Tuesday, September 27, 2022

The needle man

Warren of activepointswellness.com



 Some of you have asked me about acupuncture and what I get out of it. Well, I just got home from my latest treatment, and this time I asked him to concentrate on my mental state, which has been suffering from sadness and humiliation after having had such a hard time on last Thursday's hike. Not only that, but finally I understand the meaning of "doomscrolling," or continuing to deal with the horrifying news that is overtaking all my news channels. I can't seem to catch a break, and Warren listened carefully, and then stuck me with needles in my legs and head, mostly.



My legs look a little pink, because Warren put a warming lamp over my feet, so I'd be comfy as I lay on the table. I've also got a few needles in my knees, which suffered from the beating I gave them last week. However, after a few days, I was surprised at how much better my whole body felt, so Warren didn't actually need to concentrate on any overuse injury. By Sunday I almost felt like my old self again.

Then he went up to my head and put in my favorite needles: the ones in my scalp. Most of the time, rather than feeling a pinprick like in other places on my body, I get a serious rush of pleasure from head to toe. Sort of like a happy shock.



For some reason I cannot seem to put a caption under this image; each time I try it disappears and when I try to load it again, it's fine until I attempt to write something underneath. (Oh, well.) Anyway, you can see the pins resting on the table above my head. 

After he puts all the pins in, he sometimes spends a few minutes massaging my shoulders (he calls them trigger points), and then he leaves me alone with quiet piano music playing on a device for about a half hour. I don't move around much, because I've discovered that it usually hurts if I do. Those pins are carefully placed.

Once he comes in and removed them (I'm always a little sad that it's over), we spend a few minutes chatting. He takes my credit card and schedules me for three weeks from today, which I have found is just about right. Of course, if I could afford it, I'd come weekly.

When I walk out of his office, I always feel lighter and brighter. The effects tend to last for close to a week, and slowly they fade into the background. However, the knee he works on each time I'm there is much better than before I began treatment with him three years ago. I initially started because of a heel pain, which has never returned after he worked on it for six or seven sessions.

There are many different varieties of acupuncture, and Warren's is more physically based, which you can read about if you visit his website. I don't think I will stop getting treatments any time soon.

:-)

15 comments:

  1. It's a fascinating treatment, I wish we had a provider nearby.
    When I worked at the veterinarian's office, we had a practitioner, service several of our patients once a month, usually older doggies.
    Glad to know it helps !
    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fascinating! There's an Asian woman who has an office in my neighborhood, with many glowing reviews and I was always curious to try it and now am more so. I thought it was only for physical pain, not for emotional trauma. DJan, I am quite familiar with doom scrolling as I lie in my bed at night, tablet in hand and read one bad news story after another until I fall asleep. It's a bad habit I'm anxious to break. Anyway thanks for sharing your acupuncture session! 🙂👍

    ReplyDelete
  3. There's no shortage of that here, but I've never tried it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ooh, I think you sold me. Loved the image of that rush of pleasure.The benefits of drugs and no side effects.
    Like Doug, I thought they were primarily for pain. Good to know they can elevate moods.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm happy that acupuncture gives you a better quality of life,

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, this is an interesting report. But I'm just too squeamish to try it, I think. The whole idea gives me the shivers. My wife and I do go for massages once a month (yeah, me too, I'd go once a week if I could afford it), and I find it has some effect in helping to relax muscles, relieve stress and lessen leg pain.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's great that you get such relief from acupuncture treatments. Keep doing this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm happy to read this treatment works for you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy it works for you! My husband had a couple of sessions a few years back it did nothing to help him:(

    ReplyDelete
  10. Watch the weather channel instead of the stupid bad news channels...or ignore the news altogether...some days I do that!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I used to go for acupuncture once a week but it didn't help my blood pressure or thyroid problems. It was very pleasant but the hour spent on the very comfy table made me antsy and looking forward to having the hour be done. My problems are probably not physical - and I really need to learn to meditate, which eludes me because my mind just can't shut down.
    I am glad you respond to acupuncture so well. I believe in it but need to work on calmness and peace of mind first.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Very interesting! I had some once in rehab but they just hurt.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Interesting. I don't think it would work for me. I would just get antsy laying there that long. I had a couple of sessions of massage but found an hour too long and repetitious. I wanted him to dig in, more pressure, less time. Maybe another provider would work but I had trouble getting insurance coverage and I was not willing to pay out of pocket.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So glad this works well for you. I've never tried Acupuncture, but have had a massage or 2 in the past. I did like them... although it's mainly my shoulders that need it as they get so tight. DH massages my feet and that does relax me.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow! This is so awesome! You make me want to get a treatment too just to get that rush of pleasure. That sounds like so much fun. I don't have much pain right this minute, thank goodness! I'm so happy it's helping you, DJan.

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments! If you see a word verification box here, just ignore it. I don't use the darn thing and Blogger is trying to get us to use it, I guess. Ignore it and your comment will still appear.