Needles Karma

It feels like a trial of pain endurance lately. Here I am struggling to keep sane from the pain in my arm and shoulder I am still having since the bike accident while trying to write my thesis in the slowest possible pace, which is a tremendous pain in itself. My doctor has prescribed some drugs for me to help me, but the side-effects are so strong. It nearly isn't worth taking the drug which, by the way, just took off some of the edge of the stabbing pain. But when you are feeling like there is a knitting needle stuck into your back, any pain relief you can get is good.

Which brings me to my topic for this post. While bearing/grimacing the pain, work must still go on. I've been dissecting mosquitoes for my next experiment. And as you know the mosquito is a tiny creature, and conventional dissecting tools are far too big for this kind of work. Therefore, I used acupuncture needles to do the job. Here's how it looks like under the microscope.



Funnily enough, when at the doctor's... while being prescribed the painkillers for temporary relief, I was also advised to sought out other ways to treat my shoulder. One word was suggested:

Acupuncture

At first I thought the doctor was joking. But recalling a conversation I once had with a postdoc from Sweden, where acupuncture is a legit form of treatment on their NHS, I thought maybe I shouldn't dismiss this doctor just yet.
So off I went at to a respectable sounding acupuncturist (i.e. certified therapist) and have it done, and hey presto! The stabbing pain was gone... by stabbing me with six needles no doubt... oh, the irony!

Well, there you go. Acupuncture is a way to go with nerve injuries. In fact, even WHO approved the treatment. Unfortunately for me, this treatment is not on the NHS. I'll have to cut down on the drinks and night outs now. Then again, I wasn't doing too much of those anyway lately.