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".

Most people I've spoken to who have mild botulism seem to heal, at least 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 8-12 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 believe the following foods helped me heal (please note, not all of these will be OK for those experiencing MCAS):

• organic, grass-fed/pasture raised meat (specifically beef, lamb, and chicken)

• bone broth

• organic eggs

• oysters, mackerel, salmon, tuna, etc.

• whole, organic dairy

• fresh fruits/vegetables

• electrolytes

  
  

• I avoid added sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.

SUPPLEMENTS (all on Amazon)

For hair regrowth/B vitamins:

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

--Zen Principles Bone Marrow

--Another good brand for organs/marrow is Heart & Soil Skin, Hair & Nails supplement

--Liquid collagen

--Selenium

For ferritin/folate:

--Ancient Nutrition Iron (botulism depleted my ferritin)

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

For Vitamin D:

--Ancient Nutrition Vit D

For nervous system support, thyroid support, and sleep:

--Mary Ruth's Ashwagandha to support nervous system/thyroid

--Natural Stacks GABA brain food

--Nested Naturals Luna for sleep/insomnia

--Protekt Rest (L-theanine, GABA, and Valerian Root)

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)

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

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

--Hyperbaric oxygen treatment

--Plasma IV therapy

--Milk thistle for liver support

--Lion's mane for nerve pain

--Omega 3's

--Red light therapy for muscle/nerve/mitochondrial repair

--Magnesium bisglycinate (magnesium can sometimes be helpful for muscle tremors/spasms)

SWALLOWING/DRY MOUTH

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

--Xylimelts and peppermint drops helped with 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

--Take everything slow while you're healing, especially in the first year of botulism. Travel, vigorous exercise, and unnecessary stress can all cause symptoms to worsen.

--STRESS is a HUGE trigger of botulism and MCAS symptoms. Avoid it whenever and wherever you can

Here is some initial data from my Botox Adverse Effects survey on helped other IB sufferers heal. For a full list of things that helped people heal, view the survey results

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.