Can Ibogaine Prevent Dementia? - A Mindful Approach to Dementia & Psychedelics
Ibogaine came onto my radar in a serious way about six months ago. I actually wrote a blog on ibogaine in May. I somewhat flippantly mentioned that perhaps I should consider an ibogaine journey for my 70th birthday. Turns out, that is exactly what I am about to do. I leave for Mexico next week, where access to ibogaine can be legal.
What I have learned in the last six months keeps reinforcing my understanding that ibogaine has great potential for brain health. I predict we will see more senior citizens and those approaching their mid-century mark seeking out ibogaine—not for addiction or alcohol use disorder, for which it is best known—but more as a prophylactic for dementia.
That is my main reason for signing up for a retreat where I will be receiving sub-flood doses of ibogaine. A flood dose is a very high dose that is typically consumed with ibogaine. You may have seen the movie DOSED, in which a woman with severe drug addiction is treated in Vancouver, Canada, or maybe read about veterans who go to AMBIO in Mexico for treatment for PTSD and trauma.
What you may not know is that ibogaine does not have to be given at a flood dose; in fact, the more important factor, according to Garyth Moxey, who will be overseeing my experience, is getting the noribogaine into my system. Starting out at a low dose and then building up, he plans to get enough noribogaine into my system over three sessions across 10 days at a sub-flood dose each time. Rather than go into details here, I suggest you listen to the podcast in which I interview Garyth just days before I arrive at his retreat center. The link will be inserted once the podcast is available.
Microdosing ibogaine after the retreat will then be part of the maintenance program for brain health. Brain health is what brought me to be interested in ibogaine in the first place. The more I learned about it, the more I thought it could be a potential microdosing option for my husband, Henry, with mild/moderate Alzheimer’s. These weekly posts of our journey, lived through the lens of mindfulness and including microdosing from the start, now incorporate a wider lens of understanding plant medicines and psychedelics as potential helpers in this journey—both for dementia as well as for the caregiver.
As a microdosing coach, I was intrigued to learn more about ibogaine as a microdosing potential. And as with anything I recommend to my clients, I seek to build a relationship with that plant medicine, or in this case, a psychedelic (as I will be ingesting a synthetic version). So I will be reporting back on my experience in a few weeks.
Being mindful includes a deep sense of curiosity. It also means having discernment and making choices with reverence and mindful awareness. If we put all the stigma aside, the legality as well, and seek to learn, you may be surprised—as I am now—how helpful plant medicine and psychedelics can be in the latter years of life.
Will ibogaine be a preventative for dementia? Perhaps. It seems to show evidence of being one of the most powerful psychedelics when it comes to brain health. The experience itself may not be noted with hallucinations, as is the case with LSD. However, the actual experience does take one into the deeper inner realms of oneself. So that also seems like an appropriate journey as I celebrate seventy years of life and the new decade ahead!
Once I decided I wanted to have an ibogaine experience over my birthday, I began researching where to go and who to have the retreat with. There are many choices in Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. A quick search on RetreatGuru will show several options. But how does one really know which is right for you? That is the big question within the plant medicine/psychedelic space. For me, I narrowed it down to several options. Each person is different, but I knew that trust is one of the main factors. I needed to feel that I could totally trust the situation in order to let go. What trust looks like for one person may be different for another. What factors need to be in place are unique to each person, but I have outlined some that were important in my decision-making process below.
As I narrowed down some solid options, I kept contemplating and mindfully inquiring with self-reflection what would help me feel trust so that I could totally let go and allow the experience to unfold. Though I loved my interviews with a Canadian husband-and-wife team, Patrick and Michele of Soul Reflections, I realized that for my first experience, I was uncomfortable in a group setting and was not particularly called to be steeped in the Bwiti tradition (from which iboga came). Then there was my guy in Costa Rica. His apprentice went over the setup and what to expect. The medical intuit cleared me for the flood dose, using the actual bark. However, I knew for my first iboga experience, I would not allow myself to let go and trust in a jungle setting far from medical aid. Perhaps another time. I almost signed up with Beōnd despite the high cost. I felt the medical setup would help me feel safe, as well as their option of seeking to optimize their health. The luxury hotel setup seemed like what I needed as a caregiver. I liked that they collect data and are doing serious research on ibogaine, but in the end, I was drawn to a more individualized experience in a very comfortable setting.
Garyth Moxey was highly recommended through a trusted source. He heads Inner Realms Center and has recently moved to Mexico to ensure legal ability to continue the vocation he has had for close to fifteen years. Garyth’s plan is a very individually-tailored experience. It is based on my age and accompanying precautions; there is enough medical backup, the dosing will be monitored and reassessed as we go, and the objective is to keep me comfortable (he uses a specific way of combining the iboga—also explained in the podcast) while getting the noribogaine into my system. I like this approach, especially for my first experience. I also like the idea that it is a small center that he and his wife, Blair Bromley, run together. There is a maximum of three people at any given time, and lucky for me, one of my dear friends is also coming with me to have her own ibogaine experience.
A big part of preparation was doing the research (curiosity of beginner’s mind and discernment) to make a choice. Now, as part of preparation, I have been contemplating my intentions, feeling how they sit deep within my heart. At the same time, I know the journey will take me where it needs to go. I will bring my practice of mindfulness with me. In preparation: beginner’s mind, discernment, intentions. In the journey itself: equanimity, calm-abiding, mindful awareness (at least to the best of my ability). Integration may nourish deeper wisdom, more compassion and loving-kindness, and last but not least, a heart of gratitude.
- Lauren Alderfer, PhD.
