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After initial
contact per telephone, interview or correspondence, you need
to make a decision. It is important to take time
before coming to a decision, because you need to base it on
personal choices, not on third parties’ choices or demands.
Once a decision
has been reached, you can phone Kevin (082 557 8480), to confirm when there is space available
for admittance.
In the meantime,
you can have your compulsory medical tests done, if you prefer
to have it done by your private physician. Please
ask your doctor to contact Kevin, so the signs to be aware
of, can be explained to him or her. A letter will also
be faxed to you or your doctor to explain this. The tests
that must be done are:
- A general physical examination.
- A Stress ECG.
- A Liver function test.
- A Kidney function test.
- If female, a pregnancy test.
We would like
your doctor then to issue, together with the actual results
of these tests, a letter stating that you are in reasonably
good health, or not in good health, stating the reason for
writing this. This
letter must be made available to us when you arrive at
our facility.
We have an
arrangement with two doctor’s practices and
have briefed them on what signs to look out for, so, if you
prefer, we can arrange for these tests to be done through them. The
results of the blood tests will be available on the day before
treatment is due to start, provided the samples are taken by
22h00 of the previous day. You need to pay cash, or submit
your medical aid details and pay the excess if this is your
choice.
Upon arrival,
you will be body searched (respecting your privacy – Male/Female, etc.) and your belongings
will be scrutinized for any unwanted materials. All money,
ID books, Passports, ATM cards, cellular phones, prescription
and OTC medicines, drugs, alcohol, etc. will be removed and
locked away. Illegal drugs and alcohol will be disposed
of immediately, or if a large quantity is found, it will be
disposed of through official channels (without compromising
your identity). Calls during your stay may be made on
request, but will be monitored, and money will be controlled
by our staff. It is advised that you bring some cash along
which will serve as personal pocket money for cigarettes
and other incidental expenses which are not covered by our
facility.
The results
from the medical tests must be handed in, and you will be asked
to complete a general and medical questionnaire. This
also serves as an informed consent document and indemnity
form, so you need to be fully sober and in good mental
state when completing it.
Once the searches
and paperwork is done, you will be shown to the room where
you will spend the next two to three days. You
can spend the rest of the evening unpacking, getting comfortable,
meeting the other occupants you will asked to be by yourself
for an hour or two, meditating and focusing on your goal
with the experience.
Treatment starts
in the morning, and carries on throughout the day. Assistants will monitor you throughout
the process, checking in every now and then. You will
also be notified when the CCTV camera in your room is activated – this
is to monitor you without disturbing you. You are welcome
and are encouraged to voice requests for liquids, blankets,
etc. throughout your treatment. Please ask for assistance
when needing the toilet. Ibogaine causes ataxia, or loss
of co-ordination, and you can easily stumble and fall and
hurt yourself if you try to go to the toilet on your own.
Your second day will
be spent in isolation, but you are welcome to mingle
with other occupants, should you wish to do so. You
will be left largely to yourself so that the processing of
your experience can start, and the effects of the ataxia can
wear off.
From around day three or four, counseling can
start. This process is entirely up to you and you decide
if you want to discuss issues with our counselor or not.
During counseling, you will be advised on the steps you need
to follow in order to strengthen your resolve, and hopefully
you will be taught some skills to cope with future situations
where you could be confronted with drugs or alcohol.
Towards the end of your stay of two weeks, you will be assessed
to determine if it is necessary to stay on a few extra days.
After you
left our care, we will do follow-up per telephone, but we also
request that you keep us up to date with regards to your progress. You
are also welcome to visit any time you like or even spend a
night if you feel that you can benefit from this.
How to use the Experience
Before the start of treatment, make sure that you know what
your personal goal is. This is important so that you
can concentrate on the issues that have relevance to this goal
during the experience. Only you will go through the experience,
and nobody can coax you in a specific direction during
certain phases of the experience.
Before arrival:
Eat as healthy as possible. Do
not eat grapefruit on the day or previous day before treatment,
as this will interfere with the processing of the Ibogaine
in the liver, and could aggravate a heart problem, should
it occur.
Take ample vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin
B’s and Magnesium supplements for a few days before arrival.
12 Hours before your treatment is due to start, you
should stop eating heavy meals. Drink lots of water and refrain from sugar
if possible
Do not binge shortly before arrival! A minimum
of eight hours (For Heroin, and 48 hours for Methadone or Buprenorphine)
must elapse before treatment!
Ask us what prescription drugs to stop using how long
before the experience so that possible interactions can be eliminated. If you
need to discontinue or interrupt certain medication, it is important that you
discuss this with your prescribing doctor before stopping, so that he/she can
consider alternatives if necessary. They are also welcome to contact us
to discuss and decide on alternatives.
Many people want to say their “last goodbyes” to
their habit, but it must be kept in mind that the amount of drugs consumed shortly
before arrival plays an important role in the length of time it takes to recover
from the effects of Ibogaine. Not bingeing and using as little as possible
for a few days before treatment will certainly make the amount of discomfort
experienced less and the experience more pleasant.
On Arrival:
Important: You
may, under no circumstances, take any drug for any purpose
whatsoever during or before your experience.
Treatment
To start off with you will be offered
two anti-nausea tablets and a small dose of Ibogaine. If
no adverse or allergic reactions are experienced or noticed,
you will have the choice to accept the full quantity, split
over two or three doses, given in a specific regimen.
You will start to feel a tingling sensation on your
skin, and visual and audio (Reverberating sounds like in a big metal pipe) disturbances
will start presenting. At this time it is best to trust your team of assistants
and to “go with the experience”. It is important to not fight
the effects of Ibogaine, because the process is in progress, and swimming against
the stream will tire you much worse emotionally and physically on a journey
that is tiring enough without a struggle. If you don’t like what
you see, you can blink your eyes and tell yourself to replace the vision with
another. Trained, caring care-givers will be a shout away all the time
and they will assist you with any questions you have to relieve your anxiety
At this time it is best to lie down and keep as still
as possible. Everybody experiences difficulty to co-ordinate body movements
and some become nauseous and vomit. The nausea is due to movement and
the less movement there is, the less vomiting will take place. It is also
best to keep your eyes closed, because open eyes cause the feeling of movement,
which may aggravate nausea
You will probably experience a dream-like phase, although
you will be awake and mentally in control. During this phase, you will
probably face a lot of emotional issues, and may jump back and forth in time
in your mind to confront certain issues. You will probably not want to
talk during this time. Remember,
wherever Ibogaine takes you, it will bring you back!
When
the dream like phase passes, you will start processing
the experiences that have been encountered, and this will gradually
return you to a fully alert state (Although you will
probably have been awake all the way!)
The entire process lasts for about
8 to 20 hours. Difficulty in coordinating movements will
gradually (Sometimes starting after 8 hours) start to improve. Afterwards
you will feel tired – this is normal, because you have
processed a lot of feelings and emotions for the last many hours. You
will also not feel any hunger or thirst. Although this
is also normal, you will be asked to consume small quantities
of liquid. It is important that you try and drink (and
hold down) liquids, to prevent dehydration, especially if you
vomited during the early stages of the experience. Only
water, juice or isotonic beverages will be offered to you, as
anything containing caffeine may not be good at this stage.
You may try to consume food when you feel like eating. Starting
to eat too soon may lead to nausea again and spoil some of
your experience.
Post
Treatment:
It
is important to consume adequate amounts of liquids during
the next couple of weeks to prevent dehydration.
Another effect from the Ibogaine is that it causes
sleeplessness in most, if not all people for anything from a couple of days
to a month. It is important not to take prescription sleeping tablets
(which usually have some habit forming properties) at the early stage, because
it will probably not help you sleep anyway. You may use natural sleeping
remedies like Melatonin or Valerian to reset your sleeping pattern. The
sleeplessness will improve soon, but for a couple of months you will probably
feel that you need less sleep than previously. This is partly due to the
anti-depressant effect that the experience and residue of the Ibogaine may have. You
will also probably find that you will want to eat healthier in weeks to come. Your
care-giver will advise you on this.
A normal dose of Heroin or
another substance will probably cause an overdose and may lead
to problems, if used too soon after the Ibogaine.
For at least a year, you must also
refrain from using any other hallucinogenic drugs like LSD. The
effects of these drugs may be hugely blown up and can lead
to a negative experience.
For at least a week you must you
should not drive any vehicles. Your co-ordination will
be distorted because of the after-effects of the Ibogaine
You
will probably find that sharp light irritates you for
a while
You
will probably experience slight depression for about
a day, where after you mood will swing to a euphoric feeling
which can last for about weeks
You will return to a fully functional
and drug-free state after a few days and up to two weeks. During
this time you will probably find that you tire more easily and
may experience mood swings. However, you will experience
noticeable improvement day by day, so that each day you will
find new strength to stay clean and resist residual cravings.
During your recovery over the first
few weeks, you may find that your brain is constantly sieving
through the information generated by the experience, without
you having control over the process. This realization
can be a very rewarding one, as you grow your understanding
of yourself and the issues that until now complicated your
perception of your life.
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