> In the years that followed, an increasing number of Lyme sufferers started using Lobel’s technique, with good outcomes. Not only did they say they felt better, they said that it saved their lives. Wanting to combine Lobel’s protocol with a more holistic approach, Dolan started a Facebook group of her own called “Healing Lyme With Bee Venom,” where more than 5,500 members post their questions and testimonials. “Year 1 was rough on my husband,” wrote the spouse of one Lyme sufferer who used the bee therapy. “Yesterday he walked seven miles hiking thru a state park.” “I was bedridden when I first started and I more or less lead a normal life now,” said another group member.
> It is possible—some would say probable—that these individuals are promoting a technique whose success is based more on psychology than pharmacology. There is little science to substantiate a cure by stinging. There have been two clinical studies investigating the link between bee venom and Lyme, and though they are compelling, they are confined to petri dishes. A 1997 study and a 2017 study showed the interaction of bee venom’s primary component, melittin, and the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi. Melittin, which is a helical peptide consisting of 26 amino acids, tends to bore a hole in the outer membrane of the larger, spiral-shaped Borrelia burgdorferi, releasing the inner contents of the bacteria just as a corkscrew would slice open a water balloon.