OK, yesterday I decided to try something new.  After my accident last month, I am still in a lot of pain.  My friend in Idaho suggested acupuncture and massage.  So I went to Yelp and read all the reviews on acupuncture centers in the area.  I found Dawna Ara.  Yesterday was my first appointment and let’s just say that it won’t be my last.

I was a little nervous about the whole experience.  I’m not a fan of needles.  But since several of my friends and my therapist (all whom I trust) swear by it, I figured it couldn’t really hurt to try–or could it?  So I arrived early, mainly due to my nerves and my OCD about never being late, and Dawna greeted me when I walked in.  The great thing about Dawna’s practice is that you can make your appointments from her website and download all the paperwork so you don’t have to spend most of your time at the appointment trying to figure everything out.  Dawna sat down with me to talk about what was going on and things I had mentioned in her questionnaire.  She had me stand up and she instantly found my “trouble” spot on my neck.  She explained everything to me.  She told me it would be best to start with the acupuncture and then a light massage.

Surprisingly, the acupuncture needles didn’t hurt.  It tickled a bit when they went in but I  barely felt them.  Dawna had me lay there for 25 minutes–she came in to check on me from time to time.  While lying there, I could start to feel my muscles relax.  My trouble spot start to feel better.  It wasn’t anything dramatic but I could definitely feel things change the longer I laid there.

Once the 25 minutes passed, Dawna came in, removed the needles (which didn’t hurt at all), and gave me a light 5 minute massage with some sort of cooling cream.  I reminded me of the Biofreeze my dad uses.  Then my session was over.  Dawna told me what I should expect over the next few hours and days.  She gave me some herbal pain therapy patches to apply to my “trouble” spot over the next five days.  On my way out, I felt so calm and relaxed that I wanted to call everyone I knew and tell them to try acupuncture.

Now there are some side effects that didn’t hit me until later.  Once I got home and relaxed a little more, I felt lightheaded and very tired.  Since the accident, I haven’t been able to really sleep because of the neck and back pain.  But while I was laying on my couch, trying to watch the new Sherlock Holmes movie, I fell asleep.  I woke up around midnight and realized where I was.  I managed to muster up enough energy to turn off the TV and make my way into my bedroom where I collapsed on my bed, comfortably sleeping until my alarm went off that morning.  So I guess finally getting a good night’s sleep isn’t a bad side effect to have to endure.

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