FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• When you book your first visit, your intake form will be included in your booking confirmation email. This must be completed before you come in for your appointment.
• At your first visit, we will do a full consultation, review your intake form and identify your goals for treatment.. You’ll then receive an acupuncture treatment followed by a discussion of any herbal or supplement recommendations.
• During your visit, you may receive acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, myofascial release, craniosacral therapy or other bodywork based on the current needs of your body.

Please be sure to wear loose comfortable clothing with easy access to your belly – avoid dresses and tight jeans.

Pants and sleeves should be able to be rolled up easily above the knees and elbows.

There is no limit to a medicine that has existed for thousands of years. East Asian Medicine excels in preventative care and in the treatment of chronic illnesses such as autoimmune disease, neurological issues, digestive issues, pain syndromes and mental-emotional issues.

Acupuncture is a great way to take care of yourself and invest in your health. Prevention has always been the best form of medicine. In our modern age, even if we don’t have any diagnosed diseases, many of us are stressed by our environments whether we realize it or not. Stress relief is one of the many benefits of acupuncture, making life just a little bit more manageable.

Stress is often the precursor to illnesses later on in life as we can often find ourselves eating too much or too little, not sleeping well or sleeping enough, affecting our energy levels and ability to sustain our regular body functions as they should. It’s always much cheaper to prevent an illness than manage one.

Needles which are inserted are extremely thin solid needles, quite unlike hypodermic needles used for blood draws. In the Japanese styles of acupuncture that I have been trained, needles are most often inserted only a few millimeters into the skin.

My treatments often comprise of a combination of the use of non-inserted and inserted needles. For those who find themselves to be very sensitive to needles, an entire treatment can be comprised of non-inserted needling along with other non-insertive modalities such as moxa. As an acupuncturist, I have been trained to work with you to provide the most comfortable experience during your treatments.

Patients often comment on feeling much more relaxed and at ease with some improvement to their complaint at the end of every treatment. However, results will vary person-by-person. You may notice some improvement in the short-term, it is good to be aware that continued long-term improvement in conditions often takes multiple visits. Acupuncture is a modality that is cumulative, meaning that each treatment builds upon the last – the more consistent and closer your treatments are at the beginning will make a difference in your progress over time.

There are a number of other factors that can determine how long it may take before seeing consistent change in how you feel, such as:

• chronicity – how long have you had it? The longer the issues, the longer the treatment plan.
• frequency of treatments – do you receive regular frequent treatments?
• exposure to the cause – for example, if you experience symptoms due to your job, these will likely continue to persist but will become more manageable with regular acupuncture. You’ll also be able to prevent worsening of symptoms and reduce flare ups with regular treatments.

Of course, this depends on the condition and how long you have had it. For example, long-standing chronic conditions are often treated 1-2 times weekly for 12 or more weeks. Treatments may then become more spaced out as your body is re-trained in activating it’s inherent self-healing abilities more efficiently over time. You will discuss your treatment plan with your acupuncturist during your first visit.