Heather Leisa Lee, AP

Hi,

Yes, and acupuncture is great for all kinds of pain including knee pain with great success. Knee pain is one of the top things that I treat. It will take several sessions. Unfortunately, I do not do magic. Acupuncture is a healing process.

Thanks,

Heather

Acupuncture in general is safe. I would have to examine you and get more of your background information as to why you've had pain on your left side of your entire life and then I can assess it better from there.
Thanks, Heather

Yes, I would definitely consider acupuncture for anemia. Several conclusive Studies have shown that acupuncture is beneficial for anemia. It has been concluded that acupuncture upregulates serum ferratin which is an intracellular protein that stores, releases and transports blood iron. TIBC is a lab test that measures the body’s ability to bind iron with transferrin, iron-binding blood plasma glycoproteins. TIBC is high in patients with iron deficiency anemia. Acupuncture serves to regulate these two levels so that they are working properly and hence resolves anemia.

In a person with high blood pressure or normal blood pressure acupuncture will not be the cause of it temporarily rising. There is no evidence to show that acupuncture will raise blood pressure in a person with normal or high blood pressure. Several other factors may be the cause such as nervousness from getting the treatment, needles, etc. In patients with low blood pressure it can serve to raise it to a normal state but the acupuncture itself will not raise it if the blood pressure is normal or high. It would have been raised by another factor.

Each practitioner has their own set of points, within reason. All that matters is that we all get to the same endpoint for the patient.
They will likely be placed on the abdominal and pelvic area, the head area and the hands and legs. The needles may also be placed in the back. Every acupuncturist has their own style and points that they prefer to use so it really just depends on the person.

Never. All needles are used once and disposed of in a Sharps container. This is part of clean needle technique and law that we follow. The needles are sterile, stainless steel and single-use-only

The way Chinese medicine looks is that muscle cramps are caused from a deficiency in the liver which stores blood and controls the tendons or the spleen which dominates limbs and controls muscles or the kidneys which controls bones. When these organs are weakened, they fail to nourish the muscles and tendons. This results in abnormal movements in the limbs. Additionally, when external pathogens like coldness, dampness or sports injuries further disturb the blood and
qi function in the legs, muscle cramps will be induced. Acupuncture for leg cramps aims to reinforce the internal organs functions of blood and qi, along with nourishing and loosening the muscles and tendons in the legs.

Yes, in my opinion you should be going more frequently. Finally, a scholarly Journal has come out that addresses the way treatments should be administered, the time between treatments, etc. This journal compares the way acupuncture is practiced in the United States compared to how it is practiced in China, and addresses how it has become watered down in the United States compared to the traditional way it should be performed. As a general rule of thumb, if you are going to have 10 treatments, they should be done over a course of no more than 20 days in order to receive the best and quickest benefit.

Generally speaking, there are three time periods that are the most important times to have acupuncture during your cycle. One of the times is during the follicular phase of your cycle which are days 5, 6, 7, or 8. Day one is considered the first day of your heaviest flow.
The second is when your LH is surging, which is the day before, the day of, and the day after ovulation. The third last optimum time to have acupuncture for fertility is 6 to 10 days after ovulation, which is during the implantation time.

Yes, once the needle is inserted and reaches the point at its designated depth, it is very common to feel a mild and/or dull ache or a slight tingling sensation.

Acupuncture seeds are small seeds or could be made out of beads( roughly 3 mm in size) that are placed on the ear at designated points depending on the condition. This is what we call auricular acupressure, which can be used to treat the entire body. Your practitioner will tell you how often to press on them, which gives stimulation to the designated acupuncture point for your condition, but in the form of acupressure. They are used to stimulate the acupuncture point in the ear where it is placed for your condition throughout the day when you're not able to get treatment.