I would never have believed it.....
About this experience
Posted on: 03-Sep-01
by: foxyfagan
Current rating: 
(42 votes)
foxyfagan says:
My first involvement with acupuncture was several years ago.
Following an ear operation due to infection in the ear canal my facial nerve stopped working and I was paralysed on the right side of my head.
At the time a colleague suggested consulting an expert in acupuncture but it was 8 months later before I did as by this time I was feeling desperate about the paralysis in my face. I could now close my eye but it blinked infrequently and I still could not move my mouth completely.
What impressed me about the initial assessment was the holistic approach.
My first session did not involve any needles in my face but was a general overview of any other symptoms currently on-going.
At the next session I had needles inserted in my face and I continued to visit about twice a month.
It was not very long before I started to see an improvement, to me it seemed that at last I had found a treatment which would help and in addition deal with the emotional and physical aspect of what had happened.
The taking of the pulses at the start of the session seems to be a very valuable start but even when treatment progresses to insertion of the very fine needles, it is all a very relaxing process.
The needles are very fine, you do not see them and it is virtually a pin prick.
Please do not be put off if you do not like needles as it is in no way similar to having an injection.
Another visit I would describe is when I arrived at a session having had a dreadful head cold for 3 weeks. The acupuncturist told me I had had the cold for too long and following the treatment today I would feel worse in the next 24 hours, but after that I would get better.
Indeed this is exactly what happened and my cold had disappeared in a few days.
My contact with acupuncture has only been positive, but I would not hesitate to return for any ailment, you can always telephone and discuss the condition to see if it is treatable in this way.
The paralysis in my face lasted a long time and progress was slow but in the long term it has worked and the effect is hardly noticeable now.
I am sure I think that I had the best practitioner possible, he had practised in China for a three week period and we had many discussions about his experiences there where Western medicine is hardly used at all.
It is also possible to obtain reading material prior to treatment if you still have reservations.
Good wishes if you try, Joan.
