A woman got acupuncture and went home, then 10 hours later she felt something in her neck and pulled out a needle

A woman named Natalia recently shared an experience on TikTok that has people rethinking their own appointments after she discovered a needle still embedded in her neck long after leaving her acupuncture session. You can imagine the surprise when she realized she had been walking around with a stray needle for over 10 hours.

The initial discovery happened when Natalia noticed something in her neck and pulled it out herself. She posted a video about the incident, which has already racked up millions of views. In the on-screen text, she wrote, “Just found a needle in my neck from my acupuncture appointment over 10 hours ago,” and added, “I pulled it out and now I feel nauseated and lowkey like I’ve been beaten by a bat, am I going to cease to exist, do I need to go to the ER?” 

Viewers were quick to weigh in on the potential risks of acupuncture. One person commented, “Why do I keep seeing videos of people being sent home with acupuncture needles left in them…” while another added, “That’s terrifying.” 

She didn’t pursue legal action

Others shared their own negative experiences, with one user claiming, “Acupuncturists are like chiropractors; they don’t know what they’re doing,” and another noted, “Acupuncture lowkey scares the s— outta me, like what do you mean you’re just gonna stab me with a needle.” 

One viewer even shared a personal anecdote, saying, “I know a girl from TikTok that went to an acupuncture appointment, and she is now highly sensitive to sounds and is shaking all the time,” before urging her to get it checked out. Natalia did eventually head to the ER after someone suggested she might be at risk for an infection. 

In a follow-up video, she documented her time there, explaining the physical symptoms she was dealing with. She wrote, “Ok so I started shaking and sweating, and feeling like I was going to throw up and cry, and slight tingling in my legs and hands like cyclically, and feeling typical anxiety symptoms physically, but completely calm mentally.” 

She noted that the medical staff seemed to attribute her condition to anxiety, saying, “The nurse and doctor (both men) are lowkey condescendingly telling me it’s anxiety from my brain reacting to seeing the needle and getting me Benadryl.”

By the time she left the ER, she had received antihistamine medication. She later expressed her frustration with the process, writing, “I lowkey feel like I just got diagnosed with like female hysteria and sedated.” Even after returning home, she reported feeling drowsy with unusual pain and mentioned that she had not received a call from the acupuncturist.

Eventually, the acupuncturist did reach out via email, suggesting she hydrate, but they still did not call her directly. Natalia did manage to speak with her own doctor and planned to pick up a prescription that she hoped would help. When it came to the possibility of taking legal action, she decided against it. 

She explained that it “could be difficult to prove direct cause” for a few reasons. She pointed out that she didn’t know if the symptoms were long-term, that the pain might be “expected” in the week following treatment, and that measuring those types of physical reactions is notoriously difficult.