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 6-10 treatments to treat pain. Most people feel a difference after their first visit, and even more on the second visit.

My goal is to help you get better as fast as possible. I will suggest Chinese herbs, and other supplements. You can decide if you want to take them.

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. Some formulas cost $20. I do what I can to keep these prices low, while maintaining the best quality herbs. I do have rare formulas, such as a formula to treat memory issues, that cost more. Most bottles last a week or two.

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. This was a long time ago. He should have done more treatments for a more complete healing, but his insurance did not cover it. This was 2000.

In the case of diabetic symptoms, maintenance is important. You need to treat symptoms as they come up, and not let them linger.  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 see How Acupuncture Treats Diabetic Neuropathy. There are so many ways to treat this, including acupuncture, herbal foot soaks and salves, and Chinese herbal medicine.

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. One of the weird things I experiences using herbs for menopause symptoms was they my eyelashes grew back in. Chinese medicine never ceases to amaze me. They had started thinning over five years ago. The herbs fixed that. I personally take Chinese herbs every night for kidney support. That is a huge anti-aging hack.

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.

Pain Relief

Here is how pain treatment usually goes:

  • After your first treatment you already feel better. Your pain is not as strong. It might be 50% better. It does depend on how fast you heal.
  • After your second treatment, you usually have even more pain relief. You might be pain free.. But..
  • The pain might come back in a day or two, or a week. It will not be as bad when it comes back. But your body has to adjust to the relief. Another thing is that when you have pain, your body only tells you about the worst part of the pain. When that pain is gone, another area might start hurting. We did not MOVE the pain. You just had a larger area of pain than you thought. That is why I treat a larger area than you think is the problem. I treat the pain, and a little around the pain to try to address as much as possible.
  • After you get enough treatments. Typically the pain is gone for good. Unless you do something that reinjures the area. The cause of the pain is gone, so the pain goes away.

You do not get maintenance care, unless you have something else you want to work on, or a new problem comes up.