(3) Your acupuncturist should be willing, (perhaps after the initial overall treatment mentioned above) to address/poke you with needles for several issues, if the source points/meridians? are in different areas. So be prepared to share all your aches: migraine, congestion, feet, hands, etc.

(4) For PF he put the very skinny needles in the back of my leg, where the nerves run up from the foot. I don’t remember any in my feet, but that was a while ago. So expect they might place needles in a new area from your more recent non-acupuncture treatments. 

5) Depending on your ailment(s), it may take more than one treatment!! Especially if you continue to do the same motions and behaviors that created that ache.

(6) Now I must admit sometimes a specific needle may sting just when it’s inserted. That could mean it’s hitting just where it needs to hit, or perhaps they can adjust it if you notice (while they’re placing other needles) that the discomfort isn’t going away. The key is to talk to your needle placer. 

(7) After they insert the needles, they’ll probably leave the room so the needles can do their thing for about 20-30 minutes, (which may depend on the area). So you may get a little nap out of it.

(8) If your back is being treated, you’re gonna be half naked. Be sure to tell them if you’re feeling chilled, as they may have a heat lamp, light-weight foil blanket, heated table etc. Better to ask them to cover/heat you up before they leave the room. You need to relax, not shiver.

(9) He/she may offer to turn on some aromatherapy (smelly oils diffusing in the room). If it’s already going and you don’t like it, ask to turn it off or move it before your session. 

(10) I would recommend agreeing to  spa music (soft instrumentals) or having your own relaxing music to cover outside noises like phones/doors/other customers’ yakking about their chi, chai, and feng shui.

11) I asked if she had to insert the needle farther in for “heavy” people (thinking stupidly that it had to hit the nerve close to our skeletons). “It depends,” she replied, but it’s not in the nerve (yeeow! too painful) but something about where the meridians are relative to the surface of the skin?? So don’t assume it’ll be (too) painful. 

(12) Use social media reviews to find the right fit (person, place, methods, philosophy). You probably know and can ask people who use alternative medicines; we don’t have to embrace (or know) about it all  to benefit from some. 

(13) My acupuncturist sticks tiny bead magnets in a kind of tiny square bandage inside my upper ear after I’m done. I don’t know why, but it’s part of the cost, so hey, I’m game. 

(14) Invariably they’ll have some vitamins/supplements etc to promote, so be ready. I do take the anti-inflammatory supplement, but you can certainly decline it then (or when you run out). Sometimes just say I’m starting slow, let’s see how the acupuncture goes. Or I say my husband won’t let me buy anything. Ha ha. Jk. He’s the softie who first bought the anti-inflamm.

(15) Speaking of my husband he says he feels much better now that he’s having acupuncture. And he’s an old country hick. Give it a go, I say. What do you have to lose? 

And Hey! Let me know how it goes!