Hello, glad to find this website. I am here not so much to share my story as I am to connect with some scorpion enthusiasts and hopefully gather very important information.

In 2002 I was stung five times on my upper/inner thighs by a bark scorpion. It was a profound experience for me including hallucinations that gave me a first-hand experience of the scorpion... psyche. Bad word, but there just aren't words to describe the impressions I experienced. I was plagued by certain symptoms for about three months. I have a severe case of fibromyalgia (FMS) and was terrified that the toxins would cause my symptoms to intensify. The hospital I went to told me, among other fallacies, to go ahead and take my usual pain medication which (I have learned since) actually works to amplify the venom's effect. Go, emergency rooms.

Western medicine could offer me no remedy for the discomfort I experienced, so I went to see my acupuncturist. There was some acupuncture guru in town teaching, and he dropped by the clinic. Without any background information, he felt my pulses, briefly described my medical history with astounding accuracy, and then asked, "How many times did this scorpion sting you? It was several times, right?" I didn't have a chance to answer, as he immediately stated that I had received a toxic dose of venom, huindreds of times larger than the highest dose of venom recomended in the Chinese pharmacopia. He said that he could give me some herbs that would help flush the venom from my body, but with my permission he'd rather not prescribe that. Since the venom had already been in my system for a week it was unlikely that it would cause more damage or problems, and I was surprised to hear him say that he wanted as much venom to stay in my body for as long as possible, although iit would cause me great discomfort. Why? I wanted to know, my blood stings, I felt this "whirring" sensation throughout my body, particularly in my FMS trigger points. He laughed and said, "You may feel awful now, but give it a month or two, and you will begin to experience great relief from your painful condition. If you can stand the discomfort it will benefit you for a very long time, particularly with the nerves, tingling and tremors." I laughed and joked, "hey, maybe I should get a pet scorpion." He looked at me for a long time and eventually said, "You might want to consider that, if you've got the stomach for it."

I had five good years. No, five wonderful years. The FMS hadn't disappeared, but I was able to participate in life in ways that had long been denied. I had been on pain medication almost 24 hours a day, and suddenly I went weeks without taking a single pill. I was able to exercise again, dance sometimes, wash my dishes without breaking them. All this time I never once doubted that it was the scorpion that healed me.

So here I am... six years later and the pain has been back for a year. No more hiking, or dancing. Goodbye dishes. One-pound weights are unbearably heavy at the gym. I've inquired about venom therapy, which evidently isn't encouraged in the US. The FDA won't allow Chinese venom sources into the country. The scorpion itself is used in a powdered form but A) they don't let Chinese sources into the country, and American sources are "unreliable" B) the highest dose is very small andintended to be used short term, C) After sharing the exoskeletal mind I feel a bit of kinship with the critter. I don't want to eat it.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about scorpions. Even before this experience, scorpions were an unsought, recurring theme in my life. I have considered some extreme approaches in pursuit of scorpion venom. The more I think about it, the more serious I realize the endeavor is.

Yes, I am considering a personal relationship with a scorpion, but I just don't know enough to act on that. Obviously there are many issues to consider, including the safety and health of the creature itself. I would obviously have to do a lot of research to ensure that I can provide the right diet, environment, etc. Is it inhumane in any way to keep a scorpion that I occasionally allow to sting me? What kind of scorpion would I want? Is anyone else doing this? Am I crazy?

I will not make this kind of decision recklessly. This would be an intense and very personal relationship requiring a commitment.

I would love to hear the expert's thoughts on this...

Wow this is a remarkable story. Thank you for sharing it. I have little doubts that Chinese medicine can heal in ways modern science cannot. I'm not sure what medically happened to you when you were stung. Do you know what type of scorpion you were stung by? Or perhaps where you were located so we can pinpoint the type? Keeping scorpions is not a far out concept. Almost everyone on this forum has at least one, several like myself have 100's. Keeping invertebrates can be somewhat addicting. I in no way shape or form suggest envenomation as a solution for your problems. But if you are serious then maybe a trip to China wouldn't be a bad idea. This way you can insure that everything is done by a "professional" and I say that loosely because there is typically no documentation to back there qualifications up. If you were looking for some sort of home remedy then you can start by looking at LD50 levels and finding which scorpions are not lethal but still can provide the amount of venom required to provide the "relief" you are looking for. I know people that have been stung hundreds of times by Arizona Bark Scorpions, which are supposed to be the U.S.'s only deadly scorpion, without any adverse effects. Of course there are different factors to how your body will be affect, such as weight, immunity, and others. You could also start with something that isn't known to even be harmful to humans and see what affect this has on you. Again I stress that I don't condone any of what I stated but these are ideas that might be a starting point. I would contact your physician and see what they have to say about this method of treatment and the affects it could have on you. Sorry for the book. I hope it provided some sort of insight.

-Dustin

i heard that bee sting therapy is becoming more popular in the u.s.a maybe you could look into that instead?

if you were to get a scorpion you would want one that wouldnt do anything but get venom into your blood right? if so then maybe an adult H.Arizonensis? the sting is nearly the same as an emperor scorpion but they are more ready to sting because of there weak claws...and they are more interesting because they will be out of there burrows and hunting 65% of the time so make a better pet.
if you are looking for a caresheet then im sure you can get a better one here at SF from mike(IHeartMantids) , abyss or kejser than you could from google.

Thank you for the information, in particular regarding LD50 levels and H.Arizonesis.

I have heard that people who innoculate themselves using venom (such as snake handlers) are extremely healthy and live for a very long time. Is this the case with those have been stung hundreds of times by scorpions?

I don't want to undertake this endeavor without properly educating myself. I'm not on line much, but I expect I'll be visiting this site, asking questions and listening in as I do my research.


grins ~*k

the thing is that being stung over and over may not help build a resilience infact i saw something on t.v with ants where this guy had worked with them for years, been stung hundreds of times, then one day he got put in hospital, so be careful and seek medical advice

MOST of the times scorp stings get worst your body might handle it different the next time around.

I'm still curious what species this was that stung her.

I believe it might of been a C. sculpt. Sometimes I still feel small pain where I got tagged.

Servel stings over time Can lead to you becoming sesitive to the venom wich can lead to a Anaphylactic shock, i whoudnt recommend any one doing this unless your in a hospital bed with a Med team next to you all the time...

thanks you kejser thats what i was trying to explain i just couldnt remember what it was called

I know the word i just cant spell it... sensitivaziation.. or what ever.. something like that.. means you become more senistive to the venom, you might react more powerfull every time and in the end trigger a Anaphylactic shock, allso some belive that there is no such thing as being allegic to scorpions, because there hasnt been a report about a person going into Anaphylactic shock from just 1 sting.. they have allways been stung servel times before.. some even have been biten by Fireants, since fireant venom and C.vittatus ( i think it is.. ) is similar in some ways..

fascinating...my mother had FMS for a number of years, it was horrible...

if you were to try it, i'd suggest having a very open-minded physician supervising...and maybe the acupuncturist as well.
but definitely be aware of what the others said above about repeat stings.

my mother suffers from FMS and i can understand what kind of mental and physical affects it has on people. but i never ever thought that a scorpion sting would cure it for a short time. I wish there was a way that you could do this. if it help then you should be ALLOWED to do it. did you tell you doctor? if you haven't maybe you could talk to him about how it actually worked. he could get started on something that could actually cure FMS. who knows you could have stumbled across something great there.

Well, if there's a single protein in L. quinquestriatus venom that can be used to cure cancer, I wouldn't be surprised if a peptide or two in C. sculpturatus could have an effect on FMS.