A Million Tiny Needles

I'm about to go for my first accupuncture appointment.  Not sure that I believe, or don't believe.  There are alot of aspects of anchient medicine that I do believe in, so I have faith that this will work and not end up being just a massive waste of money.  I'm not in poor health overall, but I do suffer from a number of minor ailments that taken alone at any given time aren't a big deal that I manage well with what modern medicine has to offer--and occasionally a home remedy.  Take my allergies, for example.  I have two prescriptions (nasal spray and eye drops), three OTC medications (Zyrtec, Benadryl and Chlortabs) that I use as needed and rotate so I don't build up a tolerance to any particular one.  I've also found that certain allergy symptoms, my eyes for example, only respond to Benadryl.  Then I use a neti pot on occasion and try to consume a couple spoonfuls of local wildflower honey at the peak of spring pollen season.  The honey really does work, and sometimes if I eat it in the morning, I won't have to use anything else the rest of the day. 


On top of having allergies, I have occasional lower back pain, near constant neck pain, migraines, and stomach and digestive issues.  Lately they've all been active together making me one unhappy camper.  Dealing with one, again, is tolerable and not so bad.  Dealing with all of them at the same time makes me feel like a big pile of dog crap.  It saps all my energy and makes me feel generall ill instead of generally well.  Each medicine I have makes the symptoms go away, but it doesn't treat the cause.  Beyond that each medicine has side effects that affect another one of my problems.  I get a migraine so I take my Zomig.  Headache goes away but it makes my neck stiff which already hurt to begin with.  My allergies are bothering me so I take Benadryl or Chlortabs and those make me sleepy, and I was already tired.  Any of those ailments bother me and I get stressed out so my stomach starts hurting and I have to take my Bentyl.  Bentyl stops the stomach cramps but then it supresses my appetite, my blood sugar drops and I get a migraine.  see what I mean?


So, I'm off to give this a try, because it is about the last thing I haven't tried for my various conditions.  Report on the results follows.


VERDICT:
First off, the office was very clean and professional.  Not like a doctor's office really, more like a massage studio.  Dr. Ly was very nice and attentive, which is good, since many medical doctors are not.  (I'm lucky to have a great PCP who does listen and work with me on my issues.  Actually, all my doctors are good because I'm picky when it comes to medical professionals.)  He told me that fatigue and neck/back pain were easy and I should see results almost immediately.  Migraines and IBS take a bit more time.  After discussing why I was there I took my shoes and socks off and got up on the table. 


In all, it was probably about 20 needles in total.  Two in my ankles, two in my legs under my knees, two in my wrists, five in the stomach, two in the neck, three in the ears and five or so on the top of my head.  Then a lady came in an hooked up a machine that sent a light electric pulse to the ones in my ears.  It was kind of like the thing they use at chiropractors offices on your back before an adjustment.  It kind of make my neck twitch.  I did not feel any of the needles going in, except one.  They really are very tiny.  The one that I felt actually hurt, and it was the one on my right leg below the knee.  Apparently that spot is for energy and digestion, and I didn't need a painful needle to tell me that was a problem area.  The pain went away almost immediately, and it wasn't a sharp pain from the needle itself, but a fist sized burst of pain in that area as soon as it went in. 


While I was laying there muscles would kind of twitch and spasm at random and different areas around the needles would tingle a bit.  It was really relaxing and not in the least bit uncomfortable. 


Then another lady came in with an "herb cigar" (ha ha ha!) and heated some of the needles.  When she was done she removed them.  They finished up by giving me a B-12 shot in the spot on my legs that had been painful.  With the left leg I didn't feel anything.  With the right one I had pain again.  Dr. Ly came back in with three supplements for me to take.  One is for concentration and energy, the other for energy and the third for digestion.  I'm going to go back once a week for the next few weeks and see if I see any improvement in the "difficult" areas.  I can say that the knot that had been in my right shoulder blade and all of my neck pain and tension was immediately alleviated.  My neck and upper back hasn't felt this good since before I hurt it last March, even after physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments.  Its probably the result of the B-12 shots, but I've had a bizarre amount of energy this afternoon and even after working my ass off at the shop this afternoon, I still feel pretty good.  My neck and back are still pain free.