My Odd Sock

My Odd Sock getting stung.

Remember how apprehensive you were taking your first shot of MS medication?

Well, getting your first bee sting is much the same.

We tend to think back to when we were kids, running barefoot through the grass and stepping on a bee.  Painful memories for sure.  Think of it like this…now that you have MS, you probably don’t have much feeling anyway…so a few bee stings, no big deal, right?  Let’s get started.

Jar 'O bees

My buddy “Jim” has used apitherapy (bees stings) exclusively for his MS for at least a dozen years.  He has 6 or 7 hives on his property and dons his stylish “bee wear” to collect the lucky volunteers in a canning jar.

Next, one by one, we grab the bees using reverse tweezers.  Filling all 20 pair, it’s time to commence stinging!

My dance partners

People use apitherapy for many different reasons.  Jim has pain, associated with MS throughout his body, and stings the areas that hurt him most.  I sting to ease spasticity (tightness) in my legs.  I have also stung my arms & hands to improve feeling.  I’ve stung the tops of my shoulders to aid balance.  And routinely sting my feet (both tops & bottoms) to help with walking.  You can sting to help with bowel & bladder control, arthritis, foot drop, even vision & speech problems.

On this particular day, I will get about 30 stings.  Jim will get just as many.  But as a beginner, you will start by getting two, maybe four stings, at the base of your spine.  Over the course of a few weeks, you’ll want to work up to 20 stings/ three times a week.  (Apitherapy experts recommend the three times a week  treatment, although this odd sock finds getting stung once or twice a week works well too.)

Three stings on the foot. Man, I need a pedicure.

People ask me “Does it hurt?”  And I respond by saying “a little bit.”  You see, I have slight feeling from my armpits down, so the “zing” I do feel—I cherish as I know my body isn’t completely dead.  On the other hand, Jim has feeling, so I apply an ice pack to the spot before I sting him.  He says “the ice is worse than the bees!”

We leave the stingers in, doing their “thang” for 15 minutes before we remove them, finishing our session.

Then, for the next 12 to 24 hours, the areas I have stung will swell slightly and are warm to the touch, courtesy of the increased “healing” blood flow to the region.

And my muscles….are looser!

Through this experience, I have great respect for the honeybee (none for wasps & hornets!).  The tremendous work the bees do for our world–the food they help us grow–and the mysterious powers of healing found within their sting.

When a bee buzzes my head in the backyard, I don’t run or flail my arms, frantic to escape.  I just very calmly tell him to “go away bee”–and he does.  (I am like a bee whisperer!)

Again, let me say apitherapy, or bee venom therapy, is an alternative form of treatment and not for everyone.  This is my personal experience, your results may be different.  But if you want to learn more, you’ll find tons of information online.  You may even post a question to My Odd Sock and I’ll BS my way through an answer (just kidding).

Phew, I made my way through one, unfunny My Odd Sock.  Now can we get back to the nonsense please?  This serious stuff is killing me.

Don’t let your meatloaf!

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The last line of this post is the catchphrase of the “poobah” of odd socks, my Uncle Larry.

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Next to working in a pillow factory, raking leaves is the safest job to do if you have MS–falling is much softer!