I've started getting acupuncture therapy for a chronic condition I've been dealing with for a while. I've tried conventional treatment for years and, as it often does, it allows you to easily "live with" the condition but does not actually cure anything. A new level of frustration has prompted to try new things. I sought out an acupuncturist in NYC and found one that met my criteria -- location, age, experience. I didn't get a reference for one so I pulled one out that would be covered by my insurance company (go BCBS!). Here's what happened at my first session:
I show up and the place smells like herbs and patchouli. The sign on the door says "herbs and acupuncture" so I knew I was in the right place. The guy who greets me at the door is dressed in scrubs and the office looks like an Asian-themed doctor's office meets massage parlor. Immediately I see Dr. Lee in her office and, after filling out a fairly generic questionnaire, I'm escorted back to meet her.
She takes my blood pressure, asks me what my condition is and looks at my tongue. She grabs my wrists and holds each one for a little while. She makes some hypotheses and predictions about why I'm ailing and what could be causing it. Then she reaches her verdict.
She announces that she will probably not be able to cure me with just acupuncture alone. I'd need to get some of her herbal medicinal tea as well. I've received no therapy but got the distinct feeling that I was being upsold already. I didn't like that but, hey, I've tried everything else at this point. Why not try the tea? It's expensive so I agree to a small batch.
Then she says, "OK, now I give you acupuncture." Off we go into the treatment room which looks like a sanitized massage room. I lay face down in the bed and she instructs me to remove my shoes, socks and pants. I comply and then she begins to insert the needles along my spine. The "sensation" other sites tell you about the needles going in is in fact called "pain" in the western world. It's not a lot of pain and it's very very brief -- a fraction of a second per needle. But make no mistake about it, it feels like needles going into your body.
Once all the needles were in -- I'm guessing there were at least 10 or 12 -- she began moxibustion. She burned the moxa (aka mugwort) on my skin until the heat became unbearable. At that time I would speak up and she would remove the moxa. She did this half a dozen times or so. Finally, she covered me in a light "survival" blanket (looks like tin foil, keeps heat in) and left me in there for 20-30 minutes. I lay there comfortably relaxing and sweating for the duration of the visit.
It was very relaxing and I could feel warmth at the needle points. She came back in when the timer went off (like a roast!) and promptly removed the needles. She massaged the needle areas briefly and then I got dressed.
Was I instantly cured? No. Was I relaxed? Yes. Am I going back? Yes. I feel like I only scratched the surface of acupuncture and want to get more of it to see if it truly can get my body back in alignment. Besides, I have to come back and pick up my tea! She said it takes her 16 hours to make it. I bet it tastes like sea sludge but hey, so what.
I go back again this Friday and will continue to update through the blog what exactly has been going on with acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal teas and anything else she asks to do.
I've read a lot of about Eastern medicine and the one thing I like about it is that they consider the whole body when treating a condition -- not just the specific system or organ. The body works as a whole and there are tangential factors that affect the health and well-being of systems and organs that are not directly related, in Western thought, to the afflicted sections. I have high hopes for this and I believe that this too affects the success level (or at least the perception of success).
17/09: My experience with acupuncture - part I
I've started getting acupuncture therapy for a chronic condition I've been dealing with for a while. I've tried conventional treatment for years and, as it often does, it allows you to easily "live with" the condition but does not actually cure anything. A new level of frustration has prompted to try new things. I sought out an acupuncturist in NYC and found one that met my criteria -- location, age, experience. I didn't get a reference for one so I pulled one out that would be covered by my insurance company (go BCBS!). Here's what happened at my first session:I show up and the place smells like herbs and patchouli. The sign on the door says "herbs and acupuncture" so I knew I was in the right place. The guy who greets me at the door is dressed in scrubs and the office looks like an Asian-themed doctor's office meets massage parlor. Immediately I see Dr. Lee in her office and, after filling out a fairly generic questionnaire, I'm escorted back to meet her.
She takes my blood pressure, asks me what my condition is and looks at my tongue. She grabs my wrists and holds each one for a little while. She makes some hypotheses and predictions about why I'm ailing and what could be causing it. Then she reaches her verdict.
She announces that she will probably not be able to cure me with just acupuncture alone. I'd need to get some of her herbal medicinal tea as well. I've received no therapy but got the distinct feeling that I was being upsold already. I didn't like that but, hey, I've tried everything else at this point. Why not try the tea? It's expensive so I agree to a small batch.
Then she says, "OK, now I give you acupuncture." Off we go into the treatment room which looks like a sanitized massage room. I lay face down in the bed and she instructs me to remove my shoes, socks and pants. I comply and then she begins to insert the needles along my spine. The "sensation" other sites tell you about the needles going in is in fact called "pain" in the western world. It's not a lot of pain and it's very very brief -- a fraction of a second per needle. But make no mistake about it, it feels like needles going into your body.
Once all the needles were in -- I'm guessing there were at least 10 or 12 -- she began moxibustion. She burned the moxa (aka mugwort) on my skin until the heat became unbearable. At that time I would speak up and she would remove the moxa. She did this half a dozen times or so. Finally, she covered me in a light "survival" blanket (looks like tin foil, keeps heat in) and left me in there for 20-30 minutes. I lay there comfortably relaxing and sweating for the duration of the visit.
It was very relaxing and I could feel warmth at the needle points. She came back in when the timer went off (like a roast!) and promptly removed the needles. She massaged the needle areas briefly and then I got dressed.
Was I instantly cured? No. Was I relaxed? Yes. Am I going back? Yes. I feel like I only scratched the surface of acupuncture and want to get more of it to see if it truly can get my body back in alignment. Besides, I have to come back and pick up my tea! She said it takes her 16 hours to make it. I bet it tastes like sea sludge but hey, so what.
I go back again this Friday and will continue to update through the blog what exactly has been going on with acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal teas and anything else she asks to do.
I've read a lot of about Eastern medicine and the one thing I like about it is that they consider the whole body when treating a condition -- not just the specific system or organ. The body works as a whole and there are tangential factors that affect the health and well-being of systems and organs that are not directly related, in Western thought, to the afflicted sections. I have high hopes for this and I believe that this too affects the success level (or at least the perception of success).
More after Friday's visit.