Love it, resurrected by spam. In the past I had to carry an asthma inhaler around, because sporadically I'd get an asthma attack- nothing so serious that I worried about dying, but it was very uncomfortable and annoying. It had been getting worse at the time that I got acupuncture to treat it. It was actually a bizarre experience- the acupuncturist was up in suburban New York, and his office was this ridiculous mess of herbs hanging from the ceiling and in bags and cartons on the floor and in the hallway. There were used acupuncture needles all over the place- place seemed totally unregulated or something. He also was a total caricature- he wore robes and smoked, and had a wicked fu manchu. Anyway, I lay down on the table, and my wife spoke to the acupuncturist (who spoke only rudimentary English) about my asthma, and before I knew it, he pulled out a (no shit) six inch acupuncture needle, prodded at the base of my neck near the top of my chest, and with both hands stuffed that damned needle down into my chest cavity. I was too shocked and horrified to respond. Anyway, this uncomfortably long needle sat inside my chest for about 10 minutes before he pulled it out. It didn't do shit for my asthma- if anything it made it worse. He told me to come back and try it again in a couple of weeks. Against my better judgment I went back (my wife really wanted me to do this), and he did it again. He jammed that damn needle down into my chest cavity, and it really did not feel good at all. I choked out that it was uncomfortable, and he obliged and pull the needle back about a 1/4 of an inch. Again, after the treatment, my asthma got worse- but after that it got markedly better. It's been three years now, and I haven't carried an inhaler around for that time.
So, is it pseudoscience? Maybe. I've had other sessions that didn't do shit for me. Did it seem to work in this particular case? Yes.
