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Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

bbc.com

11–20 of 136 posts

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#11
post #6
post #3

It seems strange to me to choose ibogaine when Salvia divinorum seems like it has a similar psychological experience without the physical heart risk.

Saliva divinorum is inherently dysphoric due to its agonism of the kappa opiod receptor. For a different cheap legal drug that affects serotonin and the NMDA receptors like ibogaine does, there's always off label use of dextromethorphan (cough medicine)!

DXM is also the active ingredient in the antidepressant Auvelity (combined with bupropion)

Lot of interesting studies and anecdotes on its efficacy as an antidepressant

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#12
While I’m broadly open to research on the therapeutic applications of these drugs, right now the landscape is perilous because of the combination of illegal status and a spike in “wellness” pseudoscience. Outside of the few supervised, IBR-approved studies there is a world of (for lack of a better term) therapeutic cults that prey on some of the most psychologically vulnerable people. (related 2023 article: https://www.wired.com/story/psychedelic-therapy-mess/)

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#13
I always wonder why ECT doesn't get more press. It very very often works on depression (and bipolar disorder, catatonia; anything affective-related really), although the effects may wane over time when the treatment is discontinued. Memory loss is one of the side effects, and it could actually be beneficial here.

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#15
post #6
post #3

It seems strange to me to choose ibogaine when Salvia divinorum seems like it has a similar psychological experience without the physical heart risk.

Saliva divinorum is inherently dysphoric due to its agonism of the kappa opiod receptor. For a different cheap legal drug that affects serotonin and the NMDA receptors like ibogaine does, there's always off label use of dextromethorphan (cough medicine)!

Really difficult to find a cough syrup with only high amounts of DXM and nothing else. All the brands changed their recipes in the late 90s.

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#16
post #4
post #3

It seems strange to me to choose ibogaine when Salvia divinorum seems like it has a similar psychological experience without the physical heart risk.

Or LSD, or magic mushrooms.

Or DMT. I also question how they derive the consclusion of a "horrible heart risk". Imo there is not enough evidence for that.

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#18
post #10
post #8

Only veterans? I wonder about the editorial choice to use veterans rather than, say, women who have PTSD from assaults, which is a much larger group of people. (Approximately 4% of US men and 8% of US women experience PTSD every year across all reasons like accidents, sexual assaults, combat, etc.) Presumably this treatment would help everyone? Or is it somehow supporting only vets?

Vets kill themselves a lot so I guess it's easier to propose crazier stuff because the alternative is very bad.

Veterans also make it easier to get wider political support for legalizing the treatment.

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#19
post #13

I always wonder why ECT doesn't get more press. It very very often works on depression (and bipolar disorder, catatonia; anything affective-related really), although the effects may wane over time when the treatment is discontinued. Memory loss is one of the side effects, and it could actually be beneficial here.

Because ECT is whitewashed shock therapy, which in turn- is a whitewashed lobotomy.

Re: Trials on veterans suggest ibogaine could provide a new treatment for PTSD

#20
post #8

Only veterans? I wonder about the editorial choice to use veterans rather than, say, women who have PTSD from assaults, which is a much larger group of people. (Approximately 4% of US men and 8% of US women experience PTSD every year across all reasons like accidents, sexual assaults, combat, etc.) Presumably this treatment would help everyone? Or is it somehow supporting only vets?

It's political posturing, makes it more likely to get bipartisan support. Female rape victims are not as unimpeachable as the (superficially) hallowed veteran in American society.
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