Ayahuasca for Heroin Detox
Get advice from an addictions clinician on all aspects of using Ayahuasca for opioid detox. Free, confidential and impartial advice on detox,withdrawal,rehab,admission,cost, therapy,counselling and aftercare.
Ayahuasca
Many people are calling in and asking about Ayahuasca.
One of the topics that comes up often is the use of Ayahuasca for addiction detox.
Can this ancient plant really be an effective treatment for addiction?
It has been used by tribes in the Amazon for thousands of years.
Could there be some truth in its usefulness?
Ayahuasca
Where is it from?
Ayahuasca originated in the Amazon among indigenous tribes.
It was used for healing as well as in religious observation.
Shamans from the Shipibom ,Urarina and Shuar tribes use Ayahuasca in ceremonies to help those in despair.
In the 1930’s the use of Ayahuasca was opened with its use expanded to Peru and was incorporated into wider religious practices, including mainstream Christianity.
In more recent times, Ayahuasca has been popular for those seeking treatment in South America and is commonly used in retreats and spas.
Commonly found in both Brazil and Peru, it is sought out for treatment by people struggling with addiction and mental illness.
Ayahuasca
What is it?
It is a psychoactive tea made from two different ingredients:
Banisteriopsis caapi: from the vine of the Ayahuasca plant
Chacruna: the leaf (psychotria viridis)
The vine contains alkaloids that act in the same way as antidepressants from a class of drugs known as Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOI’s).
These are a group of older prescribed medications that are still used to treat major and treatment resistant depressive illnesses.
The leaf contains Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) which is a powerful psycheldic.
Normally, the body breaks down DMT, so it is not picked up by receptors on the brain.
However, when combined with the vine, DMT lands on receptors and hallucinations occur. These can last from four to eight hours.
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How does it work?
Essentially, Ayahuasca is a hallucinogen.
When you drink it in tea, it will affect your brain’s serotonin receptors, leading to altered levels of serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate.
It is the DMT that causes this effect.
Ayahuasca
What do you experience when you drink it?
Visual and auditory hallucinations
Euphoria
Very intense emotional experiences
Deep sense of spirituality
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
High blood pressure
Raised body temperature
Fast pulse
Tremors
Loss of motor control
Ayahuasca
Can it help with mental health as well as addiction?
Those who use it believe it has significant therapeutic potential for treating both mental health conditions and addiction.
Depression and anxiety:
There is emerging evidence that Ayahuasca can help with some of the distressing symptoms of both anxiety and depression, even after one use.
The theory is that Ayahuasca activates areas of the brain connected with memory and emotion and causes a reset of negative thoughts.
While still in the early stages of research, there is some emerging evidence that it can reduce anxiety.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:
Emerging research indicates that Ayahuasca may be beneficial in the treatment of post-traumatic stress.
The hypothesis is that, by creating a mystical type of experience, traumatic memories can be processed.
Addiction: While there are no long-term studies, some anecdotal evidence suggests that there may be some value in using Ayahuasca when recovering from addiction.
This is due to the DMT’s effect on dopamine. Drug and alcohol use affect dopamine release.
One of the issues when you stop using is that the brain takes time to readjust, and dopamine levels can be affected. This may suggest why Ayahuasca may be of use.
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Ayahusaca
Things to consider
The law: A yahuasca is illegal in the UK: Unlike drugs where there are medicinal equivalents (such as Diamorphine for Heroin) there is no legal equivalent. Possession of it is a serious matter as it is a class A drug.
Fatalities: Sadly, people have died using Ayahuasca. The risk is made worse when you mix it with medications, especially anti-depressants that affect Serotonin levels.
Severe Psychological Distress: Drinking Ayahuasca can lead to severe paranoid and crippling anxiety.
High blood pressure/fast pulse: Using Ayahuasca can cause dangerously high blood pressure and an unsustainable fast pulse
Mental illness: The long-term effects are not known
Chronic/severe nausea and vomiting: This can lead to an acute medical emergency due to dehydration
Lack of clinical guidelines: Because the substance is illegal, there are no clinical guidelines on its use
Addictive potential: Not enough is known about Ayahuasca to determine if there is any addictive potential, at this time.
Ayahuasca
Can I be prescribed it in the UK?
No.
Ayahuasca is illegal to possess in the UK.
There are no exceptions to this, so anyone who offers this treatment is doing so illegally.
As the substance is illegal, you have no assurance that what you are taking is Ayahuasca.
Any center that provides this would be breaking the law and putting you at very serious risk of a medical and/or psychiatric emergency.
Ayahuasca
What about treatment overseas?
While Ayahuasca is illegal to possess in the UK, it is not illegal in other countries (but do not attempt to smuggle it back home) so you can go overseas for treatment.
There are multiple considerations when going overseas for treatment.
Firstly, a compressed metal tube at 30,000 feet sat in the middle of three other people is not the ideal space for someone who is travelling to a rehab center.
Many people, due to the nature of the drugs they are taking, simply cannot stop for time it would take to check in at an airport, fly to South America and get to the rehab the other end.
Going into withdrawal on a plane is not a good idea.
Unless you are fluent in the language spoken in the country, you are going to be at a disadvantage.
Should anything go wrong, you will struggle to understand what staff are saying to you or asking you.
Your medical insurance, if you had any, would immediately be invalidated because you did not declare why you were traveling.
You could be left, seriously ill, in a foreign hospital, unable to understand what is going on and then be left with a bill which will be astronomical.
The British Embassy/High Commission is not going to rescue you, pay your medical bills or arrange a free ticket home.
Sadly, people have died when having this treatment overseas.
Ayahuasca
What about home treatment with Ayahuasca ?
No. This is not possible.
Ayahusasca is illegal to posses in the UK and there are no exemptions for rehab centres, private doctors of the NHS.
No one can legally offer this in the UK.
Therapy
All centers who provide treatment for heroin and opioid addiction provide a fully immersive therapy programme, either along a 12 step approach or a SMART based recovery model. These run seven days a week and , those in treatment, are obliged to attend all sessions if physically well enough to do so. For new admissions, it can be 24-48 hours , on occasion, before someone is able to take part.
Sitting alongside this programme, many centers also offer adjunctive treatments and therapies such as:
Yoga
Mindfulness
Art therapy
Gentle exercise and group walks
Music therapy
Individual sessions (for those staying more than a week)
Clients, before leaving, are linked in with support groups in their local community, be they voluntary or statutory. A psychological tool kit is built up so that clients have a selection of techniques to employ.
If you need treatment for alcohol addiction, heroin addiction advice call and speak to us. We can provide heroin addiction help on 0333 041 9922.
We only signpost to legally registered services.