ACUPUNCTURE - 18TH FEBRUARY

Well going to acupuncture on a different day to Circle certainly makes a difference to my stress levels - much less rushing around, trying to fit things in a limited time, makes for a much calmer and happier me! LOL It was nice to get up and sorted and have a wander down the street to the Clinic with time to spare, knowing that there wouldn't be a mad rush back home afterwards but plenty of time to amble round the shops instead. :0)

When I arrived today Janet and a "new" receptionist were in Treatment room 1 making themselves a drink. I say "new" because Gail may be new to me but she is actually the "old" receptionist at the Clinic - she used to work there when the Clinic first opened up, went off to do some new things (including studying to become an alternative health practitioner herself) and has now come back to work there a couple of days a week. Janet called me into the room and told me to get myself comfortable whilst they just took their drinks out into reception - she would be drinking hers later, when it had had time to cool down.

I dropped my bags by the chair, took my coat off and hung it up, then sat down. Janet was back within a short time, my paperwork in hand. She asked how things had been so I told: I hadn't dropped like a stone after the last treatment, as I had after the first, but had found that I did feel tired later that night and definitely for a day or so afterwards. But the night flushes do make for a broken nights sleep and I don't do well on broken nights and never have.... and I'm having a tendency to feel better on certain days so have a flurry of activity to make the most of it and that means I'm overdoing things and paying for it too. She said it was perfectly natural to keep feeling like that after my type of operation (and full hysterectomies) and there tends to be watershed moments: I'll feel better at the three month watershed and then again when I reach the six months one, in the meantime I should try and work at reaching a balance in the activities I do by spreading things out over a few days, rather than trying to get them all done in one. I can see the sense in that and am going to try and do that from now on.

I mentioned that I felt I'd struggled a bit at the Circle that week, though hadn't been the only one, and that I didn't know if it was anything to do with all the needles she'd put in my crown but my Crown Chakra had been tingling on and off ever since, so she made a note of that. I also told her about asking the girls if the song One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus had meant anything and that it hadn't, so I felt that it really had been for her and that it was probably her way of letting Janet know she was around. She was quite pleased and thanked me, then said that her Mum was currently up here visiting and that she would tell her that her Mum had been around and that she would be happy to know that too. It meant a lot to Janet because she hadn't been able to sense her grandmother since she'd passed away.

Janet asked a few more relevant health questions, jotting down notes as we went, then asked if I'd had any kind of bleeding since my op: only the one monthly I couldn't avoid but nothing since. This was because this time she wanted to treat the meridians that dealt with cooling and thinning my blood, to help calm the flushes - something she didn't do during the first two sessions as she felt it was too soon. She then took the pulses in both my wrists, Chinese style, and jotted those down... and from all of this she decided on the best treatment for me.

This week I had to remove my jeans, as that's where the blood and liver meridians are, and also the thermal longjohns I was also wearing. She closed the window blind and left the room whilst I got myself ready, weighed myself and laid on the bed. I'd asked about getting myself weighed the previous week and the scales had been put in the room ready for me so, after peeling those layers off (every little helps, after all! LOL) I got on them: no loss... but then again, no gain either, as the pointer was rock steady at 11 and a half stone again. It's good to know that I can at least maintain my weight..... though it did make me wonder if I would be losing too much weight if I didn't have that tortilla chip and rice flake pudding habit going on during this cold weather. I got on the bed and pulled the large towel over me and called to Janet that I was ready, as instructed.

This time I had needles in my third eye Chakra (to help spiritually), one in the heart meridian again (thankfully it didn't bother me as much as it had the previous week), one in my left wrist area (more to the back, than inner) which she did say what it was for but I've since forgotten, one in either ankle again (glad to say that though the hormone one pricked a tad going in it was much less painful) and several up my inner thighs on both legs which barely registered when they went in. Whilst she was doing this she said she would leave me for a longer treatment this time but I was to shout her if I at all felt sick or uncomfortable in any way, which I promised to do, then covered me back up again, put the relaxation CD on, switched off the light and left the room.

It really is an odd sensation when the needles go in and it's nothing to do with whether or not they prickle and make me catch my breath. There is a definite change, or subtle movement, that I feel instantly. Sometimes it's very mildly disorientating but, so far, it hasn't been unpleasant. I still remain more aware of background noises than I do during a Reiki session but it's not a problem (it doesn't bug me, like some noises can when I'm at home) and I don't get as deeply relaxed as Reiki makes me but there's a definite sense that somewhere, on some level, something is happening, something is altering. The relaxation music was pleasant to listen to too and the gentle bird song among the music made me think of my garden (the meditation garden we go to in Circle), which was pleasant.

Janet came back in some time later (no idea how long I was there for - could have been anything from ten minutes to half an hour) and told me to keep my eyes shut whilst she turned the main light back on. That's when I realised I shouldn't really put my hands up to cover my eyes when there's an acupuncture needle in my third eye Chakra. It wasn't overly painful, just more made me jump.... but definitely something to avoid in future. LOL. She asked how I felt. OK. Though the heart meridian needle had initially prickled it had settled down to a slight itchiness - she said that was really good. The hormonal one had also initially prickled then hadn't bothered me at all - whereas the previous week she'd had to take it out after barely a minute - and this again was good. No botheration from the other sites at all. Once the needles were removed and dabbed she helped me to sit up, ensuring I kept my dignity by keeping the towel over my bare legs whilst doing so. I gathered that, from my responses, she was pleased with how the treatment had gone and that it was giving her a better sense of which way to take further treatments.

It wasn't until this point that I remembered I was supposed to have mentioned my back problems again. Never mind, that'll keep until next time..... though, funnily enough, it has eased right off since this treatment.

As I was obviously OK she left me to get dressed, saying she would tell Gail that I would be making an appointment for the following week, as I was happy to do so, and that she would see me then. She went to her next client. It took me a bit to get my gear on as I felt slightly uncoordinated... which made me realise that I was more relaxed than I'd initially thought. Once I was decent again and got my things together I went out to reception, made my next appointment and paid my dues. Gail and I started chatting and I don't quite know how it happened but I told her about that state I was in when I first came to the Clinic (the weight and blood pressure and the health warning etc) and what Jan and Aureen had done for me, and now Janet. I don't usually open up like that to someone I've just met (it's usually the other way around, with complete strangers telling me their life stories!) but there was something about her that made me feel comfortable.

The chat went on to cover Aureen's Development Circle evenings... turns out that Gail used to attend but had stopped going as she felt she hadn't been ready then. Hearing me talk about the Circle and the members dropping out and that Aureen was looking for new people to join triggered her interest though and she said she must ring Aureen as she felt she was ready now. Remember what Aureen had said about people turning up at the right time? Well I think it may have just happened. LOL Fingers crossed she does ring, as I get the feeling she will fit in perfectly. :0)

With that I said my goodbyes and made my way out.... and into the Hospice Bookshop. Somehow a trip down the High Street just doesn't seem complete without a nosey in there. ROFL I found a couple more books of interest:

Another book on the menopause - yes, I intend to be very well read on the subject... and it's always useful to have differing points of view on any given subject so you can cherry pick the best/most relevant ideas to you. The Native American legends book is for my eclectic collection.... and one that was quite probably prompted by my Spirit Guide. :0)

After that I ventured further down the street.... despite the fact that it was half term and therefore far busier than usual. It's not so very long ago that this would have had me turning round and heading home fast - I just reinforced my psychic protection and carried on. I had a look in the carpet shop for a rug but no joy there, then on to Wilko's for some bits and pieces, then on down to the local market. It is still sadly deteriorated, compared to what it used to be like when I first moved here, but it did come up trumps today: I found the perfect rug for my Craft Room and at only £2.00 it was a bargain. I wandered round, getting some tomatoes and vegetables from one stall, some birthday wrapping paper from another and some double-sided sticky tape from the cardmaking stall... and saw some A4 sized storage boxes that will be useful for the Craft Room too. I was fairly loaded up and running out of cash by this time so I said I'd be back another week to get some of those. I was also ready for my dinner too, so headed home.

I was a little tired by this time but eating soon improved that...... though I did go tired again later in the evening. Thankfully it wasn't that awful dropping like a stone feeling I had the first week, so I guess that could be a sign the treatments are beginning to kick in and level things off some. :0)

Jane: just a few random things that may be of use to you, in response to your comment. :0)

Drinking soya milk is beneficial as it has a good dose of plant oestrogens in it. Eating very healthily also helps, as does avoiding caffeine and cutting out as much sugar as possible (think low GI). The Candida diet, which I've stayed on, has been great for this. :0)

There are three herbs that I've heard of as being rated for being good at helping with menopausal symptoms and which are easily available from most Health Food and Herbalist shops, either in tablet or capsule form. There's Evening Primrose Oil and Black Cohosh but I can't comment on either of these as I haven't tried them. Then there's Red Clover - which is currently in my mix and seems to be helping to keep those tropical moments down to a bare minimum and the night sweats bearable. There are probably more so it's worth doing further research. :0)

When I had a discussion with my Herbalist about different herbs that are written about in magazines as being helpful in menopause (I'd just read something about black cohosh) her response was that those articles usually did more harm than good to the herbal profession. Women tend to read the articles and go try the herbs expecting a miracle cure all: some are lucky and they do work to some degree but for others they don't and they walk away thinking that herbal treatments are a load of rubbish. What you get from a Herbalist is a tailor-made mixture specific for the individual because all aspects of that woman's health and mental attitude have been taken into consideration - not just treating the symptoms but being Holistic and treating the whole person.

So, although I have red clover in my mix, I also have a variety of other herbs: some that aid kidney and liver function, something for energy, some for blood pressure, some for mood, something for stress, etc etc..... so it's the addition of the red clover to the whole mix that has made the difference, whereas taking it on it's own may not have the same result for me. Hope you know what I mean and it makes sense to you. :0)

Another alternative is going to see a Health Nutritionist. Eating healthily does wonders and it's now known that various foods (or avoidance of certain foods) can have a direct effect on health. (eg tomatoes help fight cancer - but the same thing that helps in that respect actually worsens the pain in arthritic conditions).

I've just started reading a book: Natural Alternatives to HRT by Marilyn Glenville. It covers all aspects of the menopause and various ways to help with the symptoms. I like her approach, as she states that the menopause is not an illness to be treated or cured but a natural part of the life cycle. Some of it is preaching to the converted (myself) but I'm also discovering quite a bit I didn't know - and I would certainly recommend it as a must-read to any woman who is about to or is going through the menopause. HTH. :0