The Outside Affects the Inside

After finding out that outside forces could possibly be at the root of my sinus issues, I did a bit of thinking. As someone who had never had a sinus infection in my life, the sudden onset of my first one was a surprise. My boyfriend (at the time) and I had just moved to another apartment. It was the second time that we'd had to move because of issues with neighbors. This time things got very, very ugly; so much so that I was on the verge of getting my own place. When I broached that subject with him, he became as cold as ice. I was torn between preserving my sanity and being with the man that I loved. The man that I loved won out, but things were never really the same between us. After that, I think I bottled up a lot of pain and anger. In many ways we began going through the motions and our relationship probably lasted about a year longer that it should have.

Even after we broke up, the sinus issues persisted. I got at least one sinus infection every winter. This upcoming winter will be my first one since I did my acupuncture treatments, so we'll see how it goes. During my first treatment Beata put one of the needles right in the middle of my chest because of the pain I felt about the relationship. When she palpated that area, there was actually a physical ache. During my quiet time, after she had inserted all of the needles, I let myself feel the pain and sadness that was trapped inside me. I left feeling a bit better.

During that second session, I finally forgave myself for my part in what caused the relationship to go wrong. If I had walked away sooner, maybe I could've saved both of us a lot of pain. But as we all know, what's done is done. In later sessions we were able to focus more on my actual sinuses and the non-medicinal things that I could do to get some relief. One of the most important ones is acupressure. Beata taught me great acupressure techniques that I use whenever I feel sinus congestion or pain. Since I started with her, I haven't taken a single antihistamine or used any nasal spray. I'm good for now, but will probably need a tune-up later.

Health Concerns

It seems like everyone I know is having some type of health problem. They're all waiting for test results and keeping their fingers crossed as they hope for the best. About a week ago I was waiting for test results. What I thought was a sinus infection never got completely better so I had to have a CT scan. That scan shows that I have a lot of blockage in my sinuses. That explains the pain and pressure I've been feeling for a month and a half. In the beginning it was constant, intense pain, but now it's intermittent. I don't know which is worse. It makes me feel like the big, stone head in the picture. Anyway, there's one more treatment my doctor would like to try before we even consider surgery. When I go to my appointment tomorrow, I'll be having one of those "fingers crossed" moments because it's always best to avoid surgery, if you can. For 33 years I've lived without surgery or broken bones, so I'd like to keep it that way. Here's hoping....