What Can I Expect With My Initial Treatment

1. The Interview Process: Including questions you may have not been asked before!
The initial interview is a time for me to get to know your chief complaint, the reason that brought you in! But it is also the time for me to get to know your health history, as well as a chance for me to ask some questions that seem to not be important to your chief complaint, but I promise they are all relevant! There will be questions about your sleeping patterns, many questions on your digestive function, and your emotional quality and stress level. None of these questions are meant to make you feel uncomfortable, and you have the right to skip over any question you don't want to answer, but these questions are only asked to best help you and give you the best treatment! And trust me I have heard it all so none of your answers can make me feel uncomfortable! TCM looks at you and your body as a whole so all functions and processes of it play a big role in helping it find a healthy balance.

2. Taking the pulse and observing the tongue:
These techniques are at the cornerstone of of Chinese medicine diagnosis. The pulse is felt at three postitions on the radial side of each wrist. With this type of pulse taking the practitioner can get to know your body and can feel for any imbalances in it. More questions may be asked at this time based on what is felt in the pulses. The tongue is another great way to diagnosis the body. Each section of the tongue relates to a different organ in traditional chinese medicine. We look at the overall tongure, coat, color, shape, and quality to further examin imbalances in the body.

Another quick note: before your appointment please do not brush or scrape your tongue, or eat highly colored foods or drink that chould change the color!

3. The Treatment:
The treatment will vary for each person and for each treatment. There are many ways to look at one issue in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and thus many ways to treat it. The treatment may be done while laying on your back or face down. There may be anywhere from 5-20 needles used during a treatment. Additional modalities such as Reiki, Cupping, Gua Sha, or Moxibustion may also be used. 

During the treatment you may have an emotional or a physical release. All of this is normal. Or you may fall into a deep meditative like sleep. But no matter what happens I will be near by if anything feel uncomfortable!

4. After the treatment:
People report many different experiences after acupuncture. Often it is something that I have termed an "acu-high." You may feel extremly relaxed, a bit spacey, and you should give yourself time to relax before driving or heading back to work. Make sure to drink alot of water after your treatment as well. The work of acupuncture can continue for several days after, but if you ever have any questions please feel free to call!