March 23, 2018, 11:30 a.m. Today was a follow-up appointment with Francis, the physical therapist from the Pain Clinic. Once again, he spent a full hour with me. The first thing he said was to confirm his approval of the inflatable neck traction device I had sent him a link to and which is available…
Category: acupuncture
Pain Management: My Review
March 17, 2018 I have completed the 3-day-a-week 5-week outpatient Pain Management program at Kaiser. The facilitators all made it clear from Day 1 that this is not a pain relief program but a pain management! And they were right. We were not allowed to talk specifically about our pain nor about medications. I posted…
Pain Group Acupuncture #3
February 23, 2018 This is my last day of pain group acupuncture with Sophie. I have requested to be referred to the Acupuncture Clinic for an individual session. So, for that, I will just have to wait. Today only 3 of us from the class went to group acupuncture! I don’t know where everyone else…
Pain Group Acupuncture #2
February 9, 2018, 12:30 p.m. Sophie was running a few minutes late today, but she did arrive and got us all settled. I moved my chair back against a wall so I could lean my head back against the wall. She started on the other side of the room and I was the last to…
Pain Group Acupuncture #1
February 2, 2018, 12:30 p.m. Finally met Sophie, the acupuncturist, who conducted the group acupuncture session. She was not there on the first Friday of the program (January 26) and will not be there on the 4th week (February 16) due to Chinese New Year. So we will get only 3 sessions instead of the…
Things I’ve tried and things I haven’t tried
January 28, 2018, 1:55 p.m. These are the thoughts that come to mind today as I think about what I have been doing over the past year to relieve what was first discomfort in my neck and then became painful enough to interfere with my normal, everyday life. These things that I’ve listed here are…
acupressure, acupuncture, anti-inflammatory, aroma therapy, biofeedback, CBD/THC, codeine, cold, ergonomics, essential oils, Flexeril, gabapentin, heat, kratom, medical cannabis, meditation, mindful breathing, NSAIDs, Pain Management Program, physical therapy, pillow, prednisone, reflexology, reiki, shiatsu massager, spinal decompression, tapping (EFT), TENS unit, traction Group Acupuncture #3
Jan 17, 2018 Another two weeks have passed, and this is my third group acupuncture session. Today I reported a pain level of 6. I took this picture inside the group room, showing what I had to look at during this acupuncture session. All the other patients were behind me. This week, the acupuncturist was…
Phone appointment with Dr. Whitehead
January 17, 2018, 1:45 p.m. I was on my way to the third of my three group acupuncture sessions that Dr. Sumetanon had ordered when my cell phone rang just as Linda pulled up to the front door of Building B. It was Dr. Whitehead, calling right on time as Parisa had said she would….
Group Acupuncture #2
Jan 5, 2018 This is my second group acupuncture session, miraculously scheduled for two weeks after the first one. Again, the girl behind the screen asked me for my current pain level. This time, I said 7. She gave me the two alcohol swabs and I knew what to do with them this time. I…
Group Acupuncture #1
In accordance with Dr. Sumetanon’s instructions, I showed up for my first group acupuncture session. I checked in and paid my co-pay and then was directed to an area across the room behind a screen. The girl behind the screen took my paperwork and gave me two alcohol swabs, instructing me to clean the skin…