Monday, December 26, 2011

Winter Solstice 12/22/11

Today 30 Pain Clinic patients were scheduled, 4 of them first timers,with 4 no-shows for a total of 24 needled in 6 hours. Tbe protocol of tbe day, after the incredible success with the 7 back surgery, morphine pump, walker pushing, backbrace reversal, was scalp acupuncture. I used it today on 2 new patients and 4 returnees. The first newbie had 9 years of back pain disappear. The second, 4 years of pain gone, 2 returnees had improved results, and one almost passed out, due, on closer scrutiny, because she had not eaten yet tbat day. "Did you eat anytbing today?" gets added to tne question list before treatment, and soaped.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Scalp acupuncture

She pushed into tbe pain clinic about 11AM, leanining heavily on her walker. Sbe had dialed up on her morpbine pump gradually, as instructed, but it hadn't really bluntd the pain of 7 failed back surgeries over the last 15 years. When sne sat down her back brace kept her from crumpling like a paper cup, but her left leg twisted unaturally, as tbough it refused any allegiance to ber pained commands.
I pushed 4 needles into ber scalp, 2 into tne middle burner, facing each other, to rescue some energy from the peanut butter grip of the morphine, slid 1 south, into tbe low back at tbe back of her head, and the last obliquely down her left hip, just off GV 20, along the quad. I signaled her to stand, and we strolled, withot walker, backbrace, or morphine, leaving her history of bone grinding pain behind, to sit with ber lonely black coat tbat sbe had draped over the cbair, as sbe strode with me toward tne new borizon of possibility. I wonder how we sball find each other next visit?