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1.3

Ibeginagain Ibogaine clinic/ envision recovery (I believe they are making a new name to disassociate with Eric Taub) False advertisements, terrible staff, provider acts like a drug

dealer when he should be at least somewhat professional for the price.

Lex Kogan is the provider at this clinic, when you talk to him on the phone he seems really happy to talk and it makes you feel as though he is excited for you to come down. This is merely a sales tactic. The time he spends with you is limited to when he is at the house and available. I and everyone who came through the clinic agreed that we spent way more time with Lex on the phone than we did at the house. I did think it was curious that he seemed available whenever I called.

There were red flags beforehand that I chose to ignore. The main one being that after I told other providers I was going to go down to Costa Rica and have Lex give me the Ibogaine treatment they all said that they have only heard bad things, the main one being that he does not make himself available when you are at the house or during the trip. This was a big one for me because my previous experiences with psychedelics have taught me that if you're not tripping with a group the next best thing is someone who has been where you are. Simply because you don't feel judged when you are acting like what probably seems psychotic to those who haven't experienced the substance you're on. I heard nurses laughing, talking about how messed up patients were, totally unprofessional.

To me it seemed like Lex has these heady ideas of what he would like the place to be, how I would describe what he was trying at sort of would have been like a libertarian spiritual zone. The thing I heard him repeat to me and others the most was that you know your body better than anyone. He was all about personal freedom. However having nurses (actually they were nurses in training), a MD who didn't speak English and was hitting on all the male patients, I was the only female there, I definitely got less attention then the guys from the medical staff which added to the unsafe feeling I had. Perhaps without the medical staff the libertarian utopia, that Lex seemed to want, would be attainable. What he has create now is two polar opposite worlds that make clients uncomfortable.

He is always on the move, some days I did not see him at all. Some on the staff spoke English, the cook and one nurse spoke English well enough to have a conversation. This proved to be very frustrating during the trip when I was trying to convey something to one of the nurses that spoke very broken English with a lot of Spanish thrown in. During the trip words in English were hard enough to understand, communication was frustrating and I gave up. Well I shouldn't say nurses actually, they were in school to be nurses, they couldn't even get an IV in me, they let me do it by myself. Another note on the staff is that the staff they list on the website was not all there. There was supposed to be a therapist there and a trip sitter who has had a full flood dose.

One of the things I was pleased with was that they let me have freedom, I could do whatever I wanted, go to town, explore the area we were in. However, I realized this during my trip that there was NO waver signed. An interesting commonality that I and the people I met who got treatment while I was there is that we were all so pissed at Lex at one point during the trip, we all felt like we got took by a scammer, he promised the world, and I expected that what the website said and what he told me on the phone would be somewhat true.

The main reason I am writing this review is because I did not feel safe, I feel as though Lex doesn't know what he's doing. His wife was pregnant and about to pop, but still you're running a business and if I pay $6500 cash for an experimental medical treatment that is run out of a shoddy bungalow with underpaid (or perhaps they were just cheap labor) I expect to be treated with a certain degree of service and to feel as though I am safe. He could have done away with the nursing staff and I probably would've felt better. Their presence made it feel like I was in a ghetto hospital. Also Lex does not carry a cell phone, WHAT THE ***? What if something were to happen to a patient? It is almost criminal of him to not carry a cell phone and at the same time the only one who has personally worked with the substance for 14 years. The 14 years part really sold me too, but after doing research I found minimal reviews or praises of his facilities or underground work. You'd think someone with 14 years of experience would have more information about him. I think he is the worst kind of scammer, one who actually puts others lives at risk for a fat stack of 100s.

Lex promised that it would be luxurious and I would be getting massages whenever I wanted. Whenever I wanted was just the days that the masseuse was there, 2 in a 10 day time span. Also the masseuse was talking, during both sessions, to Lex's wife. She was good though, but I was never able to fully relax obviously. This was simply an afterthought, I was not looking for luxury when I was searching for clinics, but if you tell me something that is a lie it is a false advertisement to get me to buy your service.

Please look into other clinics, the medicine itself was great. I remember waking up and the first thing I though was "this place is a scams but the medicine is good, I came for the medicine, be happy". I would never recommend this place to take Ibogaine, not even to my worst enemy.

Lex is a salesmen, just know that, I have worked in that field for a long time. I don't think he deals with many people who pay their own way, it's probably mostly parents who are desperate and want to get their children help no matter the cost. Lex is selling the easiest thing there is to sell to desperate people, hopes and dreams.

One last thing that I have to mention that bugged me out pre-trip. Lex was talking about how in Mexico a competitor put a hit out on him, he also talked about getting a gun (highly illegal in Costa Rica). Why the *** would you tell a client this information? What purpose does it serve? By the end of my stay at Ibeginagain I came to the conclusion that Lex is just a drug dealer posing as a medicine man. It's too bad that he gets good medicine, he does not respect it.

Don't make the same mistake that I made and go to Ibeginagain Ibogaine treatment center, it may be called Envision Recovery now, but either way do not have Lex Kogan provide your Ibogaine treatment. Ibogaine is an amazing medicine, so amazing that even with the terrible experience with the provider and his clinic I still feel renewed. It's as though someone has hit a reset button in my brain, possibilities are all I see. "Fear is the mind-killer" is one of my mantras now. Making new healthy habits has become easier than falling back into old bad habits. Please if you seek help with addiction or other self destructive habits seek out this medicine. One important thing that Lex did not mention to me was aftercare. I was in touch with many providers before I decided to go with Lex, it was sort of a shot gun decision, but they all said aftercare is a must. So I was referred to a therapist who has taken Ibogaine himself and works with many patients that have taken the medicine. I have been talking to him via phone and it has been so helpful.

So again please avoid Lex Kogan and the I begin again Ibogaine treatment center (possibly Envision recovery now). I am not doing this to tarnish or defame, I am doing this because I don't think it is a safe place and it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt there. Also there are other providers out there, each has a different model, some are very prominent in the Ibogaine culture and have many positive reviews. Just do research and then do some more research.

Reason of review: Not as described/ advertised.

Ibogaine Clinic Pros: Medicine.

Ibogaine Clinic Cons: Getting taken advantage of, Lex being unavailable, No staff had taken a flood dos, Price was too high, Lex seemed like a drug dealer.

Location: Atenas, Alajuela

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Guest

Man, its totally disheartening to see this kind of hateful slander running rampant across the internet these days. Its especially saddening for me to read these rants following my recent return from Lex's place where we had been invited to be there for his baby daughter's first birthday.

Reading through this long winded complaint reminded me that surfing and cruising the new internet is essentially not what it used to be. Nowadays I notice more and more the cheap shot fanfare, the flash advertising, and the shameless exploitation of juvenile catch phrases that are slightly insulting to all and surely disappointing as ever to the old school veterans out there who remember the developing web back in its glory days.

The net now serves as more of an outlet for the base emotions of a consumer's personal gripes more than the original wild and untamed creative communications that invited confrontational conversation over blatant defamation.

I being a genuinely curious soul can say that I'm a honestly surprised in the sense that I never would have would expect to run across posts that glorify or praise a service provider like Lex just as equally as I’m taken back by these bitter individuals attacking him for what appears to be extremely personal reasons at best.

I mean, seriously, was the poster’s priority to get clean or not. It seems the personal critique a group of people or the service that they've provided overrides (in matters of importance) the poster's own praise of the treatment. Gratitude these days seems to diminish in returns when reflecting on the petty complaints of the unappreciative moderates amongst us.

My drug history was pretty typical of many other pain pill dependents that get snagged by a drug routine that lasts and lasts until your trapped.

I started taking Tylenol with Codeine in my late teens after a car accident. I managed my headaches and neck pain for twenty years with a mild addiction to pain killers. In 2003 my car was hit from the side from a driver running a red light. Although an MRI showed that I had a ruptured disc, I made the decision to not have surgery and to manage the pain and headaches with prescription drugs.

With doctors willing to supply heavy pain killers I slowly ramped up to twenty to thirty Norco a week in about five years. At this point I realized I had an addiction problem and doctors started giving me Klonopin to help with the anxiety of trying to cut back on the opiates (Norco). I found that the Klonopin worked well for my neck pain. Klonopin is one of twenty different forms of an anti-anxiety drug called Benzodiazepine.

I found a source for Valium another form of Benzodiazepine and very quickly became addicted to these also. I started going to a church sponsored 12 step program but could not cut back on the volume of opiates and Benzos I was taking. I eventually became so frustrated I paid $20,000 to attend the Weismann method rapid detox in southern California. The process worked well for the opiates but not for the Valium.

I stayed off the opiates for six months but under doctor’s orders I stayed on a prescribed micro dose of .5 mg of Klonopin. Still experiencing pain and headaches I tried using opiates on a limited basis, but soon found myself using at a higher amount than before. Over the next 9 months I worked my way up to 16 Norcos per day and it wasn’t enough. I knew I was in deep trouble.

It is hard to put into words or even remember the actual desperation and panic I felt on a daily basis. After having such a difficult time for so many years I felt like the addiction was going to kill me if I didn’t find a way out. All this time I had been attending the 12 step program church that was very doctrine centered. I had decided to start fasting along with my prayers.

Shortly after I read an article on the ibogaine story online. At first, I wrote it off as too good to be true. Eventually after years of failing to get off the opiates I opened up to the idea that there could be a natural root I could take and have the opiates and the addiction gone. I researched erratically for just about two weeks.

I scoured everything I could about ibogaine and at some point in the process I contacted Lex, who'd had over a decade of work experience under his belt, especially dealing with opiate addiction. When I first contacted him he just listened to my story and asked me a few questions regarding other prescription I had been using along with the opioids. By the time we had spoke for an hour or so we concluded the talk. I hung up the phone and the first thing I thought about had nothing to do with my possible decision to do ibogaine.

Instead I noticed a simple realization that I did not feel nearly as negative and self critical as I had toward my addiction as I had prior to our initial conversation an four or so before. This was a good thing as it was new. I had slightly subtle feeling that I might have stumbled onto something that may be going somewhere real, in a real way. After our next followup conversation, I finalized my plans.

Within a month I was getting treatment. I was told I’d have a long road ahead of me as far as getting my energy back but that it would all pay off when those feelings of a permanent improvement started to show up on a daily basis. As I write this today it will be a little over four years since I took an opiate and I sincerely have had no craving or desire for them since treatment. The ibogaine trip also helped helped me eliminate the fear associated with having to quit the benzodiazepam addiction.

Lex convinced me that it was necessary to taper down off them at a slow rate. He suggested going slow, planning on a 6 months tapering period. I decided to to drop them after a three month wean, which was the way that felt right for me; that 90 day period is a whole other story itself. Since my experience, I’ve told other quite a few other addicts about the whole ibogaine thing but most people believe it is too good to be true.

As hard as it may be to believe, I’ll say this with soul conviction to anyone who has enough of an open mind to listen, If an addict is ready mentally, the ibogaine will take care of the physical part of the addiction. To sum it up, Lex not only provided a very comfortable space for treatment, he spent a good amount of time breaking down the confusion surrounding some of the ideas that I had been worried about. Ideas like my own addictive behavior patterns and logterm commitment in the wake of the points past weakness. His knowledge of other prescription drugs, and how they tend to interact with our personal sense of well being gave me the strength and confidence to imagine myself living free from the trap of taking a bunch of different pills to sleep or to lift depression or deal with anxiety.

Thankfully, today I’m at a point in life where I take pleasure in the natural things to keep me in line, (I do enjoy massive amounts of coffee on a daily basis) I can honestly look back today and feel very grateful for hearing about ibogaine and having met Lex and his group. My life today is completely different now for me. That difference also affects the life of my wife and our three little daughters. I've been extremely blessed and thankful to have crossed paths with a such a relatively unknown medicine which has given me the opportunity to live again in the fullest sense.

Peace to all people everywhere. With endless love and gratitude G.P.

Guest

When Jay C was at Bobby's place he was never asked to share his room. His wife was not angry at the girls.

They all talked about it and made up. Nobody at iboga life judged him for anything.

Guest

The ONLY place in Costa Rica to get safe responsible ibogaine treatment is IbogaLife. Check them out on the internet.

I was treated there and got my life back. Don't fall for gimmicks.

Trust IbogaLife to treat you right. Basse

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1026043

Straight up Jim wrote all of the above not Jay and Andrea might have pissed off J's wife even without her romantic involvement in the instant love affair because after they shared a room for a few days J talked to his ladyfriend in private and they smoothed it over. When Michael and Bobby asked me to call my mother they were mad because I told her they were treating me outside Athena

Guest

Wow.... Thank you for sharing......

Thankfully... the Seven I referred to Minds Alive in Durban were all overwhelmed with the treatment and care recieved... all the pre and post councilling etc...... and they are unfettered...

not just from the tools and self medicating..... Their minds are free and all choices are returned......

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1023145

I'm glad you had good results with Durban Anonymous but if you are referring people to Africa that are from the U.S. or Canada, you could be saving people a lot of travel time by referring to IbogaLife transmedicine clinic.

They are much closer and they offer compassionate care. IbogaLife treats with ibogaine and Ayahuasca for a very competitive price.

Guest

My son almost died. At 6am I got a call that he was throwing up blood.

The maids drove him to the hospital. 5 days in the hospital and Lex didn't even check on him to see if he was alive.

$6000.

My son came back alive, but still had his addiction problem.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1013996

sounds like a double lie, doubtful you even have a son

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1081688

you sound like a double *** bag.

Guest

This post sounds like it was written by someone who needs a *** of a lot of attention.Haha..Its a bit of an attention grabber itself just poorly written. I guess people just don't take the time anymore.

Belle Kfh

i got off methadone in costa rica with lex kogan late fall 2014. all i have is praise and gratitude for him and for my experience.

sure he was in his room with his pregnant wife a lot but he had another american girl there who was always around and engaging, a doctor, and two nurses. perfect english from costa ricans? yeah maybe not, but lex speaks english obviously and and the other girl who was around all the time and had worked with ibogaine for years was american so it was all good for me. all he cared about was safety.

there was someone in my room prolly every 15-30 minutes it was even a bit much i thought. so i dunno, i left off of drugs for the first time in 11 years and i felt happy, which is why i went down there in the first place, you know what i mean? lex genuinely cared about how i felt and made sure i felt good before getting on that plane out of there.

there were IVs and food and incessant EKGS and monitoring and the actual ibogaine was out of this world. give this guy a break!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Belle Kfh

I am happy to hear you had a good experience Meaghan.

I was on methadone for 1 year after a 4 years of using H.

Looking back, on an overall level, I am grateful to the methadone program cause it helped me get myself focused.

After 6 months I started to get weird side effects and my quality of life declined. I continued on the methadone but started to research alternatives and came across ibogaine thanks to an episode of vice. I was recently treated by Lex and his staff at envision (got back to Georgia a week ago) and I'm a better man for it. They told me ibogaine helps you help yourself and its true.

I honestly was very uncertain about whether it would work on the withdawal. I was even more nervous about the dreaded post acute wds. His doctor switched me to morphine sulfate a week ahead of the experience to clear me of any methadone resids. The medicine worked.

It was not a fun or pleasant experience by any means but I felt safe the whole time, the house was decked out with plush furniture and my room had big windows with a mountaintop view. I would have preferred a tropical beach type setting since I was getting clean in costa rica but that is neither here nor there cause I'm feeling good and I am happy again.

Working the hotel industry (my family has been in the hospitality business for over twenty years) I'll certainly say that I was impressed with his staff and definitely satisfied with my experience overall. Its true that Lex was not around for the first couple of days but I did not care about that. I was met at the airport by there driver who was cool and from then on I was comfortable.

I did spend time with Lex for a few of the days while I was at the center and that's just how it was which was cool with me, he told me that I'd be with good people and it was true. His nurses and his doc were always on sight monitoring me and they made a lot of ekgs days before I dosed and even while I was being treated. Throughout my experience I never once felt ignored or alone. Its a shame to see people attacking Lex on this board.

My own business has been lynched by haters over the years and I've always stood up to these types with a dose of truth to level the field.

Its something that I've become used to dealing with since I have done well in my industry and like many of us have learned, success draws out the jealousy of others like nothing else does. I believe in people that stick there neck out trying to help others and I will always do the same.

Victor Mendez

Atlanta

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1000536

My experience was similar to yours Victor. I just returned from Lex's place and have nothing but kind words to say about Lex, his staff and his family.

They treated me like I was family and I am not necessarily a sociable person, especially right off the bat.

I knocked out a pretty heavy 3 year oxy/perc habit and have zero cravings so far, just some wicked insomnia which I am getting used to.

I started reading treatment reviews at least 6 months before I made my decision to even take ibogaine. I mentioned posting my own review on this site and a few others to Lex while I was leaving for the day tour of sapphire gardens and he shrugged and said free speech is a good thing and that people like to hear drama. He laughed and asked if I had ever read one of those celebrity rag mags in the grocery store checkout line. It's the same thing, he said, but without the fame….that’s what I like about his attitude the most.

He's been involved with this *** for so long that he focuses on the time he has with people and let's the rest of it go. I had to write up this review on this site after being down there and having such a good experience.

Thanks for listening. Cory Resdon

Guest

Lex has just had a patient die in his house and is on the run!!!! Yes he left Costa Rica and is hiding like the true rat that he is!!!!

OIJ or DEA IS hunting him down. Sooooo true all you said and Karma is Karma!!!!!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-985996

Anonymous is telling the truth lex is in Guatemala now with his wife and daughter And left a man too die in my friend Jim's arms and dumped his patients off at the Cafetal inn outside Athena

I consider myself lucky to have never met lex but I've seen what he's capable of and he's not a good person that's how a good person reacts when there at fault they take responsibility not run and hide

Eleonor Kyt
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1013108

LIE

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-985996

this is exactly the same kind of comments Charles Shaw is writing on this site about Crossroads clinic, another outstanding and professional, loving facility, Charles accidentally posted his name once and then started changing his name and posting fake comments and reviews, and is saying the same things about Dr Polanco, lies and slander.Not sure what Charles game is, but he should be stopped.What he is doing is criminal.Now you know who it is that is doing this. I suggest people contacting him and telling him to stop or an attorney will. Be aware though, Charles Shaw has 'borderline personality disorder" which makes him unstable, unpredictable, hostile and vindictive.

Eleonor Kyt
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-985996

LIE

Eleonor Kyt
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-985996

LIE

Guest

Here goes....I had the best and most life changing experience EVER in Costa Rica..specifically at Envision Recovery.

I was being destroyed by my addiction. I encountered information about ibogaine and reached out to the clinic.

I received a phone call back with 12 hours. Lex spent sufficient time on the phone to help make me comfortable, advised me on pre- treatment necessities in preparation for a safe treatment.

I was picked up at the airport as promised by a VERY friendly and energetic person! Heck...I'm 33 years old and been all over the world. ..BUT This.

.this was scary.

During the short ride to the clinic my anxiety was lessened just by being with this new friend (That is how I was treated) and being told I was in good hands...we arrived to the clinic and was greeted..literally like they were waiting for me. They had fresh fruit and smiles. Yes.. English was a little broken..but what do you expect?

It's Costa Rica!

Besides..genuine care and kindness translates in ANY language without words. Any time I needed anything. .it was presented with " *** mucho gusto" which I learned means "my pleasure".

Lex was not available for almost the first two days which was disappointing...HOWEVER, I did not go to see Lex, I went to recover and have my hard core addiction interrupted. His nurse, Karla, was extremely capable.

Dr. Sofia was friendly. They gave me an ekg to determine if it was safe to administer the treatment. I changed from heroine to oxy before getting on the plane in Colorado (for obvious reasons)..I had a EXTREMELY highdose habit that was pretty intense for almost 4 years and was worried about withdrawal.

..but they kept me comfortable up until my treatment. When I met Lex he was no less friendly than when we spoke on the phone. The location is AMAZING and somewhat rural..the house was clean. Yes..

I paid a FAT stack of 100s for my treatment but no more than agreed upon. I had some complications that were the result of my inability to follow directions prior to coming to Costa Rica. ..and Lex WILL NOT TREAT anyone until it is safe to do so. As a result my planned 7 day stay was much longer.

I was treated with the utmost of respect and hospitality....Lex did not charge me another penny despite my staying much longer than what I paid for....his exact words were" don't worry buddy...you're not leaving until you are better." The house can get hectic when full...imagine caring for and dealing with a bunch of addicts in one place...seriously. .but I never felt unsafe. When Lex is not available. ..he's usually in his office speaking with people that are investigating coming out.

I appreciated that and respected it because of how much time he dedicated to me on the phone! the ibogaine experience by nature is one to be done alone..I was never promised a trip guide or whatever. .but nurses checked my vitals and ensured I was safe every 20 minutes (during the parts I remember)...fast forward. .

I just celebrated one year clean....I personally choose to stay vigilant in my day to day recovery as I recognize that ibogaine served as interruption for my addiction and not a magic cure. I have recommended and sent many people to envisionrecovery and all have had a great experience.

I am a real person. ..if you have any questions...post comment and email and I will check back.kw

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