I went back last week for round 2 of acupuncture, moxibustion and to pick up Dr. Lee's medicinal tea. The process was slightly more expedited this time -- less talk, more needles. Still on my stomach, I had a few more needles inserted this time going all the way to behind my ears. There were a couple that actually hurt a little bit more than last time. These were the needles in the back of my knees (ouch!) and the one at the top of my butt-crack. That one was uncomfortable the first time too.
Other than that the procedure was fairly identical. Spent 20-30 minutes face down nearly asleep and then got a very quick rub after the needles were removed. Did I feel cured? Am I better? Not sure. Things seem to be getting better but I'm not attributing it all to the acupuncture.
I did pick up 10 days' worth of Dr. Lee's homebrew medicinal herbal tea. It came in individually packaged doses that looked like Korean "Capri Sun" pouches. I asked a few Korean-speakers at work what it said on the packages and they explained to me that these were generic "bags" that said "medicinal tea" on them and had warming instructions. As it turns out, this is stuff that Dr. Lee definitely brewed in her kitchen and packaged for me.
I really have no idea what's in it. She said there was ginseng and a bunch of other stuff. One of the Korean women at work said the first that comes to mind when she sees that stuff is moose antlers. Moose antlers?! Well, I've consumed stranger things.
The tea itself is the dictionary definition of disgusting. It looks like poo. It smells worse. Mercifully the doses are small and the taste, though fairly awful at first, starts to grow on you after a while. It has a rich almost burnt coffee after taste. I would best describe it like this: imagine you went jogging and then left your shoe out in the rain for a week. Then you took out the insoles of your shoe and wrung them out into a cup. That's pretty much it.
Has the tea helped? Again, unclear BUT I can say that after each dose (she wants me to take 3 a day -- I've managed to get 2 a day down so far) I do feel pretty darn good -- energized, awake and motivated. So, whatever's in it makes you feel nice. It settles the stomach believe it or not (I expected the opposite) and gets you on an even keel for theday so, hey, what the heck.
I'm going back on Friday for a third session. Let's hope we start to see some real progress soon.
24/09: My experience with acupuncture - part II
I went back last week for round 2 of acupuncture, moxibustion and to pick up Dr. Lee's medicinal tea. The process was slightly more expedited this time -- less talk, more needles. Still on my stomach, I had a few more needles inserted this time going all the way to behind my ears. There were a couple that actually hurt a little bit more than last time. These were the needles in the back of my knees (ouch!) and the one at the top of my butt-crack. That one was uncomfortable the first time too.Other than that the procedure was fairly identical. Spent 20-30 minutes face down nearly asleep and then got a very quick rub after the needles were removed. Did I feel cured? Am I better? Not sure. Things seem to be getting better but I'm not attributing it all to the acupuncture.
I did pick up 10 days' worth of Dr. Lee's homebrew medicinal herbal tea. It came in individually packaged doses that looked like Korean "Capri Sun" pouches. I asked a few Korean-speakers at work what it said on the packages and they explained to me that these were generic "bags" that said "medicinal tea" on them and had warming instructions. As it turns out, this is stuff that Dr. Lee definitely brewed in her kitchen and packaged for me.
I really have no idea what's in it. She said there was ginseng and a bunch of other stuff. One of the Korean women at work said the first that comes to mind when she sees that stuff is moose antlers. Moose antlers?! Well, I've consumed stranger things.
The tea itself is the dictionary definition of disgusting. It looks like poo. It smells worse. Mercifully the doses are small and the taste, though fairly awful at first, starts to grow on you after a while. It has a rich almost burnt coffee after taste. I would best describe it like this: imagine you went jogging and then left your shoe out in the rain for a week. Then you took out the insoles of your shoe and wrung them out into a cup. That's pretty much it.
Has the tea helped? Again, unclear BUT I can say that after each dose (she wants me to take 3 a day -- I've managed to get 2 a day down so far) I do feel pretty darn good -- energized, awake and motivated. So, whatever's in it makes you feel nice. It settles the stomach believe it or not (I expected the opposite) and gets you on an even keel for theday so, hey, what the heck.
I'm going back on Friday for a third session. Let's hope we start to see some real progress soon.
[Jeff]