Excruciating first experience!

I was conned by its far from intimidating outlook. I thought I could take the pain. I was wrong. I had my first and probably last (unless of absolute necessity) acupuncture session. I was literally being pinned down by 17 hair-line thick formidable needles. 4 on my arms, 4 on my legs and 9 on my tummy. All in the name of vanity. 

I thought, "How painful can it be? It was not an injury anyway." When the first needle went in, I knew I made the wrong decision. It was pain that you cannot preempt. It was an ant bite, followed by a second of electrocution and then 30 minutes of aches with numbness. In some areas, it was an an bite, followed by a second of electrocution with occasional muscle spasm and 30 minutes of aches.

This was not all! The removal process sent off instant excruciating pain and muscle twitch. Next came the cupping process. A procedure where bamboo or glass cups were heated and immediately cupped onto the skin. The vacuum created by the heat sucked up as much flesh as it could causing the cups to be securely attached to the body. The purpose? To force the toxins in the body to float up to the surface of the skin. I must admit, due to excessive possession of flesh on my body, the cupping process was more damaging than the needles. (See picutre - I have 12 of these marks on my body.) When the alarm from the physician's table sound, I knew it was over. I had never felt so relieved and relaxed.

The "acupunctured" feeling did not end there. I wonder how many days before all the effects wear away.