As with all drugs and medications Ibogaine also has it’s contraindications. In medicine, a contraindication is a condition or factor that serves as a reason to withhold a certain medical treatment.
The second and less known are the properties of some substances such as alcohol, benzodiazapines, methadone and suboxone, all which will be explained here.
HEROIN and OPIATES
There are contraindications between Opiates and Ibogaine. The 2 can not be taken together for any reason. This may result in serious adverse affects such as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.
Therefore, a safe waiting time between a person’s last dose of any opiate and the Ibogaine treatment is 36-48 hours.
METHAMPHETAMINE
There are contraindications between Methamphetamine and Ibogaine as well. The 2 can not be taken together for any reason. This also may result in serious adverse affects such as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.
Therefore, a safe waiting time between a person’s last dose of Methamphetamine and the Ibogaine treatment is 36-48 hours.
COCAINE and CRACK COCAINE
There are contraindications between any form of Cocaine and Ibogaine as well. The 2 can not be taken together for any reason. This also may result in serious adverse affects such as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat. Therefore, a safe waiting time between a person’s last dose of Cocaine and the Ibogaine treatment is 36-48 hours.
METHADONE and SUBOXONE
Based on all studies performed with SUBOXONE sub lingual film, buprenorphine has a mean elimination half–life from plasma ranging from 24 to 72 hours and naloxone has a mean elimination half–life from plasma ranging from 2 to 12 hours.
Buprenorphine is a partial agonist at the mu-opioid receptor and an antagonist at the kappa-opioid receptor. Naloxone is a potent antagonist at mu-opioid receptors.
Both are contraindicated with Ibogaine.
Waiting time is extremely essential not only due to the danger presented but due to the fact that both methadone and suboxone will BLOCK the therapeutic effects of Ibogaine, thus rendering treatment useless.
Therefore, waiting time must be calculated upon both the daily dosage taken and the half life.
Normal waiting time range for methadone is 3 days to 7 days.
Normal waiting time range for suboxone is 1 week to 3 weeks.
To shorten the waiting time a person may stop the methadone or suboxone and begin taking short acting opiates. this is something you should first consult with us at Baja Ibogaine Center and your personal doctor.
ALCOHOL and BENZODIAZAPINES
There are NO contraindications between ALCOHOL and BENZODIAZAPINES and Ibogaine. Either of the 2 CAN be taken together.
However, there is a more serious problem.
Neither alcohol nor benzodiazapines can be stopped immediately, also known as cold turkey. This could result in Gran Mal seizures or even death.
Due to that exact effect of an Ibogaine treatment the person has 2 choices. One, to slowly detox themselves either at the Detox With Iboga or at home or must continue to use alcohol or benzodiazepines through the treatment. Ibogaine Treatment will reduce the intake of alcohol by 60-80%.
Detox time for alcohol and benzodiazapines has greatly improved , and while traditional methods call for 3 to 6 months there are new accepted medical protocols ranging from 3 to 4 days.
This again is dependent upon individual circumstances and must be discussed with the medical team at Baja Ibogaine Center and your personal doctor prior to any arrangement for treatment.
Normal waiting time for alcohol is 3 to 4 days.
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, TOBACCO, AND EATING DISORDERS
For all except in the case of the person taking certain medications which will be discussed and evaluated there is no waiting time.