A couple of years ago I began experiencing chronic daily headache following a broken arm (the long bone near the shoulder broke which put stress on my neck). After wasting a couple of months with a regular doctor who didn't want to do anything but give me meds for high blood pressure (which was caused by the otc meds I was taking for pain because the doc wouldn't give me anything for pain) - my daughter convinced me to go to the Chinese clinic.

After the first accupuncture treatment I actually felt better, but the doctor warned me that over the course of the treatment which could be from 6 to 10 treatments, that the pain would get better and worse and better again. When it was better it was very hard to go back again, but I didn't want a return to the chronic pain so I kept going. I had about 9 treatments spread out with 2 treatments a week, so it took a couple of months, but the difference was night and day.

The doctor kept telling me to relax after she put the needles in - they are left in for up to half an hour - and she just couldn't understand that I find it impossible to relax. I have ADHD and it just doesn't happen.

The clinic I went to is associated with a college of Chinese medicine, so I could have a student doctor treat me for half the cost of a regular treatment, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to afford a full round of treatments. But I found it very reassuring that this wasn't some place where a chiropractor or someone like that had taken a weekend course in accupuncture - I've been that route in the past and it was a waste of good money. These are real doctors who are trained to treat the entire person, not just hand them a prescription.