The first visit to my office is a time for both of us, patient and practitioner, to get to know each other. It is two hours long and includes an interview and treatment. In the interview I will learn about your medical history, current complaint and personal history. I will take your pulses, which will give me information about the state of your qi and reveal any energy blocks. In addition, I will take in your facial color, vocal sound, emotional tone, and even your odor to help me determine the underlying cause of your condition. From this information, I will develop a treatment plan unique to you, the patient.
For your first visit, it is important that you:
- Refrain from wearing make-up, cologne, scented deodorants, or heavily scented soaps.
- Bring names and phones numbers of your primary care physician and any other health care practitioners you are currently seeing.
- Bring a list of medications you are currently taking.
Acupuncture works best when done consistently until you are feeling better. This will vary depending on the duration and severity of your illness or condition, your lifestyle and other factors that are contributing to it. Initially, treatments are given once a week and then spread out further as healing progress is made.
Once your health is regained a program of maintenance is decided upon. It is recommended that patients come in for periodic tune-ups. The pulses can often reveal if anything is going wrong even before it manifests as symptoms. Seasonal tune-ups can keep us in alignment with Nature and with ourselves.
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