Pins & Needles

“I think I am going to try acupuncture.”

Husband raised his eyebrows.

“What? What’s the harm in trying”

“Do you think it’ll work?” Husband asked incredulously.

I shrugged. To say I wasn’t sure was an overstatement, my answer should have been along the lines of no. No, I do not think it will work.

But I told myself, “what’s the harm in trying? After all, I’m fine with needles (decades of endless blood work will do that to you). I have piercings and tattoos (sorry Dad). If it didn’t work, I would be no worse for wear… but if it did…

Nah. It’s not going to work.

During my first appointment, the acupuncturist asked what my current areas of pain were, and what pain level was I experiencing. I asked her if everywhere was an appropriate answer. (I had just finished 11 weeks of Summer Camp at work and my body was letting me know its disapproval).

She chuckled, the kind of chuckle that let me know she’d heard that line before and that I wasn’t nearly as clever or witty as I thought.

“Let’s start with one location and work from there”.

“My right foot”. I took a pretty serious fall at work a few weeks earlier and my right foot and ankle took the brunt of it. For those keeping track – that’s also the foot with hardware. Double whammy.

“And pain level?”

Lord help me I hate that question. Pain level compared to what? Knee surgery? Stepping on my little brothers legos? Meetings that could have been e-mails? Dog hair splinters? (husband swears those are a thing. I do not believe him). If it’s a scale of 1-10, could I honestly say 7, when dog hair splinters knee surgery would be around a 10?

“Seven”

“Okay, please walk to the other side of the room and back”. I could feel her studying my gait, I was definitely more lame than usual.

She nodded, took my pinky, and added several tiny white beads under tape. “Again.” I walked again. More beads.

“Again.”

More beads.

“Again.”

And you know what? Darn if my foot started to feel a little less angry with me. I wasn’t sipping the kool-aide yet. My body often starts to groan a little less the more I move. Like a machine that hasn’t been started in a while, knocking the rust off.

“Good. Have a seat on the table, and please put your right leg up”.

She got busy hammering (?) the small needles into my ankle and leg. Occasionally she’d press and asked if I felt pain. Yes=Needle No=No Needle.

When she was finished making my leg a pin cushion, she put on some soft music, turned out the lights, and left the room.

I sat there and studied my leg, it looked like it could be one of Pinhead’s extremities instead of my own. I wondered if maybe, this was actually going to give me some relief.

After 30 minutes, she came back in and started to pluck the pins from my leg.

“I think I should see you again in a week?” I complied.

I visited my acupuncturist once a week for the next three months, and I can tell you exactly when my turning point was. I arrived for my weekly session with a killer migraine. The kind of migraine where you see blotches of colors even if your eyes are closed. I expressed my misery, and two well placed pins later, it was gone. GONE. One pin in my temple and the other at the base of my neck, issued me instant and complete relief.

I began to notice relief in the other areas. In reality, each prick was quite painless, and I looked forward to my weekly appointments and the days of reprieve that followed. We worked on areas that were ailing me, with both acupuncture and cupping.

And you know what? I started to feel GREAT! I felt great in a season in which I generally feel miserable. My swelling was down, my pain was down and my energy was up. It. Worked.

It worked! I went in one week, and as usual, she asked me what my concerns were, and I drew a blank. I had none. Zero. No pain issues in the cold, damp, rainy winter months of the Mid-Atlantic.

I have now graduated from weekly sessions and schedule appointments as I need them.

Do I think that acupuncture is a cure all? No. Do I think acupuncture will work for everyone? No. Do I think that it’s work a try if you have an area of stubborn pain? Absolutley.

If there is one thing I have learned on this journey, it’s that there is usually very little harm in trying. Being in constant pain everyday is a really hard thing to live with, and if there is chance for even just a little relief – try it out.