On pins and needles...
Today I followed up on a plan that's been dancing through my mind for the last year or so. I called up and made a last minute appointment with an acupuncturist. They had been recommended for helping my carpal tunnel symptoms, and you know me. If it means I'll be able to write more, use my hands more, not be in pain? I'm all for it.So in I go, ready for who knows what. After the usual round of questions, and the not so usual, "Open your mouth, say ah, but don't stick your tongue all the way out," followed by some pulse taking it was confirmed.
I think too much.
Well, duh! I'm a writer. It's kind of what we do. Of course, I occasionally take that to a whole new level. Always have really.
But back to the appointment. After more questions, feeling my hands and feet for tempurature (hint: they're cold), we moved on to the treatment. Christina warned me ahead of time that it wasn't really painful, except for a few spots where it might burn a bit. He found each of those spots, right quick. The needles in my feet and in my shins didn't bother me at all. As a matter of fact, I barely even felt them go in. But the one's into my wrists? Where I have the most problems? Yowza! There's something about sticking a needle (no matter how small), into the main nerve leading into your hand. It's a unique sensation.
Let's just say it hurts. Quite a bit.
Thankfully, the pain dulls pretty quickly, and eventually settles into numbness. Which would be disconcerting at best if I hadn't expected it. But he did warn me, so I can't really complain about that. The only problem is that the numbness (and fear of moving a muscle in my wrist for fear of dislodging or further jabbing something in), means I also have a difficult time ringing the emergency bell (from here on known as 911) should the lamp get too hot. Somehow, I don't think he expected that little bit.
My favorite part, though, had to come after he'd set up all the needles in my wrists and legs. There he stands, amiable as can be, and says, "And this one's a bonus. To help calm you." Then he sticks one between my eyes.
Hmph. That one didn't hurt a bit. But I may have started to go a bit cross-eyed trying to see it, if he hadn't turned off the lights to help me relax. So there I lay, not moving a muscle (except for the rare, involuntary twitch), wondering exactly how long he planned to leave me there, when I notice the sound of waves crashing. At first I thought it was the heat lamps, but no. It was a cd of nature sounds. Specifically, the beach. Which would have been fine if I'd had time to use the bathroom before leaving work.
Let's just say it left me a little uncomfortable, and not quite as relaxed as he intended.
And still, I'm going back for more next week. Here's hoping that this all works.
Labels: random musings
posted by Erin @ 8:00 PM
2 Comments:
Oh, Erin I laughed so hard at this story. And then I felt really bad for laughing.
I really hope this helps you. I've never known anyone who's actually gone to an acupuncturist, so I'm really interested to see how this works for you.
LOL! Even though it doesn't sound pleasant, you've piqued my interest and I'll have to try acupuncture myself someday.
I was thinking of you that night you had your appointment. On the new ABC show, "Eli Stone", Eli went in for acupuncture because he was having auditory hallucinations (George Michael was singing "Faith" in his living room). Eli got the needle right between his eyes, as you did, but it immediately released a memory from his childhood that explained what he should be doing. The hilarious part, though, was that the acupuncturist (is that what they're called?) totally pretended to have a heavy Japanese accent complete with the wardrobe and decor. By the end of the episode, we saw he was a regular guy from America, with no accent.
Okay, that was a total ramble, but I thought you'd appreciate it. :-)
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