Your First Acupuncture Appointment
You've booked your first acupuncture appointment (or you're thinking about it), and you're wondering what to expect. Here are answers to some common questions.
Will I actually get a treatment at my first visit?
Yes. I simply ask people how I can help. This opens the door for you to tell me as much or as little as you'd like. Then, I'll take your pulse, which may prompt additional questions and conversation.
Why do you take my pulse?
In Chinese Medicine, the pulse is a critical diagnostic tool. There are three pulse positions on each wrist and three different levels that correspond to our organs, allowing me to differentiate the best way to treat you specifically. For example, something as common and seemingly similar as back pain can require vastly different treatments. In my experience, the way for me to provide the best treatment is through pulse diagnosis.
do you use tongue diagnosis?
The tongue is another diagnostic tool used in Chinese Medicine, though it is secondary in my practice. When I began acupuncture school, I thought everyone had the same tongue--just a tongue. 😛 Not true. Tongues are highly varied and can provide helpful information about our organ systems.
What should I wear to an acupuncture treatment? Do I have to undress?
How much you need to undress depends on the type of treatment indicated by your pulse, and I will explain that as we go. Because we are inserting needles into the body that will rest there, it can be difficult to keep you fully draped at all times, but I will make every effort to make sure you're comfortable.
It's nice if you can wear loose fitting separates so that the lower legs and abdomen or back are easily available, because sometimes that's all I would need access to; other times, I will need you to take off a top, bottom, or both. In this case, we will cover you as much as possible and work around the cover.
How long are appointments?
In order to maintain a high quality practice, I see one patient per hour. Depending on the type of treatment indicated by your pulse, we sometimes leave needles in for up to 40 minutes. Other times and in other circumstances, it could be as short as 20 minutes.
Does acupuncture hurt?
This is a very common question, and in my experience, most people say no, but my full, honest answer is that it can vary from day to day, from patient to patient, and from treatment to treatment.
More importantly, it’s important to understand how examining pain & discomfort is a part of the healing process. In this substack article (linked here), I talk about how we leave a lot of healing on the table when our primary concern is whether acupuncture hurts or not. this is not to say that concern about pain is invalid but that the conversation we need to be having is much deeper than this.
I’ve worked with people who refused needles in the beginning and had major shifts in their willingness and ability to tolerate & appreciate treatment with needles within a very short time. your feelings are always my top priority.
