acupuncture #1

I get a lot of headaches, and when I say "a lot," I mean it.  "A lot" as in basically at least one every day for a month.  My boyfriend says it's been longer than a month, and maybe he's right.  I tend to play down the importance of the frequency of my headaches, largely because I don't want there to be something wrong with my brain so I pretend there's not.

Earlier this year I bought an online coupon for acupuncture.  It was a really good deal, and was the kick in the head I needed to finally try the treatment.  I had my first appointment a few days ago, and it was quite interesting.

My main goal is to get. rid. of. all. these. headaches.  I have lived too many days feeling like a Jetson (taking so many pills a day it’s as if I’m getting sustenance from them), and have wanted to try acupuncture, which has been approved by multiple health organizations that I’m too lazy to look up and link to as a headache treatment.

In preparation, I had to fill out a page of my health history and conditions, and another page of woman-specific health conditions.  Can you say “menses?”  Don’t.  I can’t stand that word.  It’s weird. 

Since traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) involves qi and the interconnectedness of the parts and organs in the body, some of the health condition questions were about my sleep schedule, pooping consistency (in all meanings of the word), appetite, various aches and pains, etcetera.  Basically, I had to let them know how my whole body has been doing.

My acupuncturist, K, was very informative.  I like learning new things, especially when I’m about to be poked with needles by a stranger.  I described my headaches and then she took my pulse(s).  Holding her middle three fingers on my inner wrist, she applied gentle pressure but would occasionally change which finger had the most pressure, as if I had a little wrist piano she was playing.  During this, she kept talking and asking questions (I want to know more about why she didn't have to stay quiet and count or something).  Then she switched to my other wrist.  While I was answering one of her questions, she interrupted me and asked if I have been feeling nauseous after eating, or have had little interest in eating lately.  Wow.  Yeah.  For a couple of weeks, I’d feel sick to my stomach after every meal.  It was distressing, and nothing I did to try to avoid the nausea helped, such as changing my diet, eating less, eating at different times of day, eating more frequently…nothing.  K replied that my spleen pulse was very irregular, which ties into the stomach and digestion, and that’s why she asked.  Neat.

Fast forward to the needles.  Now, I don’t mind needles, and I realize that many people are uncomfortable or have needle-phobias.  Here's the part where I describe the pokey part of my visit, so you may want to skip the next two paragraphs if you are sensitive to these things. I had a total of about 12 needles in me for 30 minutes.  Seven or eight in my arms/hands, one in a knee, and three in my feet.  I only felt one of them.  (K had said I should tell her if any of them was uncomfortable and she’d reposition it, but I didn’t realize it was twingeing until she had left.)  It wasn't bad, though; as long as I didn’t hold my arm in a certain awkward position, the needle was easy to ignore.  The idea is not to feel the needles.  They don’t go in deeply enough to draw blood, and are only the diameter of a couple hairs or something.

I leaned back in my recliner and shut my eyes, hoping to fall asleep to the ambient sounds/music coming out of the stereo in the corner.  Unfortunately whale songs don’t do it for me, apparently.  Yes, there were some whale songs playing with a piano in the background.  I didn’t realize how hippy-earthy it was until I concentrated, though.  Since I couldn’t sleep, I took some time to look at the needles sticking out of me.  It was only a little hard to get used to and become comfortable with seeing them attached to my skin.  I tested their staying power by gently wiggling my arms.  Then my nose itched so I had to move one arm to take care of that.  The needles were fine.  That made other parts of my face itch.  I had one needle in the top of my head, to promote relaxation.  That one made me slightly uneasy because I couldn’t see it, and I was worried that my long hair might get caught on the back of the chair for no good reason and pull the needle out, or I’d forget it was there and start practicing patting my head and rubbing my belly, thereby jamming the needle into my skull.  Thankfully, I was able to resist that.

That evening, I started getting ready for bed when I was tired, as is my norm.  When I looked at the clock, it was only 9:15p.  What?  Wow.  I’m NEVER tired at 9. And it’s hard for me to fall asleep at 11:30p or 12:30a, even if/when I am feeling tired.  K and I had talked about my issues falling and staying asleep, which she said made sense with the other things I had described.  She said that treating my headaches would likely help my sleeping issues, but I did not expect to feel same-day results. 

I slowed down my going-to-bed processes a bit when I realized how early it was, but I was in bed around 10 anyway.  I started a crossword puzzle, which I typically enjoy doing to unwind at the end of the day, but could not keep my eyes open.  When I shut my light off, it wasn’t even 10:30.  I was delighted, though thankfully not so excited about sleeping that my adrenaline kept me awake.

Appointment #2 is today.  I am excited for it. 

Even more good news:  since my appointment, I have had only one headache that I needed to take medication for.  Holla.