20 years old, female, from CT, diagnosed at 12, main symptoms: very limited joint mobility (entire body), skin discoloration, main doctor: Frank (NY). Occupation: college student
It's impossible to know where to begin so I'll start with the present moment which is my motivation behind creating this blog. Today I had an acupuncture treatment (about my 9th or so of the summer) and I told the doctor (zhang) to focus on my hips since I had noticed during a yoga class recently how incredibly tight mine were. He started to stretch my legs/hips in different directions to see what he was dealing with. Zhang began putting the needles in my heads, hands, wrist, legs, and lastly my feet. It hurt as usual, some needles more than others, but with the company of my friend David in the room I stayed calmer than usual. I didn't shed a tear (HOORAY!) and Zhang began moving my hips as he moved the needles a little and worked his magic. It was obvious to him and David that my hips were becoming looser at that very moment. I wasn't 100% convinced but of course I was in the room, enduring this treatment that i dread each week, because I believe in this treatment and have seen unbelievable results from it. Despite a long day, after returning to NYC I had the unusual motivation to go to a gym class-eager to see if my body felt different. I decided to go to the total body conditioning class on 80th and broadway. the class was great. i felt awesome, i was even dancing to the music. i started to notice my leg was able to be raised higher straight and closer to my head than it could before. then i felt it was easier to do lunges something i've been struggling with the past few weeks in these gym classes. then i realized before the end of the class that i could sit with my butt on my heels-something i absolutely have not been able to do since before the disease began when i was 12 years old. after the class end i stayed for a few minutes stretching and then thanked the instructor and told him what a great class it was. i told him what i had just discovered but he didn't understand. i left the gym, adrenaline rushing, crying, called my mother, my boyfriend, my ex boyfriend, my best friend, and so forth. on the way home i gripped the cramp in my stomach until i reached the apartment. i tried to find the song i feel like a woman to play on my phone and dance to as i came into the room to greet my roommate. i hadn't felt this excited since i was able to clap my hands for the first time in many years. i started singing the song larger than life in the shower...and dancing...and i think you get the point. one last detail i forgot, i could feel the difference in my strides as i walked home. i never even realized i felt tight when i walked but now i know...I'M FREE!!!
after dozens of treatments with very minimal results, acupuncture has been so impressive and the changes have been immediate.
http://www.zhangsacupuncture.com/
update-8/6/09
i'm not feeling as mobile as i was when i wrote the above post-but at least acupuncture has given me hope that has been lost for many moons :)
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