Your treatment and consultation is done in a private treatment room. After the required forms have been completed , an assessment is made as to the nature and origin of your condition(s) and a diagnosis is made according to the language and principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. You will be encouraged to discuss your symptoms or worries freely. This discussion provides a way of understanding your unique state of health. Be assured there is nothing invasive or embarrassing about this assessment. Some of the questions are about things that may not seem to be related such as sleep, digestion, other past illnesses. Since there is no distinction between mind and body, information is also gathered about your general sense of well being.

Also, an intricate and expert evaluation of 9 different pulses is performed on both wrists. Pat will be assessing the quality of the pulse with three fingers and at three different levels.

Pat will want to look at your tongue carefully for information about the balances in your body. She also observes things, such as the condition of your fingernails, hair, voice, complexion and eyes.

Finally there are some specific Acupoints that, if tender, provide reliable diagnostic information because certain points are related to specific areas and functions of the body. These points are not pressed hard and this exam is not usually painful.

Because each person’s health problem and response to treatment are unique, the number and frequency of treatments will vary. A course of treatment is considered to be 10 treatments. Typically, one or two treatments are given each week. Some people respond after only one or two treatments. Some may not improve until after several treatments. Others may require two or three treatments per week for several months. In general, acute conditions require less treatment than chronic conditions. Usually some change for the better is seen on average after about 6 treatments.


TREATMENTS ARE NOT PAINFUL!
People who have received inoculations or other medical injections from hypodermic needles are sometimes fearful that acupuncture treatment will be as painful. But this is NOT the case. Medical hypodermic needles are stiff, hollow and thick for forcing liquid into the flesh. This makes them an uncomfortable, if not painful experience.

Acupuncture needles are very fine, flexible and no thicker than a human hair or piece of thread. Skilled acupuncturists can insert them with little or no sensation at all. Many people experience a slight sensation of tingling, pressure, or distention after the needle is inserted. This is said to signal that the needle has made contact with the Qi. Most often fewer than a dozen needles are needed for a single treatment. They are left in place for 30 to 40 minutes.

Acupuncture needles are pre-sterilized and individually pre-packaged. They are used only once. The practitioner uses what is called a ‘clean’ procedure for preparing your skin for the needles and for removing them.