I say I’m ‘halfway through’ because the average number of acupuncture sessions is between 5 and 8 sessions, and I’ve just completed my fourth! Yesterday was my fourth acupuncture session in 3 weeks and I can’t believe how quickly time has been going by recently.
You may or may not believe what I’m about to tell you… so hold onto your seats.
Just to recap: My first session was very positive and I came away feeling hopeful, whereas my second and third sessions weren’t terrible but I was feeling more negative about the whole thing. I was going to write about these two sessions but decided not to in the end. Sorry!
But after my fourth session I’m really pleased to say that I feel several big changes in how I’m feeling both physically and mentally.
About 10 minutes before I needed to leave the house before my latest acupuncture session, I was in the bathroom feeling very sick and I said to my husband, “I don’t think I’ll be able to go. I just don’t feel right.”
Weirdly enough, I managed to pull myself together and everything was fine. We were in the city early, we walked around for a bit and my acupuncturist was in the office when we arrived, so we started the session 10 minutes early as well.
At the start of each session, we have a quick chat about how I felt after the previous session and in the following days, how I feel on the day, am I in any pain, and so on. The week of my fourth session was very positive.
I’d been to the mall by myself to pick up my new glasses (but we won’t talk about that drama), and I managed to order a drink and sit in Starbucks by myself for half an hour without feeling any panic or anxiety at all. I haven’t been able to do that in 8 or 9 months. I then spent the entire afternoon in the garden – reading, Instagramming, gardening, and pottering around. It felt like magic. It was such a positive, wonderful, and hopeful day and I wasn’t in any pain.
For my fourth session, I can’t remember exactly how many needles I had, but it was at least 5. One in my forehead, one in my left arm, one in my left knee, one in my right knee, and one in my lower right leg. There may have been an extra one in my right foot but I don’t remember. I take my glasses off and I don’t feel a thing!
Okay well, that’s not entirely true. There’s an area just above my ankle called Spleen 6, and when the needle goes in that point it feels very tight and uncomfortable. It still doesn’t hurt though.
Usually, the acupuncturist does two sets of needles. Each for 15-20 minutes. This time the only thing he changed was one needle in my left arm, which he left in for 30 seconds and then removed it. Apparently that’s all it needs to be in for.
I felt very relaxed throughout my fourth session and once it was finished I wasn’t aching anywhere – unlike last week when I was hobbling down the road to the bus stop! So Jonas and I went to a coffee shop we like and had a tea and coffee together before it was time for me to get the bus, and him to bugger off to work!
Getting the bus home on my own surprisingly felt okay. I thought I was going to find it really difficult but no, it felt totally normal.
Once I got home, I wrapped myself up in one of my big blankets and fell asleep almost straight away. I was exhausted and slept for a couple of hours! When I woke up, I made a huge bowl of noodles and read a book.
I was really lucky that the sun came out and I was able to sit in the garden for a bit, and when my husband came home from work with flowers, chocolate and our favourite movie!
So, it’s safe to say that after four sessions of acupuncture, I am feeling quite a big difference. I’m no longer living in a state of panic, although I do still feel anxious a lot of the time. I’m not in pain all day, every day, although I do still have pains and aches and other issues. Overall, I’m really happy I started acupuncture and I’m hopeful that the next 4 sessions will help me out even more.
Any questions? Feel free to ask anything you like and I’ll be more than happy to share my story!
Miss Hillsmith x Languages Louise 