You are going to stick that needle where???

I was introduced to the world of acupuncture this morning. We were already running late and went to two different facilities before we found the right place on the third try. I felt my blood pressure drop as soon as I entered the facility. Then we were taken to an alcove that had nice sofas all the way around it facing a stone wall of water across the hall from us. Then we were escorted across the hallway, around to the other side of the wall of water and yes, there was water falling on that side too. We were seated facing a bamboo garden in stones.

By this time, I felt like I had walked a mile and had already had two episodes. I'm glad we had a few minutes to relax before I was taken into one of the many rooms surrounding this little garden. My specialist was very good and so happy to know I was all for this. She asked how my hubby felt and I told her he was a little skeptical. After talking for awhile and asking about any other problems, she asked me to get on the table. I was pleasantly surprised because it was actually more like a twin bed. She pulled the head up with two pillows and put a round leather pillow under my knees. It was SO comfortable. She explained that she likes to know as much as she can about other problems so she can "needle" those areas at the same time. I asked BigD to come in with me to see how she does it and he said no because he HATES NEEDLES!!! As soon as she was ready to start, I asked her to ask BigD to come in for a few of them and he did. When he saw that I was okay, he went back outside. After she had placed all the needles everywhere, she rubbed an ointment on both sides of my neck. She turned the light down and left me alone for a few minutes which was nice. I felt very relaxed. We talked about why I can't use heat for the pain in my neck area because of the radiation still working in there. She placed needles in a way that she said it should cool it off some. I'm glad I found this picture of her on their web site later.

When I walked out to where BigD was, he stood up and said, "Well you definitely look better!" I asked him later what he meant by that. He said you just looked so much better. You looked so tired and worn out when you went in and you looked totally different when you came out. AND - I'm trying to be realistic but I do feel that my neck is cooler. Is that strange or what? Anywho, I go for my physical therapy in a few hours and hope it goes as well as this morning did. I don't think my insurance will cover the acupuncture and she wants to see me once a week for about 5 more weeks. I told her I would see what I could do. It is very expensive without the insurance but if it really helps, I would love to keep doing it. I did schedule another appointment for next Wednesday morning before my appointment with Jennifer. BigD is going fishing Wednesday afternoon and coming back Friday morning. Deb is going to spend both nights with me and I'll ask someone to check on me during the day.

Notice the little Panda Bear who should have eaten all this bamboo up by now. When we got home, we put clean linen on my chair and it feels so nice right now. I would love to take a nap but we are afraid we won't wake up in time for my afternoon appointment. Oh man......