Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Year's Eve

This morning I visited my acupuncturist. I told her I wanted an immediate cure for my cold and congestion.

No pressure there, she said, laughing at me. I like to ask for miracles.

She put 14 needles in me, including some in my sinuses. Those hurt.

My pulses (there are I think nine different pulses in Chinese medicine, one on each arm. This isn't the traditional pulse as in western medicine.) were practically non-existent, she said.

They weren't much better after the acupuncture, which is unusual for me. Usually after I've had a treatment my pulses turn completely around. That was not the case today.

After she removed the needles, she used gua sha, which is "a traditional healing technique, in which a practitioner applies repeated pressurized strokes over lubricated skin using a round-edged instrument. Widely used in China and Indonesia, Gua sha is Chinese for "to scrape for cholera. The application of the strokes causes small red or purple spots to appear on the skin; these fade after two or three days. The technique is most commonly used to treat fever, heat exhaustion, asthma, muscle and tendon injuries, poor blood circulation, headaches, and other minor problems."

That hurt a little, too.

Then she went for the moxibustion. Moxi is "an analgesic technique in which moxa, a flammable substance derived from the leaves of wormwood plants, is ignited on the skin. The technique is intended to warm regions of the body, as well as stimulating blood circulation and energy toward acupuncture points."

Then she did some chi stimulation with her hands, which involved a type of massage on various meridians to move the energy around.

When I left she handed me a small bag of Chinese herbs to take three times a day until my congestion clears up.

I can't say that I feel any better yet but sometimes Chinese medicine takes 24 to 48 hours with me. I seem to be a slow starter or something. So I have my fingers crossed for a beautiful congestion-free morning.

After the acupuncture, I took a trip to Tanglewood Mall so I could buy office supplies at Staples. I rarely go to Tanglewood but I thought I'd miss the Valley View Mall traffic since I was out that way anyhow.

While I was writing my check in Staples, I realized my check numbers were askew. Upon my return home, I tried to figure out where I had messed up. Now I am afraid I might have sent a voided check as payment to one of my credit card companies, instead of re-writing the check as I had intended.

If that is the case, I wonder what they'll do when they open that up?

4 comments:

  1. Get out! I was babysitting Bryce in Roanoke today and after that I went to Tanglewood looking for Staples because Joe told me one was there and I needed ink. I couldn't find it, but could have run into you. I also am stuffed up with a cold!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a tenacious bugger, your cold. Hope by now the therapy has kicked in.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "If that is the case, I wonder what they'll do when they open that up?"

    If it causes the payment to be late, they will charge you $39 for being late and laugh all the way to the bank, while the clerks who open it, snidely say to each other "oh, she thought she would pull a fast one on us." Then, if you are persistent, you can call them, but not before your patience is tried, and if you do finally get to someone who acts like they know what they are talking about, they may remove the late fee, but only first after making you understand that they are doing you a favour.

    Why yes, I am that cynical, why do you ask.

    LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I went to accupuncture on Saturday for my neck and shoulders and i'm still sore and tender. Those accupuncturists sure know how to work you. But it's so worth it.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for dropping by! I appreciate comments and love to hear from others. I appreciate your time and responses.