thank goodness for acupuncture!

before i got pregnant with dom, i suffered from bell's palsy.  i woke up one morning, and started getting ready for work.  after brushing my teeth, i was swishing water in my mouth... then all of a sudden, water started dripping out of the right side of my mouth.  i look up at the mirror and realized that the right side of my face was immobile!  to my horror, i called my hubby and told him that i might've had a stroke in my sleep!  so off to the ER we went... 

luckily, it wasn't stroke, i was diagnosed with bell's palsy.  apparently, when your immune system is down (i had a horrible cold prior to this happening), certain viruses can strike your facial nerve, causing it to swell and stop working.  we went to see my family doctor, and he mentioned that i can't really take any type of medicine for this, so i have to wait until the swelling of the nerve subsides and live with my facial paralysis for months or longer (even up to a year or more - sometimes retaining permanent nerve damage in certain parts of the face).  our md, secretly suggested using acupuncture as an alternative.  am i so glad that he did!

1340's acupuncture chart (source)

i had roughly 7-8 acupuncture sessions with dr. feng li, and within a month, all of my symptoms went away!  i'm so grateful that i was able to discover this amazing alternative to western medicine (this can also be used with western medicine).  i am a believer that the body can heal itself, and acupuncture enhances the body's ability to do so.

due to my line of hobby and work, i started suffering from minor carpal tunnel syndrome.  as an arts and crafts lover, a dental lab technician, and now an avid blogger, i do a ton of repetitive hand/wrist movements.  i've been dealing with this for about roughly 3 years now.  it's been tolerable, until recently...  i started getting a sharp pain on my wrist, to my forearm, and up to my shoulder;  the fingers on my left hand is also partly numb.  i'm on my 2nd acupuncture session and i can really feel the difference!   i am hoping that it'll be gone for good...   i wear a brace from time to time, but the pain has substantially subsided, and the numbness on my fingers are almost gone.

if you've never tried acupuncture, be open to it... you will be completely surprised how amazing it works!  to read more about it, click here.

happy tuesday everyone!
xo, carla