It is good to know in advance what you might expect on healing timelines. Of course, everyone is different, and your timeline is affected by overall health, and how many issues you would like to treat.
I would plan on getting 4-6 treatments for most types of pain.
Shoulder pain is fairly easy to treat. It is a small area. I have seen dramatic recoveries after just one treatment. Frozen shoulder takes longer, because there are more muscles involved.
The larger the area to treat, the longer it takes to recover, in general.
For many types of pain, you can expect great improvement in 4-6 treatments. If you are willing to take Chinese herbs, you will heal faster. Most formulas are $10 a bottle, and last a little over a week.
Knee pain takes about 4-6 treatments.
Diabetic neuropathy can show fast results. I once had a patient with purple feet and legs, and after about four treatments his feet and legs were pink again. But it is important to plan on a maintenance plan. As long as you have an underlying health issue that is damaging your blood vessels and nerves, you will need to treat it before it gets so bad you need to have a foot amputated. In my opinion, there is never a reason to lose a foot to neuropathy. There are so many ways to treat this, including acupuncture, herbal foot soaks and salves, and Chinese herbal medicine.
If you have one area of pain, I would plan on 4-6 treatments.
If you have migraine headaches, it can take longer. I would plan on two months for that, but most people start feeling better quickly, but to treat all the possible causes of this problem, it might take a while. It should not exceed two months, that is about 16 treatments. If you have a small area of pain on your head, that means it is isolated to one area, and usually goes away faster.
Hot Flashes and hormone issues require maintenance. Women over 50 need different types of herbal formulas to replenish the kidneys, which is how Chinese medicine treats hormone issues. After we find a good plan for you, you can go on maintenance, and take herbs in the evening only. These herbs ensure good sleep, and help address all aspects of aging.
PMS and cramps can be treated with herbs. It usually takes a few months to balance the hormones.
After your first evaluation, I will give you an estimate of what you might expect. In any case, you should show improvement after the first or second treatment. You can see what acupuncture does fairly quickly.