Well, I have tried just about everything else, why not? So, it was off for a Sunday morning acupuncture session. The numbness in my feet has spread just a little bit, so Roong suggested trying a bit of Chinese medicine. It was interesting combination of the old and the new. The witch doctor was a relatively young guy. He spoke enough English, so that Roong had to do very little translating. I explained what the symptoms were, and did some doctorly nodding and "Hmm'ing" and then said..... "According to Chinese medicine, your body is cold". Given the fact that it is hotter than hell here most of the time, I was a bit skeptical. He then went on to explain that the pulse in my legs was very weak, and that he thought we should try to open up the blood vessels. Ok, that made more sense.
I laid down on the table, and he started sticking pins in my feet and legs. This wasn't as bad as it sounds, because my feet are somewhat numb, so I didn't feel most of them. Notice, I said "most". On my calves and shins, he hit a few spots that were normal. It's a strange feeling. It doesn't hurt, but because he is needling a nerve cluster, there is this small jolt, and a quick muscle spasm, it freaks you out a bit.
Anyway, after he stuck about 14 or so of these things in me, he hooked up electrodes to all of them, and ran current through me to stimulate the nerve centers for about 15 minutes. After it was finished. My feet felt as if I had just walked quite a bit. He then gave me the "watch what you eat and quit smoking" lecture, because he thinks cholesterol and smoking are contributing to the constricting of the blood vessels. He says I need to see him 2 times a week for a month to see if the acupuncture is having any effect. He also gave me 2 prescriptions, one for vitamin B, and the other is something to help open the blood vessels.
Getting a combination of modern medicine, and medicine that has been practiced for 5000 years is pretty cool. I will go back next week, and see what happens. Roong is happy, because she now has the whole new diet thing to worry about, and she gets to try and make me eat more fish. I have no memory of him mentioning fish, but she swears it's true.
