Explore the Science, History, and Healing Potential of Ibogaine
Are you one of the millions of people dealing with PTSD, emotional trauma, substance abuse, or chronic pain?
If so, you’re in the right place.
Many of us at Bassé have walked a similar path and empathize with the challenges you face every day.
We are champions for Ibogaine because we know first-hand how life-changing it can be. In the right setting and with support before, during, and after your treatment, Ibogaine can work miracles.
Does this sound too good to be true?
Trust us, and keep reading. We know this medicine has the power and potential to open the door to change.
Scientific Advisory from Dr. Deborah Mash
Dr. Deborah Mash, our scientific advisor, is a leading neuroscientist and pharmacologist known for her pioneering research on Ibogaine. In 1993, she received FDA approval to begin the first human clinical trials with Ibogaine – an important step toward developing new treatments for addiction.
Her discovery of noribogaine, Ibogaine’s active metabolite, has opened new possibilities for supporting recovery and neurological healing. We are honored to have Dr. Mash as our scientific advisor, benefiting from her expertise and leadership in advancing innovative therapeutic approaches.
How Ibogaine Works
Ibogaine is a powerful psychoactive compound that affects the brain and body in several ways, primarily through its interaction with neurotransmitter systems. Here’s an overview of how Ibogaine works:
- Psychoactive Effects: Ibogaine induces a unique psychedelic journey that involves visual and auditory experiences, introspection, and emotional release. This altered state of consciousness can help individuals confront and process deep-seated emotions, memories, and traumas, facilitating personal insight and healing.
- Neurotransmitter Interactions: Ibogaine interacts with various neurotransmitter systems, including:
- Opioid Receptors: Ibogaine acts as a partial agonist at opioid receptors, meaning it lightly activates these receptors without producing the intense high of opioids. This helps ease withdrawal symptoms and cravings during detox.
- Serotonin Receptors: Ibogaine influences serotonin receptors – the brain structures that help regulate mood and emotional balance. By supporting serotonin activity, Ibogaine may help lift depressive symptoms and reduce anxiety during and after treatment.
- Glutamate and Dopamine: Ibogaine modulates the glutamate and dopamine systems, which are key brain chemicals involved in learning, motivation, and reward. This mechanism promotes neuroplasticity and the potential for the brain to form new connections, which is vital for breaking old patterns and sustaining addiction recovery.
- Addiction Withdrawal and Cravings: Ibogaine has been found to dramatically reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings associated with substance use disorders (typically by 75%-95%). This effect can provide a crucial opportunity for individuals to break free from the cycle of addiction and embark on a path toward recovery.
- Neuroplasticity: Ibogaine is known to encourage neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt. This property may help individuals rewire their thought patterns, behaviors, and emotional responses, making it easier to establish healthier habits.
- Integration and Aftercare: Ibogaine’s impact is deepened through proper integration processes, where individuals are supported in applying the insights gained during their experience to their everyday lives. This is essential for achieving lasting change and sustained recovery, and one of our top priorities at Bassé.
Overall, Ibogaine’s multifaceted approach to healing – encompassing psychological, emotional, and physiological dimensions – makes it a compelling option for those seeking to overcome addiction, trauma, chronic pain, various mental health challenges, and neurological conditions.
However, Ibogaine treatments must be administered in clinically supportive environments, like those created at Bassé, and under medical supervision to ensure safety and effectiveness.
Research on Ibogaine
The healing potential of Ibogaine has been the subject of scientific research for decades. Discover some of the most-cited studies below.
- Ibogaine Detoxification Transitions Opioid and Cocaine Abusers Between Dependence and Abstinence: Clinical Observations and Treatment Outcomes
- Ibogaine treatments led to improvements in mood and diminished cravings for opioids and cocaine
- A systematic literature review of clinical trials and therapeutic applications of Ibogaine
- A meta-analysis concluded that Ibogaine is an effective therapy for substance use disorders, reducing withdrawal symptoms and craving
- Subjective effectiveness of ibogaine treatment for problematic opioid consumption: Short- and long-term outcomes and current psychological functioning
- 80% of study participants indicated that Ibogaine eliminated or drastically reduced withdrawal symptoms from opioids
- Case report: Ibogaine reduced severe neuropathic pain associated with a case of brachial plexus nerve root avulsion
- Ibogaine led to a 50% pain decrease for an individual with brachial plexus nerve root avulsion (one of the most challenging types of neuropathic pain)
What Does Ibogaine Feel Like?
Ibogaine treatment induces a unique oneirogenic (dreamlike) state, allowing you to embark on a transformative inner journey. During this experience, you may encounter vivid, dreamlike visions that may feel detached from your everyday life, but are often deeply meaningful on a personal level.
This dreamlike state helps heal the subconscious, enabling you to identify and address past trauma and the feelings of guilt, shame, and fear associated with addiction and mental health struggles.
Remember, the Ibogaine experience is unique to each person. Typically, within 30 to 45 minutes of taking Ibogaine, the discomfort of drug withdrawal symptoms begins to fade, creating a safe and serene environment for healing, rather than a frightening psychedelic experience. This supportive process allows for inner exploration and introspection.
Phase 1, 0-4 hours
You’ll feel the initial effects 45 minutes after ingesting the Ibogaine, which can last for up to four hours. You may experience dreamlike visions in the form of imagery and sounds, find it challenging to walk or move, and experience skin tightness or numbness.
Phase 2, 4-12 hours
During the next phase, it’s common to revisit significant life experiences that have shaped your journey. This mental processing phase can last up to 12 hours and is marked by deep insights into the life events that brought you to where you are today, providing an unprecedented understanding of your psyche.
Phase 3, 12-24 hours
As you come out of the most intense part of your Ibogaine experience, you may feel mentally clear and calm but physically fatigued. This stage is often described as a period of integration in real time, where the insights from the earlier phases begin to settle in, and the brain continues to “reset” and rewire.
Customized Programs
No two Ibogaine programs are identical. Each treatment we provide at Bassé is customized to meet the unique needs of the individual, taking into account your medical history, pain points, intentions, and emotional well-being. This personalized approach ensures that you receive the support and care necessary for your unique journey.
With that said, we adopt a clinically-proven, overarching framework with each client, which includes initial assessment, preparation, and intention setting, Ibogaine treatment, fraction doses (as advised by the supervising doctor), and integration. The combination of tailored support and a tested therapeutic process helps optimize your chances for lasting transformation.
Find out more about our programs at Bassé here.
Beyond the Journey
While Ibogaine therapy is transformative, it is just one component of a comprehensive approach to recovery and healing. For those seeking a life free from addiction, trauma, and pain, it’s essential to do the therapeutic work to release old patterns, behaviors, and other influences that contributed to these complex states.
All of our clients receive access to our 30-day integration course and have the option to continue collaborating with our therapists, coaches, and mentors for 1:1 integration support. Learn more about our aftercare process here.
BASSÉ'S IBOGAINE
Our Ibogaine hydrochloride is exclusively manufactured for our use, and it is lab-tested in a laboratory that adheres to strict safety guidelines. With a purity level certified at 99.7% via HPLC assay, our Ibogaine is derived using natural product chemistry, ensuring the highest quality available.
Not all Ibogaine is created equal, and variations in materials can lead to significantly different effects. The Ibogaine used at Bassé aligns with the formulations presented in peer-reviewed journals, making it effective in alleviating withdrawal symptoms from poly-substance abuse disorders.
The History of Ibogaine
Iboga, the natural source of Ibogaine, has been used for centuries by the Bwiti people of Gabon and other West African tribes as a sacred plant medicine. In these traditions, Iboga plays a central role in spiritual and healing ceremonies, including rites of passage, where it is used to access altered states of consciousness, connect with ancestors, and seek deep insight and guidance.
In the late 1960s, Howard Lotsof, a man struggling with heroin addiction, discovered Ibogaine’s therapeutic potential after it unexpectedly alleviated his withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Inspired by his experience, Lotsof conducted early informal studies and shared his findings, sparking global interest in Ibogaine as a treatment for substance use disorders.
Today, Ibogaine is offered in specialized medical facilities in countries where its use is legal or decriminalized, bridging ancient wisdom and modern science to help individuals struggling with addiction, trauma, and other conditions find a new path to healing.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
IBOGAINE AND IBOGA
Ibogaine is a purified alkaloid extracted from the Iboga plant. While they share the same source, the contexts, experiences, and therapeutic applications of Iboga and Ibogaine differ significantly.
- Iboga is traditionally used in ceremonial, shamanic settings. The experience is often described as heavier in the body, with a longer, layered visionary phase and a palpable sense of being “worked on” by the medicine.
- Ibogaine, by contrast, is used in medical environments with precise dosing and clinical monitoring. The experience tends to feel cleaner, more linear, and more predictable, making it particularly effective for treating addiction, PTSD, and chronic pain.
Once ingested, Ibogaine is metabolized in the liver into noribogaine, the active compound responsible for reducing drug cravings and producing strong antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects. Because the Iboga plant does not contain enough concentrated Ibogaine to achieve these clinical benefits, medical providers typically use Ibogaine hydrochloride (HCL) – a purified, standardized form of the medicine. At Bassé, we use 99.7% pharmaceutical-grade Ibogaine HCL, lab-tested for safety, quality, and consistency.
