Pin cushion
The tips of the acupuncture needles have colored caps. As I looked down my body, I saw cheerful light blue and pink sticking out of my leg and foot. One needle went into my hand and when the acupuncturist pulled it out, I was surprised to see it had been more than a centimeter (half an inch) deep in my flesh. No blood. As I look at that hand now, I can hardly tell it was poked.
As I said to my acupuncturist, who turned out to be a girl I had sat next to for nearly three hours at the astrology meeting last Thursday (I'm such a ditz sometimes), I have managed to spend a lifetime immersed in New Age stuff but only now have I tried acupuncture. I'll have to ask her on Friday (my next appointment) what my pulses and tongue told her today, but based on what I told her, she focused primarily on my digestion. She told me that the meridians for the intestines cross the shoulder and since I do have digestive trouble, she decided to work on that. So she started with a needle in my foot, on my leg, and then one in each hand.
The process of the needles going in was unfamiliar to me; I hadn't even read about it. She poked for a tender spot (and I may or may not have felt the spot as tender), asked me inhale deepøy and the needle went in. Then she did something (I didn't actually look, since I was a tad squeamish, but on Friday I'll look) to adjust the needle and asked me to let her know when I felt something like an electrical shock (like the sensation of hitting your funny bone, but milder). I didn't always feel the jolt but it didn't really matter. When she removed the needles after 20 minutes and then stuck six in my neck and shoulders, I felt no jolts. (I told her the patient died. She laughed.)
As the needles worked, I could feel a little tingling in the body part or even a stinging sensation where the needle was. One needle on my shoulder felt like it was heating the point up. My acupuncturist told me that where I felt something were points that were working harder than the points I felt nothing from.
I have no idea what to expect and it may very well be that I won't notice anything until after I've had several treatments. So I've got appointments for Friday and next Tuesday. Generally, I thought the whole experience was fun!
Comments
I went twice weekly the first month, then weekly for another 3 months. By then, things had improved enough that I didn't feel the need for more acupuncture. My acupuncturist used several techniques on me, including cupping, and they all had benefit. A lot of stuff was revealed during conversation, too, the emotional stuff that causes the physical problems. I could tell by how some of the acupuncture points responded that I was hitting an emotional "nerve". You'll get the most out of it if you are willing to see the mind-body connection and work on the mind part, while your body gets some help. I wish you success and healing!