Last week I had acupuncture for the very first time at the Hospital of Chinese Medicine on Kuan Jie. I thought that acupuncture treatment may cure my sleeping problems. Unfortunately, it seems that acupuncture won't be my special lullaby, mostly because of the sheer time that it took out of my day. It took me three hours to get a 20-minute acupuncture treatment, which accounted for a whole afternoon off. According to the doctor, acupuncture works best when conducted over a series of treatments, so I won't be able to continue using acupuncture because I can't possibly take two to three afternoons off each week.
I may be kidding myself, but it wasn't the needles that bothered me during my 20-minute acupuncture treatment. It was more the need to lie down for an extended period of time without doing anything that drove me berserk. In fact, I really hate being put into passive positions - I even don't like getting massages. I feel like a real idiot because the people receiving acupuncture treatment alongside me in the ward were able to lie down and go to sleep. Before receiving my treatment, I deliberately didn't look at any of the needles protruding from other patients' bodies, but I sneaked a glance at the woman closest to me after finishing my treatment. To the amazement of my hyper-fidgety self, she was relaxing with at least 15 needles inserted into her face.
My anxiety problems began before the treatment had begun. The elderly, white-haired doctor arrived punctually at 1:30pm, with over ten patients milling anxiously outside the wardroom. Chinese hospitals rely on the guahao system, where patients need to line up in the morning for a limited set of numbers. The system is similar to the one used at the Safeway Deli in Australia. However, the system differs in that having the first number doesn't mean you'll be the first one to be served. At the acupuncture ward, the doctor treated all the regular patients before diagnosing the new ones. I think elderly patients also receive preferential treatment, so despite officially being the third in line, it took me a long time before I could see the doctor.
The acupuncture treatment was being conducted in two wardrooms. The doctor was able to open the first room and start consulting patients straightaway, but the nurse who was meant to open the other room was late. This caused a kerfuffle that sent my anxiety levels skyrocketing. The doctor totally lost his temper after a woman started complaining to the doctor about the nurse's tardiness. Justifiably the doctor was peeved about the woman's lack of understanding because the busy hospital kept its staff working even during rest hours. However, the doctor's furious rant left me slightly uneasy. I was wondering how an angry old man could be trusted to stick pins into my body.
Eventually I got to see the doctor and found that he was charming and very well educated. I had a similar experience at Tongren Hospital when I received an eye check-up. The doctor there was also very well-spoken but he was severely frustrated by dealing with lowly-educated people who repeatedly asked the same questions. My acupuncture doctor could speak a bit of English and was the first Chinese doctor to work in Papua New Guinea. He succinctly analysed my problems and gave me a prescription for Chinese medicine. It was a strange consultation because other patients were still in the ward waiting to be treated and they made no secret of listening in. Six strangers now know about my bowel movements and sleep patterns.
I finally received my acupuncture treatment. The doctor quickly pricked the back of my neck with a needle twice and then told me to lie down. He put a needle in my belly and several needles in my wrists, legs and ankles. The needles brought about a sharp pain that dulled within seconds. The needle in my left wrist must have been out of position because my arm began to ache during the treatment and I now have a bruised wrist. As I mentioned before, I wasn't able to relax during the treatment, but I don't think that was caused by the needles. I am definitely interested in acupuncture, but I am turned off by the amount of time that it took me to have a 20-minute treatment.
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