Therapy part 2

alright - therapy blog part 2 - I have neglected 2 of my 4 therapy routines and since these 2 routines are very crucial to the overall program I will detail them today.

Acupuncture Therapy:

This particular therapy requires the least effort on my part. I simply lie on a cot while the Dr. sticks very sharp needles into my head, face, arm, hand, and leg. She then connects a few of these needles to a machine using conductive clips. Once I am all wired up she turns the machine on and electricity starts shooting through the wires, through the needles, and through my body. The needles start to jump up and down, I feel totally strange and like an experiment gone wrong, and then 20-30 minutes later it stops, someone yanks out all the needles and I leave.

Surprisingly, this is quite tiring. I guess the electricity causes the muscles to constantly contract and release and this tricks them into thinking they have been working. Whatever the reason, I leave the sessions tired and with an exhausted leg. I have this done at a huge Chinese Hospital in KL. The hospital has 2 massive buildings right next to each other: one building is for western medicine, the other is for traditional Chinese medicine. The Traditional Chinese Hospital uses local practitioners as well as traditional doctors from China. All these doctors have gone through extensive training, often times the degree programs require just as much time and training as a western doctor. At this hospital there is also a pharmacy that dispenses traditional medicines - I am currently drinking the most wretched, disgusting, filth I have ever tasted twice a day. I am almost finished with my prescription and though I will continue with the acupuncture I am finished with the nasty traditional medicine - I expected some sort of tasty herbal tea not the contaminated soy sauce they gave me.

Does it work? I don't know. All I know is after I'm finished my whole body tingles and feels weird. Casey thinks this is because the nerves are waking up and I am beginning to feel my body again - I think it might be because I have just been basically electrocuted. Either way, some sensation is coming back. This is not always a good thing. The last two weeks the left side of my face has felt like it is waking up from a novacaine shot- I feel funny when I talk, drink, and eat, like half my face is not working. And, my arms and legs are beginning to feel like two giant lead weights. Some days I am tempted to ask the acupuncturist to reverse the whole thing, I was more comfortable when I did not 'feel' my left side. So is it working, I suppose, but getting better does not always mean feeling better.

Ha, well I am going to leave you all hanging again for Casey's Holistic Journey to Health Program. She has warned me that unless I am 'feeling the love' and writing about her efforts from the heart, instead of as a chore I am not allowed to post a word. Unfortunately, you may be waiting awhile folks because typing with one hand is always a chore.