Acupuncture

I started acupuncture treatments last week. I have temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome and it has been encroaching on my ear canal (or Eustachian tube or something) for some time. My ears have felt like they are plugged up for years. In the last year or two, I've experienced tinnitus. Sometimes the tinnitus is a distant ringing, sometimes it’s a distorted high pitch that comes rhythmically like some alien being is trying to communicate something to me in Morse code. (I’ll let you know if I actually learn anything from it.)

So I went to George Washington Medical faculty to see an ear, nose and throat specialist. He told me that this is my TMJ acting up. He recommended acupuncture. Though intrigued, I put it off hoping I could concentrate on relaxing my jaw and take care of things in that way. I’ve always carried tension in my jaw and I still do. I don’t grind my teeth at night, but I play with my teeth and the insides of my cheeks and my tongue throughout the day. It's a regular carnival in there. I’m learning to not let myself do that.

The ear, nose and throat specialist asked me if I could hear my pulse in my ears. No. That was several months ago. But now I notice that, when I have earplugs in at night, I can occasionally hear the whoosh-whoosh of my pulse for four or so beats. So off to the acupuncturist I went.

What I knew about acupuncture was very little. I’d heard that the needles were very thin. True. I’d heard that you could barely feel them going in. Sometimes true. What I didn’t know was that, after inserting the needle, they give it a little nudge or pat to deepen the contact. In some areas of my body, this is no big deal. In the areas where I have issues (my hands, wrists and jaw) it hurts. It’s an odd sort of pain, though. It’s like something inside is being reluctantly awakened to go to work. (On a scale of one to ten, one being a pin touched my skin, ten being my arm caught in a meat grinder, the pain is around three.)

What I also didn’t know was that sometimes electrodes are attached to the needles and electricity is pulsed into my body. Interesting feeling that. In the sensitive (doctor’s word for painful) areas, each pulse stirs whatever has been awakened. It’s being forced to pay attention and go into action. It’s making room for the chi to pass smoothly throughout my body.

Please remember as you read this, that this is a piano teacher’s take on acupuncture. If you really want to know about it, talk to someone who knows more than I do. Your neighbor, maybe. Or the guy next to you at the gas pump.

I lay on my back motionless for thirty minutes with a dozen or so needles inserted from my toes to my head, feeling the electricity pulsing. It’s amazingly relaxing, even though it does hurt a bit. I haven’t slept, but I’ve drifted off into very pleasant places. 

Weird picture, I know. I see my grandmother in those sunken eyes.

What surprised me was how much I felt when the needles were removed. In the sensitive areas, this hurts as much as the insertion. Once, when Dr. Young was removing the needles, she lost one in my hair. That was funny. I have lots of hair; a lot can get lost in there. Another time, after Dr. Ho left me in the room drifting off to the sounds of Chinese music, one of the needles from my jaw with an electrode fell out onto my neck. I called, but no one could hear me. They were having their parking lot expanded and the workers were occasionally running loud equipment. Eventually, I heard a rustling in the hall and called again. I then heard little feet running. "I'm okay." I said, hoping to calm those feet. She was so polite, she still knocked on the door before entering the room. She replaced the needle and, giggling, boasted that I was receiving acupuncture twice that day.

Do you ever just feel comfortable with someone? That's how I feel with Dr.s Ho and Young. Once, when Dr. Ho was examining me, I couldn't take my eyes off her. Just looking at her brought ease and relaxation to me.

Then she told me that I had big feet. I already knew that. And that my body had inflammation. I misunderstood her. I thought she said my body had information. I thought that was good. But, as she talked, I realized it wasn't and I figured out what she'd actually said. Consequently, she wants me to limit my diet. I'm not happy. Apparently I must now eat like a Minnesotan - no seasoning except salt. I'm not sure this is possible. 

I looked up TMJ on line and, in order to stay relaxed, I'm not supposed to sing. I'd rather live with stopped up ears than quit singing.

I sure hope this acupuncture works. I'd love the excuse to visit these ladies a couple of times a week.