Not only did she use needles, she did a technique called cupping.
Here is a video of it being performed. Not on me, of course.
Apparently Gwyneth Paltrow had this done and showed off her cupping marks at some awards ceremony or something.
Cupping is, essentially, the use of glass jars or cups to draw blood to the surface. This is supposed to free up stuck chi and cure whatever is ailing you. In my case, my acupuncturist used heat within the cups to create a vacuum.
Then she applied the cups.
As a result, I have large bruises across my back at my shoulders. These are pictures of my back that I took last night.
This is a healing technique that has been around since the birth of Christ (or earlier). However, it is one of those old-fashioned things that makes people's eyebrows raise in this country, where all western medical practitioners do is hand people a little poison pill and tell them it will make them well.
We like our illnesses to be sanitized and not messy. None of that icky blood-letting or spitting or whatever for us.
Did it help? That's debatable. I am not much better two days later, although I am coughing up more stuff. I think that was part of the goal. If so, then it has helped.
One thing she did help immediately was my neck. I was suffering from a terribly stiff neck, the result, I think, of coughing so much that I threw out a vertebra. That is incredibly better.
She also sent me home with some very nasty tasting herbs which I drinking three times a day as prescribed. And she told me to rest (I'm not very good at resting.)
Yesterday I felt better than I had in days. So I didn't rest; I worked all day. First I worked on my bookkeeping and brought my personal and business books current and then I worked on articles for about five hours. It was pretty much an eight-hour day.
I don't think I will do that again today; I obviously overdid it.
Ouch. Cupping looks rather painful, but I'm glad to know that it perhaps helped just a little bit. I am a big believer in alternative medicine. I have lost so much faith in traditional medical care. Except for some heart surgery I had a few years back, I have rarely been helped by traditional medicine. All too often, I've found that M.D.'s tend to pull out the prescription pad instead of listening to what you have to say and giving thought to the matter.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, a prescription from Dr. Beth---sit outside in the warm spring sun with your favorite beverage and rest, rest, rest.
I don't like that.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon!
What's next...leeches? ;)
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, if I thought leeches would speed this up and make me well, I'd probably give it a go!
ReplyDeleteKeflex seems to be working for me. Have you tried that?
ReplyDeleteApparently my doctor believes in Amoxicillian and that drug only. I have a difficult time getting anything else prescribed.
ReplyDeleteAmoxicillin is a joke. Luckily I had a reaction to it once from taking it wrong so my doctor never prescribes it. I won't let my kids' doctors prescribe it either as I feel it's useless. If you can take Keflex, ask your doctor about it.
ReplyDeleteSounds a little like Moxa. Does she use that. Joe and I have been doing it on each other. The only thing bad about it is it gets you all smoky and it smells like pot. What will people think?!
ReplyDeleteDid you hear Demi Moore talking about blood sucking leeches for good health on David Letterman last night? Now that raised many eyebrows, I'm sure.