Iboga Insight

Information

Iboga and Safety

Medical dangers

The primary dangers of taking Iboga are cardiac issues, which have been known to lead to death. Ibogaine blocks hERG potassium channels, which are essential for normal heart rhythm. This leads to a prolonged QT interval (the time it takes for the heart to reset between beats) This can lead to a fatal arrhythmia. Ibogaine also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to bradycardia (a slow heartbeat), which can lead to heart attack and death. Ibogaine can also cause fluctuations in blood pressure, sometimes leading to hypotension (low blood pressure), resulting in dizziness, fainting.

People taking opioids, stimulants, or antidepressants may encounter severe and life threatening interactions. Ibogaine potentiates opioids and stimulants and may lead to other health crises when combined with prescription, over the counter and elicit drugs.

For this reason any reputable treatment provider will insist that safeguards are put in place. Candidates for treatment will be directed to undergo relevant health screenings, to determine good health, including heart and liver function. and will be assisted with withdrawing contraindicated substances prior to treatment.

Additional concerns relate to a candidates psychological wellbeing. It is essential that individuals are screened to determine whether they are psychologically stable enough to undergo treatment with minimal chance of major upheaval. A treatment provider may ask about psychiatric diagnoses and particularly any history of mania, psychosis, or personality disorders.

Interpersonal dangers

From the perspective of the patient seeking treatment, perhaps the biggest danger is in finding and choosing a safe and effective provider. People desperate for relief from addiction may be prone to choosing the most cost effective option and so an unhealthy alliance may be made that places the candidate for treatment at great personal risk. The flip side of this, is that a reckless or delusional individual offering treatments, may learn to be cautious in such a way that harms or kills a vulnerable individual. I have heard of individuals who feel that due diligence with regards to standard safety procedures is an insult to their special status and insight. Unfortunately people with delusions of grandeur and other varieties of irresponsible individual may be drawn to this niche area. Regardless of this, there are many excellent and highly ethical providers working today.

As a further note, for individuals who are somewhat new to the realm of plant medicines and psychedelics, first experiences may lead to states of great openness and suggestibility. Finding oneself opened up and vulnerable in the presence of anyone who has predatory or manipulative intentions, may be quite dangerous and potentially lead to traumatic experiences.

The relativity of safety concerns

Some people hear about the potential dangers of Ibogaine treatment and immediately get their knickers into a twist and scoff at how foolish it is to do such a thing.
This is arguably an extreme and absurd reaction, given the huge problem with iatrogenic sickness and deaths, meaning deaths caused by mainstream allopathic medicine and medical intervention. A 2016 Johns Hopkins study suggested that medical errors could be the third leading cause of death in the U.S., responsible for 250,000 deaths annually—behind only heart disease and cancer.
The dangers of living with addiction, whether it is to cigarettes, alcohol, or harder drugs, like meth or fentanyl are a far greater risk than undergoing Iboga treatment, which could be instrumental in remedying the addiction to these dangerous substances.
When considering the dangers of Ibogaine, weighed against the potential benefits, I would urge careful consideration of your personal situation and whether this path is truly a wise choice for you.

Previous studies estimate the mortality rate for ibogaine treatment at 1 in 300 to 1 in 400 cases. This estimate sounds scary and is not a good way to assess your own risk. You may be thinking that you have a one in three hundred chance of dying, if you seek treatment. This is a very flawed way of reading the data and the data itself may well be unreliable, not taking into account many hidden factors surrounding the safety of the treatments.
A 2012 review of ibogaine-related deaths found 19 cases documented in medical literature. Most of these involved preexisting health conditions or drug interactions.
A 2022 study reviewed early-phase clinical trials and found no deaths in controlled settings, suggesting proper screening and medical oversight reduce risks.
What we can learn from all the evidence, is that proper precautionary measures and choosing to work with ethical, experienced and well qualified people radically reduces any potential risk.