Ibogaine Treatment for Methadone Addiction

At Transcend Ibogaine’s Detox Center in Cancún, we have successfully treated hundreds of individuals struggling with methadone dependency using ibogaine. This treatment effectively reduces most withdrawal symptoms and alleviates post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS). Since methadone is processed in the body by the same system that metabolizes ibogaine, we will transition you to a different short-acting opioid (SAO) before your ibogaine treatment. This switch typically occurs upon your arrival at our facility in Cancún. Although methadone has a longer half-life than other opioids like morphine, heroin, or oxycodone, it is considered a “clean” molecule and does not have the complications associated with buprenorphine.

Once your body becomes reliant on methadone, you will find you need the drug just to function normally; this is methadone dependence and the end-point of methadone maintenance programs. If you have reached this stage, you will experience methadone withdrawal should you stop taking it, which may lead you to wonder what the best way to get off methadone might be. This isn’t an easy question to answer, especially when the discomfort and pain of methadone withdrawal symptoms are in full force. There are many different medical methadone detox centers out there – as opposed to methadone maintenance programs, which do not try to detox patients, but rather offer a perpetual substitution therapy paradigm where patients are expected to remain addicted indefinitely — most of which simply offer patients a way to taper down in their use as they are monitored. This is because the methadone withdrawal process can be fraught with unpleasant side-effects and adverse symptoms that can make it feel impossible to stop without extra help. Of course, the methadone rehab process is different for each patient; the length of time it takes to go through methadone withdrawal symptoms and what those symptoms feel like varies depending on the length and severity of the addiction along with the tolerance and unique biochemistry of each individual user. Beating methadone addiction is similar to quitting other opiates such as morphine and heroin in many ways, but symptoms of methadone withdrawal are usually somewhat less intense—which is counter-balanced by the length of time they persist. At a minimum, going through methadone detox without any special treatments like ibogaine means experiencing psychological stress and severe flu-like symptoms that last for months of time. And be aware that everybody’s biochemistry is unique, even though methadone has an extended half-life, if you are a fast metabolizer, you may well experience methadone withdrawal symptoms even though you are taking the drug as prescribed; this can happen even if you’ve only taken it for a short time. Common symptoms of methadone withdrawal include: aches in the bones or muscles, agitation, anxiety, chills, depression, diarrhea, dilated pupils, excessive yawning, fever, goose bumps, hallucinations, insomnia, irritability, nausea, paranoia, rapid heartbeat, runny nose, stomach pain or cramps, strong cravings, sweating, tearing eyes, and vomiting. Having a severe methadone dependence, with a very high tolerance for the drug, greatly increases the duration and intensity of the withdrawal process. The standard methadone withdrawal timeline — the one people going without ibogaine assistance can expect — looks like this. Methadone withdrawal symptoms begin to surface at about 30 hours after the last dose. Acute withdrawal symptoms may persist for 3 to 4 weeks and typically will not improve until the after the 2nd week of abstinence. After the acute methadone withdrawal stage, post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) sets in for nearly all individuals. Long-lasting methadone withdrawal symptoms which can persist for a period of many months following cessation of use include cognitive difficulties, fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and irritability. Ibogaine provides a highly effective detox from methadone. Methadone is an opioid with a longer half-life than heroin, which tends to mean opiate withdrawal symptoms are less severe during the acute phase, but last much longer than with short-acting opiates such as heroin. However, unlike buprenorphine, methadone is a pure agonist (like heroin) and extremely compatible with ibogaine therapy for opioid dependence.

With ibogaine treatment for methadone at Transcend Clinic’s Detox Center in Cancún, we have successfully treated hundreds of dependent individuals with a high rate of success.Ibogaine detox for methadone addiction eliminates the vast majority of withdrawal symptoms and provides tremendous relief from PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome). Methadone is metabolized via CYP2D6; cytochrome P450 2D6 is the same system your body uses to metabolize ibogaine. We will switch you to a different short-acting opioid (SAO), prior to receiving ibogaine treatment. We can generally do this once you arrive at Transcend Clinic’s ibogaine detox and treatment facility in Cancun. While methadone has a longer half-life than morphine, heroin, or oxycodone, it is a relatively “clean” molecule, that acts as a pure agonist at opiate receptors. Methadone  does not present the complications that are present with buprenorphine.