I continue to struggle with my peripheral-neuropathy symptoms (tingling & numbness in my left foot and toes). I rather feel like a yo-yo in terms of the emotions that go along with all of this. Some days, I am almost “normal.” Other days, like today, totally unexplainably, I have symptoms that are more acute and I get depressed. I had an acupuncture treatment today, but it brought little relief. I requested that we get as aggressive as we possibly can with treatment, so we’ll see if anything will happen. As it stands now, I am, for the first time, “wearing” a few tiny magnets in my left ear (taped in on top of traditional acupuncture points) to see if this will help. This particular technique is a first for me.

Fortunately, my condition does not really limit me. It’s more nuisance-like than anything. So, given that it got up to a sunny 56 degrees this afternoon, I went for a walk through Mt. Tabor park – one of my favorite places here in SE Portland to take a stroll.

I came across a person recently who said, surprisingly, she “didn’t believe in acupuncture.” I really hadn’t heard anything like that from anyone in quite awhile, perhaps due to the company I typically keep. I haven’t necessarily ever thought about “believing” in acupuncture or not. The practice has been around at least 5,000 years, and though it’s considered “alternative” therapy here in this country, it is traditional Chinese medicine. I believe it is as legitimate as anything “western” medicine has to offer…it’s merely an option to explore. Once you can get past the idea of having a bunch of needles in your body (I know that’s difficult for some folks), it can actually seem quite “normal.” I was so relaxed during my session today that I went to sleep and, at one point, woke myself up with my snoring!

Let’s hope I can get my body’s energy force, qi, back in balance. [FYI: I’ve heard some variations in the pronunciation of qi, but am told that it roughly should be said “chee.” And, now that I’m trying to write about this, I am unable determine whether or not it should be capitalized: qi or Qi? I don’t know…]

Anyway: balance. That’s my goal.