What to Expect During an Acupuncture Visit!

My Very First Blog post! It's very much like your first experience in receiving an Acupuncture treatment. My hands are a little clammy, I don't know what to expect, or I'm thinking what the heck do I do or say! But in the end it should be the same result, that you're better off having experienced it. I truly believe in the amazing benefits of Acupuncture, yet I find it hard to convince others because the generating fear of needles in our society (thanks to all the huge vaccine needles out there). I believe the best way to over come this is to be given a ton of information to help us move forward.

Here's a Top 5 list of what to expect during your treatment:

1. Prepare for your treatment: I ask that all my patients do not show up on an empty stomach and to have eaten at least a small amount within the hour. It's important to stay hydrated with water, to avoid drinking coffee, and to not take any drugs unless prescribed by a doctor as this may alter the results of the treatment. Also, please show up on time to fill out any required paperwork.

2. Initial Consult: I give a very thorough interview with my patients where I look at everything within your medical history. You may need to start from the time you were 5 years old and fell off the monkey bars, all the way up until today. I examine old injuries, past emotional upsets, previous medical diagnosis, and of course your current and main concern. I may examine your tongue and pulse which tell me more of what is going on internally within the body.

3. Time to Needle: I will prep the area with some alcohol swabs to clear the area of any bacteria on the skin creating a sterile environment to avoid any infections. Then comes the fun part! I then place a very fine needle with a guiding tube on the chosen acupoints before I lightly tap the needle in. Here you may experience a slight pinch once it's fully inserted.

4. Qi Sensations: After the needles are inserted then we wait 20-30 minutes before removal. Within this time you may experience such sensations as the area warming, a dull aching, tingling, energy traveling up along a meridian or even a deeper sense of relaxation. All of these are perfectly normal and are a great sign that the Qi is moving! It's very rare but If there is a very sharp pain with discomfort inform the practitioner and they will remove or adjust the needle.

5. Afterwards/Home Care: Then after the given time I will remove the needles slowly one by one, (triple checking to make sure no solider is left behind) and then you are free to leave. Afterwards you may experience some light headed or dizzy sensations, if this occurs please sit for a few minutes, have a candy to raise your blood sugar levels, and have some water to re hydrate. Then upon proceeding home be sure to avoid any strenuous activity such as working out or lifting weights, so do plan for this. Try to relax, take a nap and let the wonders of the treatment set further into the body. Keep in mind that It may take up to 72 hours before you see any promising results.

So that's your whole Acupuncture treatment in a nut shell! If you're curious to ask more questions about Qi or how Acupuncture can help you, then please email me at palmsofparadise@outlook.com.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day! :)