ABCNews.com--Sami Chugg, 45, was diagnosed with MS in 1998 and it slowly began to attack her ability to move.
The incurable disease stops the body's nerve cells communicating and she was soon so ill she was permanently bed ridden.
Sami, a charity worker from Bristol, was plagued by numbness and she could barely walk or leave her room.
But she is now back on her feet after trying a treatment called Bee Venom Therapy (BVT).
The treatment involves holding a bee in a pair of tweezers and deliberately stinging an area of skin on the patient's body. Experts believe the venom in the sting helps ease the pain of MS symptoms and also stimulates the body to fight back. Sami says she was stung around 1,500 in eighteen months and says it has given her her mobility back.
She said: ''When I started the BVT I couldn't get out of bed or get out of my room - it was really grim.
''Most people would be terrified by the prospect of being stung by a bee. But when you have a condition like MS, that involves the numbing of the body, any kind of sensation is welcome - even if it's from a bee sting.
''You use a pair of tweezers and get hold of a single bee. Then you gradually desensitise your body to the sting by injecting it in and out of your skin a few times.
''You have to build it up slowly - you start with two, then four, then six. Ten to 14 was my average for each session.
''It had an immediate effect because it has a kind of psychological, mental effect. I used to feel elated for about two hours after the treatment.''
Bee Venom Therapy, or Apitherapy, uses the stings of live bees to relieve symptoms of MS such as pain, loss of coordination, and muscle weakness.
Researchers suggest that certain compounds in bee venom reduce inflammation and pain and a combination of all its ingredients helps the body to release natural healing compounds.
The alternative treatment remains unproven by evidence-based medicine but it has been used to treat other wasting diseases and arthritis.
The therapy begins gradually as the body needs to be desensitised to the stings, but eventually multiple bees are used at one time and are left in the skin for up to 20 minutes.
Sami was treated twice a week and was stung at least 1,500 during her 18-month course of the treatment.
She said: ''There are three locations we used for the stings, above the shoulders, the middle back, and then the lumbar area. It's all centred around your spine.
''It's changed my life and my approach to life. It is manna from heaven.''
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease in which the fatty myelin 'sheaths' around nerve cells are progressively damaged leading to a variety of symptoms including pain and physical and mental disability.
Sami now campaigns for the ''Safe Land for Bees'' project working to raise awareness of the decline in bee populations."
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/201 ... m-bee-lady reported: "Reyah Carlson has been stung by bees more than 25,000 times. On purpose.
Carlson is a practitioner of apitherapy, a controversial form of alternative medicine that uses bee venom to treat everything from arthritis to multiple sclerosis. Carlson, who lives in Vermont, has traveled the world to spread the word about bee venom therapy. She has also appeared in National Geographic and on the Discovery Channel.
"Apitherapy is not a new form of alternative therapy. It has been used in other countries for centuries," said Carlson, a.k.a "The Bee Lady."
Carlson, who had been fascinated by bees since early childhood, said she first began using bee stings for her Lyme Disease after being introduced to the treatment by a man she met when she was working as a nursing assistant in Vermont. "When you break down the chemical components of bee venom, you'll find 40-something identifiable components," said Carlson, 51.
They include mellitin, which some studies suggest blocks inflammation and has been shown to have anti-arthritic effects in mice, according to a 2009 report published by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
Carlson said bee venom can also bolster immunity and speed up the healing process.
"I don't claim cures," said Carlson. "In some cases, it's ongoing treatment for life. For many diseases including (multiple sclerosis) and lupus, it's a great way to keep things in check and under control. Drugs for these conditions have bad side effects for the liver and other parts of the body, that's why I and many other people have turned to apitherapy as an alternative."
While the benefits of bee venom remain uncertain, and little scientific research has been conducted – especially in the U.S. – the dangers are evident. About 2 percent of people have allergic reactions to bees and other stinging insects, and the dangers increase with the number of stings.
"A bee sting is always potentially serious," said Malcolm T. Sanford, emeritus professor of entomology and nematology at the University of Florida, in a 2003 report for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. "The severity and duration of a reaction can vary from one person to another. However, depending on the location and the number of bee stings received, as well as the ever-present possibility of a severe allergic reaction to bee venom, a serious reaction can be precipitated that can be life-threatening."
A number of Central Florida researchers and medical professionals contacted declined to comment on the potential benefits or hazards of apitherapy. Carlson is well aware of the controversy over her treatments.
"Reaction from the medical establishment has been two-sided," said Carlson. "Physicians who are proactive with their patients are more accepting of apitherapy. At the same time, I have had doctors saying I'm going to kill somebody." Approximately 65,000 people in the United States use bee sting therapy, according to the American Apitherapy Society. Carlson advises anyone undergoing bee-venom therapy should always have a bee sting kit available. She keeps antihistamine on hand, as well as epinephrine, a drug that can be used if someone goes into anaphylactic shock. Carlson said she gets lots of questions when she's on the road promoting the benefits of bees. One of the most frequently asked questions: Is it always painful?
"A bee sting hurts. I do suggest and offer ice to numb the area prior to a sting," she said. "It's well worth the temporary pain."
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Sunday, January 1st 2012 at 4:56PM
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