What You Need to Know About Injectable Mistletoe

Mistletoe is commonly known for its association with the holiday season, but it also has medical uses as an injectable medication. It is mainly used in Europe in this form, but is gaining popularity in the United States in recent years.

My Experience with Mistletoe

I experience a variety of headaches, including migraine and tension headaches. I also have rather significant nerve damage throughout my body and take an anti-seizure medication to help calm down some of the pain related to it. Mistletoe is used for both headaches and seizures. My neurologist recommended I may want to give mistletoe a try to see if it may help with my headaches and/or my nerve pain. He got me an appointment with a highly trained complementary medicine practitioner and I started on a regimen of mistletoe. Personally, for me, I did not experience relief from my headaches or nerve pain. To be fair, I only tried the regimen for three months because I had to stop due to being started on a medication for something else that may adversely interact with mistletoe. If I would have been able to stay on mistletoe for longer, it may have worked, but using it for only three months, I experienced no relief.

Mistletoe Uses

As was stated above, headaches and seizures are common uses for mistletoe. It is also used in Europe for cancer. In Europe, an extract is made into a prescription drug and it is then administered via injection. In the United States, mistletoe injections are currently in the clinical trial phase.

Mistletoe Cautions and Side Effects

If mistletoe is unprocessed or raw, it is poisonous. It may cause seizures, slowed heart rate, vomiting and in some cases, death.

The injection site may be red or itchy following an injection. In less common cases, patients have reported flu-like symptoms, low-grade fever and more extensive skin reactions.

Allergic reactions are rare, but possible.

No one should ever inject mistletoe on their own. Only a trained health care provider is capable of safely administering injectable mistletoe. Also, if you are interested in using oral mistletoe, talk to your doctor first because not all forms are safe. For example, American mistletoe is unsafe. You should also make sure to tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications to help prevent interactions and issues with this worsening a medical condition.

Resources

National Cancer Institute: Mistletoe Extracts