Before your visit…
- Make sure you eat something on the day of treatment, but over an hour before coming in
- Don’t drink any flavoured drinks for 1 hour before
- If you do tongue scraping – please don’t do it on the day of the visit
- Wear something can can give easy access to your arms and legs (up to mid-thigh)
Consultation
Whether you come for a treatment of an immediate problem, or for a long-term condition, your first visit will start with a detailed consultation. Expect the first consultation and treatment to take up to 90 minutes. Follow-up consultations will be shorter.
I will ask you questions about your general health, family illness history, and current life situation – these questions are important for establishing the root of the imbalance leading to the current condition.
I will also ask to look at your tongue. In Chinese Medicine, tongue diagnosis is an essential tool for determining the thermal condition and chronic of the internal organs – a lot can be told from the tongue shape, coating and any other details, including information such as the toxicity of organs, excessive heat heat or cold present in the body, and the presence of pathogens.
A major part of the examination is the pulse, which is taken on both hands. Using pulse diagnosis, we can identify the acute conditions of the body, and examine the quality of Blood and the vitality of the organ systems. Pulse diagnosis plays a major role in determining the course of treatment.
I may also ask to palpate some areas of the body.
What treatment do you choose?
I recommend that you don’t worry about selecting any particular treatment for yourself. Different treatments are more effective for different conditions, and your therapist will make the best possible choice for you. You may end up having one type of treatment, such as acupuncture, or multiple treatments within one, or multiple sessions.
Of course, if you have any worries, such as anxiety about needles, do let me know and I’ll do my best to accommodate you, whilst providing the most suitable treatment.
Getting the most out of your treatment
Immediately following the treatment, I suggest that you don’t go for a hot bath, or do anything that will stress the body.
For the treatment to have the most effect, it’s best that in the following few hours (or even better – for the rest of your day) you take it easy, stay hydrated, don’t consume stimulants (coffee or energy drinks), and try to go to bed early.