I'm sorry for your experience. However, if you read many of the scientific research done on ibogaine, it actually does start the repair on your brain, while it is filling the receptors that, when empty, are responsible for your withdrawal. I suppose everyone's body chemistry is different, so I won't argue about how it worked for you. Only you can know this.

On the other hand, I can find various articles that explain the ibogaine's action on the brain. I imagine most of the depression you experienced had to do more so with the subs, than the iboga. Iboga does not prolong withdrawal, or just put it off, but in fact it allows you to get relief from the withdrawal, while starting the repair on pathways in the brain that have been damaged from abuse. If you google GDNF and ibogaine, there are scientific articles that can explain how it activates glial cell derived neurotopic factor.

The problem with subs, is that it contains agonist and antagonist properties. This is much harder to come off than something that only works as an agonist. Antagonists if taken with a regular agonist opiate/opioid will cause withdrawal.

I imagine much of your trouble stems from not being fully rid of the antagonists, plus it still takes your body a good bit to adjust the way it produces it's own endorphins. Perhaps your body was taking longer to respond. In this case there are all sorts of ways to boost endorphins. One of these is exercise. Taking hot showers, and baths, and eating spicy foods, or even listening to music can boost natural endorphins. Once your body starts producing it's own again, that is when you will actually start to heal, and can stop taking iboga.

It's sad that you had so much trouble, however, there are plenty of success stories, so I wouldn't totally discount iboga just because one is on subs. Of course not every treatment works the same for everyone. For me, the iboga really just took away the withdrawal symptoms for me, and it allowed me a break from taking opiates, while my body adjusted. A very slow taper can help, but the problem is that when you get very low, each little decrease becomes more noticeable, and this can prolong the time that you feel not so well. It may not feel as bad as full on withdrawal, but it's like having minor withdrawal for an extended period.

I have been able to function on low doses of iboga, no problem, but in a high energy, high demand workplace, it may be more difficult. I have also experienced mild depression after eating low doses of iboga for days in a row, but after a good night sleep, and stopping my daily dosing, my mood actually improved greatly. For days after the discontinuation, I began to get what they call the iboga glow. I felt much better, my mood was stable, and my appetite returned full force. Getting some regular exercise also worked wonders.

Methadone was by far the worst with the PAWS, but after my flood, it was so greatly reduced, that it was more than manageable. It still took me two months before I really had the energy and will power to get up and do things, but I can tell you after that recovery period, I had some of the greatest years of my life. I felt great again, without any drugs.

As for brain damage from iboga, I'd love to see the research or science on this. The worst I have heard is from heavy overdoses in mice and primates, which caused damage to purkinje cells, but this was from doses much, much higher than any recommended by a treatment provider or iboga clinic. I believe the overdose deaths of mice took well over 2-300 mgs per kg.

The recommended doses for hardcore addictions is 20-25 mgs per kg. When I dosed TA for methadone addiction, I weighed about 140 lbs, or around 63 Kg and I ate 5 g of TA. If the TA was only 60% alkaloids (I believe this is a low estimate), then I would have dosed 47mgs per kg. Probably way too much for most people, but it sure worked wonders for me.

It does store in fat cells, and allows slow release of ibogamines, which is what keeps away the withdrawal for an extended period. This is why it gives people a break from withdrawal and cravings. With better habits, it can keep one well long enough that they are all better when the iboga is all gone.

Again, I am sorry for your experience, but I don't believe it is the norm. I find that people who are used to medicating to feel better, like to over medicate, and like to even look for problems to give them more excuses. I am in no way saying this is the case with you Eclipsie, but I have watched many addicts over-exaggerate their symptoms to justify using.

I know it's never easy, and with the demand of our families, and today's society, dealing with minor withdrawal can even be a chore. The thing is, if you want to be clean, sometimes you have to be willing to suffer for a good bit to actually beat the addiction. I don't think there are too many people whose bodies will not eventually repair itself, and maintain a proper balance, as it is originally intended, but I do believe in some cases this may be the case.

I know of people who were on methadone for years, went to prison, kicked, and yet after a full year in jail, and being clean, they still got out and went straight back to the clinic to get back on because they still didn't feel "good". I imagine much of this can be due to other psychological problems, or perhaps just a chemical imbalance.

I do hope the iboga can give evolutionofone the same thing it gave me and many others (sub users included), and I see no reason he should be discouraged because of one or two reports. I am rooting for you, and if there is any more I can help, or advice I can offer, feel free to just ask. I also wish you luck Eclipsie in your pursuit for freedom. If you do figure out a way that is manageable for you, I would love for you to share it, as iboga is just one tool from the natural arsenal of drugs that can help. I really wish it would have worked better for you.

This is just one more reason to warn people to never give the subs a try. The drug companies would rather you be hooked and buying their drugs forever, and so they never can really be trusted when touting a new "cure" for opiate addiction. Every single remedy the drug companies come up with are replacement drugs. None that they create have ever been able to end addiction. This should help one be a bit more skeptical when being offered an addiction treatment from a doctor.