Alternative MS Remedies - Hope or Hype?
A few years ago, I was stung repeatedly by several honeybees.
On purpose.
No, I wasn't a beekeeper by occupation, nor was I some cult follower led into a bizarre rite of passage. I was newly diagnosed with MS - desperate and in denial. This was at a time when the promising ABC drugs (Avonex, Betaseron, and Copaxone) were widely unavailable. My desperation to "try anything," was borne out of both denial and anger that MS was knocking on my door like an unwelcome visitor. With each passing day, I knew it would become harder to force my visitor to leave--if it ever left at all. Time was not on my side.
In a frantic attempt to defy the progression of my symptoms, I searched through stacks of literature, articles, reports, and off-the-beaten path theories related to MS that I could find. Many of the obscure treatments were either too expensive or logistically impractical to even attempt. One acupuncturist I contacted assured me that he could cure anything from Arthritis to Zits -- and every ailment in between. It required that I fly to Florida (from Michigan) every few months for costly treatments. No thanks.
On another front, a well-meaning friend gave me a "medicinal" mushroom so gnarled and enormous, that it must've sprouted in radioactive soil in the valley of the Jolly Green Giant. I was instructed to store the frightening-looking fungus in a dark pantry, and brew it into a daily tea. I never consumed any of it though. Since I didn't even know what kind of mushroom it was, I was afraid it might be poisonous or cause some serious side effects. I eventually disposed of it, untouched.
As hope was fading, I came across a wondrous article of people severely disabled by MS who were transformed by the therapeutic powers of bee venom. Make no mistake--this was not a tabloid "Boy-marries-Martian" story. It appeared in the local newspaper and was presented as a credible journalistic piece. The story told of a woman with MS who regularly stung herself with bees as therapy. In a relatively short period of time, she went from requiring the use of a wheelchair to walking normally. Thunderstruck by this revelation, I was determined to see if bee venom therapy (BVT) would work the same miracle for me. My leg function and mobility were deteriorating rapidly, and I was desperate (that word again!) to see if I could regain leg strength.
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