Amphetamines are very harmful and addictive drugs, releasing dopamine when people consume them. Methamphetamine is the most common amphetamine, and it’s widely available, used, and sold to people using and abusing. Dexedrine, Adderall, Vyvanse, and generic ADHD medications are also highly addictive amphetamines.
How do amphetamines work?
As they generates pleasure and a fantastic feeling of well-being, amphetamines are highly abused. They produce dopamine causing the neurotransmitters in the brain to make the patients feel joyful, happy, energetic, and self-confident.
Even if amphetamine generates impressive amounts of dopamine, when people stop taking it, the regular flow of dopamine present in the brain will be blocked. Amphetamine makes the patient feel highly energetic and high, and tremendous overall well-being was observed in people shortly after taking it. It’s a very addictive drug that lasts for a long time. People taking meth, for instance, noticed effects for 8 hours after taking it. It’s one of the reasons for which amphetamine and methamphetamine are so popular among students.
With amphetamine impacting the brain’s functions, it’s expected that the side effects of the drug will show after some time. As the drug leaves the body, the person will become angry, irritable, and overwhelmed by negativity. Since amphetamine blocks the natural circulation of dopamine in the brain, the person will find it impossible to feel pleasant after the drug is eliminated. The more people abuse amphetamine, the more affected the central nervous system becomes due to the neurotoxicity of the drug.
Amphetamine and meth will impact the body on both psychological and physical levels, and the impact is dramatic. On a physical level, it’s going to destroy the body from the inside. It’s very harmful to the vital organs, making people who abuse look pretty bad after some time. A decreased sense of well-being, feelings of inadequacy and depression will appear, and continuous use may also lead to amphetamine psychosis.
What is the withdrawal from amphetamine like?
Most of the withdrawal symptoms for people breaking up the methamphetamine addiction are emotional and psychological. Some physical effects may also appear, even though they’re not as severe as those of people cutting off alcohol or opioid drugs. It doesn’t mean that the physical effects aren’t acute or easy to deal with patients.
The withdrawal phase will start within the first 24 hours of abstinence, but the symptoms will worsen after some time. From 7 to 10 days, the patients will deal with the most unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Once the peak is reached, a decline of symptoms will be noticed. All in all, it can take 14 to 20 days for the withdrawal phase to go away. These days, patients will also experience dry mouth, incredible appetite, fatigue, lethargy, jitteriness, and excessive sleepiness.
People who stopped taking amphetamine and meth also observed feelings of depression, even though the level decreased after some time. Severe cravings may also appear, but they will also disappear pretty fast. Some professionals highlight that there’s a link between cravings for amphetamines and the severity of the addiction. The more often a person will go through withdrawal, the higher the risk for them to relapse.
Even though the withdrawal symptoms may not be as severe as in other addictions, the importance of the detox phase should not be undermined.
How can ibogaine help the treatment for amphetamine addiction?
Most of the treatments for amphetamine addiction use 12-step treatment plans, and the success rates are still meager (from 1 to 7%). Due to the low rates of success, it’s clear that alternative treatment programs had to be created for amphetamine addiction. The reality that the results last for just 6-12 months when following traditional treatment isn’t beneficial either.
So far, anecdotal reports highlighted a 60-80% success rate for ibogaine treatment for various addictions. The ibogaine treatment takes one week, whereas its administration spans through 36 hours. It’s a psycho-spiritual treatment that stops both the physical and psychological dependence as it has both mental and physical abilities.
On a physical level, ibogaine will alleviate the physical withdrawal symptoms such as shakes, itchy skin, twitches, or sweating that people often noticed after stopped abusing. After the treatment was completed, patients who took ibogaine for amphetamine addiction revealed complete disappearance of the physical symptoms.
Ibogaine is useful since it resets the neurotransmitters in the brain. It becomes a psycho-spiritual tool that makes the patients confront their deep emotions and past trauma, identifying the deep roots of their addiction. People who abuse drugs have a deep wound, trying to find salvation through drug consumption. Ibogaine gives the patients the possibility to take a journey inside their deepest emotions. Once they face their deepest feelings, patients see how addiction affects their lives and of the people around them. They are given a chance to forgive and move forward, getting a deep understanding of their existence.
Some noted that the healing process comprises of two different stages, with the visionary psychedelics as the first stage. The visionary phase will last from 4 to 6 hours, leading to a dream-like altered state of consciousness where previous events, emotional traumas and feelings may be addressed.
The second phase is the introspective stage, allowing the patients to heal from fears and negative emotions generated by the trauma.
When the ibogaine treatment is over, the patients get a fresh look at their existence. People taking ibogaine can see their life and addiction from the outside and find the means for living a sober and drug-free life. Letting go of past emotions is tough, but ibogaine gives people a complete transformation at a mental level.
Ibogaine becomes a great alternative to traditional addiction treatment, helping people to move forward from addiction. Life becomes better after taking ibogaine, but it’s only the first stage of addiction treatment.
Is ibogaine treatment efficient?
Typical treatment for amphetamine addiction can take from 3 to 6 months, but the success rates are lower than 10%. The costs for traditional medicine are still high, regardless of the high risk for relapse.
Ibogaine has been proven to work to an 80-90% rate of success. But that’s not even the best part, as ibogaine treatment gives results in less than a week with a 36-hour treatment. Ibogaine is the only substance that addresses the physical and psychological aspects of one’s addiction, which explains the high success rates. Once a patient takes ibogaine, the mental cravings and physical symptoms such as tremors or sweating will disappear.
Moreover, ibogaine has a psycho-spiritual power, helping patients heal from the deep emotions and traumas. During the ibogaine treatment, patients experience revelations about their existence, have glimpse visions of their life. They lose the emotional baggage that generated the addiction years ago.
Ibogaine is the only substance that makes patients feel free from physical cravings and psychological addiction.
What’s the final thought?
Just like with any other treatment, ibogaine may not give results in all patients. Some may even experience irregular heartbeat, in which case ibogaine treatment must be stopped. The mortality rate for ibogaine is 1 in 400, and examples of people with cardiac arrest or death have been noted.
Even if the results for the withdrawal symptoms are impressive, patients should also follow complete treatment for their addiction. They should go to therapy, develop methods for addressing the addiction. It’s also essential that they seek help at reputed rehab centers, with staff members trained and experienced for medical monitoring. It’s what puts them in a safe spot for addiction treatment.
