My Experience with Bee Venom Therapy to Treat Chronic Lyme Disease

As many of you know I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in 2015. I got sick in 2012 and I suspect I actually got Lyme as a child but that it became problematic for me during a time in my life where I experienced a multitude of stressors.

Fast forward to a few years ago. The Lyme treatments I had done were somewhat successful, in that I didn’t have debilitating symptoms anymore, and my life was mostly back to normal. I did have pretty consistent fatigue and some flares of symptoms that would pop up every so often. In 2021 I realized that I was being exposed to mold again, which made the Lyme symptoms worse and I recognized that I wasn’t as healed and healthy as I wanted to be. I knew about Bee Venom Therapy for Lyme Disease and decided it was time.

The process of using Bee Venom Therapy (BVT) for Lyme is not for the faint of heart. Or those allergic to bee stings. I sting myself with honeybees three times a week. I have been doing this for two years and most people sting for 2-3 years to eradicate chronic Lyme.

Bee venom has been used for healing for a variety of ailments for thousands of years. There is some research that shows that components in bee venom kill Borrelia burgdorferi, the main bacteria that causes Lyme disease, and that bee venom has better efficacy than antibiotics for late stage chronic Lyme. As someone who appreciates alternative medicine and is not allergic to bees, I figured I didn’t have much to lose!

Bee venom has several components that are antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Melittin is the main peptide in bee venom that disrupts bacteria cell membranes, and is anti-inflammatory. Lyme disease, in a chronic state, lives hidden away in your tissues, your joints, your brain, just waiting until the environment is right for it to become more active. Simply, the bee venom kills the Lyme and supports your immune system.

The protocol is to work up slowly until you are stinging with ten bees, three times a week. Then maintain this for three 2-3 years! Slow and steady, the bee venom kills Lyme, your immune system gets stronger, and your body gets rid of Lyme disease. Whenever I share about this I always get lots of questions, so here’s answers to some of the ones I get the most:

I order bees online and they get shipped to me via the postal service, they come in a small box and when they arrive I put them in a small wooden bee house that I keep in my house. I give them water and food (they eat a ‘candy’ I make out of confectioners sugar and honey.

I sting up and down my spine, so when I’m ready to sting, I use long tweezers to take them out of the house. Honeybees are gentle creatures but easily sting when you place the stinger against your skin. I sting on either side of my spine, five stings on each side and I use a mirror to sting in the correct place. The stingers stay in my back and I leave them in for 15 minutes. I alternate stinging my lower and upper back. The reason for stinging on either side of the spine is so the bee venom can travel along the peripheral nerves and reach all parts of the body. Yes this hurts! However, bee stings are much less painful than wasp or yellow jacket stings, and I find that as I’ve done this so frequently much of the time it hurts only very mildly. When it does hurt more it can relate to if I haven’t slept well, if I’ve experienced more stress recently and if I’ve eaten more spicy foods.

I often feel worse after stinging. Part of the process is killing off bacteria, and often the result of this is to have an increase in symptoms. These might be flu-like symptoms, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, etc. However, when I support my body’s natural detox systems this helps this a lot. I remind myself that this is all to help me have a healthier body and life in the long run!

Honeybees have about a two week life cycle and they do die after they sting. I thank them for their healing powers and I feel very grateful for them. Honeybees aren't endangered and this treatment brings more awareness to bees and many people who do this treatment end up becoming beekeepers.

I have an epipen just in case! I have a coach that supports me and I can ask her questions as needed. And my doctor knows (and supports) I’m doing this treatment. Traditional medicine has such poor options for treatment for late stage chronic Lyme and I’ve found healthcare providers pretty open and receptive to me doing this which has been supportive.

This treatment is making a big difference in my life! I feel better in my body than I have in years and even though there are still ups and downs, the trend is definitely that I am doing better.