Ibogaine Therapy
The use of ibogaine as a viable therapy for interrupting the cycle of addiction during sufficient time for the patient to restructure their life has been shown time and again, helping many today break their addictions to substances such as heroin or opioids, cocaine, crack, methamphetamine and even alcohol.
Even though the naturally occurring alkaloids in the plant appear to be a miraculous, almost sentient being, the fact that studies and scientific literature about it have existed for a relatively short time—since the 1960s, initially; more seriously, since the 1990s—is one of the criticisms levelled at it.
Whatever clinical and biological/botanical questions may remain, one thing is certain: its effect at annulling the drawn-out, excruciating withdrawal symptoms when detoxing, say, from heroin or opioids, goes a good step further, and works to reduce and eliminate cravings for months following the treatment.
The effects of ibogaine on the withdrawal process can be summed up in two main spheres of action: the way it regulates serotonin levels, and the way it restores brain function.
Regarding its regulation of serotonin and dopamine levels—the two naturally-occurring chemicals our bodies and brains know how to produce—which are known as the feel-good twins, so to speak.
Prolonged substance abuse often results in their levels becoming depleted and completely scrambled, to the point the brain can no longer produce them. This invariably leads addicts to a state commonly known as “anhedonia,” or the inability to feel any kind of pleasure, even from activities that were once intensely pleasurable.
Another neurological component rendered completely chaotic by addiction is that of brain function in general. Again, prolonged substance abuse will damage not only certain neurological pathways, but the proper function of the brain as a whole.
Ibogaine addresses these two principal areas, and performs what we like to call a reset, restoring neurological activity and health to a level only known to the addict as what he or she experienced before addiction set in and changed everything up.
When a mind-altering substance such as a drug, or alcohol reaches our brain, they try to attach themselves to specific receptors. What ibogaine does, interestingly, is prevent this attachment in the first place.
Similarly, it also blocks transporter molecules that would ordinarily shift dopamine into the brain cells, regulating their thwarted levels.
Another positive influence of ibogaine on the brain is its stimulation of what are known as “neurotrophic factors.” These components are known for healing damaged tissue, also stimulating the production of the necessary, optimum amount of feel-good chemicals, and it is this which, combined, prevents cravings as much as it does withdrawal symptoms.
Increasingly over the years, ibogaine has proven itself without fail, such that in many cases, often a single dose of it is enough to banish withdrawals and stave off cravings for many months after it enters the body. In all of science, it remains to date unparalleled, and is the only plant or drug capable of doing so with such tremendous positive effect.
Day 1 (Monday)
You have made it this far, and you should congratulate yourself. Here at Ibogaine Treatment UK (a subsidiary of Tabula Rasa Retreat TM), because so many of our staff have themselves come from a background of addiction before turning to the vocation of helping others, we know this is a big day for you.
You will be welcomed to our clinic, be given a tour of the grounds and the nature surrounding your imminent journey of recovery. Once we have settled you into your private, plush luxurious room, you will be introduced to your personal ibogaine physician, who will conduct a one-on-one assessment of your condition. Sample testing will be carried out in fields such as bloodwork and urinalysis.
Following this, you will have time to settle in for dinner as well as personal time, after which you will get to meet your fellow patients by attending a group Q&A session with our medical staff.
Day Two (Tuesday)
Upon waking you will have a small preliminary dose of ibogaine (also known as the test does) to test for eventual allergic reactions. Should you successfully pass the test, the staff will prepare to administer what we call the “flood dose”, meaning the full ibogaine treatment in the first few hours. Your journey will begin, and for the ensuing eight to twelve hours, you will be closely monitored by our medical staff to ensure maximum safety. Most clients remain monitored for 48 hours.
Day Three (Wednesday)
Since we know that the ibogaine journey can be intense, you will be given space to process the experience and ‘land’. Some clients are already able to eat breakfast, but most clients tend to spend the day eating light meals and are mostly in and out of bed.
Day Four (Thursday)
By this point, with your energy levels restored, you will be fully immersed into our unique post Ibogaine therapy programmes. You will also have time to rest and continue processing.
Day 5 (Friday)
On this day, you will be even more energised and will continue and be fully engaged with our unique activities and programme. Dinner off site.
Day Six (Saturday)
Exit day, by noon. We will help you with logisitics to get you to your next destination.
Although the success rate of most traditional rehab facilities ranges from 30% to 90%, according to leading centres around the world, most experts in the field are aware that these statistics are drastically inflated.
The more accurate statistic would lie along the 10% mark, if for nothing else than the fact that most patients from traditional clinics around the world do experience a relapse into their old ways within the first six months following their exit.
This could be because most traditional rehab facilities operate under the tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous twelve-step programmes, leaving choices limited to this method.
On the other hand, ibogaine therapy has proven far more effective than its traditional counterparts because, instead of masking the symptoms of each patient’s addictions, the plant itself will address the source of the problem and brings repressed memories and traumas to the fore so that they may be interpreted and subsequently unpacked.
The mere fact alone that ibogaine can and does, in most cases, eliminate the arduous withdrawal symptoms, is enough to raise the bar in overcoming addiction in the first place.
Where ibogaine really stands apart in these numbers is owing to its unique capability of restoring damaged brain tissue; a feat unparalleled by any other known illegal drug “antidotes” (or rather, substitutes, like methadone).
Through its restorative qualities, a recovering addict’s brain is brought hurtling back through time to the point before the neurological scramble effected by drug abuse; because of this, the likelihood of those subjected to the sentient healing of the iboga tree staying clean is significantly higher than via traditional, western pharma cures.
In this respect, statistics speak for themselves: up to 75% of addicts remain clean for periods as extended as the first six months after a single ibogaine treatment, even once they have stepped back into their daily lives (as six months has commonly been the yardstick timeframe for judging success in many studies.)
One of the most comprehensive, holistic, and interdisciplinary locations to undergo ibogaine therapy is here with our team, at Ibogaine Treatment UK (a subsidiary of Tabula Rasa Retreat TM), located in the lush and rolling plains of the Alentejo region in Portugal, a mere two hours’ drive from Lisbon.
Our medical team here is overseen by Neal Catlett who is our head provider. Our diverse selection of combination therapies, to be applied in conjunction with the ibogaine treatment, were designed by our mentors and guides in the ibogaine and recovery world. Alvaro de Ferranti (our CEO), and our medical team are a constant presence during the administration of each treatment.
Ibogaine Treatment UK (a subsidiary of Tabula Rasa Retreat TM) works with a limited number of patients at a time so that full care can be afforded each patient in one-on-one scenarios, thereby guaranteeing each physician’s undivided attention, which is precisely what we feel each of you deserves and needs.
Your experience will, for the duration of your stay, be cradled in the restorative, relaxing symphonies of nature, making you feel connected to the earth that sustains you.
Throughout your stay with us, you will benefit from innovative medical equipment used to monitor your body’s reactions to the ibogaine. This is to ensure your maximum safety and is geared towards complete risk and casualty reduction so you have the most smooth, cohesive, and healing experience possible.
Our safety record is second to none, with all our patients being 100% safe while under our care. Your rehabilitation will be conducted in crisp-clean, luxury settings, as we have spared nothing when it comes to the utmost comfort of our “fellow travellers”—because what you will experience is nothing short of the most important journey of your life: towards the true epicentre of You as you are meant to be…free and reconnected to all that matters most.
Our Chef picks from the most restorative of foods, concocting menus and recipes benefitting some of the most damaged organs in people blighted by years of drug-induced malnutrition: more than just scrumptious soul-food, we cook food for your neurons, synapses, bones, and central nervous system.