“How did you get interested in Acupuncture?” is a question I am often asked. Quite literally it was my last resort.
I was 27 years old and starting to have symptoms that were affecting the quality of my life. I was suffering from PMS (big mood swings and cramps), extreme fatigue (I had only a couple of hours a day where I felt alert and mentally sharp), tingling hands and feet, poor sleep despite being so very tired, and going gray (which seemed awfully early).
I had an OB/GYN whom I liked and whom I saw once a year to ensure I was “healthy.” When I went for my annual checkup I brought up my long list of symptoms. According to the extensive blood work-up she ran, all the tests were within the “normal” range. According to the doctor, I was “healthy.” She told me that it was all imagined. There was nothing she could do to help me, it was all a normal process of aging, take some Ibuprofen, etc.
I went to a different doctor (she prescribed a wide variety of supplements, hormones and dietary recommendations), tried exercising more, hot packs. I did try medicines, but they created more problems than they helped. I tried it all and nothing was working. I worked with a woman from Hong Kong at the time who suggested I give acupuncture a try. I tried it literally as a last resort.
I wasn’t familiar with Oriental Medicine, what it could treat, how it worked – any part of it. Walking into his office was like walking into a different world. Not only did the Acupuncture Physician acknowledge my complaints as being real, he helped reduce most of symptoms in only a few treatments.
Over the course of a couple of months, the treatments alleviated all of my symptoms. I was sold! My Acupuncture Physician became my primary care physician, my first choice in non-emergency health-care. It had such an impact on my life, my health and my outlook on health-care options that I went back to school to learn Oriental Medicine.
Now I get to see its benefits on a daily basis, and watch as others discover this medicine and what it can do. What joy!
