My problem (herniated disc) first occurred in November 2016 when I was in Eastern Europe. MRI showed I had hernia between L4 and L5. Pain was primarily in my left leg, but it kind of migrated to the right leg and hips and at time I felt like electrical current passes through my body. I took multiple pain relievers, and when I could not walk anymore I was hospitalized and was treated by Novocaine (intravenously).

 

Upon coming back home, I went to a chiropractor, then to a DO who administered three steroid shots into my back some two weeks apart. Each time this led to a short-term relief of pain, but it returned after a couple of days. The same DO sent me to a physical therapist and I paid him regular visits for several weeks. After the third injection that did not work, the DO sent me to a surgeon. He recommended microdiscectomy.

 

The operation was scheduled for mid-May, but in the meantime, I still pinned hope on anything that might help me avoid surgery. So, I began to attend a rehab center, also a kind of physical therapy but more individualized and hour-long one-to-one sessions with a practitioner working under the supervision of a DO. Nothing worked, and I then went to a person who professed to be an acupuncture specialist. Four sessions with him made me doubt his skill.

I then recalled that a colleague of mine had long suggested that I find a true acupuncture specialist trained in China and give it a try for an extended period of time. With this in mind, I went online and found Dr. Joy Yang and her EHE clinic. Having tried acupuncture before, I was skeptical but decided to pay a visit to Dr. Yang out of sheer despair. My scheduled surgery was approaching, and this was the last ditch effort on my part to avoid it.

 

I felt some relief already after my very first visit to Dr. Joy Yang. I was particularly impressed by the fact that Joy found some spot on my right shoulder that was somehow connected with my left leg.  She pressed that shoulder spot hard with her fingers and pain in my leg calmed down. At this point, I have paid six visits to Dr. Yang. I have not been consuming painkillers for two weeks. Just a couple of days ago, I cancelled surgery. I am not yet recovered but for the first time I feel like I am on the mend and I attribute it entirely to Dr. Yang and her thoughtful treatment of my body with her needles. The situation improved even more when on her advice I actually stopped attending a rehab center even though I had paid quite a bit of money in advance.

 

I look forward to full recovery. It is late April, and I feel – for the first time since November – that recovery is actually within reach. In addition to acupuncture, Dr. Yang recommended two herb remedies that turned out to be effective. I still do not quite understand how acupuncture relieves my herniated disc problem, but I know that somehow it does, and I remain hopeful and grateful to Dr. Yang.