Acupuncture

My first step in my road to healing was trying acupuncture.  I was a little afraid to give it a try, but at the same time I was willing to try almost anything to rid myself of my unrelenting pain.  I felt I had no life any longer and I was so tired of the constant pain.  I found this practitioner entirely by accident...or some might say that I was guided to her.  She had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia herself years before and was also helped by acupuncture.  Our personalities clicked well and I found myself willing to try anything she suggested.  

After my fibromyalgia was diagnosed my IBS kept getting worse.  On her suggestion I stopped all dairy products and realized that I was actually allergic to cows milk.  Staying away from cows milk nearly completely eliminated the constant diarrhea that I'd been dealing with for years.   Acupuncture itself helped relax and soften my constantly stiff muscles.  My thigh muscles were so hard it felt like they were made of plastic.  After about six months of treatment they feel like normal muscles now.

Acupuncture is not a quick fix.  I've been going now for over two years, but now I'm at the point where I only feel the need for a treatment every couple of months.  At first I was going every week.  Because of the pain I was in my acupuncturist wasn't using as many needles as she might use on a person who was going in for back pain or another issue.  Now I can take as many as she feels would help me.  

Another part of acupuncture treatment is herbal.  If you aren't willing to take the herbs as prescribed you won't do as well.  At one point my practitioner was prescribing a special blend from the Oriental College of Medicine.  I was supposed to either drink these in a tea three times a day or mix them into apple sauce.  They tasted horrible...I couldn't gag them down.  I bought some gelatin capsules and filled them and took the herbs that way.  

I started acupuncture in March of 2012 and by July I was feeling almost normal.  I've had a few set backs since then, but the improvement in my life and abilities is easy for anyone who knows me to notice.  I credit the majority of my recovery to acupuncture.