Adenosine is also the signaler for sleep. That is why many people fall asleep during the procedure, as adenosine is released by the cells, and then signals a sleep cascade.

*** Yeah, strange thing. I drop off and jerk awake.

rscowboy, where do they place the needle in your body? Is the neuropathy in your feet? I'm very interested in leaning more about this treatment and jumping on this bandwagon....Lord knows nothing else is woking!

[rscowboy, where do they place the needle in your body? Is the neuropathy in your feet? I'm very interested in leaning more about this treatment and jumping on this bandwagon....Lord knows nothing else is woking!

***She uses between 20 and as many as 40 needles in a session. Chi energy flows along certain pathways and the needles adjust the flow. At the beginning she would put a needle in my foot and I would have a twinge in my back. General placement -- on top of my head, in the ears, crook of the arm, by the thumbs (it is bi-lateral placement, so on both sides), knees, shins, tops of feet, belly. Sometimes I will be on my back and she'll place back of head, neck, lower back.

*** Because she has treated me for a while (and takes good chart notes), she's familiar with my body and even works around an old back injury (that I've always thought may be implicated).


*** Someone else said they do monthly treatments; I go no longer than a week between treatments. As you do it more (and, perhaps because of my tai chi), you become aware of your chi and its flow.

CB

There was a Groupon this week for 1/2 off for a session with an acupuncturisist, so I decided to try it. I know that's no way to choose a practitioner, but I said "what the heck, I went to a hypnotist on a whim and wound up quitting a 35-year smoking habit with next to no effort, so why not try this guy? Maybe it's another weird/lucky twist of fate." Not the same thing, I get it, but hey, it was a Groupon impulse purchase.

Here's what these folks have to say about neuropathy: http://birchcenter.blogspot.com/2009...upuncture.html

My biggest misgiving is what you said, cowboy, that it isn't all that effective for the pain, and I also noticed in these folks' blog that they don't even mention pain, just numbness. I can live with numbness. It's the pain that's really affecting my quality of life. I'm wondering--if they reduce the numbness, would that make me feel the pain even more intensely? And I'm also wondering how well they understand PN if they aren't even talking about pain in their blog. Well, it's clear he (or she) is getting a grilling from me, just like the doctors do. You don't get a pass because you have windchimes and new-agey music playing in the background (although you might get points from me for not forcing me to watch/listen to TV...I hate that)

Anyway, I couldn't get an after work appointment until the 15th, but I'll report back then how it went.