Poking at my health.
Many of you already know that I’ve suffered from carpal tunnel in both hands for several years now. It’s painful, it’s disruptive, and it’s not getting any better. I had surgery on my right hand two years ago which alleviated some of the pain, but not all of it. I’ve got an ergonomic desk set up at home, I ice my wrists often, and I do my little hand exercises, but nothing seems to make it better. So when a friend suggested I try acupuncture, my response was “why not, I’ve tried everything else.”
Through friends and recommendations I found a board certified Oriental medical physician who had an office nearby. I called to schedule an appointment, and found my self talking to a young but knowledgeable woman who listened carefully to my complaints. I told her that I also have Type 1 diabetes but that it was in good control, and that people with diabetes are often at higher risk for carpal tunnel.
“In Chinese medicine,” she told me,” we treat the whole body in order to restore balance and therefore relief from the specific symtoms the patient has. Many of my patients say their diabetes gets better when they treat something they think is unrelated at my clinic.”
Uh oh. Hold the phone. This had better not be one of those “I can cure your diabetes” BS spiels again.
“Sorry. I hope I’m not out of line here but I just have to ask, you do know that Type 1 diabetes is not curable, correct?” I ask her, hoping she assuages the growing doubt in my mind.
“Yes, of course. Type 1 is genetic. But what I’m saying is that some of my patients say they respond better to insulin, and have better control overall once we treat other issues.”
Faith restored. Knowing that she wasn’t going to try and cure my diabetes with a mix of lemon juice, green tea, and hogwash, I booked an appointment.
Friday rolled around and headed to the acupuncturist. Her website said that I should try to come to the appointment “as relaxed as possible.” I wondered if the iced coffee I’d gulped down an hour before that counted as “relaxing” because I’d enjoyed it so much. Probably not.
I was greeted by the practitioner, who looked just like she sounded on the phone - young, smart, professional, but with a kind demeanor. I filled out the new patient paperwork, and then we started talking. A lot.
Never, in any visit with a Western doctor have I ever had such a thorough review of my health, health habits, health history, and general self. She asked about diet, mood, sleep, anxiety, lifestyle, exercise, past surgeries, whether I often felt hot or cold, and how I feel about the Chargers. Ok not really on the last one, but we covered pretty much all things Lexie in the first half hour of our appointment.
Then she asked to see my tongue. Seriously. She had me stick out my tongue and she took a good, long look at it before jotting down some notes. Later, a friend of mine told me that the tongue is central to Chinese medicine diagnostics, and that most visits involve a tongue check. Can’t say I ever had that done at my endo’s office.
The practitioner explained to me that in Eastern medicine, they believe ailments are the result of imbalances in the body, and that although it may seem to “hurt” in one area (e.g. my carpal tunnels), the cause of that pain is actually due to an imbalance of my energy, and can usually be blamed on one of a few systems in the body. Carpal tunnel discomfort is apparently caused by an imbalance with my spleen and the blood flow to and from it. To fix my carpal tunnel, we would treat the imbalance in my spleen. In addition, the practitioner noted that I was also suffering from inflammation around my carpal tunnel, and that we needed to reduce that inflammation as a first treatment, then work on balancing my energy.
Here’s where it gets tough. She told me that inflamation is provoked by consuming certain foods and drinks, and that I should avoid them to reduce my discomfort. Then she proceeded to list of all of my favorite things: coffee, red wine (and most alcohol), and spicy foods. Ug. I was not prepared to digest all that - literally. Needles being stuck all over my body? That I could take. But no coffee? I wasn’t even able to wrap my brain around that one. But, I am committed to helping my hands get better, so I considered her suggestion carefully, and decided that at the very least I can reduce my intake of those things. Or at least try - that part is going to be hard.
Finally, we moved on to the actual acupuncture treatment. Like most of my friends who have done acupuncture told me, the needles don’t really hurt. In fact, you barely feel them going in, except for a few sensitive spots on my feet. Interestingly enough, the needles that hurt the most going in, according to her, were directly treating my spleen, where my big ‘ole imbalance allegedly lies. Hhhm).
The treatment consists of her inserting a few needles, me relaxing for a little bit, her putting more needles in, and more relaxing, then all the needles coming out. It was odd to lay there with 20 tiny pins in my body. I’ve been stuck and poked and bled a kajillion times because of diabetes, but I have to say this was a unique feeling all its own. I was a little anxious as the needles first went in only because I didn’t know what to expect, but I did eventually “relax into it,” and by the time I left her office, I was feeling pretty good and I did indeed notice that my hands felt better, if only for a little while.
The bottom line is that I’m not sure yet if this treatment will heal me, but I’m going to give it a try. I’m willing to try it because nothing else seems to work and because I’ve heard many stories from many patients saying it truly helped them. What I like the most about Eastern medicine though, is that they focus on the whole body. It’s so easy to only focus on your diabetes when you’re managing this disease. Everything gets blamed on the ‘betes, and sometimes we forget to look at the big picture. So although I’m not yet convinced this will cure my carpal tunnel, I do like the idea of taking an hour out of my week to focus on my whole health.
Anyone out there tried accupuncure for something diabetes-related or otherwise? Let me know if it helped you and what you thought!
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Comments
I really think that one of the most important aspects of treating anything is treating your whole body. I’m a musician, and really good musicians (I’m not claiming to be one) are in touch with how everything affects their playing. In fact, musicians are most like athletes, especially good piano players and wind instrument players. You can’t escape that you’re often asking your body to do very difficult and tiring things. Anything wrong with you will become readily apparent when you’re trying to play a three hour concert in 100 degree weather. What I’m trying to say is, YOU should always look at your health in light of everything you’re doing physically, emotionally and spiritually. Doing less than that is robbing yourself of true living. Look for like-minded people to learn from and to share your learning with.
Yes! I’m so glad you are trying holistic medicine and I’ve had great results with acupuncture for many years, for everything from carpal tunnel (20 years ago it was treated and never returned) to acute illness, to hives/allergies… Always helpful! and like many others, I have type 1 diabetes, 35 years, and find that my overall BG are better when I have regular energy work, including acupuncture.
My own work is doing Reiki, a Japanese form of energy medicine, in which the practitioner channels the healing energy through her/his hands, so I benefit from giving the treatments to my clients while they receive. I also give myself Reiki treatments, and I believe that a good part of why I’m so healthy with no complications after all these years is doing Reiki on myself and others daily. Of course, I test 6-8 times a day, take multiple shots and eat really well, etc… All these holistic modalities make sense to me because they are about the whole person, body, mind and spirit. We are not just a symptom - our wrists are part of an incredibly complex being, so working with the whole person just makes sense.
Best wishes on your healing - I’m so glad you’re sharing this part of your story too!
Hooray for acupuncture! I’ve been seeing an acupuncturist regularly for about 14 years now. In my experience good acupuncturists with up to date training are well informed about Type 1 diabetes, don’t mix up the types and don’t talk about cures. And I agree with what you were told-regular acupuncture seems to improve my insulin sensitivity and make my BGs more predictable and less spiky. My whole system works better with regular treatments. Also, FYI, I started having the first tiny, sporadic “bee sting” pains of neuropathy in my feet 10 years ago (I’ve had diabetes 31 years) and I told my acupuncturist right away. Currently I have no neuropathy pain or numbness at all-it died away and never progressed. Hmm.
I really hope you see some improvement in the carpal tunnel and other muscle and joint pain. Stick with it, the improvement is cumulative. And, sorry to say it, but her dietary advice regarding inflammation sounds right on. Do what you can…Good luck!