About a week and a half ago I mustered up the courage to book an acupuncture appointment at a local clinic. I have grown up in a very western-medicine-based household my whole life, with a sceptic for a dad and a very passive mum. I’ve never been exposed to Chinese medicine, acupuncture or anything of the sorts until my close friend from work openly spoke about it all with me early on in our friendship. It always interested me, to see how it all works, and after multiple hospital visits for an untreated and unrecognised illness in mid-2017, I began to lose faith in Western medicine. So, with my ongoing downfall of mental health, and increasing stress in my every day life, I decided to give acupuncture for stress a go.

Last Monday I went to an appointment at a local clinic, I booked an hour session with an acupuncturist and took the leap. I had so many questions going in:
What was I supposed to wear?
Did she expect me to know anything?
How will the needles feel?
What if it doesn’t work?
I asked my work friend, she told me just wear comfy clothes and go in with an open mind. That’s exactly what I did, and this is how it went.

The Appointment

I walked in to her office, and we sat down and had a chat. She asked me a multitude of questions about what I was getting acupuncture for, how my periods were, what I was eating, how much sleep I was getting, my exercise schedule, and almost anything else you could think of. We talked for about 15 minutes and I explained to her that most of all, my concern was stress. I was getting pain in my stomach (re that unrecognised illness from earlier) and my back, possibly from my hospitality job where I was on my feet for close to 30 hours a week. She checked my tongue for a coating, something I’ve heard about in a podcast but never really understood. She then took my pulse on both arms and decided that for that session we would focus on the liver and the kidneys, two organs that suffer a lot from stress.

Next, I got on to the bed face up. She got out the needles and told me to pull up my shirt and my leggings to my knees. I asked her straight away “what is it going to feel like?” She responded with “it’ll be a little pinch, followed by a tingle and perhaps a dull pressure. But, after a few minutes most people don’t feel it.” So, away she went. The first few needles were in my shins and on the top of my feet. I could hardly feel them after a minute, and the way she had described the feeling was almost perfect. She put one in my left inner ankle, a couple on my fore arms, one just under my sternum and one on my right rib cage. Then, we left it for a couple seconds and she decided to add one on my forehead (!!!) and one just under my hand on my left wrist. Most of the feeling almost disappeared immediately, except for my forehead which was going in and out of a tingling sensation, and my left wrist kept a dull pain for the whole time. She left the room with a dim light and some music, and came back to check after 10 minutes. I was so relaxed. She came back after another 10 minutes and took the needles out. It was by far one of the weirdest things I’ve experienced in my short life.

The next step was cupping on my back, to release the muscles. I removed my shirt and bra and laid face down on the bed. She oiled my back slightly, and although I couldn’t see it I heard her get some glass jars out of the cupboard and light a flame under them to remove the oxygen. She put 6 cups total on my back, 4 small and 2 larger cups, and let them suck my skin up. Cupping was something I was unfamiliar with, so I was hesitant to try it but like my friend had said, go in with an open mind. After a couple seconds she began moving the cups around, it was like a massaging sensation and I could feel the pressure from my shoulders releasing. While she was moving the cups around she had a chat to me about some lifestyle changes I could make to improve my quality of life. “perfect” I thought, this is what I need. She touched on my diet again, made sure I was getting enough protein and made some recipe suggestions.

Food

She told me that Chinese medicine suggests a warm or cooked breakfast. This is because the digestive system isn’t quite awake yet and you need to give it the best opportunity to get as much out of the food as possible with the least effort.
She suggested I try porridge for breakfast. I should soak 1/2-1 cup of oats in water overnight then cook with some extra water in the morning. I can add extras like granola, fruit, milk substitutes or yoghurt and get creative. She also suggested eggs, as a good source of nutrients for the morning.
Energy in the morning was also a concern of mine, with my irregular sleeping pattern I sometimes find it hard to get the energy to even shower after my morning walk. She suggested a turmeric drink, consisting of 1/2 tsp of turmeric, some lemon or lime juice and warm water before my walk.

We wrapped up the session, I asked when I should come back and she told me that within a week will give me the fastest and best results, but if my schedule didn’t permit that 2 weeks or so would be fine. I said goodbye, thanked her and was on my very relaxed way.

The Answers to my Questions

What was I supposed to wear? Comfy clothes was absolutely right. She lifted the clothes wherever necessary, and I was totally comfortable. I would suggest looser items as they’re easy to move on and off, but ultimately anything would do. Probably just not jeans.
Did she expect me to know anything? Absolutely not. I think she was impressed that I had some knowledge, but she was willing to help me understand and answered any questions I had along the way.
How will the needles feel? Exactly how she described them. A slight pinch, a bit tingly and perhaps some dull pressure. Nothing to be worried about!
What if it doesn’t work? Well, this one I don’t know if I have the answer yet, but its sure as hell worth a shot. I’ll keep you updated.

I think my work friend was absolutely right, the key to this session was go in with an open mind. I would say for a successful acupuncture session, be open, be willing to try anything and most of all, be excited.
Will I go back? Yes. I’ve booked my next session for Monday and I’ll let you know how it goes.
I’ve been eating my porridge and loving it, I for sure have more energy. I tried the turmeric drink, although I didn’t love it and probably won’t do it often, it was worth a try.

Love,
Meag.