FAQ

Be sure to eat something light an hour or two before arriving – don’t arrive on an empty stomach or having just eaten a large meal. Try to avoid the intake of caffeine or pain medications for at least several hours before you come. Bring a list of any medications or supplements which you are currently taking.

Only sterile, disposable needles are used so there is no risk of infection. We use a needle once, then dispose of it. Acupuncture needles are small and hair-thin. They are solid, not hollow-like needles used by doctors. The end of an acupuncture needle is smooth and rounded. Acupuncture needles are not designed to cut the skin. Instead, when an acupuncture needle is inserted. the round edge pushes the tissue aside without cutting it. Acupuncture needles are so thin it’s as if they can glide through the spaces between the individual cells of the body.

People experience needling differently. There are different styles of needling. We needle in Korean style which says to gently insert the needle under the skin, and the qi will rise to the needle. Acupuncture needles we insert are rarely described as painful and can be quickly adjusted if the patient does feel discomfort. If any sensation is experienced during insertion, it is often compared to a mosquito bite and disappears very quickly. Once the needles are inserted, they may be manipulated to obtain a mild “Qi” sensation. This is how an acupuncturist engages the energy in your body to help balance it. Often people describe their sensations as warming, heavy, numb or tingling. We take great care to make our clients very comfortable so that they can relax while the needles are in place. The more you can relax during an acupuncture treatment, the better the results. Many people even fall asleep during treatment. Following treatment, it is common to feel a tremendous sense of relaxation and calm.

No. Acupuncture works whether or not you think it will. Acupuncture is even used successfully on animals and children. They do not understand or believe in the process yet they get better anyway. A positive attitude helps with any type of therapy but it is not necessary to believe in acupuncture (or to feel it working) for it to work. Since positive expectations and belief in a particular therapy help to increase therapeutic results. We encourage you to raise any concerns or doubts you may have about acupuncture and Traditional Eastern Medicine. We’d like to help you to better understand acupuncture and Traditional Eastern medicine so that you may have the most positive healing experience possible. You are invited to contact us today, and we will personally respond to any questions or comments promptly.

In East Asia, people have been using natural herbs to treat a wide variety of diseases and conditions. These herbs are called herbal medicine, which is composed of roots, bark, flowers, seeds, fruits, leaves, and branches. It is well known that Traditional Eastern Medicine has over 3000 years of history and Traditional Eastern herbal Medicine is one of the most important parts of Traditional Eastern Medicine which also includes acupuncture.

Traditional Eastern herbal medicine works not only to help relieve symptoms but to help return the body to balance and equilibrium so that herbs will not be needed further. That is why we often modify the herbs as treatment continues, since the body starts to shift towards being healthier, and therefore the herbs are modified to meet the changing needs of the body.

It depends on the medications you are taking. This would have to be evaluated on a case-by- case basis.

In general, We tell our patients they should start to feel the benefits from acupuncture in 2-3 treatments. If the problem is acute, sometimes improvement is felt after 1 treatment, and may only need 3-5 treatments to resolve. If the problem is chronic and long-term, it may take many treatments to help resolve.

Typically We treat patients once a week. If the condition is acute and painful, We may want to do treatments 2-3 times per week for the first couple of weeks. The benefits of acupuncture treatments tend to hold longer as you receive treatments, so what typically happens is that our patients start to need to see me less and less, so after a while, they only come periodically for maintenance.

No, but it usually does. If you do not feel any benefit after 3-5 treatments, then acupuncture may not work for you.

Medical Services Plan of BC (MSP) funding for acupuncture treatment is available for people receiving supplementary benefits (income-based program). MSP pays for a combined annual limit of 10 visits for acupuncture treatment, massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractic, naturopathy, and non-surgical podiatry. MSP covers $23.00 per visit and for your convenience, we bill MSP directly. You are charged for the balance of your treatment fees. For more information, please visit the Health Insurance BC website

Extended health benefits vary from plan to plan and usually coverage for acupuncture therapy is between 70-100% of treatment fees. Some plans offer a dollar amount per year instead of a percentage. Please check your benefits booklet or contact your insurance provider to be clear on the details of your coverage.