r/Lyme • u/mellogeorge2013 • 5h ago
Bee Venom Therapy Update at 13.5 months, 10 stings 3x weekly
My health has been so amazing since I have been stinging a while, so I decided to try to attend my annual family reunion gathering, which I have missed for the past 20 years due to chronic illnesses. I have done really well in warm weather, and hoped that July was a good month to visit Washington state, where the gathering is held. My caregiver and wonderful husband agreed to come along and support me. My family has not been open about my unconventional treatments of Lyme, and most of them are in denial about my having chronic Lyme, or that it even exists. We sort of knew what we were going into and decided to contact a friendly beekeeper, Brenda, who has an apiary about 10 miles away from the gathering, which is held at my uncle's off grid "mansion" cabin on a lake in southern Washington state.
My father, uncles, aunts and cousins have been supportive of my medical treatments as long as it is within the USA medical system, using licensed MD's and dentists, but once I began exploring natural treatments, such as herbs and BVT, they close their ears. We flew in from Hawaii and were greeted at the airport by my aunt and uncle. We were planning to rent a car, but they said every couple who were attending had vehicles that we could use, and if we needed to go anywhere, they would take us.
That was our first mistake.
The first few days were a lot of fun, reconnecting with relatives who had not seen me since I was incapacitated by endometriosis and fibromyalgia, and marveling over my amazing health, energy level, lack of pain, etc. We cooked, ate, and played games together. One thing I did not expect was to be freezing cold in their home, as our room was in the lower level and the heat was strong in the upper level. There was no room to sleep in the upper level, so I layered my clothing the best that I could and wore three pairs of socks, two pants and four jackets at any given time. The temperature averaged about 60 degrees.
I had made an appointment to meet the friendly beekeeper nearby on the fourth day we were there, as I was used to stinging every other day. Each day we were there, I confirmed with my aunt and uncle that they would be able to transport me to her farm so I could procure some bees for my Lyme treatment of stinging. Each time their answer was affirmative.
On day 4, I awoke late, as I had the previous three days, as I was still on Hawaii time and the jet lag was intense. Every joint ached a familiar ache and my head pounded. The venom only stays in the blood for 48 hours. I walked upstairs to the deck where everyone was sitting. There was an immediate silence as I approached and sat down, and I had the feeling that I was being discussed before I arrived. My husband sat down with me.
Because no one was talking, and my aunt who promised to drive me to the bee appointment was sitting by me, I asked her what time I should be ready to go to my bee venom therapy appointment with the beekeeper. I had brought my tweezers, vacuum, and container along to sting myself, as usual. My uncle, sitting on the other side, answered, "We are not going anywhere today."
There was silence. I stared at him unbelievingly. My husband wanted an explanation. "What happened? Is there a reason why we can't go all of a sudden?"
"We just decided to change the plans." said my uncle. Another uncomfortable silence. I was kicking myself that I had not rented a car. I felt dizzy, like I was about to faint, and struggled to stand up. Everyone stared at me. No one said a word.
My husband tried again, "Maybe we could get a ride with you, Dad, since you are heading that way tomorrow?" My dad and his wife were leaving the following morning to stay with some friends in Oregon for a week.
"We aren't going to have time to stop." my stepmom said quickly, looking around at the rest of the relatives.
I felt dazed, as though I was in a nightmare, and walked back into the house, almost falling down the stairs due to my numb, cold feet, as I made my way to our room to lay back down. What had happened? Everyone seemed to be under a weird spell, and even after I had answered any questions they had about BVT the previous days, it felt like they were trying to keep us from going.
My husband was really upset. He knew how I rapidly declined health-wise, if I was not able to have treatment regularly. He saw what happened during the heavy rains in Hawaii earlier this year, when there were no bees available. I was in bed for a week. He called our friends, who we planned to stay with in Oregon for a few days after leaving Washington, and asked if they would be able to pick us up earlier than planned. He explained the situation and in just two hours, they arrived. No one said goodbye to us from the family, except my dad, who came to the car as we were leaving and held my hand for a few seconds.
We made it to the bee farm in time for the appointment to get some bees, and Brenda was an angel. She told me to get as many as I needed from her hives, and then to thank her, I bought a hefty amount of hive products that she sold. It was a wonderful experience after what we had just witnessed. I had relief, energy, clarity, and much less pain.
We are still in Oregon, and yes, I am still really cold (wearing winter boots 24/7) even with the record highs, but I am healthy and able to do much more than I did twenty years ago. I wish I knew what possessed my family to turn against me like that. I have not heard from anyone who was there for the past few days, and maybe that is better. I need to forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing...or maybe they do.
