I kept my New Year’s resolution: acupuncture

Yesterday was the day – I went for my first acupuncture appointment as resolved.

I wanted to focus on a problem I’ve been having that is actually worse than pain. I have a spot behind my left shoulder that itches so intensely that I’ve actually considered putting boiling water on it. I’d rather deal with the pain than the itching. It wakes me at night with its intensity and nothing will stop it.

There is no diagnosis, no rash, no redness, no bumps nothing. And, it’s been going on since the summer of *1999*. Yup, it started 9 years ago.

I was going through the summer from hell. I’d lost my job, I was sick (I had pleurisy), we’d bought a new house and unknowingly rented our old one to a con artist, and our oldest son was about to start in a new high school in the city. I’d say that was all right up there on the stress meter, wouldn’t you?

Anyway, the intense itching, just on my left shoulder, was beyond bearable for the longest time, at least a year if not longer. Then, it started to be less frequent and now it comes and goes. I figure it has to be stress related, but what I can’t figure out is why is it that I can go to bed without the itching, but get woken up from a deep sleep with a horrible itching again?

Anyway, this is what I figured I would start with. Right now, my pain or discomfort is manageable with medications but the itch didn’t respond to anything, even corticosteroid creams.

I know it’s still early, but my shoulder IS NOT ITCHING right now. I feel a tiny bit of something, but not the itch I had before I went in. I go back next week and we’ll see what happens next.

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