On Pins & Needles, Parts 6 & 7

Continuing my saga of being poked with sharp pointy things...

I had my 6th acupuncture treatment on this past Monday, and my 7th yesterday.  Monday's session treated mucus (again), hormones, and parietal lobe.  Wednesday's session treated mucus (yes, a third time), and fungus.  (Very glamorous, this last session.)

On Monday I told him that I had been having bad headaches along the sides of my head for the past week; he nodded and said, "temple headache".  So he treated "parietal lobe" at that session - which means he gave me a liquid-filled vial labeled "parietal lobe", and added three extra needles: one about halfway up on the outside of each calf, and one smack in the middle of my eyebrows. Later I had to wonder exactly what was in that liquid-filled vial - if they give you a little bit of the allergen to increase immunity, was I holding 'Essence of Parietal Lobe', with little bits of brain floating around in it?  And whose parietal lobe would it be?  I hope they chose someone really smart.

I still had an awful headache for the rest of Monday following the treatment, but it eased up on Tuesday, and was only mildly annoying yesterday.  Certainly much more manageable than it was.  I have no idea if the onset of the headache is related to the acupuncture treatments - the doctor didn't indicate one way or the other.

When I started treatments. I anticipated about three treatments, four at the outside.  At seven treatments now, with little to show for it, I keep feeling like I'm just throwing money away, with no guarantee that there's going to be any vast improvement, and no indication of how much longer it could take.  So yesterday morning I told him this would be the last treatment, at least for a while.  He tested me for everything he has treated: vitamin C, grass mix, tree mix, mold, dust, (rag)weed, flower mix, hormones, histamine, parietal lobe, and mucus (eeeueew!)  I passed everything but mucus.  He also tested me for fungus, which he hadn't tested before.  When I didn't "pass", he said, "Ah!  Fungus!  That can take several treatments to get rid of."  And I thought, why didn't he test that earlier on, then?!  My husband's skepticism crept in, and had me thinking that I just told this guy I was going to stop treatments, and he "discovers" another allergen that still needs additional treatment.  How convenient.  (and fishy).

So he treated mucus and fungus yesterday, and gave me a bottle of herbal vitamins that helps "speed up" fungus treatment.  (Ha.  I say "gave" me a bottle, but in reality, he charged me $26 for it).  He had me make an appt to come back in a week for a checkup on what he treated yesterday morning - "free of charge".  Aw, how thoughtful.

I looked up the herbal supplement on the internet before taking any, just to make sure there weren't any class-action suits pending.  (Geez, do I sound like a cynic, or what?)  I also wanted to check how much other places charge for it before I opened it.  Turns out he was right on the money (ha!) for cost - Amazon charges the same, as well as various natural healing sites.

The supplement is Sinatrol (but I told my kids I was calling it "Snot-B-Gone") - here is their spiel:

Combining the well studied combination of Andrographis and Siberian Ginseng, we have further added ingredients to specifically target the issues so common in individuals with chronic sinus complaints. These ingredients have proven inhibitory activity on inflammatory mediators and organisms known to be associated with chronic sinus conditions. Sinatrol contains:

N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC) - An amino acid that is also a natural mucolytic, NAC reduces the viscosity of mucus, allowing sinuses to drain. This makes conditions in the sinus less conducive for bacteria and fungus to grow. Clinical studies have proven oral doses of NAC to be an excellent means to recharge cellular glutathione, a foundational antioxidant.

Thyme Leaf, Berberine Sulfate - antifungal agents

Many people take antibiotics for sinus infection, but recent studies showed that the cause of infection in many cases may be related to the growth of fungus, and not bacteria.

Andrographis, Siberian Ginseng - Immune enhancing agents, help support the body's natural defenses. Recent studies show Andrographis helps significantly reduce the severity, duration and symptoms of the common cold.

Turmeric, Bromelain - anti-inflammatory agents to relieve pain associated with sinus pressure.

I didn't find any big complaints when I think I should be ok to take it - I'm supposed to take 1 capsule, three times a day. We'll see how it goes.  I wonder if it's supposed to be an ongoing thing, or if after this bottle, I'll be "cured" of sinus complaints.  Another "we'll see".

If I were to do this over again, or advise someone just starting acupuncture treatment for allergies, I would ask to be tested for every possible seasonal allergen, rather than, say, just a few each time.  It doesn't make sense to me why he wouldn't test everything, then present me with an anticipated course of treatment, so I would know how many sessions it would probably take (allowing that some allergens may need more than one treatment).  When I started, I was working with the idea that I had five known allergens (grass, trees, mold, dust, and ragweed).  If we could treat 2-3 per session, then that would be about three sessions. At $60 a session, I figured $180 is a worthy investment to be "cured" of allergies that cost me $30 a month for Claritin-D.

What I didn't anticipate was needing treatment for other allergens like vitamin C, flowers, hormones, and histamine.  Not that they don't make sense, I just didn't anticipate them.  I find it hard to believe that most of his patients don't bat an eye at continuing to plunk down $60 a session, ad infinitum.  I mean, $420 is a significant amount of money, especially out-of-pocket, and quite a bit more than $180.  If I had known it was going to be that much, and take this long, I probably wouldn't have started in the first place, at least not right away.  I would have planned ahead, considering budget and schedule (appointments 2-3 mornings a week before work took some shuffling).  I can't believe those aren't considerations for other people.  If I were to try acupuncture again, I might try another doctor, to see if I got better results.

All that said, I am feeling better today.  I didn't take Claritin yesterday or today, and I'm not sneezy, itchy, or stuffed up.  I was able to sleep fine with the window open for the past two nights, where I used to wake up really congested and almost hungover.  And - pardon me, here - my mucus issues are significantly decreased.  Eeuuww, I know.  But congestion has always been a big part of my allergies, so I guess those three acupuncture treatments for it have made a difference.  I also have taken 3 "Snot-B-Gone" pills, which may have helped.

I still reserve judgement as to whether or not it was "worth it" - I'll have to be able to stay off Claritin for just over a year to break even financially.  But the convenience of not having to take the extra time to go to the pharmacy counter to get the Claritin is also worth something.

[Note: tomato photo by blmurch]