Addiction is a serious, debilitating brain illness that has the capacity to ruin the lives of those who are addicted and damage the families of those who are addicted. While addiction has been around for centuries, it has reached new levels in modern society with the advent of extremely addictive substances like heroin and opiates.
At the highest level of politics, politicians have called the opiate addiction has been called on the greatest health crises in decades. In 2012, there were over 259 million prescriptions written for painkillers during 2012, which was a 400% increase in prescription opiate use in 10 years.
Doctors and pseudo-doctors have been accused of contributing to the crisis with “pill mills” that don’t ask questions and just prescribe. The individual then can become addicted to the painkillers and need more and more–classic signs of dependence and addiction.
Even certain companies within the pharmaceutical industry has been implicated: Purdue Pharma pled guilty to misbranding the painkiller OxyContin with “intent to defraud and mislead the public” and paid $635 million in penalties. And while the resistance to painkillers is mounting in the United States, certain companies are going global to increase sales.
While the broad view of the crisis is enormous, the individual consequences are staggering. Lost jobs, broken relationships, erratic behavior, a life that is harmful to the individual are all consequences of addiction and breaking that addiction is difficult for many. Fortunately, there are treatment programs that can help.
One treatment program uses a novel approach to treating addiction. It is called Ibogaine drug treatment. Ibogaine is a psychedelic drug that was tested decades ago. It was found to be effective in reducing dependency and cravings of illicit substances but was never formally legalized in the United States.
However, the statistics reinforce the idea that it is a great treatment option for dependency on numerous types of drugs:
- Ibogaine can eliminate up to 98% of opiate withdrawal symptoms and significantly reduce post acute withdrawal symptoms like hunger or fatigue.
- Ibogaine also reduces cravings for alcohol and stimulants.
Unfortunately, addiction treatment is often focused exclusively on the 12 steps of various 12 step programs, even in treatment centers. The other portion of addiction treatment focuses on traditional therapy, modifying behaviors, changing attitudes, and other psychology techniques.
An Ibogaine treatment center offers an alternative approach to standard addiction treatment in a comfortable setting in select locations in the world, predominantly Mexico. These centers are often more hospitable than traditional treatment centers, which can be bare and restrictive.
It is important to note that Ibogaine detox may provide relief for one of the most dangerous and difficult stages of recovery from addiction. Those with alcohol addiction have been known to suffer greatly during detox without proper medication. And an Ibogaine clinic can offer solace during the early stages of recovery from illnesses that can be fatal such as OxyContin addiction and methamphetamine addiction.
It is gaining traction and steam as more see that it can help.