Hi Thundercloud,
I have many many years of experience with acupuncture (as a patient) & working with very highly trained, and respected practitioners.
As far as pain goes, honestly, it depends on the point. Most points do not hurt. But some do, and that is normal for that particular point (ex. finger tips and tips of toes are very painful & are usually only done on experienced patients with high pain tolerances, because they have been known to literally send people screaming across the room).
However, any pain should only be present upon insertion or manipulation of the needle. Any pain should dissipate within several seconds of needling. If you are having constant pain while needled, you need to speak to your acupuncturist (ie. call them into your room, don't wait until the end of the visit as an "oh, by the way"). They might want to readjust the needle or try a different point altogether. Constant pain while being needled is not normal.
As for the lightheadedness, I have on occasions felt lightheaded after a treatment. But it always subsided after a short period of time. You should definitely mention your dizziness to your acupuncturist at your next treatment, as it may be an important indicator of your body's response to treatment (be it good or bad, that's for them to say).
Acupuncture is very helpful for a lot of people. And if you've just started, I'd encourage you to stick with it, at least for several weeks. It often takes a few treatments before you start seeing any kind of result. It isn't usually an overnight or instantaneous fix (although some people do notice a difference right away), especially for patients like us who have longstanding, and often multiple disease processes affecting our bodies. Our "chi" stagnation or energy blockages, like our diseases, are chronic processes. Acupuncture is not like sticking a needle into an air filled balloon, and instantaneously eliminating the obstruction and freeing the trapped air (or in our case, energy). It's more like sticking a needle into a ballon filled with sand. One poke is going to start letting a few grains of sand trickle out. But it will take many before you are able to breakdown enough of that barrier to begin releasing a large, significant amount of the trapped sand (energy).
Anyways, I hope that you are able to speak with your acupuncturist and address your concerns so that you can continue more comfortably with your treatments. Let us know what you decide/how things go. As I said, don't look for miracles overnight. If you can, give it some time before you really decide whether or not acupuncture is for you. But you should always be comfortable during your treatments, once the needles are in place.
Skeye
Post Edited (skeye) : 7/17/2014 9:26:48 PM (GMT-6)