Since the early 2000’s, the United States has been struggling to find its way out from under the most unprecedented surge in opioid addiction in American history. Beginning in late 1990’s with pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma incentivizing doctors to maximize prescriptions of OxyContin to the proliferation of hundreds of Florida Pain Clinic’s dispensing huge quantities of opioids, the rise in opioid overdose mortality has been meteoric. Now, some two decades later, the opioid crisis in the United States continues its attack on American communities, affecting millions of individuals and families.
Fentanyl’s Deadly Grip on America
Still leading the world with over 75,000 fentanyl-related deaths in 2022, overdose continues to surpass all other forms of premature death in America. When the gross malpractice of mass-prescribing OxyContin was finally eradicated in 2008, the damage had already been done. By the summer of 2008, millions of Americans were opioid addicted and as the legal crackdown on rogue physicians and pain clinics resulted in the abrupt departure of Oxycontin prescriptions, individuals sought to the street to satisfy the demands of their opioid addictions.
The Transition from OxyContin to Street Heroin and Fentanyl
Street heroin was readily accessible and became the alternative for millions who had been abruptly cut-off from physician prescribed Oxycontin. As the wave of heroin use took hold in America, street dealers and traffickers began creating clandestine labs to formulate low-cost fentanyl to add to the heroin and increase profits. Fentanyl, a drug estimated to be ten times less costly to produce than heroin and 20-40 times the potency of Oxycontin, was indistinguishable to those addicted. This caused an unprecedented rise in overdose deaths from “wooden chest syndrome” (WCS); defined as laryngospasm or chest wall muscle rigidity and the rigidity of the diaphragm. WCS was identified by forensic pathologists to be unique to fentanyl overdose and found to occur within the first 1-2 minutes following fentanyl injection. This surge in overdose deaths left the country desperate for a solution as traditional detox methods continued to fall short at effectively treating those plagued by this powerful addiction.
The Stigma and Struggle of Opioid Detox
For the thousands who had merely been abiding by a doctor’s pain management directive “the last thing they wanted to admit to their loved ones was that they had been reduced to a heroin addict, said Nic V. Avante, Founder of The Avante Ibogaine Institute. The stigma of being considered a junkie was degrading, terribly destructive. Unlike many addictive substances, opioids affect the brains opioid receptor sites and cause the individual to experience both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms that can last several weeks and in severe cases, several months. When trying to detox without proper clinical assistance these relentless withdrawal symptoms are most often too much for the individual to endure, with relapse being their only option for relief.”
The Phases of Opioid Withdrawal: Acute and Post-Acute
“Opioid detox presents a unique challenge in that it attacks the individual in multiple phases, added Nic. The initial wave of withdrawal, known as acute withdrawal, presents in a physical sense with flu-like achiness, chills, sweats, nausea, muscle spasms, and associated discomforts. The way that I explain it to family members is to imagine being plagued by the flu while experiencing a case of food poisoning at the same time. It’s a feeling of being uncomfortable in your own skin; desperate to get out of the discomfort of your very body.
The second phase of opioid withdrawal are post-acute withdrawals. These present in emotional form with symptoms that include depression, anxiety, emotional irritability, and relentless cravings to use opioids for relief. This can result in an extended sense of emotional imbalance and discomfort. Post-acute withdrawal symptoms surface immediately following the acute withdrawal phase and can cause the individual to feel laden with guilt, shame, and regret while trying to fight against the early instability and urges of recovery. As soon as one breaks through the physical phase of acute withdrawal this emotional drag of post-acute withdrawal attacks, and this is where traditional addiction treatment falls well short at treating fentanyl addiction.
Why Traditional Addiction Treatments Fail Fentanyl Addicts
It is well known that treating all forms of opioid addiction with traditional treatment modalities has proven measurably ineffective. The high relapse rates of fentanyl addiction are testament to this. “The unique characteristics of opioid detox require a far more comprehensive approach to treatment, and clinical ibogaine treatment continues to show measurably better outcomes at treating fentanyl and related opioid addiction. Unlike traditional addiction treatments, Ibogaine works within the brain’s neurotransmitter system to restart the bodies production of serotonin and dopamine. Ibogaine rebalances neuro-chemical levels, connects broken receptors in the brain, and repairs the brain from an active addiction state to a restored neuro-health state, (e.g. neurogenesis). Ibogaine treatment for fentanyl addiction is unlike any other form of treatment known in the world, shares Nic.
The Unique Benefits of Ibogaine Therapy for Fentanyl Addiction
“What makes ibogaine therapy so unique and beneficial is that the individual is essentially spring boarded 30 or 60 days ahead of where they would be through any other form of traditional addiction treatment. This rapid restoration of one’s physical and emotional balance is unbelievably beneficial and offers a sense of confidence that is so valuable in early recovery. We have yet to find any other treatment modality that achieves the neurological benefits that ibogaine does. These are extremely effective therapies particularly in the case of chemical addiction but also in the case of general psychotherapeutic benefit. Ibogaine treatment is a highly unique and highly effective therapy in that ibogaine therapy works internally and outward to guide the individual through a comprehensive and healthy detox. It neuro-chemically rebalances the human body, in rapid form.”
The Avante Ibogaine Institute in Nassau, Bahamas is a leading provider of clinical ibogaine treatment. For more information about Clinical Ibogaine Treatment or The Avante Ibogaine Institute in Nassau, Bahamas visit https://avanteibogaine.com call 1-844-4-AVANTE or email: avanteinstitute@gmail.com.
References:
-
-
- Center for Disease Control (CDC), Responding to America’s Overdose Crisis: An Examination of Legislation to Build Upon the Support Act
-