Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 01:50:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Claude de Contrecoeur <cyrano@beehive.twics.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <ibogaine@ibogaine.org>
Subject: ibogaine worked:Of Mice and Men !

 Claude !
>My history is very similar to other persons that took ibogaine. It changed
>my concepts about using drugs and i started a new way of life, with more
>resposability about my "drug using thougts". I was using demerol since
>1988.
> This situation wasn't good to me , because I was losing my girlfriend,
>friends, and my job...you know... but in my mind, everything was good,
>because i had
>demerol, and i used to feel good when i was doing it...It was a very good
>sensation to me... peace...i used to sleep for hours and hours after doing
>it.In the last days, i was doing about 1500 mg/day, i.v.
>I took ibogaine, surrounded by the Lotsof's team,  and
>i had the classical ibogaine experience, with all that visions, and etc.
>The wonder of all was that after 24 hours, i was thinking in a totally
>different way; i realized how destructive was my behavior and how i was
>killing myself.
>Now i'm married , working normally and triyng to learn and understand what
>happened to me.
>bye,
>daniras

Dear Daniras,

There is something I strongly believe in:the post-"psychological" effects of
Ibogaine are,certainly,related to a modification of neurochemistry somewhere
in the CNS and not explainable with AD HOC psychological theories.

I am deeply convinced,through my own researches,that we cannot separate
thoughts from neurochemistry.
My late friend,Dr Henri Laborit,had the same ideas after studying the CNS
for most of his life.However,he did not have the same direct experience as I
got.
Each time you modify a brain neurochemistry you,ipso fact,modify thoughts
and,thus,behaviours.
I can assure you that a "serotoninergic" mind(under the influence of
serotonin reuptake inhibitors,such as fluvoxamine)and a "dopaminergic"
mind(under the influence of dopamine reuptake inhibitors,such as
amineptine)produce COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THOUGHTS...

Concerning Ibogaine can anybody seriously think that,artificially addicted
mice,will change their behaviours,after ibogaine,because of "psychological"
reasons?
Can a mouse realise that it was addicted,had a "bad" behaviour and now
should reorient its life?

Certainly not!

Ibogaine-treated mice change their behaviour BECAUSE of a change in their
neurochemistry.

In the same manner the changes elicited by ibogaine,in man,should reflect
semi-permanent or permanent CHANGES in brain neurochemistry.

As I said before,there seems to exist people prone to opiate
pharmacodependance and others who are immune.
I am from the immune type and my brother was a prone type.

The reason of this is,evidently,in different CNS neurochemistries mediated
through different past experiences.

Statements such as above(Daniras),in my opinion,only express this permanent
or semi-permanent change elicited by ibogaine in some particular locus of
the brain.
These changes are,AFTERWARDS,rationalised into an ad hoc explanation.

Claude