WARNING. My husband almost died tonight from bee pollen !!!!!!

[Solace]

This is NO joke at all !!!
Today at around 1:00pm I made a green drink for me and my hubby James, I usually add BEE POLLEN to my own drinks and added it to ours today.
I knew my hubby had a bit of an allergy to BEEPOLLEN= seasonal. I had given him beepollen in a drink once before during beeepollen season HOPING it would help with his allergies - I had heard- from other well known raw vegans that is what you should do.
Last time it just made his allergies a little worse but not bad, (this time) within an hour he almost died. The doctors said had we phoned 911 - 5 mins later he may have died !!!!! REALLY, Beepollen was the only thing that i did different from his regular drinks, I was a little worried about adding beepollen and forwarned him i was. Within an hour it went from bad to much much worse, his lips swelled he was almost vomiting, eyes were blood shot HIVES ETC and he could not breath easy.
I know this is something that may be a rare thing but if you have any concerns that you may have an allergy to bee pollen, BE VERY CAREFULL and make sure you are in a safe place if you are trying it for the first time. Thanks for reading.

[Rawkinlocs]

OH MY!!! I'm glad he's okay! Thanks for sharing this warning. I've never used bee pollen before. Wow!

[lafsalot]

OMG!! Glad to hear he is feeling so much better. ~ Cathy

[Solace]

Thanx, i am sending this info to everyone i can think of, I was told to use a combo of msm and beepollen for allergies and i believe i have recommended it many times to others so i really felt compelled to put out a warning.

[Solace]

I will be bumping this thread out of real concern, I am terrified by what i witnessed tonight and even more so that i have told others to use this to help themselves.

[Lady Green Jeans]

Solace,

Thank you so much for posting this. So glad your dh is okay. My friend at the hfs advised me to start with only 1 or 2 grains as I showed some sensitivity to it last time I tried (itchy eyes, scratchy throat--coldlike/allergy symptoms). That was about 8 yrs. ago. Not rushing into trying this even though I have already purchased it.

Kathy

[dreamrawalwz]

I'm glad he is ok now! I'm allergic to wasps (have only gotten stung once though). I havn't been stung by a bee since I was 5 or so, but I'm a little worried if I do because allergies tend to get worse and my grandfather was highly allergic to bees (anaphalaxis). I will be staying away from bee pollen for that reason. I have never had it and wouldn't want to at this point. Thank you for the warning.

[Solace]

All I know is , I have read thousands of articals on bee pollen many of them Vegan influenced and NEVER with a warning attached to it.
That really bothers me, the fact that it would be advised to use for those with allergies Without a warning of any kind.
I am not pointing blame at all at anyone, I know even doing a full Raw diet can be hit and miss for many BUT when there is something potentially deadly and no one says anything ????

My husband is feeling better today but has a massive headache, we were told that within 24 hours he could have another attack of sorts and to be ready.

[exurb]

I would also add some potentially life saving information about bee allergies.

When people develop a bee sting allergy, often you get one sting, and you get a mid-level reaction, say a big swelling, or something, but not that "throat swelling shut" anaphalaxis type of reaction. Well, in many cases, the NEXT time you get stung is what kills you. So if you have a mid-level bee sting reaction, you need to get to a good doctor and tell her about it, and you should ALWAYS have an epi-pen kit on hand, because the next sting could produce the full blown life threatening reaction.

Sounds like your hubby needs to have one on hand too Solace.

Thanks for sharing.

Solace, look at your package of bee pollen. It probably also doesn't have a warning on it. I would suggest you write to the company, tell them your experience by registered mail, and that they should have a good warning on it. Also maybe write to your local health minister or public health dept, as I think there should be some legislated warning.

That it was suggested to you in something you read is just a warning in general that there is a lot of BS flying about, and false claims and poorly researched information, and you have to be really careful of what you read.

As Mark Twain said "You could die of a misprint.";) and your husband almost did!:eek:

It is such a relief that your husband is OK.

[lafsalot]

Bumping this one up again!!

[Morn]

Does anyone know where you can get an epi-pen from? Does it take a prescription to get one or can you just get it from a drugstore?

[Little Mango]

Solace, I am so glad your hubby is ok. All the bee pollen packages that I have read have said not to be used if allergic to bee stings which is actually why I keep away from bee pollen regardless of the great things people say about it. I have no idea if I am allergic or not.

[Solace]

Well I have writen 2 dozen emails to different people and have had NO reply = hoping to hear something back from someone.
I talked to a lady in a healthfood store today doing a demo for a new green drink - and guess what, it had bee pollen right in it.
Soooo we had a nice long talk about that and yes i will be contacting that company tooo. I may come across right now as a little overboard but I guess until you see your loved one minutes from death, from something you gave them. Something that was supposed to make them healthier, well i would expect anyone else would feel the same. ?????.

[luckitri]

No you do not sound overboard to me at all.

I appreciate your post and am glad to read that your husband is better.

As I wrote on another thread - I don't like the taste so I don't eat it. (Plus when people were raving about it I never got any noticeable good effect so why bother?)

Also wonder about pesticides in bee products - after all - how do you really know where they have been?

[lafsalot]

Does anyone know where you can get an epi-pen from? Does it take a prescription to get one or can you just get it from a drugstore?

Need a script ~ Cathy

[Raw Angel Mom]

Oh, i am so happy that your husband is ok.

I recommend bee pollen but only if people aren't allergic to this, i don't think that i will recommend that again unless that i am sure that the person understand that this isn't for someone who have allergies.

So sorry about this, hoping many will read your post.

Blessings!

[Solace]

Thanx everyone on here for reading this, I have sent letters to dozens of 'people'= those in position to do something, with still no response.

I was in a heathfood store the other day and a woman handed me a new sample of a green drink with bee pollen right in it, with NO warning at all.

Again, my husband did not have a know bee pollen allergy. He had taken some in the past maybe 10 years ago in a combo with Ginsing, without a problem.
He had a bit of a runny nose duing pollen season. He had a bit of a bad reaction = sneezing with the first drink 3 months before the 2nd one that almost killed him........I think that everyone should be cautioned before adding this. Those who are promoting this without warning are WRONG and should be very carefull in the future about promoting its use.

[Solace]

I am aware much of what i just posted was a repeat of what i have already posted. To me it needed to be again.

[PomegranatePip]

Sorry to hear that your husband had a bad reaction. But at least you know now, and can be proactive in avoiding this product in the future!

It should be warned against, just like peanuts (or anything else that can cause a severe allergic reaction). Really, though, people need to read labels and protect themselves -- especially if they're aware of their own sensitivities. It's easy to blame companies for not "warning" people, but they do label foods (at least, they're supposed to). I have plenty of allergies and/or sensitivities, and though they're not life threatening, they will make my life a misery if I fall victim to one of them. So I have to be very careful about reading labels and asking questions if I'm not sure about a particular ingredient.

I may or may not be allergic to bee stings. The one time I was stung as a child, the area around the sting swelled up quite noticeably. However, I have taken bee pollen without any problems. I do remember being warned to take only one or two grains at first, in case of allergies. The warning (or lack of one) probably depends on the manufacturer.

[northernstars]

My EMT instructor told the class that to have an allergic reaction a person must have been exposed to the offending substance at least once before! So, it isn't the first time the person came in contact with it and the "it" must be alive.

[luckitri]

northernstars, I really don't understand about how the "it" must be alive part.

Peanuts in candy and peanut butter are dead substances yet some people die from them.

I would like to understand the statement of your instructor better.

[PomegranatePip]

northernstars, I really don't understand about how the "it" must be alive part.

Peanuts in candy and peanut butter are dead substances yet some people die from them.

I would like to understand the statement of your instructor better.

luckitri,

I believe there's a theory that it's not so much the nuts that people are allergic to, but the molds that grow on them. Peanuts are rather notorious for mold (aflatoxins). These molds would probably be considered "alive".

[hootiehoo]

I really want to try bee pollen. I'm suffering from hay fever at the moment and need a cure lol. I've never been stung by a bee though, can I still try the 1-2 grain test? Or do I need to take an allergy test?

[Klarissa]

Sounds like to had an anaphylactic attract, life threatening, rapid onset allergic reaction. If left untreated death will result from cardiac arrest or airway obstruction due to bronchi swelling and not letting air in or out of the lungs.

For most people who have had an attack like this they will be given prescription to purchase an eppi-pen and advised to carry it with them. The thing is the pen runs out of date pretty fast.

Will you continue to use the stuff and keep it in your house??

[carolg]

OMG. Glad hubby is alive and you were there for him. My gosh. I'm throwing mine out right now that has been in the freezer for years I believe. I had a flashback of youir note here. Actually two. My husband became highly allergic to amoxicillin that his dentist threatened him he needed. He broke out too in large allergic reaction: hives, red all over body like sunburn, itch to the max, etc. Another time my husband had at night while two kids under 5 wwere sleeping an epileptic seizure--he never had sign or warning either. Another scarey experience. Wow...just unplanned for experiences. My husband is not epilep. and 30 years freedom with only 10 days Dilantin till natural approach.

Thanks for the WARNING!

carolg

[Eveleaf]

I started taking bee pollen with my juice feast. The website (www.juicefeasting.com) absolutely recommends that people start with 1 or 2 granules placed under the tongue to check for a reaction. I take it now daily and have never had a problem, but apparently if you have allergies or pollen sensitivity you might want to test this a few times before assuming a regular dosage of 1-2 T is safe for you.

~Eve

[Coconutcutie]

When I first started adding Bee Pollen to my smoothies I noticed that my throat would itch for a few minutes after drinking the smoothie. I cut it out for a week or so, then started back on it and the itch slowly got better and now I can take 1 TBSP with no reaction whatsoever...Did my body just get used to it or what? I'm not allergic to bees so I never worried much about a severe reaction...