Acupuncture Session

Last month I started having acupuncture.

I decided to take the natural way first to prepare my body for conception. As much as possible, I would want to stay away from invasive drugs to get me pregnant. I want to give myself the chance to take the au naturele route. I read somewhere that natural medicine should be the first choice rather than the last resort for couples trying to get pregnant.

My acupuncture session was on a Saturday morning. My acupuncturist, Sister Regina Liu, is popular among women trying to get pregnant and I'm excited for my first ever session.

The clinic is in Panay Ave., near Don Roces Ave. in Quezon City. High walls surround the place and you will not notice that there's a clinic behind the tall steel gate. There's not even a sign at front.

As I entered the clinic, friendly staff greeted me in their quiet, whisper-like voices. An assistant gave me a form to fill out, since I'm a new patient. The three-page form contains questions in English with their Chinese translations. I wrote down my personal details and medical history and the reason why I'm having acupuncture.

There are 7 (I think) office-like cubicles with light orange curtains as their "doors". I was led to Cubicle #3 and waited for Sister Regina who is talking with patient in #2. Inside was a bed, a chair, a small table containing the acupuncture stuff, a small bin. Everything is minimalistic. A frame of Anne Geddes babies hung on a wall beside the bed, maybe to help patients have positive thoughts about having a baby.

After 15 minutes or so, Sister Regina entered the cubicle. I told her about my PCOS and my goal of correcting it (if possible) and preparing my body for conception. I showed her my ultrasound result and she asked me some more questions. She asked me to show my tongue, a session always start with showing the tongue so she can see the status of your health.

I lay down on the bed. She started putting tiny needles on my head. I asked her how many sessions should I take to achieve my goals. She advised me to have acupuncture every other week for three months. At the end of the third month, I should have an ultrasound to see if acupuncture helped me. Sounds good to me. Needles were quickly inserted to my fingers, knees, belly and feet. Then, Sister Regina left me with her assistant. The assistant put a needle with some sort of Chinese medicine on top on my belly. The medicine is shaped like a stub of a cigar, maybe an inch. She lighted the stub and asked me to relax. An aluminum foil is below this needle to catch the ashes. She told me "Relax ka lang" and left. The session will be finished in 30 minutes.

As I was left in the cubicles, I told myself to sleep. But, no, I can't sleep. My muscles jerked, as if it was chilly in the room. I don't why but I couldn't control these involuntary contractions. I closed my eyes to lure myself to sleep but sleep seems to be elusive to me.

After thirty minutes, the assistant returned and removed the needles. The session is finished.

I felt relaxed after. Not sure if that was my imagination or if I think I became relaxed, but who cares. :)

I paid for my session and scheduled my second appointment. I'm excited to come back.


Sister Regina Liu
St. Francis Natural Health Care
#19 Panay Ave.,
Quezon City
Tel: (02) 373-5503