Stick It To Me!

A few months ago I was suffering from excruciating back pain. Nothing I did seemed to bring any relief. I took over the counter pain meds like they were Skittles. Nada.

It finally got so bad I decided that I needed to see a medical professional.

Before calling my primary care physician to make an appointment, I decided to first give something new a try. I made an appointment to have acupuncture. Most folks avoid acupuncture because of the needles. After having three babies, and donating blood as many times as I have...needles don't bother me a bit. And...acupuncture needles are SUPER TINY, so those REALLY don't bother me.

I had my first session back in October and felt relief...almost instantly. The acupuncturist suggested that I come back the following week for another treatment. I did just that and again, felt relief. The pain was GONE...until this week.

Yes, months later the pain returned in full effect.

Yesterday as I was getting ready for work, it hurt so badly, I could hardly bend over to tie my shoes. And when I got to work, climbing the 22 steps to get to my desk was almost unbearable. My back was ON FIRE. Sitting for hours only made it worse.

I finally couldn't take the pain anymore and call the acupuncturist. Asked what time slots he had available and after work I headed right over.

As he stuck the needles in me, he commented on how tight my back was. Yep, it was tight alright. And to my surprise, I was very "jumpy." On the previous visits he stuck in pin after pin and I never moved. Yesterday, I flinched with every one. Not because I could feel them, but because my body was startled every time he touched me...almost as though my body has forgotten HOW to be touched. Now that's a dag-gon shame!

Anyhoo...he finally got them all in, turned on the electro-machine, applied some heat, and left me in the room to listen to ocean waves as I dozed off. He popped in once to make sure I was ok (I was until he woke me up), then popped out again for about ten more minutes. He came back in, removed the pins, rubbed some lotion on my back that felt like warm Bengay and I was set. Walked out of that place without a single ache, and when I woke up this morning, I popped right outta bed, got dressed, had no problems with my shoes, nor the stairs at work.

I'm sure that at some point I will need to get to the cause of my back pain. Not sure if I should do that NOW while the pain is GONE, or if I should wait until it comes back.

One thing I do know is that ACUPUNCTURE IS AMAZING and if you have any aches or pains, I would highly recommend giving it a try.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: I may have asked this before, but I'll ask again...Have YOU ever tried acupuncture? If so, how did it work out for you?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Pins and NEEDLES

So I've had this lower back pain for weeks...maybe even MONTHS.

It's gotten so bad, I finally decided that I needed some relief.

Now, I know that a majority of the pain is caused by all this excess weight that I'm carrying around. I really could stand to lose a good 50 pounds. But for now, ANY relief I can get is GREATLY welcomed.

I was curious about acupuncture but had no idea where to begin or who to see. Thanks to good ol' Facebook, a friend suggested one that he had gone to recently and is right here in my neighborhood.

First thing I did was checked my insurance to see if acupuncture is covered. To my surprise...it is.

Second thing I did was call and made an appointment.

And today...I went to my very first acupuncture session.

It was quite an experience.

The office was very tranquil. The acupuncturist was very friendly and tranquil.

He had me fill out my medical history and from there we discussed my pain. That helped him determine the course of treatment to use.

From there, I went into a small room, loosened my pants a bit, and laid on the massage type bed. Soon there after came the needles. Well...at least I think they did. Truth is...they are so small, I didn't feel a one...not a SINGLE one.

After the needles were placed (there may have been about 20), he turned on this electric thingy, some tranquil music, and had me lay there and relax while the needles and electric thingy did their thing for about 30 minutes. Yes...at some point I'm sure that I drooled.

I've had relaxing massages, but this was a different kind of relaxation. I enjoy them both...this was just...different.

When the time was up, he removed the needles, rubbed some balm on my back, asked how I was feeling...we scheduled my next session, and he sent me on my way.

Now...maybe it's all in my head, but I have to admit...I feel better already. The tightness that has been in my back for almost a month now, has loosened. I can still feel a small bit of pain in my back, but NOTHING like it was before I went in.

So...I'm going back, and I'm looking forward to it.

Apparently, my qi (pronounced chee) was out of whack and I had blockages that were stopping my energy and circulation from flowing properly. Now, I'm sure that to a lot of folks that sounds like a bunch of hocus pocuse mumbo jumbo, but I've gotta go by how I feel...and I feel GOOD!

So for all of you out there who are "afraid of needles", I highly encourage you to just give acupuncture a try. You WON'T feel the needles...you just won't. And you really need to go if you are experiencing any kind of pain that Western medicine hasn't been able to help. Mind you...I'm not knocking Western medicine, and quite honestly, I haven't even been to my doctor for this back pain because I wanted to be open to trying something new and different. I'm so glad that I did. So very glad.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: Have you ever had acupuncture? If so, what benefits did you gain from it? And if not...why not?

Talk to me (and my qi)!

Til next time...