Acupuncture Q&A

By Kimberly Guorong Du, CMD, LAc

Evergreen Acupuncture & Herbs, LLC

. http://evergreenacupunctureandherbs.com

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Acupuncture Q&A

Conventional medical treatments are very effective for many kinds of illnesses. Whenever you have had little or no success using conventional medicine, or experience strong side effects from it, consider acupuncture treatment.You should start acupuncture treatment as early as possible, because the sooner this is done, generally the better the recovery will be. For most conditions, the combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs will produce even better results.

What Should You Know?

Wear loose clothing.

Avoid treatment when excessively hungry or full.

Pregnant women can still receive acupuncture treatment; just certain acupoints cannot be used. Be sure to inform the acupuncturist if you think you may be pregnant.

Please bring your medical records primary doctor's or other doctor's diagnosis, lab, x-ray, CT, MRI reports etc., and the list of medicines you are taking.

If you have a pacemaker or are on anticoagulants, you can still receive acupuncture treatment, but remember to tell the practitioner.

Please do not wear constrictive jewelry or heavy cosmetics, make-up or perfume.

How Many Treatments Will You Need?

In general, that depends upon the disease and how sensitive you are to the meridians (this reflects your Qi level). You may need only a few treatments or a single treatment for an acute condition (ex. ankle strains).A series of 5-15 treatments may resolve many chronic problems. However, long-standing conditions, such as long-term pain, will require 2-3 treatments a week for the first few weeks. As a response develops and holds, treatment will be generally spaced increasingly over a period of time. The number and frequency of treatments are decided on an individual basis according to your condition, and ongoing response.

Is Acupuncture Safe?

The treatment uses disposable needles only. The 1997 NIH Consensus Conference concludes, “One of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions.”

Acupuncture needles are typically not much thicker than a hair. The insertion is not like receiving an ordinary injection. In some cases, you will not even know the needles are in place.

In others, there may be some heaviness, warmth, tingling or radiation along the meridian. Most people find acupuncture extremely relaxing and many fall asleep during treatment.