Describing my experience of my acupuncture treatments is proving to be rather difficult. (If you haven’t already read it, click here to read part 1 of my acupuncture story.)

I have been writing/deleting/writing/deleting/writing/deleting for 4 days now…..trying to find the right words to paint an accurate picture of my visits to the acupuncturist. Then,  I remembered that I actually had two experiences with acupuncture, at two very different locations so I decided to start at the true beginning of this trek. I had very high hopes the first time I tried acupuncture. I was referred to a doctor in NJ who practices both Eastern and Western medicine. I thought I’d hit the jackpot! (What a great combination!) I had to wait several weeks to get an appointment and I was completely willing to make the hour drive to get to this place……the wonderful place to see a wonderful doctor who was going to help me to feel wonderful again, for the first time in several years. I was positive I had found the answer to my health woes. I imagined how I would feel after having those magic needles inserted into my skin. I just knew it would work.

“Let the healing begin!” 

There is a potential problem when one is feeling really poorly. There is a level of despair present that can sometimes allow the mind to make bad decisions. Since I had nothing to compare my new experience to, I willingly went along with a pretty strange initial exam. There were crystals and several vials filled with various substances being held up to my skin, the doctor and a technician holding hands while one of them held my wrist. I never did figure out what that was for — or what it could possibly reveal about me. It was just a small part of a lengthy exam that felt so odd…….I just did not know WHAT to think! And to further complicate things…….the visit was not covered by my insurance, at all.

BOOM — $600.00 out of pocket!  

The doctor wanted me to come back for several foot baths, an IV treatment to offset the ‘metals’ he thought were in my system as well as the  acupuncture treatments that I had desired. I felt confused as there was no testing to prove the presence of these ‘metals’. This presented the need for me to accept that the doctor could simply ‘sense’ what was going on inside of my body without any scientific proof. Even though I would have tried almost anything to feel better that year (2011), this made me extremely uncomfortable. Yet, I was still willing to give it a try.

I just wanted to feel better……..

I unexpectantly went into the hospital before my 3rd visit to the clinic, so the protocol set out for me by the doctor could not be continued. (My hospital stay turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was then unable to return for the additional treatments.) In other words, I was unable to waste any more money! I never went back. After the fact, I googled the techniques that were utilized as part of my exam and discovered there is an awful lot of controversy surrounding those practices.

Some may say or think that I didn’t give it a fair shake. All I can tell you is that the care at Hahnemann Hospital that year helped me to feel better than I had in a very long time. I didn’t feel the need to try to accept those unusual examinations and treatments at the clinic.

It’s not my intention to put any negative ideas in your mind about acupuncture. I am simply sharing my first experience with it. My experiences in 2017 & 2018 at MUIH in Maryland were markedly different and yes, healing.

(more on that in my next post, part 3)