Stick a needle in me, I'm done

A friend of mine from childhood sent me a message the other day to give me a little pick-me up and advice on trying to get pregnant and what worked for her. It was a very pleasant surprise and it helped me out!

She mentioned some of the same things that I had already done and even the fertility specialist whom I'm trying to never go back to, God willing. Not that I don't like him, it's just too expensive and didn't get me any farther than I was before. She also mentioned that she did acupuncture which seemed to be the catalyst she needed. My gyno had also mentioned it, I guess I was just a little skeptical and maybe a little scared of alternative medicine like acupuncture. Nevertheless, with two people telling me to give it a go, I decided it was time.

I made an appointment with one of the local chiropractor/day spa places. My mom goes there for her chiropractic needs and it's a really cool place and the people are super nice. I made sure to tell them when booking the appointment that I've never done it before. After all the paperwork (which in reality wasn't much, just your typical HIPAA stuff, etc) I was shown in the back to a room where they played me a general welcome video and then the doc came in for a brief analysis.

Acupuncture is a Chinese medicine practice but they do incorporate a bit of western medicine for the analysis. She first asked me to show her my tongue in various poses (saying "ahhh" or angry tongue sticking-out) and she could tell I was dehydrated, fatigued, stressed and hormonally imbalanced. Then she took my pulse on both wrists at the same time at three different points and she mentioned my pulse was a little weak and I must have been tired (which I was, only getting 6 hours of sleep the night before). Then she did the good old blood pressure cuff on my wrist (yay western medicine!). The last thing she did was have me change into a gown and she had a scanner that she rolled down my back and neck to get a reading of my spine, I guess. Then I was ready for the fun.

The doc lead me back to their spa area where she put me in a relaxing massage room where she had me change into a gown and some shorts. I lied down on the bed with my head on a pillow and she made clear I understood that the needles are only used once and explained where she was putting them and why. She described what it would feel like. I can honestly say, poking your finger for a blood sugar sample or the needle poke at the dentist is soooo much more than this. I've had mosquito bites that hurt more than these things. It was a poke and then it was gone, I forgot where they all were because I couldn't feel them!

She put a needle above and below my belly button, one on each ovary, one on my right wrist, one on the skin between my thumb and forefinger on my left hand, one on the outside of each ankle, two in my forehead and one in the top of my head. She then gave me instructions on deep breathing and focusing on the abdomen where we need the energy to flow. That last one was hard because my mind kept wandering but with the relaxing music and waterfall it made it a lot easier to keep my focus than if I was in a completely silent room.

Fifteen minutes later she came back and removed the needles. I couldn't even feel her remove them. She said there might be some bruising, but so far I haven't seen anything weird. She asked me to take my time getting up, drink 8 oz of water (which they have placed pitchers of ice water pretty much everywhere you go in this place) and get a snack as soon as possible. She didn't have to tell me twice to eat a snack... She also suggested finding at least 5 minutes a day that I just relax and do something that doesn't involve gadgets. I do that anyways, but I think we could all use that.

I'm going back on Tuesday for another treatment. She did mention that we should have started at the beginning of my cycle and not day 15, but I'm guessing it won't hurt to start now. It's good for meditation anyways.

So it was a very positive experience. I would recommend it to others who are trying to conceive or people who just need a relaxing poke with needles.

I will now leave you with a list of very embarrassing moments people experience (not necessarily ones I'VE experienced):

• Going to pull out something from your purse/wallet at the grocery store and out falls a tampon/other embarrassing items.
• In an important meeting or interview and find you have a booger.
• Walking into the wrong bathroom.
• Trying to wave down your friend only to find it's someone that looks extraordinarily similar. (this is especially worse if the person turns out to be the opposite gender - this one did actually happen to me)
• Farting in front of a client or in an important meeting.
• Accidentally wetting/soiling your pants in public. (Hey diarrhea doesn't wait for you!)
• Having your shirt tucked in your underwear.
• Forgetting to wear clothes (again).
• Stepping on the back of your skirt and it comes down.
• Wind blowing your skirt up.
• Realize your zipper has been down all day.
• Farting during silent prayer.
• Giggling at the person who farted during silent prayer.
• Your phone rings with an embarrassing ring tone.
• Gentleman having a noticeable "bulge" at an inappropriate time-like a funeral.
• Falling up/ down stairs.

Please comment and add your own embarrassing moments to the list!