I have never had migraine in my life before very recently, but in the last month and a half I have been having about one per week. I think this might be related to sleep and being anxious about one or two rather big things, but it is still unsettling when a machine (my head) suddenly starts developing a problem it never had before.

My Chinese teacher, Austin, suggested that she take me to see an Acupuncture specialist, and after a dizzy day of taking drugs prescribed last week, I packed myself into a taxi and out through the crappy weather. What she did not tell me, until afterwards, is that she has never had Acupuncture, and now I know why!

The guy was really friendly and listened to my problems. We both agreed that much is probably sleep related, so he took my pulse, poked me a bit and came up with a programme for me.

Now, this is the first time I have had Acupuncture. I am not particularly scared of needles, but of course what they neglect to tell you is that in every case they are trying to find the nerve. It’s quite difficult to fully describe what the sensation is like, but I suppose it is a mixture of electric shock, and someone attempting to pull out your nervous system through a small hole.

In my case, I had four needles inserted, and every few minutes he would come in to twang and twist them, punishing me for sins I have yet to commit. Lord know what my friend Nick must feel when he has has fourteen inserted to treat his gut problems. It was painful enough when I simply moved my hand, so I hate to think what it must feel like in the event of an earthquake, with all the needles hitting your pressure points in unison.

I am now pretty sure that the logic behind Acupuncture is basically scare your body into not having the problem again, but I have to say that after the event, if not exactly refreshed, I feel relaxed. Quite literally, I wonder if it is like pressing the reset switch and ‘flashing’ the memory.

Prick.

These ones hurt less.

Pin cushion.

This one was exceptionally painful. Twisted nerve.

This one was painful in ways I can hardly describe. My hole body reeling in agony… and I was just so close to kicking the doctor in the face! Next time.