January 11, 2007 - Acupuncture - Nausea relief is NOT just a needle away

Well, we tried. During one of Jim's worst days I made an appointment for him with an acupuncturist. Jim was so weak and sick that he actually agreed to go. I'd read an article that said that acupuncture could be as effective as one of the most popular anti-nausea drugs. Maybe over time. But we're here to tell ya, there's no immediate relief.

It was a 2 hour appointment, so I thought "Great! 2 hours of relaxing and working on the nausea - this is perfect!" Actually, it was 1 1/2 hours of the acupuncturist blathering on about himself and trying to sell Jim bottled magic mushrooms. He only got 1/2 hour of actual acupuncture. I was really upset when I heard that. Poor Jim had to sit there, sick as a dog, listening to Mr. Ponytail Guy talk about himself. Uh, okay. Perhaps Mr. Ponytail Guy chould have assessed the situation and just chopped the appointment down a bit.

Jim got no relief for his symptoms. The humorous thing is that the guy asked him "Do you feel any different?" When Jim responded in the negative, Mr. Ponytail said "Well, let me know how you feel after a few days." In a few days?! In a few days the chemo will be winding down anyway, buddy. He'll be feeling fine.

I guess the important thing is that we tried it. Now we know. I imagine that acupuncture really works when you use it consistently. However we were very disappointed to find that it doesn't work right away.

Jim felt better by Sunday. Pastor Kirby did a nice prayer for us, and I think Jim really felt better after that. It was a relief to see Pastor Kirby and have the prayer after Jim's long week. Also on the healing plate: Jim had Tai Chi on Tuesday. I know he really enjoyed that. Seeing Dr. Haid is a very soothing experience for Jim, whether it be at the Vince or at Tai Chi.

There were a lot of factors that went into Jim's nausea this last week. The low after coming off Christmas. The realization that everyday life with cancer had to begin again. Not eating and drinking quite properly before, during, and after chemo. Figuring out what to do about New York. And finding out that now we only get to see Dr. Haid once a month instead of on every visit. Experimenting with his Compazine (one of his anti-nausea drugs - he doesn't like it because it makes his chest feel funny). I think the extra nausea was the culmination of a series of events that snowballed into sickness.

Also, ever the optimist, Jim believes that he's the guy that won't get sick from the chemo. I'm not sure why, but his expectation is that he won't feel anything at all. He gets annoyed with fatigue. He's disappointed when he gets sick. When I asked him WHY he thought he wouldn't get sick, he paused for a moment, looked right at me, and said "Because I'm me." And that's the very reason he will beat it.