preparing for an initial evaluation

Evaluations provide an opportunity to assess your condition and to determine which acupuncture approach will be most likely to benefit you. They also offer you a chance to ask questions and to learn more about this approach to your health and well-being.

Community Acupuncture Berea now offers individuals who are interested in exploring acupuncture a choice between two types of evaluation.

• an Initial Evaluation - a single-visit evaluation appropriate for many people
  
  
• an Integrative Evaluation - an evaluation conducted over two visits, appropriate for individuals with complex health histories, or perhaps facing treatment decisions for serious illnesses

Everyone considering acupuncture should read the Guidelines for self-care before and after acupuncture treatment.

Initial Evaluation:
For many people, a single individual initial evaluation visit provides everything needed to develop a treatment plan.  Kentucky regulations require that acupuncturists verify that individuals with a variety of medical conditions are  under the care of a conventional health provider before acupuncture may be offered. If you have any of the following conditions, please notify your health care provider that you are seeking acupuncture.  

• have a history of bleeding disorders or are on anticoagulant therapy;
• have hypertension, an implanted pacemaker, prosthetic valve, or other serious cardiac condition;
• have diabetes, cancer, or undiagnosed neurological changes;
• have recent severe abdominal pain or breathing problems;
• have a suspected fracture, dislocation or infection;
• have had a significant unexplained weight loss or gain in the past 3 months; or
• are pregnant.

Please come about 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment to complete a history form and other papers and allow an additional 1 ½ hours for this initial evaluation.

You may choose to download the Health History as a Microsoft Word document

After we receive your completed Health History, Hunter Purdy will be in touch to schedule your holistic health assessment. Please bring to this appointment a written list of all the medications you are taking, both prescription and nonprescription, and the original bottles of all vitamins and supplements. Allow 1 1/2 hours for this visit.

Your initial acupuncture visit will be scheduled soon afterwards. This visit will include a review of your health history and a focused physical examination. On this visit, you will have an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns related to acupuncture and to review various approaches you may consider. Please allow 1 1/2 hours for this visit.

As this second visit may include an initial acupuncture treatment, please review the Guidelines below.

Guidelines for Self-Care Before and After Acupuncture Treatments

Note: You may also choose to save the Guidelines below to your computer as a Word document or a PDF document.

To enhance the value of your acupuncture treatment, please review these guidelines:

• Do not eat an unusually large meal immediately before or after your treatment.
  
  
• Avoid extremes. Do not over-exercise; engage in sexual activity; eat very cold, hot, or spicy food; or consume alcoholic beverages within six hours before or after treatment.
  
  
• Do increase your intake of fluids, especially during the 24 hours before and after a treatment.
  
  
• Try to plan your activities so that after your acupuncture treatment you can get some rest, or at least not have to work at top performance. This is especially important after the first few visits. Please take time to linger a while in the waiting room or walk around a bit before driving in traffic, especially after your first treatment. You will find in the WaysMeet waiting room a number of maps and brochures if you wish to take this time to explore a bit of Berea. There are pleasant paths, galleries, libraries, museums, cafes, and restaurants within an easy walk of WaysMeet. There are also accommodations, including wonderful B&Bs, close by, if you wish to stay over after your visit.
  
  
• Please continue to take prescription medicines and follow instructions from your regular health provider. Medical acupuncture does not interfere with other forms of medical treatment, although the reverse is not always true. Please keep your physician acupuncturist up to date about any changes in medications or treatments.
  
  
• Use of drugs or alcohol, especially in the days before and after acupuncture treatment, may seriously interfere with the effectiveness of acupuncture treatments. Please avoid unnecessary use. Try not to increase your intake of pain medications and/or alcohol before or between acupuncture treatments.

After your first acupuncture treatment, you may feel quite relaxed, tired, or energetic. It is important to move gently through the rest of that day. You may have one of four responses during the week following your initial treatment:

• You may notice a gradual and continuing improvement in your condition.
  
  
• You may find that you improve quickly, followed by a return to your situation before treatment.
  
  
• You may notice an almost immediate worsening of your condition, followed by a return to the way you felt before treatment.
  
  
• You may notice no change at all.

The first three responses all indicate that medical acupuncture may benefit you. Temporary worsening of symptoms, which occurs in a very small number of patients, generally lasts less than 24 or 48 hours and does not recur with later treatments. No change at all in your condition may suggest that you need a stronger or different kind of acupuncture treatment or that acupuncture is not an approach that will be helpful for you right now.

Remember to keep good mental or written notes of your response to acupuncture. Pay attention even to symptoms and changes that seem not to be related to your acupuncture treatment. At your next visit, it is important for you to be able to describe your response so that follow-up treatments can be designed best to help you. You will receive a response sheet at each visit that you may use to record your experience.

Adapted from “Doctor, What’s this acupuncture all about?” published by the
American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, www.medicalacupuncture.org.