Okay, I finally did it… I gave in, faced my fears, and got acupuncture done.
Yes, acuPUNCTURE!
I always said that I didn’t mind acupressure, but acupuncture was something I never wanted to do. Geez, who wants needles stuck in their skin, and willingly to boot!
But I’ve read and heard too much about what it can do to heal the body by re-aligning our energy flow, that I just had to do it, scared or not.
Lesson learned: Facing your fears is the best way to overcome them (I already knew that, but I need reminding each and every time!) 😉
And wow… I discovered some really surprising things today!
When I first made the appointment, I didn’t know I was pregnant yet. So I was hoping it would help with some long-term digestive issues that seem to be related to specific foods; although I do try to avoid what my blood tests said I’m allergic or sensitive to, and it doesn’t always help.
It’s gotten worse with the pregnancy… nausea caused by “morning” sickness (if it were only just in the morning!) off and on throughout the day, which usually stops when I eat something… except that it’s often replaced by indigestion instead. Fun stuff! At least it’s supposed to get better after the first trimester, and I’m only a few weeks away.
But I read just last night that acupuncture is good at easing morning sickness and other pregnancy-related discomforts, so I was definitely optimistic about it all.
Now, here’s interesting discovery #1… while my naturopathic doctor says the food allergy blood tests are more accurate than kinesiology, my acupuncturist says the opposite — and he quoted several studies where, for instance, one person’s blood was sent to three different labs and came back with different results, or one person’s blood was sent to the same lab under two separate names and came back with different results.
Things that make you go hmmm…
Lesson learned: Never put your full trust in one strategy. Always get a second opinion.
I’ve actually had both procedures, and had more kinesiology today, so at this point I’m just really observing with fascination what jives up.
Today’s kinesiology was mind-blowing, because he started off silently asking my body questions while pulling at my hand… he didn’t tell me to resist or do anything, and I had no clue what he was “asking”, so I couldn’t have influenced it at all. And apparently he got some good answers.
Then he did more standard kinesiology where he did ask me to resist, but I didn’t know what he had put in my hand… it turns out it was an egg mix (which includes chicken and feathers) and I did test as allergic to that, just like the blood test said.
So here’s what really shocked me… he told me that he feels most of my health issues are food-related, and that he can completely cure any allergies or sensitivities I have, most likely in one session each. Wow!
No more having to ask for substitutions or avoid things on restaurant menus, and no more having to read every label in minute detail! (Although I still will read the labels, I like to know what I’m ingesting!)
Lesson learned: Sometimes what you think is impossible is completely possible, if you just ask the right questions, keep an open mind, and seek out help from the experts.
So here’s how it works. He pricked my finger to get a drop of blood to put in a vial, which somehow allows the treatment time to be shortened from 25 hours to only 6. Okay, interesting.
Lesson learned: If something works, you don’t necessarily have to question it.
Then he massaged my back with an electric massager while I held the egg mix, did a couple more kinesiology tests to see if my resistance got stronger (which it did), and then the acupuncture started.
I was happy to know that it didn’t hurt as much as the finger prick… in fact, when I had mentioned that I was fine with acupressure but nervous about acupuncture, he told me that acupressure actually hurts 1,000 times more than acupuncture (perhaps not a scientific stat, but you get the idea behind that statement).
When inserting the needles, it felt like he was doing a mini javelin throw (interesting that Barry dreamed last night he was throwing a javelin!) into my skin, but it didn’t hurt on impact; it just felt weird in one spot on my foot — like an odd pressure — and I felt a slight achy pain in one other spot on my leg. The other 8 needles I couldn’t even feel, and I was even able to sneak a look at the ones in my hands and arm without freaking out.
I lay there for about 15 minutes with the egg mix in my hands, resting on my abdomen. Then the needles were removed. The slightly painful one did hurt on removal, and left a drop of blood (which apparently means the treatment worked), but the rest came out with no sensation at all.
After washing my hands to remove any “egg energy” (my term, not his), I had to avoid eating or touching eggs, chicken or feathers for 6 hours (which would have been 25 without the blood drop from my finger). And apparently that’s it!
Next week when I go back he’ll test to see if the allergy was removed, then do it all again for the next allergen… and I’m free and clear to eat eggs again!
I also picked up a book about the procedure while I was there, and I was amazed to see that some people have allergy-type symptoms due to an emotional cause — like eating popcorn when you’re extremely angry can cause your body to forevermore react like you’re allergic to popcorn, unless you get rid of that association.
Lesson learned: Always enjoy your food, savor it, and be happy while eating.
So it was a unique experience for me today. Not necessarily what I thought it would be, AND more than I could have conceived in a lot of ways.
And next week, I’m going back for round two… willingly!
Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!
