While some individuals can kick off addiction with traditional addiction treatments (for instance, 12 step programs), others would need to opt for complementary or alternative medicines to in order to get over their addiction. Not much has been studied about the effectiveness of these therapies. However, a few of them can be used alongside conventional medicines for better results. In the case of addiction, the most common alternative therapies would be:
The US had to face nearly $160 billion in medical care costs, crime, lost productivity and imprisonment related to illicit drug addiction in 2000. This reiterates the fact that alternative medicines/treatments need to be prescribed for those who do not heal with conventional medicines.In St. Kitss, a quaint little Caribbean island, a researcher from the University of Miami Medical Center named Deborah Mash has been studying the possible effectiveness of ibogaine, a drug that can be used to treat cocaine and heroin addiction. Hailing from the tabernanthe iboga plant, Ibogaine first made its appearance in 1960 when brought to the US by Africans. It garnered enough interest by the country's National Institute of Health to warrant a massive research on the drug's benefits. However, the research was discontinued in 1995 owing to health related risks experienced by human participants.The main side effect of Ibogaine happens to be hallucinations, which have been the main problem for several researchers working on the drug as well. The researchers believe that in spite of this side effect, ibogaine can have potential benefits in treating addiction including increased receptiveness to traditional medications for a speedy recovery, painless withdrawal symptoms and improved control to resist relapses.It has been noted that some individuals tend to take ibogaine illegally in order to overcome addiction. This can be very dangerous for the body owing to the drug's side effects. As such, it is deemed necessary that an individual opting to take ibogaine, do so under strict supervision of a certified physician or clinician. At present, the drug is not available in the market. So one is left with no option but to wait for the results of the clinical trials conducted by Deborah Mash and other researchers on Ibogaine.
