Healing your Sexual Dysfunction with Acupuncture

Once I felt like my sexual functioning had been permanently damaged by a prescription drug I began looking for the polar opposite treatment methods for my healing.  One of the first modalities I came across was acupuncture, & i'm glad I did!  I e-mailed 2 acupuncture practices in my region 1 female and 1 male  indicating that I was a healthy young man of 30 years that was experiencing low libido and erectile dysfunction after ceasing my antidepressant meds of the last 8 years & I wanted to know if they could help.  They both responded but the female practitioner replied personally & the male had a secretary, I felt much more comfortable sharing my secret with the least amount of people so I chose the female practitioner   

The first appointment consisted of me filling out multi-page form and then we got right down to business.  The middle aged Chinese woman asked me every possible question about my issues, she was trying to understand the current status of my body and mind.  She checked my pulse, the color of my tongue and asked me about my bowel movements.  Even though I wasn't too comfortable sharing this information I felt that she needed to know to assist me the best of her ability.  I had become so skeptical of health practitioners since my GP was only giving me 5 minutes of his time all the while telling me that he didnt believe me, that my post ssri sexual dysfunction couldn't have been caused by the paxil pills and that I couldn't achieve erections because I was depressed again and I should try a different medication.

  The acupuncturist spoke with me for over an hr while treating me, she explained what was going on with my body in terms of Chinese medicine and what we needed to do to get me back to normal.  She stated I my long tall skinny frame was a cold body type and I needed to consume more of certain foods such as kidney beans, walnuts and cooked vegetables to treat my condition.  She said the medications I had taken had damaged my body and I needed time to heal.  She mentioned that a young person could heal from these issues as long as changes were made in their lifestyle.  She placed needles around my abdomen, on my hands & arms, on my legs and feet and between my eyes and the top of my head.  They were all painless except for a few when the needle appeared to strike a nerve upon insertion yet that was just slightly uncomfortable.  

Once she inserted all the needles she began using a small electronic device to perform auricular therapy which is pretty much acupuncture on the ear.  I began to relax so deeply that I could barely stay awake and within 10 minutes my feet that had felt so cold since I stopped using my ssri medication felt piping warm for the first time in months!   After she was done with my ears the lifhts were turned down and I was left me in the room for about 35 minutes, I fell asleep within 5 on my back which I cant achieve unless i'm doing acupuncture.  When I woke up I felt so rejuvenated and my circulation felt better that was convinced that this medicine was filling the gap that western medicine has ignored.

I was charged $60 for the 1hr acupuncture session and I paid $30 for a months supply of powdered herbs that the acupuncturist said is a very large part of healing in the Chinese Medicine Tradition.  I have since began purchasing the raw ingredients to make the herb tea because I felt that the efficacy of the powdered herbs was poor.  The raw tea that I brew now tastes quite good and the Dr. states that it nourishes the body but I haven't experienced much of a benefit as far as I can tell from the tea.

Prior to seeing the acupuncturist I could barely achieve an erection even during masturbation.  I rarely noticed and nighttime or morning erections and never had an involuntary erection during the day.  The day I was treated I woke up with a strong erection that I hadn't seen in months and I was sold on continuing my treatment with the Chinese Medicine.  Initially for the first 3 weeks I saw my practitioner twice a week & then went down to 1 visit a week.  My previous session on 11/9/2011 had a special surprise, on my way back to work I had an involuntary erection that was very full and it stuck around for 10 minutes, I had to walk with a bag in-front of me to hide my erection in my pants, prior to my acupuncture visits I couldn't remeber the last time I had that happen to me.

I can now perform reasonably well with my significant other without any artificial means and I attribute a great deal of my recovery from my ssri related impotence to my treatments.  If I had to guess I would say that the process is relaxing the body and mind so well that we allow ourselves to naturally heal.  When we are stressed, depressed and thinking too much I believe our body cannot heal any damage caused because we have created a reality where we are stuck in that fight or flight mode which is very unhealthy over long periods of time.  Anyone suffering from Post SSRI sexual dysfunction or impotence should try acupuncture at least once to see if its right for you.

There are also other methods you can do by yourself that are effective, they are moxibustion and acupressure.   Both of these methods can provide the same relief as acupuncture and I personally utilize them both for my healing.

If you would like to learn a few acupressure points that you could perform on yourself now for erectile dysfunction check this YouTube video out -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMDOvhrJZ5g&feature=relmfu

I recommend using the following site if you need assistance in finding an acupuncturist in your area.  https://www.acufinder.com/