A human pin cushion… no, not really

I reached out to some local tweeps and facebook friends to find a local acupuncturist to assist with my infertility. I figured I’ve given Western medicine all my faith, maybe some Chinese medicine would do the trick. I’d do headstands if someone suggested it

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A facebook friend led me to a gentleman named Bob in the local area.  I called him, and in two weeks, had my first appointment. There’s a lot to acupuncture beyond just being stabbed with needles.

I was really nervous going into this.  What did I wear? Would I have to wear a thin, cold hospital gown? I get cold easily.. Would I be uncomfortable? How many needles would there be? While I’m sure ever practioner is different, I’ll give you the specifics of how mine went, in case you are wondering the same things.

Part 1: The interview

Bob sat down and talked to me asking all sorts of questions.  Questions about my health, my infertility experience, what I’ve done/tried.  He then went into exploring my crazy anxiety.  Which, as a side note. I discovered I can vividly remember my first two major experiences with anxiety. I was between 6-7 years old. Holy cow! Once we talked about that, we talked about my weight, and a plan.

According to Bob, the body is meant to heal itself.  However, we always are throwing off our bodies natural reactions and plans, causing things to stay out of balance. So he suggested that if we tackle my anxiety, that will help me handle my emotional stress that is contributing to some of my weight gain, and will allow my body to function as it should, causing no further issues for fertility. It sounds like a piece of cake. Just relax, get knocked up. No, apparently that’s not the case.

Part 2: The actual treatment

The room was warm. He keeps it warm, because he said as people lay there, and relax, they tend to cool down.  I got up on the table, fully clothed, without my socks and shoes.  I wore a tank under my l/s shirt, and loose workout pants. He walked around me, taking my pulse, checking my body, and my tongue. The tongue tells them a lot.  He said the tongue tells them about organ function and blood flow, while the pulse tells them more about Qi, energy. When the Qi is out of balance and can’t flow properly, that’s when we feel sick, and notice issues. As he was taking my pulse and checking me over, he asked if I had lower back issues (yes) and knee issues (yes). Then he started with the needles.

He began with three needles in my right ear.  I felt the first one (which was the uterus acupoint), and he told me the sensation goes away in about 15 seconds.  It didn’t hurt, it was just noticeable. Two more in the ear (though I don’t remember where specifically).  Then he moved down my left side, putting 1 in my forearm, and 1 in my left hand.  In my left leg, he did another 1 and 2 in my left foot. My right left, got 1 or 2 more. My right hand got 2, and then one in my stomach. Just when I thought he was done, he did one between my eyes, and one on the crown of my head. Total there were 15 needles.

I laid there, for probably close to 30 minutes, attempting to relax. I couldn’t clear the chatter no matter how hard I tried. It wasn’t happening. I relaxed, but certainly nothing like I hoped.

He came in, removed the needles, rubbed a lotion on spot (lavender maybe?) and then rubbed some points on my ears and head.  Tried to rub out the tension in my jaw (good luck with that one buddy) and helped me up.

Part 3: Reviewing the plan

He gave me a food plan that consisted of organic, complex carbs and lean proteins.  No simple sugars, minimal dairy. The breakfast he gave me a recipe for (which I will try, but I am pretty positive will NOT become a part of my daily routine) is scary.  I’ll post more about it later.

He likes to stick with 2 hour sessions every two weeks, costing $300 a month at that rate in hopes of slowly, after a few treatments, making the visits less frequent.  Not sure this is something I can maintain financially.

I went looking online further, and expanded my search to the Cleveland area for acupuncture. I figured if I could find someone, who really seemed to focus on infertility, it’d be worth the drive. I found a location, I’m going to reach out to her and see what the cost is, and see if I can get on her schedule.  If so, I will probably transfer there.  I really had a great experience, and I would absolutely recommend him to someone, but for me, being that my focus is infertility, I really want to find someone who has a track record and specializes.

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