of twigs shaped like a vulva suspended over the water, then wash him with water soaked with leaves. The men pull a sapling of the sacred matombi tree from the forest, and plant it outside the Bwiti temple which represents the initiate as a child. Throughout the day the elders feed him small pieces of Iboga, and the whole village perform, dancing in vivid costumes, in a way designed to bring on further hallucinations.
In the last phase, the initiate is called upon to see the Bwiti visions. Fire dancers sprint the length of the village to entice the Macoi spirits from the darkness of the forest. The initiate must tell the elders what he has seen and through this secret knowledge he finally  becomes a man. Meanwhile, the villagers plant a forest around the matombi tree, that represent the problems to be faced in adult life. Together, the men break up the trees branch by branch which symbolize the removal of all his problems.
Eboga is taken in two ways. It is taken in small doses of two to three teaspoonfuls for women and three to five teaspoonfuls for men.

Initiation

Initiation is expected to go through several stages and have a certain content. Banzie believe there is six initiation stages. First stage called testing stage  is a period of probing the night before the day of initiation with a small amount of eboga to see if the candidate is acceptable to Bwiti and to eboga. Second stage called ingesting stage is a period from morning into the afternoon of quiet ingestion of substantial amounts of eboga (up to a hundred grams). Third stage called purifying stage is bath and purification. In forth stage called stupefaction the candidate is returned to the chapel and continues to eat eboga amidst the activity of the engosie. At that stage the candidate will fall over in a state of  "eboga death". At fifth stage called excursion, the candidate is taken to a special chamber in the chapel in order to conclude in peace the visionary experience and to recover. No more eboga is given. The final, sixth stage called reintegration is recounting of the experience. 

Banzie believe

Banzie believe that eboga enables a man or woman to return to infancy and to birth - to the life in the womb. All the sins of life cause people to forget their origins in the land of the dead beyond the sea. This is the land from which all spirits come to be incarnated and to which they return. The two sins of early life which cause forgetfulness of this ancestral land are sins of violating one's mother's private parts. One sins in being born and one sins in eating at one's mother's breast. If this propensity to violate another's being is allowed to continue into adulthood it eventuates in witchcraft, the consuming of another's substance. But eboga by returning initiates to the uterine condition, a condition in any case very close to life in the land of the dead, restores them to their own integrity - their pristine conditions. Eboga miraculously returns them to the same original and final place. It is another form of the "saving circularity."

Bwiti seeks in "original and final" place - a spiritual point, as it were, from which birth and death in all their contrarieties and complexities can be uniquely contemplated. Ultimate place is obtained in the visions when the initiate arrives at the center of the rainbow. This is the spot from which he can see the entire circle of the rainbow as well as the entire circle of the earth. Even though the visionary may not have seen any spirits or gods in his journey this is a sign of the success of his vision.

When heavy doses of eboga are being taken, some chapels modify the ritual. Sometimes the initiate is surrounded by a vertiginous circle of members dancing, singing, and shouting. Drums may be beaten incessantly even in the initiate's ear.

Most chapels provide very careful supervision of the initiate. The eboga parentage, the mother of eboga and the father of eboga, watch the initiate and encourage the initiate against anxiety. Initiates often mumble or even shout under high dosage. Eboga mother and father listen carefully to see if they can make out any message from eboga. Some chapels don’t provide such careful construction of set and situation, and these tend to be the houses afflicted with bad visions.

Women's visions

Women's visions are much shorter than men's visions, but there is no belief in Bwiti that women have shorter excursions than men. It appears that women's primary objective is to make contact with a dead relative, very often a dead child, and when this is accomplished the vision experience is fulfilled. Men are more elaborative. They also confess to being, initially, more skeptical, and their visions tend as a consequence to be more exploratory, as if the very richness of what they discover overcomes their skepticism.

Babongo beliefs

Babongo’s beliefs are very strong.  They believe they were the first people on earth. They believe they are together in the forest with the spirit figures called Macoi. Babongo believe that Macoi must be present in every ritual and call them from the forest with drums.
When a person dies, the Babongo believe their spirit will linger in the village and cause harm. They have a funeral ritual that starts with washing the body, wrapping it in a cloth and carrying it to the graveyard in the forest for burial. The women paint their faces white with kaolin to symbolise purification, and dance and sing to put the dead person's spirit to rest. After three days and three nights of mourning, the funeral is declared over.
The Babongo follow an animistic religion based on a belief in spirits which started in the forests thousands of years ago called Bwiti. Influenced in curious ways by Christianity, Bwiti has become one of Gabon's official religions - there are Bwiti churches, ceremonies and initiations. In the city, the Bwiti drug Iboga is taken almost as Catholics take the host at Mass, and festivals follow the Christian calendar. But out in the forest, the original form of the religion is still practiced, in all its potency.
The Babongo cultivate the drug Iboga for their ceremonies, and worship it as the source of spiritual knowledge. They believe that Iboga is the Tree of Knowledge from the Garden of Eden. Iboga is a powerful psycho-active drug - something like LSD, mescaline or amphetamines. Bwiti tribe have been using root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant for hundreds of years for their radical spiritual growth, to resolve pathological problems and for spiritual healing. Root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant is specially cultivated for the religion.
Bwiti have a special ceremony called Iboga initiation ritual for becoming a man.
When Bwiti shamans take Iboga, they have a power to see the future, heal the sick and speak with the dead. The Babongo believe that Iboga frees their soul to leave the body and go on a great journey, to speak with the spirits of animals and plants. They use Iboga as a stimulant before hunting and during initiation ceremonies.

Bwiti tribe

Bwiti tribe is a spiritual tribe of the forest-dwelling Babongo and Mitsogo peoples of Gabon and by the Fang people of Gabon and Cameroon.
The Babongo of Gabon used to be known, as pygmies. Babongo have unique knowledge of the forests and using of Iboga, but they are still treated as second-class citizens by their neighbours.
There are probably about 12,000 forest people, but without birth certificates or identity cards, it's hard to know for definite. Due to government 'resettlement programmes', most of the Babongo have moved from their traditional camps into villages along the major logging roads. There are still groups living entirely in the forest, but their numbers are dwindling.
Babongo camps are made up of six to eight huts, housing up to 20 people at any one time. The traditional huts are called tudi, and made entirely from material gathered from the forest. The men's hut is central to the Babongo's beliefs. Only initiated men can go there. Its structure stands for the human body, with a carved pole at the front representing the physical parts of man, the screened area at the back the spiritual. The entrance is intentionally low, so that you bow your head as you enter.

Tabernanthe iboga

Tabernanthe iboga is a shrub to small tree attaining up to two meters in height. It is widely cultivated in Gabon by the Bwiti and Mbiri people for its root bark.
Iboga is the sacred essence of the religion of the Bwiti tribe of Gabon and Cameroon. Most members of the tribe ingest it just once in their lives, during an initiation ceremony in which massive amounts of the powdered bark are consumed. Through this ritual, they become a baanzi, one who has seen the other world.

Iboga Visions

Interpreting the dreamlike visions of the ibogaine experience can prove a fascinating, yet difficult task. The "oneirophrenic" phase of the session frequently throws up much material from the unconscious.
Because ibogaine visions frequently reveal the presence and nature of deeply sensitive issues, cloaked in symbolism, their subsequent misinterpretation is understandably common. This section will therefore cover some basic aspects of the iboga visionary experience such that individuals using the drug might better benefit from the experience.
It is worth remembering that, no matter what they may appear to be about, ibogaine visions invariably contain much personal content. One symbolic device that often appears to be used by the drug is the cloaking of personal issues as world affairs, frequently either political or ecological scenarios that appear to threaten the planet.
One example of this is one opiate user whose experience shown that mankind was an evolutionary mistake that was now destroying the world - the revealing of deep-rooted feelings of lack of self-worth. Another example is the individual, whose father had exerted a excessively controlling influence over his childhood, whose experience shown that the world was under the control of elite banking groups. The scenario experienced may appear valid to the individual, and it should be remembered that there will be much personal significance.
Psychologically, the action of ibogaine is always to attempt to bring repressed material to light - to make conscious what is unconscious. Consequently, even when little has been experienced visually, it is common for the individual to emerge from the session with their defense overwhelmed by rising unconscious material. Aftet Ibogain treatment, it is good to take some therapy- Bioenergetics, Primal Therapy, Dynamic Meditation, Lowen Technique, Humaniversity Therapy, or similar. Where this is not undertaken, the inexperienced user may find themselves drawn to bizarre belief patterns or perhaps excessively concerned with issues of "control" for a period of time, perhaps even years, after taking ibogaine. Issues relating to mother or father may be projected into younger women or older men and there may be a tendency to retreat "into the head," to avoid confrontation with issues of sexuality and personal power. All such patterns should pass with time, and the process of integration may be considerably speeded up by undertaking suitable therapy.

Ibogain alcohol addiction

You can start with a treatment after alcohol abstination for at least 1 month. However it is necessary to use a benzodiazepine such as klonopin which is specifically known for its ability to interrupt seizures more successfully than other benzodiazepines and is often prescribed as an adjunct medication for epilepsy patients. The risk with alcohol of seizures is not high but it can be minimised with the use of an anti-seizure medication during the session.

Ibogaine HCL Hydrochloride

Ibogaine hydrochloride manufactured within the chemical industry may vary from 95% to 98% purity. Pure crystalline ibogaine hydrochloride is the most standardized formulation of ibogaine as Ibogaine and related indole compounds are susceptible to oxidation when exposed to oxygen as opposed to their salt form which is stable. Non-pharmaceutical ibogaine hydrochloride manufactured in small batches may vary between 85% - 98% ibogaine.

Ibogaine HCl should be maintained at room or lower temperatures and certainly in inert gas. Most manufacturers provide a three year shelf life for ibogaine HCl at room temp.
 HCL or Iboga extract?
HCL is better solution because it is very difficult to ascertain the concentration of ibogaine in an iboga extract. So the main reason is safety.
All forms have multiple treatment applications but each form has different onset of effects, duration of action and diversity across the patient population.
Extract has 2 times stronger effects than HCL.
HCL has 2 times less duration of visualization period.
Extract has longer duration of action – if HCL period last for 7 days, Extract period will last for 9 days.

Forms of ibogaine

Ibogaine comes in 4 different forms: First one is HCL hydrochloride - ibogaine. Second one is Total alkaloid extracts of T. iboga - often called "Indra extract". Third one is Total root  and Forth one is Botanical product root bark. All forms have multiple treatment applications but each form has different onset of effects, duration of action and diversity across the patient population. Currently, the most popular form of ibogaine is ibogaine HCL hydrochloride, in which ibogaine is stabilized in the form of salt. It takes the form of white powder and is usually ingested in capsule form. Also, HCL is better solution because it is very difficult to ascertain the concentration of ibogaine in an iboga extract. So the main reason is safety. But, Bwiti use the rootbark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant for their “initiation ritual' - a powerful 'rebirth' ceremony.
Ibogaine is  referred to in the following forms:

1. Ibogaine HCL hydrochloride - ibogaine. Pure ibogaine leads to hyperactivity post usage state.
2. Total alkaloid extracts of T. iboga - often called "Indra extract". an iboga extract produces a more balanced post usage state.
3. Total root - "a worthless product not used anywhere in the world."
4. Botanical product root bark - usually contains between 1% and 4% alkaloid content of which 50% is ibogaine.

In the west treatment for chemical dependence is normally carried out using ibogaine hydrochloride, usually referred to as ibogaine.

Things to do before Ibogaine treatment

Ibogaine is a potent psychoactive substance. The most important thing to do is to educate yourself as much as possible about it before making a decision.
Monitoring of pulse, blood pressure, temperature and adequate hydration is extremely important. In case of a medical emergency there must be someone present who is dedicated to keeping you out of harm and knowledgeable enough to communicate accurately and promptly with emergency medical personnel.
This is emotional and intimate experience so it is most important to seek a right match for you. Where and with whom you go through with this journey is key to establish a new way of being.
The clinic or provider of Ibogaine you will choose must be able to give you safety, spiritual leading, good nutrition and comfortable space to recover.
 You must find where you feel comfortable.
Be aware that every case is unique!
Any history of heart attacks should be a reason not to treat a patient with ibogaine.
People over the age of 50 require a stress test in cardio-vascular stability.
Keep in mind that most of the Ibogaine related complications or deaths have occurred because of heart problems and use of opiates during or just after treatment.
Ibogaine is also contraindicated in combination with many medications, prescriptions, alcohol, over the counter medicines, supplements and even some foods or drinks.

Tests to do before Ibogaine treatment

You should do safety measures pre-treatment, including: ECG, Blood Work/liver Panel, 24 hour holter monitoring, Echocardiogram, Detox off Benzodiazepines & Detox of alcohol addiction! A compromised cardiovascular system, pulmonary thrombosis, high blood pressure, varicose or damaged veins or other blood clotting problems increase the risk of blood clots moving to your heart in an ibogaine treatment. Documented side effects of bradycardia, (lowering of the blood pressure and pulse), must be monitored.
If you are taking an anti-depressant like Prozac, you will need to taper off it in the days preceding your treatment.
People with psychotic and schizophrenic disorders need to be evaluated from medical staff before taking the therapy

Tests to do during Ibogain treatment

A nursing assistant or other trained person should observe the patient continuously for 48 hours or longer if the patient response to ibogaine requires it. During this period pulse and blood pressure should be monitored at regular intervals and at any time that patients indicate discomfort or the observer has concern. The regular intervals may be as short as 30 minutes for the first four hours or until blood pressure and pulse are stable and then at time points of 1 hour to 4 hours thereafter.
Observers should have training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and be prepared to call a hospital or emergency medical services if the patient's pulse drop below 50 beats per minute. If you are not prepared to call for emergency medical help you should not be providing ibogaine therapy. A hospital should be called at any time if a patient loses consciousness. The emergency number to be called should be available to all provider personnel at all times.
The evaluation of blood chemistry is a standard means of assessing the health of a patient and is often used in medical evaluations of patients during annual physicals or to determine the health of a patient at any time for any purpose. The SMA-20 (a series of tests to evaluate blood chemistry) along with a CBC (complete blood count) with differential now appear to be the tools of choice to provide a wide range of information relating to blood chemistry that includes a liver profile but.

Food and drink to take before and during Ibogaine therapy

Before the therapy, it is good to avoid grapefruit and tonic water because it contains quinine. These have an effect on QT prolongation, an abnormal heart beat, which has caused problems during ibogaine treatments.
 Ibogaine is also contraindicated in combination with  some foods or drinks such as herbs like goldenseal, st. johns wort, and asafoetida.
In the days leading up to your treatment it is a good to modify your diet. That means to avoid fried, fatty, salty, or overly processed foods, pork or refined sugars and carbohydrates. Instead, eat lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, and chicken. For five to seven days before your treatment it is advisable to take a B-12 capsule, 3000 mg of Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and calcium supplements daily, along with one half aspirin.
Hydrate the day before. Drink lots of juice or an electrolyte drink. You should reduce your ingestion of liquids approx. 4 hours before, because it will be difficult to get up and use the bathroom during the initial phases of the session.
On the day of your treatment, eat lightly in the morning or not at all. Your stomach must be empty for the medicine to work properly. It is preferable to aet a bit of papaya before taking the therapy. Papaya will help the absorption of the medicine.

What to wear during Ibogaine therapy?

It's a good idea to take a nice warm shower or bath before the therapy. It is good to be clean in preparation for your journey.
It is suggestable to wear the white clothes during the therapy. But, most important is to wear comfortable, loose fitting clothes

Listen the music during Ibogaine therapy

You can listen traditional music from Bwiti Iboga sessions to help facilitate your journey. But you can choose your music for your comfort and to smooth out some of the rough edges of the reentry period.

Fatal Ibogaine therapy

Patients should be warned that concurrent drug use during ibogaine therapy may be fatal.
Approximately 11 people died within 72 hours of ibogaine ingestion as DOA treatment between 1990 and 2006. (Dr. Ken Alper’s studies).
The way a client will metabolize ibogaine is directly related to one’s genetics, thus affecting their ibogaine experience and possibly, the amount of noribogaine made.
Allergic reactions have not been reported