About using Benadryl...and are there other antihistamines of value to the beek?

[Kathyp]

letting someone know where you are and what you are doing is a really good idea.  i'm kind of bad at it.  i never do it when i'm working with the bees unless my husband is home.  i'm better about letting someone know that i'm on a new horse  :-D. 

[Robo]

SkepWrangler,

The best precautionary measure is to make sure your vitamin C levels are up.  Your body needs vitamin C to produce cortizol when stung.   When the body can't produce enough cortizol it will go into anaphylactic shock.  Anyone doing bee sting therapy is typically taking 3-4000 mg of vitamin C daily.   Also do not drink alcohol for 24 hours before being stung. 

[Javin]

I'm way confused.  Cortisol is not a good thing.  Vitamin C is actually taken to lower cortisol levels.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/vitamin-c-stress-buster

http://www.livestrong.com/article/510302-how-much-vitamin-c-should-i-take-to-reduce-cortisol/

[Robo]

Javin,

I'm no doctor, but can only tell you my experience and the info I got from the bee venom expert I know.    She has stung over 10,000 people using this protocol and has never had 1 anaphalactic reaction.

It is my understanding that bee venom contains a protein which stimulates Cortisol production from our adrenal glands and cortisol is a natural anti-inflammatory without the dangerous side effects of artificial steroids.

Here is another link to check out:
http://www.beehive.org.nz/tips-and-advice/tips-advice-index?q=tips-and-advice/taa-vitamin-C

[Javin]

10,000 people?  This would be the equivalent of getting a new patient every other day, all year, every year, for 54 years.  Also, as 1 in 10,000 people are allergic to bee stings, I don't doubt that it's possible she's never had a reaction. 

I'm not saying I don't believe in bee sting therapy, or even that it's a bad idea (I do it myself) but you need to be very careful when relaying medical advice from someone who apparently doesn't understand it.  Just that she's been lucky doesn't necessarily make her right.  And what makes her a "bee venom expert?"  Pretty sure that's not a graduate course you can take yet.

Vitamin C is known to suppress cortisol production (by actual science).  I'm not saying I don't think it's possible that vitamin C may aid in bee sting therapy, but so far, any information I can find (much like your own link) is only through word-of-mouth.  No single scientific study has ever been done, and the reasons you give (ie: it INCREASES cortisol production) goes against what science has already proven.

But again, we don't know WHY bee venom reduces MS symptoms, but we know it does.  (Scientific studies have been done on this.)  So I'm not going to say vitamin C DOESN'T help either.  But if it does, it's certainly not due to increased cortisol production caused by the Vitamin C.

I'm really not trying to be a jerk. I just have a medical research background, and information spread like this is how we get people believing that daddy-long-legs are the most poisonous spider in the world.  (They're not.  Even a little bit.)

[Robo]

10,000 people?  This would be the equivalent of getting a new patient every other day, all year, every year, for 54 years. 

Most people will recognize Charles Mraz as a pioneer in modern day bee sting therapy.  Amber met Charlie on a flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong on the way to an apitherapy conference in China.   Charlie was amazed at her intimate knowledge of the subject and they became instant friends (In fact,  Charlie proposed to her in later years).   They traveled around the world doing BVT seminars.   Numbers add up quick when doing seminars, heck, I've seen 30 people getting stung for the first time at her house on a Saturday.

I'm not saying I don't believe in bee sting therapy, or even that it's a bad idea (I do it myself) but you need to be very careful when relaying medical advice from someone who apparently doesn't understand it.  Just that she's been lucky doesn't necessarily make her right.  And what makes her a "bee venom expert?"  Pretty sure that's not a graduate course you can take yet.

I'm not suggesting anything that is not already published.  Whether you think she knows BVT or is just lucky is your choice.   As far as expert, the dictionary defines it as possessing special skill or knowledge; trained by practice; skillful or skilled  Besides working for years with Charlie, her extensive work with MS patients and involvement in the American Apitherapy Society,  I think she qualifies as an expert

Vitamin C is known to suppress cortisol production (by actual science).  I'm not saying I don't think it's possible that vitamin C may aid in bee sting therapy, but so far, any information I can find (much like your own link) is only through word-of-mouth.  No single scientific study has ever been done, and the reasons you give (ie: it INCREASES cortisol production) goes against what science has already proven.

But again, we don't know WHY bee venom reduces MS symptoms, but we know it does.  (Scientific studies have been done on this.)  So I'm not going to say vitamin C DOESN'T help either.  But if it does, it's certainly not due to increased cortisol production caused by the Vitamin C.

As I'm sure you know, medical research of alternative medicine is sparse.  Probably because there is no money to be made unless you can patent it. 

I'm really not trying to be a jerk. I just have a medical research background, and information spread like this is how we get people believing that daddy-long-legs are the most poisonous spider in the world.  (They're not.  Even a little bit.)

That is fine and I don't feel the need to further justify my opinion.  As I stated before, I can only express my personal experience of taking vitamin C and the positive affects it has had for me and what I have seen from many other folks who do the same.

I don't believe suggesting someone takes vitamin C and does not drink alcohol is extreme.