Old ailments, new measures-Part 2

>>> Continued from Part-1 <<<

On Saturday we went there. Now that Chinese doctor didn’t know English. He had a female assistant (can’t exactly be called nurse) who translated Chinese to English back and forth. Now with my 15 yr old migraine history, even they were surprised. But I didn’t care about migraine. I was so much used to it. I wanted to sleep.

The doctor checked my pulse and asked me, through the translator if I get tired very easily. And I was about to tell him my blackout sessions, breathing trouble and palpitations, but instead just said “yes”. And then he explained why it was. As per Allopathy, “insomnia” is a neurological disease. But as per Chinese medicine, insomnia is related to problems with heart and spleen.

And hearing this we both looked at each other. Now does that mean that my blackout sessions are due to a weak heart? God, if at all I had anything weak on my body, certainly it WASN’T my heart, anyway. It would be more precisely my spine or discs? If I was weak-hearted then I wouldn’t have reached here!! . I screamed mentally. I am not even thirty and does this mean that I am going to have a heart attack? After explaining the 45 min session of acupuncture along with Chinese medicinal teas to be taken-, which they told, will be covered by medical insurance, she asked if I wanted a session now. And I said YES. What I didn’t know that how it was going to be done.

I have read that they used fine needles and it didn’t cause pain. On a room inside the clinic, lying on my back, I was not at all scared. I felt like lying down for a facial! Now this doctor, tore open a box marked “acupuncture needles” and after cleaning my skin with spirit, started inserting them into my head, first! [There ended my facial feeling] Literally it was more like hammering – he would just prick the skin and then with a slight knock on the top of needle it will be hammered into my whatever nerve endings that caused migraine and insomnia. (Later, he told me that because of my particular(!) condition, he treated me for both!).

And soon I realised one thing, whoever told me that acupuncture didn’t hurt, actually was lying! It hurts. Come on- they are all 1.5-inch needles. And can you guess how many needles were hammered into my whole body? 12!!! At first I felt pain, then I felt as though I am fainting, then finally I felt sleepy- yea, I did feel sleepy!


The sole witness to my needling- who was also the master-brain behind all this exercise, must have felt bad for me with all those needles stuck all over my body. Because he came to me and asked with a worry “Does it hurt? It looks like it hurts.” I told him- yes, slightly. But to be honest, I had faith in Chinese medicines. So I didn’t mind lying down with all those 12 needles poking me for 45 minutes, making me look and feel like “Bheeshma in Sarasayya (pincushion ) - as in Mahabharatha. And I even thought of asking my hubby to take a photo of me in “sarasayya” so that I can see how I look and may be post in blog! LOL…. But seeing worry written in his face, I decided to put that idea aside!

What happened after 45 minutes in “sarasayya” and what about the “medicinal tea”- on my next blog!