Hello!
Here's my write-up of the last couple of months of researching Iboga. I focused on the how-to, as personal experience reports abound here, on erowid, etcetera.
Many thanks to GratefulDad, Harveyplex and Michelle at IbogaWorld.com for constructive criticisms. Thanks to everyone who had a read-through of earlier drafts and gave it their thumbs-up.
I hope this is useful to people, and that posting this here garners further discussion and constructive criticisms, making it a work in progress.
Hopefully, the next time I log on, the part of the disclaimer that says I have no experience with Iboga will no longer be true!
Wish me luck.
cheers
P
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Protocol: Iboga for spiritual / psychonaut purposes
Disclaimer:
This protocol is a write-up based on various anecdotes and advice from trip reports, drug forums and the Iboga distributor. I have no experience with Iboga at the time of this writing, and I am writing this to have a concise procedural description which I can use to check my own understanding and establish principles with the person for whom I will be sitting and who will be my sitter.
I am not writing for treatment purposes and this information should not be used as such. ANY use of this information is purely at the risk and responsibility of those who choose to read and use this information. Do not trust what I’ve written, do your own research. Look, I couldn’t even be bothered putting together a reference list!
What is Iboga?
Tabernathe Iboga is a plant which is central in the African religion called Bwiti. It contains psychoactive alkaloids, including ibogaine. Ibogaine is sometimes used by itself, especially in drug addiction treatments. However, initiates and users report a desirable synergy effect in the composition of various psychoactive alkaloids found in the bark of the Tabernathe Iboga root.
Precautions:
Iboga has caused deaths and prudence requires several precautions to be observed before taking the drug.
1. Check (with a doctor) that heart and liver function are healthy in the designated tripper.
2. Have a sitter who has read this protocol and is willing to follow it. The sitter’s responsibilities are described in detail in following sections, but critically:
a. The sitter must know CPR and first-aid.
b. The sitter must be able and willing to call for an ambulance in case of respiratory failure or cardiac arrest.
c. The sitter must check on the tripper regularly during the session, most frequently during the first six hours.
d. The first 10-15 hours of the experience are the most critical.
3. Do not take any other drugs with Iboga.
a. There exist anecdotes that LSD or Caapi can be combined with smaller booster doses. However, it is not advisable to combine anything with flood doses. Note that IbogaWorld.com fervently opposes using anything else in combingation with any dose of Iboga.
b. It is possible that deaths caused by Iboga use were due to the fact that Iboga increases sensitivity and toxicity to opiates and other chemicals.
4. Do not take Iboga when pregnant.
5. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery or do anything similarly risky for a good while after taking Iboga, at least a few days. Be careful – better safe than sorry!
6. Do not take too much Iboga! Decide how much you expect to take, and estimate an upper bound for how much is safe to take. Do not exceed this upper bound!
Substance forms:
There are three important forms of Iboga available on the market: Dry root bark powder (Rb), total alkaloid extract (TA) and HCl ibogaine (HCl). Rb is essentially the form used in Bwiti initiation ceremonies. TA is a powder produced by extracting all the psychoactive alkaloids from the root bark. HCl is the purified form of ibogaine used in addiction treatments. Do NOT purchase whole root powder, it contains either zero or negligible amounts of psychoactive alkaloids.
“For spiritual purposes the best product to use is TA due to the combination of the alkaloids it creates a greater effect and will allow you to have better insight and remember things more effectively... Please note that this is in my opinion and from my experience.”
-- IbogaWorld.com
Dosage:
How much Iboga should you take? The effects of Iboga are sensitively dependent on the relationship between the amounts of ibogaine/alkaloids consumed relative to the body mass of the drug taker. In other words, the size of a dose is described in terms of how many milligrams of psychoactive alkaloids are consumed per kilograms of body mass. For example, for a body weight of 80 kg, taking 1.6 g of ibogaine would provide a dose of 20 mg/kg. This is considered a flood dose and in the literature seems to be sufficient for addiction treatments. For Bwiti initiation ceremonies, a high estimate of the dose taken over the course of several days was given as 33 mg/kg.
Depending on the form of Iboga, as well as the quality of each product batch, the physical substance you’re planning to take will contain some percentage (by weight) of ibogaine/alkaloids. With HCl, this is pretty straight forward as 90+% percentages means that approximately the mass of substance taken divided by your body mass describes the dose. With Rb, the total alkaloid concentration has been suggested to lie between 2 % and 3 %, although anecdotally concentrations as high as 8 % have been hypothesized. It’s been suggested that half the alkaloid content of Rb consists of ibogaine. As for TA, the nominal concentration of alkaloids has been given as 50-70 %. So, to calculate your dosage, use the following equation:
Dose = concentration x amount ingested / body mass
Note that with Rb, TA and any other conceivable form of Iboga with psychoactive alkaloids other than ibogaine, the total alkaloid concentration should be considered, rather than just the ibogaine concentration, since all the alkaloids will have an effect on your mind and body. All the alkaloids must be taken into account to prevent harm to liver and heart. These substances are pretty taxing for the body to metabolize.
Also note that women apparently have a harder time metabolizing the Iboga alkaloids independent of their body mass, and so may wish to take somewhat smaller doses for safety.
Now that you know how to calculate dosage, you can choose the dose you want on the basis of what effect you are seeking.
• To check against allergies or other abreactions, in therapeutic sessions it is common to give an initial test dose of about 2-3 mg/kg about 90 minutes prior to giving the rest of the total (flood) dose.
• Addicts using Iboga to break their habit often use booster doses of about 3 mg/kg after the first flood dose used to avoid the worst withdrawal symptoms. People working on self-growth or against depression also use this dose range, once a week or so, as their body demands.
• Flood doses of 15-20 mg/kg are used to break addictions and are considered optimal for first time users, especially the lower range.
•
http://www.ibogaine.desk.nl/manual.html estimates a total dose of 33 mg/kg ingested in a Bwiti initiation ceremony over several days. This is considered a very high dose.
Note that individual differences in sensitivity to different doses are a huge and incalculable factor in the use of Iboga, but I suppose with careful repeated use, should that be desirable, each person can get to know what’s an appropriate dose for them, for the various purposes Iboga can serve. At least this way of calculating doses should be useful for comparing doses and combinations with different forms of Iboga.
Toxicity is an important issue with Iboga, and it’s been suggested that 70 mg/kg can be lethal for anyone. The smallest Iboga dose associated with a death was 8 mg/kg! Animal tests show self-administration on alternate days ceases at 40 mg/kg. LD50, the dose where 50% of test animals die, is reported to be well above 100 mg/kg.
That being said, my Iboga source (ibogaworld.com, IW) suggests I take 4 g of their nominally 60% TA, which at 80 kg gives a total alkaloid dose of 30 mg/kg. Only a part of this dose consists of ibogaine, with the remainder being made up of other alkaloids that nevertheless have some effect and must be metabolized. Furthermore, they suggest I either take it all at once, with no initial test dose, or take a 400 mg test dose first, wait 45-90 minutes, and then take the rest.
Will you take a test dose or not? It may be safer, but it may not take you as far if you divide up your dose like that.
Still, it is not uncommon to divide up the total dose and consume it part by part over several hours, to have a more smooth and gradual experience.
Set:
Set and setting are famously the two most important parts of any psychedelic endeavour. Set is the word used for the drug taker’s intent, mindset, attitudes, expectations and any other mental factors before and during the experience. Setting consists of the social and physical environment where the event takes place. Since Iboga REQUIRES two people, one sober sitter and one tripping tripper, both people carry a part of the responsibilities for both aspects of the tripper’s experience.
However, the tripper is mainly responsible for the set in his own mind, while – at least after initial logistics and planning – the sitter’s job is to keep the environment conducive to the tripper’s trip. More detail on that later.
The tripper’s job is to know what to expect, to let the plant do the teaching and trust the experience. It’s often mentioned that people come to the Iboga experience with an intention of resolving specific issues, and to find answers to specific questions. Writing out and focusing on these intentions and questions beforehand may help to keep them at the forefront of a deeply intense and potentially confusing experience.
However, almost as often trip reports mention that they experience the personification of the experience the “plant teacher” or spirit of the plant, to have a mischievous sense of humour and its own way of doing things. It is said to have its own benign agenda, and one should simply surrender to it.
Some confusion is engendered by the fact that on the one hand, Bwiti advises especially women to be careful not to let go of the physical body if the opportunity occurs during the experience to leave behind the mortal coil. This is not a responsible time to do that, and though the choice may be real, the repercussions for those left behind from a death due to Iboga may be especially severe. On the other hand, users report some consternation that they have not taken opportunities to go through doors they feel represented ego death.
From literature, it appears that some skill is required in navigating the experience, a combination of letting go and exercising one’s will/intention/power to choose.
In addition to clarifying one’s intent verbally and cognitively, many people choose to purify by fasting and meditating before taking Iboga.
However, others feel that the Iboga experience is so taxing that it’s best to build up the body’s reserves, up to the last 24 hrs, from which point it’s best to take only liquids, or eat lightly.
Setting:
After taking a flood dose of Iboga, the tripper will become extremely sensitive to light, sounds and movement. Therefore, there tripper must be able to lie down on a comfortable bed in a completely quiet, completely dark place. The space should be dedicated exclusively to the Iboga session.
It has been suggested that the ideal situation may be two adjoining hotel rooms, so that the sitter can check on the tripper but not disrupt their experience at other times. This makes keeping quiet less of an ordeal for the sitter, and the tripper can still benefit from the vital silence during the Iboga experience. One person who did this said they still felt like they could hear everything that was going on in the hotel. Most people report not wanting to hear music of any kind (except possibly Bwiti music). Most people report not wanting to talk with their sitter during the experience, even to the point of being easily aggravated by the sound of voices.
It is especially helpful if the bathroom is close to where the tripper lies, because many Iboga trippers experience serious problems walking on their own and need their sitter’s help for this. Also, a bucket near the bed is a must. Purging often occurs.
One candle may be kept burning, but artificial light is definitely too intense. Several people report feeling much more peaceful experiences when the sitter meditates and manifests harmonious peacefulness before and during the Iboga session.
Progression:
Final preparations by the tripper:
It may be wise to fast for the last 24 hrs before taking Iboga, or at least take no solids for such a period. Ingest nothing but water in the last 6 hrs before taking Iboga.
Make sure the tripper is properly hydrated before taking Iboga, but not excessively so. Once the flood dose kicks in, going to the bathroom will be very difficult for a long time.
Take out contact lenses, take off glasses, etcetera. Prepare to be out of touch for a good while. For maximum dark and quiet, time dosing to after sundown.
Either take a test dose (~10 % of total target dose) and wait an hour-90 minutes to see if everything feels good and right and then take the rest of the dose, OR take the whole dose all at once, OR take the whole dose by parts at scheduled intervals, with help from the sitter.
Since Iboga has a foul taste and can cause nausea, there are different ways of dealing with this. It is common to put the Iboga into capsules. Otherwise, it’s suggested to take TA with yoghurt or some acidic liquid, e.g. ginger tea. Alternatively, one forum post suggests taking TA by putting the powder in your mouth and washing down with small sips. Remember, you want to take Iboga on an empty stomach. Drinking water after this will make most people more nauseous than they will be anyway.
Right after taking the Iboga, go lie down in a quiet, dark room with your eyes closed and stay still. Light may hurt your eyes, and any movement may make you nauseous. If you are taking an initial test dose, pre-arrange to have the sitter come give you the rest after 45-90 minutes. If you take all of it at once, the full effects should begin after 60-90 minutes.
The initial phase of the Iboga experience – the visual phase – may consist of intense visualizations, and some report open eye hallucinations. However, not everyone gets strong visualizations. With a big dose of Rb or TA, this phase may last 6-12 hours. With pure ibogaine, this period may be shorter. These may be scenes of an ordinarily very disturbing nature, although many people report feeling some detachment about this. If for some reason you want to not watch a particular scene playing out behind closed eyes, it’s suggested that you can open your eyes briefly to change the particular scene. However, this seems like it cuts both ways – don’t open your eyes if what you’re seeing is interesting.
People also report humming noises and auditory hallucinations. This seems all the more reason to take Iboga in a quiet environment, in order not to miss out on this aspect.
After several hours of “being shown” various things, usually construed as lessons on the grislier aspects of human nature, people usually enter the second phase quite abruptly – a more lucid period where the tripper processes what they have seen and learned. This is still a time for quiet introspection and the sitter should still allow the tripper to be the one who initiates conversations. As one person put it “the healing is more like a louder intuition.” Altogether, this phase seems to last until at least 24 hours after taking Iboga. Eating should be postponed until at least 12 hrs after taking the flood dose, or after the visual phase has subsided and some time has been spent in the second phase.
You may or may not feel hungry or thirsty, but should try to drink at least 3 liters of water a day for the first few days after a flood dose. Also, it may be difficult to sleep for days after taking a flood dose of Iboga, and the need for sleep may be reduced for an even longer period afterwards.
It is recommended to write down your experiences and to keep reminders of what you have learned.
Several trippers report seeing random lights even after this period. The first few days after taking Iboga leaves many trippers quite dejected and low on energy. Make sure to schedule several days of rest after taking Iboga, at least three to five days. Sometimes it can take a week or so to straighten up after a flood dose. For someone who is breaking their addiction, it can last between ten to fourteen days. Iboga is often unpleasant, it may be a trial that you endure in order to obtain the benefits of the lessons you learn. Typically you face scary and unpleasant issues initially, and then may begin to feel good. Despite making you face anxieties, Iboga is considered a very gentle but powerful way of doing this.
However, the other benefit of Iboga that’s reported is that trippers experience a certain glow for a couple of months after taking Iboga. The glow period is sometimes extended with booster doses, usually taken about weekly, although some (especially addicts struggling to break their habit) use booster doses about daily for a period. The glow helps to keep in mind the lessons learned during the Iboga flood experience.
Also, some people report that other psychedelics feel deeper after the Iboga flood.
Despite similarities between experiences, people will have an individual experience each time, depending on what’s on their mind.
Results will vary.
