The acupuncture virgin

Today I had my first acupuncture session. So how does the ultimate skeptic, miss 'I only believe in evidence-based medicine' come to be doing acupuncture? Well, as it happens, a new study has shown that acupuncture can improve pregnancy rates with IVF, published as a Cochrane review, no less.

So the even more highly skeptical husband has agreed that its worth a try. So today I unexpectedly got the afternoon off and took myself along to the local acupuncture clinic. A friend recommended him and it was close to home so all good.

He started by asking lots of questions about my fertility history so far, and was particularly interested in how long I had been on the pill. As it was about 18 years, give or take a few breaks, he feels that it may well have taken almost a year for my cycles to regulate themselves again. He might be right, especially considering that in my August cycle, I experienced for the first time in years a cycle with cramps at the start and real, heavy bleeding on day one.

I was a bit nervous about having the needles put in but it really doesn't hurt, except for the one on the side of my foot, that apparently connects to my liver. He kind of tapped them in and once in, I couldn't feel them. He put them into my feet, hands, around my abdomen about where my uterus would be, in my shoulders, knees and even one between my eyebrows! It was quite weird lying there with all these needles sticking out of me - just like a porcupine (or more correctly for an aussie, an echidna!).

He also used a moxa stick, which is like a big fat cigar that he lights and puts near my abdomen so the heat is transferred. I certainly could feel more heat around the area. I generally felt very relaxed during the session and less tense so that can only be a good thing, I reckon. He claims to be able to regulate the menstrual cycle over a few months and get rid of the days of spotting I get at the start of each one. We don't have that kind of time so I won't be able to see yet if that actually works but my main focus at the moment is relaxation.

The weirdest part is that he has put very small silver balls in my ears - yes, that's right I have tiny balls inside my ears that are kind of like the balls my Mum used to decorate cakes when I was a kid :-) Apparently the ear is a model for the rest of the body and each part of the ear relates to each part of the rest of the body. They are stuck in there and will come out over the next few days. I must admit that I did really need to suspend disbelief a bit at this stage, but perhaps that's what its all about. Maybe the success of acupuncture is about placebo effect but that's just as valid an effect as any other, and I'm prepared to go with it at this point.

Now I just need to work out if I can make a claim for it on my private health insurance.