The Joy of Acupuncture

After battling with a back injury for the past couple of months, I finally came to the conclusion that physical therapy wasn’t quite working. Having friends who swear by acupuncture, I took a chance and made an appointment with an acupuncture clinic that’s covered by my insurance.

The first day I went in they took my temperature, blood pressure and a small survey which included questions about my bowel movements, periods and other bizarre information that I never considered something that would affect a back injury. The “doctor” said I had “hypotension,” which is another word for low blood pressure. She said I would have to get some acupressure to prepare me for the acupuncture because I wouldn’t be able to handle it in my feeble condition. She also gave me this crap to drink. Clearly it has ginseng in it, but Alan is convinced that it’s got deer urine too, as evidenced by the image of the stag on the front of the packet.

It tastes revolting, but I’ve faithfully downed it every morning and evening. It’s about 1/2 cup and I have to heat it up.

The first acupuncture treatment was pretty nice, this old Asian guy poked and prodded me, did some basic massage and pressure point treatment, then gave me a few exercises to do at home.

The next day I went back to see the acupuncturist and it was not so great. When she was sticking the needles in I was shocked at how much they hurt! I was bawling my eyes out when she left the room to allow the needles to do their magic. My head filled with thoughts of not returning, but I knew that it would probably be worth the pain in the end.

The second treatment was not as bad; at my request she didn’t put any needles in my left leg; I had been limping the entire day of the last treatment, probably because that knee has been injured for quite awhile. Hopefully I’ll build up some tolerance and be able to handle it after a few treatments. Will post an update early January…

Tags: Acupuncture, Moreno Valley