Healing from Botulism

Get outside as much as you can

Botulism from Botox is a scary and unpredictable disease.

My "very mild" botulism resulted in me being unable to work full time for 6 months, unable to swallow solid foods for two months, unable to sleep for most of the night for 2 months, and the loss of 50% of my hair in 4 months (in addition to about a dozen other symptoms).

Botulism symptoms can range widely in severity, and can affect nearly every part of our complex bodies depending on where the toxin "lands".

I am here to tell you that the vast majority of people can and do heal from botulism. Most people I've spoken to who have mild botulism heal completely, or to a tolerable "new norm" within the 6-24 month timeframe post-injections. Others can take longer, but will likely see improvements year to year. In severe cases, there may be permanent effects on the body, however the vast majority of people return to a tolerable "new norm".

I took about 8 months to heal from my VERY mild botulism. I had 12 units of Xeomin (Botox) once, and I thank my lucky stars every single day that I received such a small amount that day.

I wanted to share some things that I believe helped me heal along the way.

FOODS

First and foremost, I never had histamine intolerances. About 60% of iatrogenic botulism sufferers will suffer from NEW onset of MCAS/food intolerances post-Botox; see Botulism and MCAS for more information

I eat a whole foods based, organic diet, and follow the Weston A Price principles. My diet mostly consists of meat, fish, bone broth, organic raw dairy, eggs, organic rice, and a few vegetables and fruit. I drink a lot of electrolytes. I avoid added sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.

SUPPLEMENTS (all on Amazon)

--Zen Principles Beef organs (Histamine folks can tolerate beef kidney, but will likely not tolerate liver)

--Ancient Nutrition Iron (botulism depleted my ferritin)

--Pinkstork Liquid Folate (this is from lemons - botulism depleted my folate)

--Ancient Nutrition Vit D

--Natural Stacks GABA Brain Food for anxiety symptoms

--Mary Ruth's Ashwagandha to support nervous system

--Nested Naturals Luna for sleep/insomnia (I also used Protekt, which works as well)

SURVEY PARTICIPANTS HAVE FOUND THE FOLLOWING HELPFUL...(I cannot personally vouch for these - ALWAYS work with a trusted healthcare providerwhen beginning any new supplements/drugs)

--Huperzine A (a Chinese herb that can increase acetylcholine production in the body; please note that this supplement cannot undo botulism damage, but some have found it helpful for brain fog symptoms)

--Pyridostigmine (under supervision and direction of an MD, some have found this helpful for limb weakness/paralysis resulting from botulism. Please note it comes with it's own side effects)

--Charcoal supplements (Dr. Hristova used charcoal with some of her patients)

--400 MG of Echinacea daily (also from Dr. Hristova's study)

--Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (only attempted after the first 2 years post-poisoning)

--Milk thistle

--Lion's mane for nerve pain

--Omega 3's

SWALLOWING/DRY MOUTH

--I pureed a lot of smoothies, shakes, and soups when I couldn't swallow solid foods

--Xylimelts and peppermint drops for dry mouth

--Biotene products for dry mouth

LIFESTYLE

--Disability leave from work. I did not work for 3 months when I was in the panic attack/insomnia phase.

--Support from family and friends

--Early to bed, lots of sleep

--Electrolytes, electrolytes, electrolytes

--Outdoor time, grounding barefoot

--Gentle yoga

--Meditation podcasts at bedtime

Here is some initial data from my Botox Adverse Effects survey on helped other IB sufferers heal:

Time, good sleep, and whole organic foods helped most people. Be patient with your body - it is healing from the most lethal poison on the planet. It can heal, it will heal, and it is healing every single day.