Awakening in the Dream has provided opioid detoxification for 17 years. Opioid dependence was what led me to ibogaine in 2003.

Today, illicit or street opioids are predominantly (non-pharmaceutical) fentanyl-based pressed pills, designed to look like less potent prescription opioids such as oxycodone or hydrocodone, which many contain innumerable fentanyl analogues and unknown research chemicals including benzodiazepine analogues as well as potent sedatives such as xylazine, known commonly as "tranq". These pseudo-pharmaceuticals lead to severe, nearly incredible levels of opioid tolerance, and while Ibogaine is not an effective treatment for these contaminants, it remains an effective treatment for opioid dependency - albeit with unique new risks and considerations that could lead to an unstable administration of Ibogaine.

 

The first concern is transitioning individuals to a stable, pharmaceutical opioid such as methadone or morphine, at an equivalent dosage, in order to reach a level of homeostasis and relative normalcy in the body, as well as removing as many impurities as possible prior to ibogaine administration. As each person metabolizes the stabilization drug, the information provided by the onset and degree of withdrawal symptoms the body presents assists in the safe discovery of their equivalent opioid tolerance. There is a level of discomfort to this transition, yet it is fundamentally necessary for a safe detoxification from illicit street opioids. This can be done independently, prior to treatment, if you have access to a prescription and your physician is informed regarding the potential risks of sudden abstinence or potential rapid benzodiazepine withdrawal, which can be fatal itself. If this process is to be done in Mexico, it will extend the treatment time as you are stabilized to regain a healthy foundation for safe ibogaine administration. If there are impurities or additional drugs in the illicit, fentanyl-based compound, it is recommended to be able to address any side effects of the absence of these impurities.

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The Dream House has an MD on staff who provides continuos monitoring during treatment and is present during the entire detoxification process. This is common support when working with this level of opioid dependance and is firmly required for all legitimate clinics following the established clinical safety guidelines for ibogaine, which can be found here: Ibogaine Clinical Guidelines. In many cases, the detox process is divided into sessions of Ibogaine administration's, followed by periods of recovery and adjustment to the transition by way of sleeping, hydration, supplementation and eating to fortify the system. This alternating dosing schedule remains consistent until the final session, where sleeplessness is a common complaint, primarily because after 2-3 days the use of benzodiazepines to induce sleep ceases to work. For this reason, we request that people plan to come for at least 2 weeks in order to carry out a safe and effective treatment and reduce any stressors to the body that may lead to a point of health concern.

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In no way is ibogaine an easy detox. It’s compressing what would be functionally impossible to do on your own; shortening the experience of detox from weeks or months into days or weeks - a process from which the body still must recover. There are often none of the commonly known withdrawal symptoms, like sweating or vomiting. One may vomit from the ibogaine itself, but it is a different kind of purge. Cramping or the endless restlessness associated with opioid detox are reduced considerably and often non-existent, however it is a completely exhausting experience, akin to a marathon, and requires a great deal of understanding and awareness of what this human being is going through. We have treated many hundreds of people with methadone, buprenorphine, and practically every other kind of opioid dependency over the last 20 years.

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The main benefit is a significant reduction to no withdrawal symptoms during the initial process and ideally, the outcome. The body breaks ibogaine down to its metabolite noribogaine. This stays in the system for 6-8 weeks and can have an afterglow effect and state of wellbeing difficult to describe. There are necessary stages of preparation and stabilization on a clean opioid, as we do not want people feeling stressed or fearful about their well being. This depletes energy and is the very thing we do not want to happen. People need to know that they will not be sick in the way of conventional withdrawals, but that the transition does have its challenging moments and the client is only ever approximately a half an hour away from feeling better, as their tolerance is first met and then lowered safely. The current street opioids are very serious drugs that are a near death sentence and lead people to ride that very fine line. 

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Another concern is overdose prior to coming, for example, how many times has someone overdosed and when was the last time? Each time someone overdoses the body releases enzymes into the blood stream informing itself that you are dying, and this requires some recovery time before you administer Ibogaine. All this information needs to be taken into consideration to prepare you to do Ibogaine safely. The body is incredible in its ability to recover, but it has limitations that need to be respected. Ibogaine treatment is known for confronting people with their own limits, so it is wisest to remove as many potential obstacles as possible.

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We are in no way in a hurry to go into opiate detox. The concept is to be as clear and prepared and stable as possible before beginning to go through the process. This is why we have never had a fatality, and there is no reason for anyone to get hurt from taking ibogaine, as long as a few simple rules and guidelines are followed. Ibogaine is not harmful. It’s what people have been through and addicted to that creates the risk factors. Also. a compromised life style, such as being unable to take good basic care of oneself - these factors are naturally discard in a lot of cases due to the nature of supporting a habit, which ultimately takes a toll.

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Our job is to prepare you, treat your body's physical dependence and help put you back together both physically and psychologically, often called integration. In all other treatments using ibogaine this has a natural rhythm to it - the integration, emotional support and process to regaining a healthy lifestyle. Opiate detox has many variables for each individual and each must be carefully considered as a unique case. There is no cookie cutter approach to this, unfortunately, as certain centers promise, as each person's treatment must be adjusted to their needs, limitations and health profile.