Return to Acupuncture

Hi. I have had a progressively worsening problem with my right arm over the past few weeks. I have an ongoing battle with this body of mine, this lemon I was given that has a tendency to fall apart easily. What happened, you ask? Now it very likely started with my amazing feat of gymnastic coordination and cat like reflexes when I saved myself from a nasty fall from a tree house this summer. I was working with one of my favorite kids in the world at his house. Unfortunately, I had a momentary lapse of good motor planning and banged my head, saw stars and slipped. My recovery however was amazing. I not only rescued myself, I assisted the child and saved two plates of food. But I did this by dangling from said tree house with one arm (think King Kong here). My elbow was not helped by writing books, blogs, reports and spending hours on Facebook. Nor by lifting too heavy of a weight with bad technique in my attempt to become strong or traveling the globe and not checking luggage.

It all hit a peak a few weeks ago when my arm literally stopped working without great pain. As a very sensory person, pain takes a big toll on me. It takes a bigger mental toll. As I do not tolerate pain meds without severe side effects on my GI tract, it often means I can't take anything. That and the long list of 'to do's" on my list have made me feel like I am coming out of my own skin. I went to OT and my radial, ulnar and median nerves are a mess. I was declared a Neuro Chernobyl.

So Randy suggested a return to acupuncture to help me cope. My OT sessions have resulted in a great increase in pain but I am at least moving it better. I am going to combine the two treatments again. Yesterday I returned to acupuncture with the wonderful doctor Zhai Na. Now, Dr Na zoomed right in on my GI tract. Since I have been in pain, I have comforted myself with gluten on and off. My comfort, however, is short lived and it all just creates big problems. I love how Chinese medicine focuses on the body as a whole. Not just one organ out of whack or one localized pain in your elbow. It is all very holistic and focused on balance.

So, how does acupuncture work?

The classical Chinese explanation is that channels of energy run in regular patterns through the body and over its surface. These energy channels, called meridians, are like rivers flowing through the body to irrigate and nourish the tissues. An obstruction in the movement of these energy rivers is like a dam that backs up in others. Dr Na describes this to me as she doesn't take pain away she gets it flowing throughout your body so it is a less painful area. So I will give you a little bit of info about what acupuncture does. My meridian is an issue not only with my tennis elbow, carpal tunnel and nerve pain but also my GI tract.

The meridians are influenced by needling the acupuncture points; the idea being that the acupuncture needles unblock the obstructions at the dams, and reestablish the regular flow through the meridians. The belief is that the acupuncture treatments can therefore help the body's internal organs to correct imbalances in their digestion, absorption, and energy production activities, and in the circulation of their energy through the meridians. The modern scientific explanation is that needling the acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals will either change the experience of pain, or they will trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones which influence the body's own internal regulating system. The improved energy and biochemical balance produced by acupuncture results in stimulating the body's natural healing abilities, and promoting physical and emotional well-being.

Now, I feel out of whack. I could not relax at all yesterday. My mind is on overload all the time with this pain and I feel like an empty vessel. I am enduring my days. So Dr Na also focused on all of that. She put me under warm blankets, played soft music, turned the lights down low and told me to focus on finding a calm place. She gave me about a half hour of that before treatment. Usually I can go right into relaxation mode. My biofeedback therapy from the past has made that pretty automatic. Yesterday I could find no position to rest that arm without pain and no I didn't find my happy place either.

When she placed the needles, my elbow and arm were extremely sensitive. However, after she got the needle in, it was better and I could keep my arm still. Well lets just say I HAD to keep still because moving was not an option. Owie!! The ones in my right leg/foot, stomach and above my lip were very, very painful for a few seconds and the ones in my ear and neck, well, I was not even aware of them being there. But I was grouchy when I was done yesterday, I didn't find my happy place. I didn't feel well and floating on air like I usually do after treatments. Dr Na does not understand my goal to feel well enough to go on vacation. She wants me to focus on being well all the time. She doesn't like the idea of trying to live an unbalanced life and use treatment to just keep a grip on things. She wants to me find balance. Dr Na told me that my body is hungry for treatment and my life is hungry for balance. She focused in on what I eat, how I rest, mind and body and told me that soon I would be better again, but there was much to do.

This morning around 3:45 I woke up and discovered that I had actually slept all night, my pain was down at least 80% and I kind of felt like myself again. I haven't slept in weeks. I was shocked to wake up feeling good. So on Wednesday night when everyone else is going home for the holidays, I will be on the table at Dr Na's trying to find my Qi.