Forms and Medical History

Traditional Chinese medicine looks at the entire patient, not just at one specific part and for this reason it is necessary for me to get a complete picture of how your many body systems are functioning and what problems you’ve had in the past. The first step in gathering this information is for you to fill out a health questionnaire. This form can be downloaded here, printed, filled out and brought with you or you can come to the office 15 minutes before your first appointment where you will be given the form to fill out.
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You should also bring with you a copy of all the medical records that pertain to your health issues, if possible. This includes blood tests within the last year and the radiologist reports of any imaging you have had done (MRI, CAT scan, ultrasound).

Interview

At your appointment time you will be taken to a private treatment room where I will go over the information you have provided and ask you questions. Some of these questions will be similar to those other doctors have asked you but some will be new (ex. Do you feel hot or cold in general? How is your sleep? ).

I will then feel your pulse on both wrists and look at your tongue. Chinese medicine is an unbroken tradition of medical knowledge which has existed for over 2000 years and up until 50 years ago modern medical testing was not available to the practitioner. For this reason the Chinese developed other ways to tell what is going on inside the body. Two of the most important parts of this are feeling the pulse and looking at the tongue. The pulse is felt not only for speed but texture and strength in 18 different positions and depths. The tongue color, texture, coat and other characteristics also give me information as to the status of your internal organs.

Diagnosis

Using all this information I will come to a preliminary diagnosis of the pattern(s) of disharmony in your body which are causing your health issues. In traditional Chinese medicine a single disease may be due to different disharmonies in the normal function of the body’s organ systems. This means that when two patients come to see me with the same western diagnosis they will often receive completely different treatments because they each have different disharmonies. By treating these underlying disharmonies we are getting at the root cause of the problem and not just treating the symptoms.

Treatment

According to your traditional Chinese medical diagnosis you will receive acupuncture and/or herbal therapy which specifically addresses your particular patterns. For acupuncture you will be asked to change into a medical gown and to lie on a comfortable massage table.

Acupuncture is a relatively pain free process. While you might feel a slight pinch when the needles are inserted the feeling is slight compared to say injections or blood samples. After I insert a needle I will ask you what you feel while I stimulate the needle. You should feel a heavy sensation at the acupuncture point which will disappear once I stop the stimulation.

Once all the needles have been inserted you will feel comfortable and relaxed. I will turn down the lights and put on some relaxing music after which I will leave the room for 20 minutes. Most people attain a deep state of relaxation and often fall asleep. After 20 minutes I will come back into the room and stimulate the needles for a few seconds and then leave for another 20 minutes. When I come back to the room I will remove the needles and you can get dressed.

When you come out to the waiting area your Chinese herbal formula will be ready for you to pickup. For more information on Chinese herbal treatment please click here.