I’ve heard a little about it while doing some research online and from talking with friends, but I’ve never tried it myself. First let me say I am no acupuncture expert, I’m just simply sharing my experience and why I decided to go in the first place.
The main reason I wanted to give acupuncture a try is because I was dealing with hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) which means I wasn’t getting a period. As a female, getting your cycle each month means your body is functioning properly and things are running smooth. When my cycle stopped, I was concerned. I lost my cycle from May of 2019 until October of 2019. I now realize why this happened. It was because I was working out too much and eating too little.
Beginning in September, I started focusing on truly taking care of myself. I increased my calories, decreased my workout intensity, and chilled out. Part of that chilling out included weekly acupuncture appointments. I shared this journey on my social media and had quite a few women say they struggled with HA as well and acupuncture helped them. After hearing this from a few women, I decided to try it out myself.
I asked my Chiropractor if he knew of anyone and he recommended a lady who’d been doing it for 18 years and said she was the best in the business. Side note – if you’re wanting to try acupuncture I recommend asking around for references! I couldn’t find her online when I searched myself, so make sure you ask your friends!
I was a little freaked out and a bit skeptical my first time and thought “How could needles sticking out of my body possibly help me get my cycle back?” Well a month went by and BAM, my cycle was back. Do I think it was just because of acupuncture? No, but do I think it would’ve taken me longer to get it back had I not gone? Absolutely.
When I had blood work done at the beginning of my recovery process from HA, my cortisol (stress hormone) was THROUGH THE ROOF. It was basically like I was waking up, doing a line of cocaine and going back to bed. Yes, this resulted from excess working out but mainly from the work/life stressors that I was placing on myself. After going to acupuncture and taking an hour a week to just chill, I realized I had been going, going, going 24/7.
Let me back up for a second.. for those of you who don’t know what acupuncture is.. here is a little summary from the internet:
“Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medicine-based approach to treating a variety of conditions by triggering specific points on the skin with needles. It is a minimally invasive method to stimulate nerve-rich areas of the skin surface in order to influence tissues, gland, organs, and various functions of the body. This response involves stimulation of the immune system, promoting circulation to the area, wound healing, and pain modulation.”
Basically, my way to interpret this is the acupuncturist places needles in specific energy spots depending on what you’re struggling with (and no, the needles don’t hurt!). The placement of those needles helps to get your body/mind flowing normally again.
I truly cannot say enough good things about acupuncture. Not only has it helped bring my cycle back, but it has helped with soreness in my traps from lifting, anxiety, bloating, and headaches. I thought some of it may be a placebo effect and who knows, maybe it is. However, my acupuncturist has done work on children and animals, who have NO CLUE what is going on, and it helps them.
Even though I have a normal cycle now, I am still going bi-weekly because I love it that much. I am so relaxed and feel like a new person anytime I walk out of there. Also, a little warning if you decide to try it.. expect to sleep DEEP. I have been awakened in the room due to my loud snoring.. so just prepare yourself 🙂
Until next time.
Peace & Love,
