Hi friend!

A common question I received when I was going through acupuncture school was if I’ve had acupuncture before. While some people began acupuncture school prior to having their first treatment, I’ve had countless acupuncture treatments before school. While every treatment is a different experience, I want to share one that I’ve never forgotten. This treatment took place while I was in my second year at North Western Health Sciences University.

Photo Credit: Amanda Sengbusch

I began having some eye issues. After a while, I went to the eye doctor to ensure everything physically was okay. I was told all was fine and that my issue may be a form of a migraine- since I was also experiencing headaches and nausea. Also, I have naturally larger pupils that my be contributing to the blurriness and halos at night. They gave me some drops to try to help and sent me on my way. Now, I completely own up to not using the eye drops regularly, but the eye issue continued.

I made an initial acupuncture appointment with one of my instructors at his acupuncture clinic. This treatment was unlike any other. To start, his initial intake was super quick. He was able to read so much from feeling my radial pulse and looking at my tongue. Granted, this was what we were going to school for, but to see it in practice and see just how much you can tell from the pulse and tongue, was so amazing!

He asked me a few questions and after just a couple minutes of talking, I hopped up on the table and tried to relax. You’d think I’d be super calm when getting an acupuncture treatment, especially when I was currently going to school for it!… But this was not the case. I usually would have sensations of a cold sweat and minor shakes… but I was able to relax once the needles were inserted. I felt de qi with each needle (de qi– is a dull ache sensation- which is a good thing- this means the qi has been activated:)). He then sat at the head of the table and got ready to do the acupuncture point Urinary Bladder 1 (UB1). This point is at the medial side of the inner canthus of the eye. If you rub your eye from the outside inward to your nose, where your finger lands is essentially UB1. So I held my eyes shut and tried not to think so much about needles being threaded so close to my eyes. (The saying, “stick a needle in your eye” never seemed so true!) I do want to be sure to say though, he did NOT stick the needle in my eye, this point is just quite close to the eye and super effective for a variety of issues.

He then made sure I was comfortable and let me rest. During the time resting it was relaxing and nice. For a while there I actually felt like the table was rocking back and forth in a figure eight pattern. I felt like I was on a boat. It wasn’t bad, it was just unlike any other treatment I’ve experienced.

During the second part of the treatment, he did cupping on my upper back. The suction of the cups were intense but relaxing. If you haven’t experienced cupping, I’d definitely recommend it (and you can read more about different acupuncture modalities in my post about Traditional Chinese Medicine Terms). It’s a wonderful way to relax your muscles and relieve pain, along with many other benefits.

We continued with bi- monthly treatments and herbs for a couple months and my eye issue decreased and I haven’t had it since!

Photo Credit: Amanda Sengbusch

Every acupuncture treatment is different, from what the person is coming in for, to the practitioner, to what the patient experiences. Most times it’s nice and relaxing but other times it’s a little more intense. Now being out of school and practicing for five years, hearing what patients experience during the treatments is one of my favorite things! Sometimes people don’t notice much, sometimes they notice all sorts of things. 

Whatever the patient notices, I can say, it’s completely worth it!

If you’re interested in experiencing all the amazing benefits of acupuncture, feel free to contact Feel Good Clinics in West Des Moines, or check out my blog post, How to Find a Licensed Acupuncturist to search for a licensed acupuncturist near you!

With faith, hope, and love,

Emily Kappelman