It sounds more like torture; holding still to let bees sting you over and over again.
Some say, the stings are saving their lives.
"Some people would say it's crazy,” said Ellie Lobel, a bee venom therapy expert.
“If I were just a normal person and someone told me they were staying themselves with the venom, I would say that's pretty crazy," she said.
Lobel says she was made aware of the benefits of bee venom after a tortuous battle with Lyme Disease.
"I was in multiple organ failure, I had congestive heart failure,” said Lobel. “I moved to Southern California with a friend of mine to pass away and be comfortable in my final months of life."
That was six years ago.
Lobel says she was attacked by killer bees just days after moving to California.
"My ears swelled up like Dumbo, I had huge ears. I looked like elephant woman And I would just scrape the stingers out of my head," said Lobel.
Something amazing happened days after the attack.
Lobel says her Lyme symptoms began to ease up. She says online research and Eastern medicine showed the bee venom actually helped control the Lyme Disease.
"So I spent 2 1/2 years learning to sting myself with bees. Figuring out proper dosing of the venom. And got myself well," said Lobel.
Ellie says there is science to back up the bee sting therapy.
She explained that venom attacks, penetrates and kills certain bacteria and cells that traditional medicines cannot.
"A lot of doctors are aware of this now, but they can't touch this. This is not an FDA approved therapy, it is considered the alternative. Some people would say it's crazy,” said Lobel.
Ellie has posted her bee therapy procedure online for others to follow.
She says three years of clinical university research at the University of New Haven Connecticut has shown promising results. The next phase of testing may include animals and eventually humans.
The U.S. Governments lead agency for scientific research has not funded any studies.
Some previous studies point to benefits with arthritis and inflammation.
Other studies say the benefits of bee venom treatments for HIV and cancer are unfounded.
Also, this treatment is extremely dangerous for people with known allergies to bee venom.
Lobel says bees are beneficial and crucial to nature and food supplies. She says the bees used in this therapy are ones that are at the end of their six-week life cycle.
