Needles are My Friend

Every other Monday, my heart skips a beat. No, not another health woe. Instead, it is excitement. I spend 30 minutes on those Mondays appreciating ancient wisdom. The friendly needles provide me relief, relaxation, energy and peace - all a result of trusting my acupuncturist. I started using acupuncture in March of 2005. That was one of my lowest points in this journey. I had started the 2004-2005 school year with my energy of old, but that quickly evaporated and took my hope with it. By December I was missing a least a day a week, often two. When my principal called me in and told me, "we had a problem," I knew something was horribly wrong. Wisely, I chose to take a medical leave of absence. It was during that trimester of not working that I finally began to dig into my mental attitude around all of this. Given that I am still on that journey, the process remains slow, but the time off gave me the place to start.

The best two discovers that I made during my leave were yoga's impact on me and the power of acupuncture. In combination I found places of peace and fulfillment within myself that astonished me. The yoga lasted until the next fall when my stress of the school day and my undiagnosed narcolepsy eventually led me to forgo attempting it. I have yet to re-establish a routine for it, but it is a top priority goal as I work towards building a healthy schedule and structure for my life. The acupuncture disappeared more quickly in 2005. The problem is that it worked.

I began by seeing my acupuncturist twice a week. She had energy moving within my body almost immediately. I distinctly remember feeling currents running amid the needles as she inserted them. With each new needle, the energy had more room to play. By the time she left the room, I could feel energy ready to burst from me as laughter. It was incredible. Soon, though, she realized that I needed an herbalist's touch too. She sent me to another practitioner within her clinic. His approach was to treat my back, rather than my front. Although the experience no longer felt the same - no more lightning races within my body - the results were even more drastic. As we moved into summer, my energy remained strong and my sinuses were the best they had been in years. I know it was a combination of his herbal teas and precise needle placement, but I was thrilled to go to acupuncture each week.

I started teaching again that summer, which provided a wonderful "test." Due to the hours of the summer program, I couldn't get acupuncture for two weeks. I missed it, but I still felt strong at the end. My practitioner and I were both thrilled. We stretched the next appointment out three weeks and saw similar improvement. We both thought a month would be the best test of all. He made me a huge batch of my herbal tea, and we scheduled an appointment to hit the window of time between a major family trip and my school trip to Scotland. We also thought that the idea of once a month would be perfect for the school year.

Then, the bottom fell out of everything. On my family trip, I caught a cold making my sinuses a mess. My ENT actually put me on an antibiotic when I returned to Minnesota. The bigger blow came in a letter from my health care provider. Apparently, acupuncture was only covered for twelve visits TOTAL (as in your lifetime), unless you needed more to get "better." Since I had improved, I was obviously better and would not be able to have my visits covered any more. The letter also clearly stated that "maintenance treatments are not a covered item." While it was not the first, nor the last, disappointment in my medical odyssey, it made no sense to me. I was going to an acupuncturist that cost a fraction of a doctor visit, not to mention the antibiotic costs that would come with more sinus infections, but I couldn't see him any more because I was better and maintenance treatment is not covered (even when it saves money). Brilliant!

I considered trying to appeal, but the bureaucratic nightmare proved too daunting. Plus, I was leave soon for Scotland, and the depression this setback trigged sapped even more energy. As a result, I didn't see another acupuncturist until last fall. In my mind I always knew I needed it, but we switched medical plans in January of 2006. I decided to trust my new primary doctor and let him look for the roots of all of my medical issues. I certainly don't regret that, but I kept putting off the acupuncture because I didn't want to introduce a new variable into the bizarreness of my health. Finally last spring, I made the decision that I was done playing games with Western medicine and resolved to figure out how to get acupuncture again. I also knew that massage and chiropractic care would assist me.

Of course, I didn't stop dancing with Western medicine, but that's okay because we finally figured out the narcolepsy. Proudly, though, I didn't give up on finding an acupuncturist either. I started at my chiropractic clinic (Langford Chiropractic in Saint Paul, MN) in July of 2007. What an amazing place! My massage therapist is amazing, and my chiropractor specializes in sports medicine. Both are incredible at what they do. The other big draw for me, though, was that all three chiropractors were working on their acupuncture licenses. Once they had those, my health care provider would possibly pay for my treatments. As pleased as I was with my other services at Langford, though, I decided not to wait for the chiropractors to get their credentials done. My wife and I agreed that I should simply start acupuncture in September.

Immediately, I knew I had found the right person. My acupuncturist clearly works to understand who I am and treat every aspect of my condition. She sees what is happening with me in a far more holistic way, taking a genuine interest in everything that is happening with me. Once again, I know that I am starting to heal in many ways due to the wisdom of an ancient culture. Needles placed in key spots make a massive difference for me. The other amazing aspect of my treatment is the use of electricity to stimulate key needles. Today was tremendous. The electrodes were placed on needles in my legs, and I could still feel their impact as I drove home. While both my sinuses and my narcolepsy benefit the most from acupuncture, it also has had a major impact on my knees getting stronger and keeping my dyshidrotic eczema in check. I wound up being treated once a week for much of the end of 2007, but we had to cutback to every other week due to financial constraints. I may get to increase my treatments again, though, because Langford Chiropractic tried billing my provider for the acupuncture. It is being covered now that the doctors have their official acupuncture documentation.

I honestly relish the hour I get to spend in acupuncture every other Monday. While the idea of using needles to treat pain and illness unnerves many of us in the West, we need to remember that this approach predates ALL of our own medical practices. The techniques have worked for thousands of years. I hope more people do try it. I had physical therapy today, and my therapist balked at the idea of having needles put in him. He worried that his own phobia about needles would eliminate any benefit the acupuncture would bring. I can't say, but I do know that even when I do open my eyes and see some needles in front of my eyes, I barely even register them. I am too relaxed and centered to let anything bother me. Obviously, I write this blog for me, but if you have happened upon it because you are narcoleptic or are suffering in some way, I hope you will consider acupuncture. It is the BEST medicine I have encounter in my long and tortuous (not torturous, although it has felt that way too) journey.