36 days and I think endorphin system starting to work

Hey Fritz - Really glad to hear you're getting some energy.  That's great news.   Sorry to hear about your back ache - hopefully it's something advil or alieve can take care of (if needed).    I really felt like yesterday, that my fatigue was significantly starting to let up - not gone, but I felt at about 75 - 80% overall.   That's major to me!   I was pretty optimistic for sure.   However, today I've taken a couple steps back.   I'm in between hearings and am physically/mentally toast...  and still have 3 hearings to go.  I just wanna go to bed/sleep so bad.  It's only 12:55 here on the east coast.    However, I think I may have inadvertently caused my digression.  Last night at about 1:00am I woke up with a splitting headache (my first pain at all since Ibogaine) and I went into the adjoining master bedroom bath, where I knew there was Advil.  I didn't want to close the door & turn on the light, for fear of waking up my wife.  So in the pitch dark I grabbed the BIG bottle of Advil, that I hadn't used in over a month and got two pills out of the bottle.  I noticed that the pills felt different, were of different size...  I remembered that I had put some aspirin in the bottle too for when I had headaches, so I didn't care - I'll take both.   I woke up this morning, still with a headache (think it may be caffeine related, as I've been ingesting mass amounts to get through the workdays) and went to the same Big bottle of advil to get a couple more of the aspirin and low & behold I had put some tramadol in there too.  Son of a bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!         I know it sounds like BS, but I have no reason to lie.   I accidentally took tramadol at 1:00am and I think it set me back today, as the fatigue is back with a vengeance.   Oh well, whataya gonna do.    It just reaffirms for me that no narcotic will help me and will in fact only delay my healing. I'm really glad to see your post Fritz.   Hope your laughing continues to get easier and louder each and every day!

Hi Fritz, Glad to here you doing good.  There will be a few rough spots but I believe it is mostly downhill from here.  Ibo seems to block pain for 30 days after a flood.  The Ibo may be wearing off so you may want to have some RB around. @ Ready, Oh boy, taking meds in the dark.  Ok, you may of heard this before but here is a review. 1.  Don't use hair dryers in the shower. 2.  Don't check your gas tank by flicking your Bic. 3.  Don't tug on Superman's cape, don't spit into the wind, don't pull the mask off the Lone Ranger and ya don't mess around with Jim. Best,   cinderpath

RTS, The exact same thing happened to me in about three weeks. I got an energy burst and felt great and did about five hours of work in the yard. I was dead the next day and not much better for several days after that. I then started having another burst of energy on Tuesday. Aren't you at about three weeks? I don't know if my experience is a pattern that generally happens. If it is, you should be getting another burst pretty soon. best of luck with those hearings. Roy, I can handle the backache. I've made  it over a month without any opiates. I think I already feel better then I did when I was popping 240 mg of OxyContin every day. At least my head is a lot clearer. The great part is I managed to escape any real significant withdrawal. I also suspect that the endorphin system came back a lot quicker because of the ibogaine. Is that correct? Thanks for your help and advice.

Good to hear Fritz.   Tomorrow will actually be exactly 4 weeks since I took my last narcotic (other than exactly two tramadol pills over those 4 weeks).  It's been 25 days since my Ibo treatment.

Happy to hear how things are improving!!  As Roy said, it's all downhill from here.  Yes, the ibogaine definitely does help your whole endorphin system repair itself much faster than any other way.  You still may get a wave of the down feeling or fatigue, even slight PAWS, but it will be less often and fewer and farther between.  You can expect to eventually feel way more good days than bad, until you are feeling normal, aside from some old age effects, perhaps..  :p

Hi Frits, Oh ya  can handle the backache now, that's Great.  I got a 30 day reprieve in back pain.  I read this article where if you take opiates for years it can make the pain worse, long story and I can't explain it but will see if I can get if for ya. Some people seem to think they got the problem licked and think they can use again and that seems to be the biggest reason.  Either that or they go with their using buddies and take it just once more. Glad to here your doing good,   cinderpath

Hi Fritz - how you doing??   Even better I hope - more energy and less fatigue??      I'm still struggling, but not quite as bad as I was last week.  I'm still sneezing incessantly, have moderate fatigue little to no motivation, and still some brain fogginess.  However, I feel like I'm functioning at about 75% overall.    I quit taking opiates on 8/24/12 and had my flood on 8/26 - I'm at about day 32.    Just checking in...  hope all is well your way.

About 3 months and the endorphin system comes alive often.  I usually weep tears  of joy  when it floods me too intensely.  There is no doubt that the brain wants to heal and I think exercise, music and a positive attitude are major catalysts.  I know I've said it before, but a lot of things around here are like a broken record.  We need this stuff drilled into our heads...or at least I do. Healing is a process, even though I wish I could just flash forward to 100%, it isn't even a reasonable thought after the years of self-inflicted damage.  I am grateful to be progressing as quickly as I am. Sounds like y'all are doing well also...great to hear.  We definitely help eachother and provide strength and hope for one another. PEACE

Roy, RTS, in Light, Thanks for your comments and questions. Been having a couple rough days. Having hot flashes and sweating and feeling a little more tired and lacking in motivation. Took a booster of about 300 mg TA about 20 min. ago. Will see if that helps. I don't really understand getting the hot flashes as it has been I believe 42 days since I did the flood. Oh well, many had warned that there would be ups and downs so I guess that this isn't too unexpected. What I don't know is if this is typical on whether this is a minor withdrawal symptom. Thanks for your help.

Ah man, I'm sorry to hear that - 42 days out is a LOOONG time...  shit Light is almost 3 mos out and still having ups & downs.   I realize we did this to our bodies for several years, so it's probably not realistic to expect feeling like a million dollars in a month or two, but it's still very frustrating...  waiting sooooo long to feel GOOD.    Just keep on keepin' on I guess.

I don't know about you guys, but I just slowly adjust to feeling some pain, anxiety, depression and discomfort and I look around and realize that the majority of the human population goes through this, they just aren't addicts and never knew the comfort of that numbness (thinking Pink Floyd), or they look forward to escaping through alcohol and cannabis on weekends and shit. Most of the time is spent down right now, but it is a steady mellow down that is tolerable.  The ups are almost too much to handle emotionally, ecstatic in nature but few and far between.  Once or twice a day for short bursts maybe. Adjusting to "normalcy" is the name of the game for me atm and trying my best not to escape.

I had goosebumps off and on for a couple months..  Even after a month or so, I might get an occasional light symptom, but it would come and go within minutes..  I didn't have any real depression after like some of you seem to be experiencing, but if you still are down, don't be afraid to micro-dose or take a booster, it will help.

If it has been at least three months after your flood... try some Kambo!  It will boost your energy and help keep you there! : )

Light, Yes... I have had knee pain for awhile now, and just found out my knees are deformed!!  It is hard to deal with sometimes, but I am getting used to it... I bet years of opiates masked it and probably made it worse... I am a gardener and use my knees every day, wish I had known years ago they were messed up, because I have just made them (one in particular) worse... May be weird, but I actually think it is good that I feel the pain now.  For a few reasons. la

As usual, everyone had some good advice for the feeling of doldrums. RTS, you are exactly right that I've had this expectation that I should feel like $1 million. Light, it is a difficult thing to accept just feeling "normal". However, I did have a pretty good day yesterday dealing with hearings all day. Even if the energy isn't what I hoped for, at least my mind is clearer than it was. I did a booster Wednesday and that got rid of the hot flashes and sweating. One big difference I've noticed is that for the last 10 days or so I have been sleeping well. Others have mentioned a real problem with this. I had the insomnia for a few weeks for sure, but that is all gone. A few nights I've slept 10 to 12 hours. I'm going to work on just accepting feeling "normal" and dealing with the feeling of minimal fatigue and lack of motivation. Light, I think that was great advice although I expect it is quite a bit easier to say than to actually do. Like most things in life it probably takes a lot of work in establishing a new pattern of behavior. We have that ingrained pattern of using drugs to escape normalcy and give us that boost. I can still feel that pattern working and probably contributing significantly to the impatience. Gratefully, I haven't yet had a strong urge to use opiates. There are moments where temptation sneaks in but I can quickly recall all the work that was put in to quit them and that works to shut down they desire to use. On one occasion about seven years ago I quit pain pills cold turkey without the assistance of medication or anything else and went through the serious withdrawal for three or four days. Intellectually, I know it was easier this time with the help of ibogaine, but sometimes it seems more difficult just by reason of the time it has taken to start feeling better. Hell, I just need to quit bitching about it, grow a set, and get on with dealing with it. Thanks for your help and the best of all.

Hi Fritz, Oh yeah, it takes a looonnng  time to start feeling better.  I never fooled with Sub but the Met is a long lasting monster.  It can last several months but your over the hump.  See, the problem I had with Met is that it is such a long ass kicking and it can wear ya out over time.  Keep doing what your doing and in a year look back and say never again.  It's rough but your handling it very well. Best,   cinderpath