Acupuncture, Part Deux

Now I get my second treatment. Mervyn is scheduled to pick me up at 10:30 so I can be at the doc’s office by eleven.

My back is still free from pain, providing I don’t try to twist around or use what’s considered by many to be a full range of motion. In other words, as long as I don’t try to do too much, there’s still no pain. Yes, I’m stiff, the muscles are still tender, but no constant screaming.

Except my head.

The headache is better than it was, no doubt about that at all. But it’s still there. It’s mostly on my right side, but this is appropriate since most of the back problems were on my right side as well. The worst pain points were on the ride side - everything was on the right side. And this is a tension headache, I’m guessing. Tension headache caused by my back problems. It just all works together.

So I get to go back for another treatment, and tell the doc at the same time that the MRI is out of our budget at the moment.

At some point, I need to remember to talk to him about my sleeping disorders. For all I know, he can cure me of my RLS/PLMD (Restless Leg Syndrome/Periodic Limb Movement Disorder) in a few treatments, and my OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea), although the OSA is really a little different than that. How was it worded? A lowered breathing impetus. Not quite, but sorta close. It’s more like I decide - in my sleep - that breathing is too much effort, so why bother? It’s not quite apnea, although I do have apneic events. It’s just that I have comparatively few apneic events. It’s more the lack of breathing as opposed to anything else. Whatever. I understand what I mean, even if I can’t get it across in my headached state.

I’d like to talk to him about those and see if there’s something he can do for me - permanently. My CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine is starting to give up the ghost. Every now and then, when I try to start it up, it gives me error messages, and I have to unplug it, plug it back in, and start it up again. Well, it’s 5 years old, and they typically last 5 to 10 years, and mine was a cheaper model, so . . . it’s possible that it’s just time to retire ol’ Bessy.

But before I seriously consider that, I want an alternative.

Mervyn picks me up and we head over to Doc Perera’s. Didn’t I mention that Perera is a common name here? Back from the days of Portugeuse domination.

I sit down for barely a minute when the nurse - same one as yesterday - motions for me to follow her into that same room, and I notice that it has four beds, not three.

I should also mention that we’re not talking about standard beds you sleep on. No. We’re talking massage table type of things that are fairly high - high enough for Doc to poke sharp objects into people without having to bend over.

The fourth one - over against the wall - is shorter than the rest and has a bent thingy at the end that my brain doesn’t seem to care enough about to find a way to describe, other than to say it could be used as either a back rest if sitting up or a leg rest if lying down and it’s necessary to raise the legs to put less pressure on the lower back. Huh. I guess my brain was up to more than I thought.

I hand the nurse my needles, and she says, "sterilize?" Uh, no. Was I supposed to?

Evidently I was. She comes back in a minute and there’s a smell of rubbing alcohol. She tells me later I can either use rubbing alcohol or boiling water. Well, she doesn’t say quite that much. She points at them and says, "boil?" and I reply with, "or rubbing alcohol?" She smiles and nods and says, "sterilize." Okey dokey. I got the picture.

Meanwhile, Doc comes in and, yes, I’m lying on my stomach, and after he asks me how pain is, he sticks a few in my lower back, some in the upper back, a few on my head, and one on the same spot on the back of my hand as yesterday. At least, I think it’s the same spot, but then do I know how precise these acupuncture points are? Oh heck no!

And same as yesterday, some of the jabs hurt, others I don’t notice. It’s true, maybe they aren’t using all ten needles, but I strongly suspect they actually do even though I can’t feel them going in.

After a half hour, the nurse comes back and removes the needles. I’m told to come back tomorrow same time, but again, not with so many words and with more gestures than that. I’m also handed my needles again, and I pay the standard 250 Rupees.

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