Friday, January 28, 2011

Needles!!!

I went to my first acupuncture appointment and I had no idea what to expect. The doctor told me when I made the appointment that he wouldn't be doing any treatment today, just taking an extensive history.
Well, when I got in there, he asked which issue was most important right now, my back pain or infertility. OMG, it was like freaking Sophie's choice, do I want the pain to go away or do I want to get pregnant? I sat there for several minutes looking appalled and trying to decide. Ultimately, I went with the back pain. I have been having muscle spasms and numbness in my left leg for a week now and the pain is excruciating. I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to get that fixed up so that WHEN I get pregnant, I will be able to carry a baby.
I have to say, the treatment was not pleasant. I was on my stomach on this hard table and let me just say I'm well endowed :blush: This meant that I had to hold up my weight with my hands so that my boobs didn't get completely squashed. He pushed around on my leg and butt to locate my sciatic nerve and then started putting needles in. It hurt. Not the worst pain in my life, but it hurt. He also put needles up by my right shoulder because I keep having spasms there too. That didn't hurt as much, it actually tickled because he was near my side which is really sensitive. He also put a couple needles in the back of my knees.
After poking me with a bunch of needles (I have no idea how many, maybe 12 or so?) he selected a few to 'stimulate'. That made me flinch and it was irritating and tickled all at the same time. He left me to marinade for awhile. I could not relax. My boobs hurt too much and my arms were tired from pushing myself off of the table.
After maybe 20 minutes, he came in and pulled the needles out. He told me that the infertility treatment would be nothing like this and that it is much more relaxing. I hope that he's right.
I am supposed to go for treatments twice a week for my back and we can't start the IF treatments until my back gets better. I think I will bring a pillow next time so that I can lift my boobs off of the table. Apparently he normally does these for women on their side, but since I have left lower and right upper back pain, he can't.

4 comments:

  1. Sorry the acu wasn't too comfortable...I hope it helps for your back pain! Good luck, hon!

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  2. I'm withholding judgement unil I do a few treatments. I will certainly bring a pillow next time since it was uncomfortable to lay on my stomach.

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  3. I had acupuncture treatments for a while, i really felt good, and relaxed. The only place i didnt like the needles was my temples.

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