Acupuncture for PMS

“Acupuncture is a truly effective therapy that provides significant pain relief. “

-University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine

I’ve been fortune enough to go through life without experiencing any real cravings or physical symptoms from Aunt Flo, besides a pimple, until this past year. They say when you’re more active the cramps subside. So I guess it makes sense that these symptoms finally hit me and they hit me hard! So hard that I literally had to use some sick time at work because I was doubled over from cramps. And when it wasn’t cramps it was serious back pain that had me semi-paralyzed in bed. It was awful. So I googled how to “treat” my symptoms and found that raspberry tea helps with the cramps and acupuncture helps with the back pain.

The first time I went to get Acupuncture was great. The acupuncturist was very warm and empathetic when I told him about my profession and stress. I sat in one of those zero-gravity chairs as he put needles in my hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, forehead, feet and ankles. It wasn’t painful, it was more like a small pinch. Then he put a blanket over me and told me to stay as long as I liked. I immediately fell asleep and didn’t wake up until like an hour and a half later. lol

That nap and that treatment was much needed. I was tense to the point that he taped two needles to my shoulders to keep in for the weekend and remind my shoulders to relax throughout the day. The back pain didn’t really get better until like two days later, but it really worked wonders. Annnnnd it was only $20 (sliding scale fee from $15-45 for whatever you could pay at the time). I’m definitely adding this to my budget and scheduling quarterly sessions as apart of my self care routine!