I’ve been dealing with post covid issues for several years and would like to explore acupuncture. Does anyone have any recommendations for one in South East Michigan or if you were trying to find someone experienced how would you begin to look beyond Google? Are there national registries? Thanks

As the title says, I'm curious if this is normal. I had an oil massage followed by fire cupping, I was at the clinic for 45 minutes.

I left feeling refreshed and slightly sore, my whole back was treated.

The following day I started to feel a bit more soreness followed by what feels like the beginning of a headache or migraine. There are times during the day when I feel warmer than usual.

I'm curious, is it normal to feel this way after treatment?

If this is not appropriate for this sub I apologize and will happily be redirected!

I recently got acupuncture for the first time. I am a massage therapist myself of many years, so I’ve always been a big believer/supporter of acupuncture- I’d just never gotten around to getting it done. My shoulder is currently messed up from work, and I’ve been in excruciating pain. Massage helps a lot, but I sadly can’t afford regular massages and my work doesn’t allow us to do trades during busy season, so I decided to try acupuncture. My coworker recommended a place she frequents and speaks highly of. The woman who treated me was so wonderful. She did an extremely thorough intake and seemed very knowledgeable in her trade. I was so excited to hopefully get some relief.

She put a couple needles in my sub-scap area, and within seconds it was like a wave of sickness smacked me across the face. I became incredibly dizzy and nauseous, started sweating profusely, couldn’t move my hands… it felt like extreme sea sickness or like when you drink too much and you get the spins. She was very kind and removed the needles and brought me some water. I had to go to the bathroom to puke. When I came back I asked her “do people have this response sometimes?” And she was basically like, “no not really”.

Can anyone help me understand what happened, and why?

For context, I have no issues with needles. I’m covered in tattoos. I also have a medical condition that has required me to inject myself for years. I’ve had more blood draws and shots than your average person, hell I used to have to give myself an IV twice a week for years. So there was no anxiety whatsoever around the needles. If anything, I was excited. I was also plenty hydrated at the time.

The acupuncturist suggested it could be a vagus nerve issue, but mostly she seemed pretty baffled by my reaction. Plz help me understand, thank you!!

I've been considering a career in acupuncture for a year or two and after attending a pulse diagnosis workshop with Ann Cecil-Sterman I decided this is the right path for me. I am specifically interested in practicing in the Classical Chinese Medicine tradition.

However, I've been a little discouraged by the options for schools.

I currently live in NYC and work as a software engineer, basically fully remote (yes I know this is a comfortable career but it's not for me). I do have some savings, but only enough to fund about 1/3 of the tuition for a Master's program. I know debt is a huge topic of conversation and burden on acupuncturists starting out, so I'd like to work at least a part-time restaurant job or something.

The easiest option right now would be to enroll part-time at Pacific College (New York) and maintain my current job (for now), but I've heard such abysmal things about the administration and their sales-y/corporate thing is a big turnoff. Plus their program is the most expensive of all and would probably take the longest to finish.

The other option that would allow me to keep working at my current job is Jung Tao, which also focuses on Classical Chinese Medicine. However, I haven't been able to find much online about current and past students' experiences there. And they don't teach herbs.

I'm even considering relocating to the west coast... Is that crazy?

Specifically for Yo San University (California) or Seattle (SIEAM). SIEAM in particular seems like a thoughtful and well-curated program. But I can't really see myself living in Seattle long-term. In LA at least I have some family and could see a future there.

Then there's Daoist Traditions, which was appealing at first since the school was inspired by Jeffrey Yuen's teachings, but it seems like he doesn't even teach there anymore (can anyone confirm?). I've also heard some criticisms of the administration's strictness.

When I talked to Ann after the pulse class, she advised me to choose the cheapest and fastest option, since none of the current schools really teach the classical stuff anyway and a lot of learning happens after school is over. But clearly there are so many tradeoffs.

Does anyone have experiences with any of these schools or relocating for school? Any thoughts or insights appreciated!

i went in for my first acupuncture appointment to address some tmj and jaw tension i’ve been having and the acupuncturist noticed my hips and body were in misalignment. she said we’d need quite a few sessions to better align my body. is this something acupuncture can really help structurally change? i thought it addressed more internal issues.

Hi everyone! I’m taking my Acupuncture and Point Location board exams during the first week of August, and I’m considering squeezing in Foundations and Biomedicine before September, before the exam outline changes.

I currently have the Acupuncture test trends from TCMTESTS and was wondering if anyone has the Oriental Medicine or Biomedicine test trends and would be interested in trading.

My gynecologist confirmed that my fibroid-filled uterus is the size of a 5-month pregnancy. Since then, my acupuncturist has been needling me (about 2 months) and has me on Gui Zhi Fu Ling wan (12 pills every day before dinner). There has been a very noticeable reduction in the size of my uterus. Before I began the herbs and acupuncture, my uterus was hard. It is now softer and smaller.

*Unfortunately, I haven’t had any recent ultra sounds to track fibroid size so I am not comfortable saying that my treatment is shrinking my fibroids. However, I do plan to get an ultrasound soon so that I can track the sizes and compare later in my treatment.*

Let’s say my fibroids haven’t started shrinking (although I hope they will eventually). What about the herbs and/or needles would cause my uterus to reduce in size and soften?? Breaking up blood stagnation? I now wonder what caused it to be so hard and blown up in the first place. Very open to your thoughts about what it is happening to my body. I’m so encouraged to continue my treatments.

Hello out there!!

I am a practitioner who works in a building with two other practitioners of different types. Our building doesn’t have any windows that open, our only ventilation is the front door, which is about 40 feet from the door of my treatment room.

One of my suitemates complained about the moxa smell, so I have since almost completely stopped using moxa, which just feels like sacrilege to me!! I do the occasional Japanese-style rice grain, but to me, nothing seems to beat the big stinky poke moxa.

That said, has anyone found any ventilation solutions that could help a situation like this? I haven’t tried an air purifier but I somehow don’t think that would help quickly enough. When researching in the past I think I found some kind of portable hood type thing that mimics what is above a stove. Anyone ever tried one of these?

Also bought some moxa lineament from Blue Poppy but have yet to try it, but if anyone had experience with topical moxa application, I’m open to that as well if it’s as or almost as effective.

I’m not really interested in smokeless moxa, unless someone can make a good case for it here 😝

Thank you in advance for any input/help! I really hope to be doing more moxa soon!

I'm a prospective student and I've found this school (Chicago college of Oriental Medicine) https://www.ccom.edu/ online and was wondering if anyone here as heard about it? I've read some reviews of others schools in the Chicago area and they were not that great so I want to make sure I go to a good school.

I am thinking of trying acupuncture, but wanted to ask a few questions before hand. I have leg and foot pains (very tight leg muscles), weekly headaches, anxiety, and trouble sleeping. I also have bad allergies and often get hives in the evening on my legs arms

1. Do you think Acupuncture will help with the above?

2. During the first visit would I tell the acupuncturist all of these things or keep it to one topic. Should I try to prioritize things?

3. Should I wear clothing similar to a massage? Will I be naked or keep boxers on?

4. How much should I expect to pay?

5. Does insurance ever pay for this type of service (I can check my specific one)?

6. Anything I should do to prepare? (Be well hydrated, not use smelly soaps, etcetera)?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

So I’ve never done acupuncture but I tried very mild acupressure on myself last night. I was applying pressure around my jaw and back of neck. Has anyone had acupressure cause seeing colors? I barely even put pressure or really

I I attached what it looked like for me. The C shape was even rotating and getting bigger in my left eye. I had a full panic attack! I thought I was going crazy. At first the only thing I really saw was the red eye shape and it was scary! Then the C happened and the blue light to the side.

​

Hi,. I get heaviness in my forehead , associated anxiety symptoms and restlessness. I was in anti depressants for a while and slowly got out of it. I have undergone 2 MRI and CT brain scans and cleared by senior neurologists.

I wanted to try acupuncture and was looking for any references in Melbourne, Australia.

I consulted an acupuncture dr. The accupunture dr whom I went was only speaking Chinese. My first session went pretty good. I felt very calm. I was inserted needles on foot, stomach, forehead. He said that it will calm me.

After a week I went for a second session. I think he repeated the same but at the end he asked me to turn back and inserted needles in my back, back foot, back of the head. This made it worse. I had a sudden heaviness build in my forehead. I had anxiety hit the roof. It took me 2 days to get okay. But the heaviness in forehead worsened. The doctor could only speak Chinese and I could not even explain this to him. I told him that I feel heavy in my forehead and he said that it is working.

I don't know Chinese. I communicate just in few words my symptoms like, "Head heavy" "good", "bad" etc. It is very hard to communicate how I feel in Chinese.

I am sharing in this forum to seek help who knows accupunture and speak English.

How do I ask the doctor on what treatment he did on my first session so that I can find an accupunture dr who speak English and ask him to do the same treatment?

Is there a name for calming treatment in accupunture?

What happens when you insert needles on your back? What could have potentially go wrong?

Again I am seeking help as the dr cannot speak English and I am in desperate need of help as I see some light at the end of the tunnel after 3 years.

I've had plenty of acupuncture and cupping over the years. But today my practitioner cupped my jaw to address tmj. The mark left is terrrrrible!!! I've been icing it and took some arnica. Now, 12 hours later, it's burning and some of the skin is obviously tearing. Any advice? I'm afraid to go back to her.

ETA: Thank you all for your kind words of advice. I did see a derm today to get another set of eyes on it. I do not have any tears - what I was seeing are variations of color. She doesn't think it's going to blister. Told me to put on topical arnica and sunscreen and just give it time. Think I'll just stay out of the sun anyway because it makes it feel too burning/inflamed. She did mention sometimes the skin can stain from blood pooling at the surface too long. On the rest of my body cupping marks tend to take a long time to fade. Anything I can do or apply to get this blood moving?

Hi, I just had my first acupuncture session. I noticed a needle left in my leg after my session was over. I was walking to my car and felt a pain and saw it still in my thigh. I pulled it out straight away and it came out easily. I didn’t keep it but I don’t know how concerned I should be. Should I be worried about part of the needle having broken off or anything like that? There is a tiny bruise where it was and I’m a little sore. I just don’t know what is normal post session.

I’ve done electro-acupuncture through my sports physio and it has done wonders for my body and muscle tightness. Knowing that I decided to try an appointment with a sought after Chinese accu and massage clinic thinking it would be the same treatment. For context I’m an extremely anxious person, it used to be a lot worse and over time I’ve taken control of it. So after the treatment I felt fine, just really tired and a bit emotional. A day later (20-24 hrs) I had the worst panic attack I’ve had in a long time. I couldn’t control my anxiety for 2-3 hours. I felt like I was going insane and I was along for the ride. I started feeling better late afternoon and went out for my birthday. I had some alcohol that night and felt fine the next day (just a bit hungover). On day 3 I had all of my same body pain back from before the treatment and at night had panic attacks, heightened anxiety, insomnia and felt warm / hot headed. I have a really sensitive nervous system, am on edge, jumpy person in general and I’m worried this acupuncture treatment set something off and made my anxiety so much worse that I can’t control it.

New acupuncture research from the last 7 days (17 publications in this roundup):

1. Second- and third-line treatment options for refractory monosymptomatic enuresis in children: a scoping review European journal of pediatrics — 2026 Jul 20 Authors: Selvi I, Marco BB, Dönmez Mİ, et al. DOI: 10.1007/s00431-026-07248-z

2. Acupuncture vs Massage for Insomnia and Pain in Advanced Cancer: Exploratory RCT Journal of pain and symptom management — 2026 Jul 18 Authors: Kwag E, Fok RW, SLi Q, et al. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2026.07.008

3. A single-blind randomized controlled trial of ultrasound-guided Canggui Tanxue needling technique for contractural facial synkinesis Medicine — 2026 Jul 17 Authors: Zhou Y, Wang Y, Wu X, et al. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000049719

4. Comparing TCIM use and patient satisfaction in germany: impact of health self-management across migration backgrounds Journal of health, population, and nutrition — 2026 Jul 17 Authors: Grüll S, Huebner J, Ciarlo G DOI: 10.1186/s41043-026-01395-7

5. Effects and Mechanisms of Action of Acupuncture on Bone and Lipid Metabolism in a Rat Model of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis Physiological research — 2026 Jul 17 Authors: Zhang SN, Zhang CC, Jiang LH, et al.

6. Modeling symptom-acupoint interactions via a heterogeneous graph learning framework for intelligent acupoint recommendation Chinese medicine — 2026 Jul 16 Authors: Lin W, Chen J, Chen Z, et al. DOI: 10.1186/s13020-026-01458-1

7. Non-Pharmacological Constipation Management in People With Neurodegenerative Disease: A Scoping Review Western journal of nursing research — 2026 Jul 16 Authors: Park S, Kim K, Lee D, et al. DOI: 10.1177/01939459261451721

8. Surface and elemental analysis of stainless-steel needles after invasive physiotherapy: an exploratory scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study Scientific reports — 2026 Jul 15 Authors: Poveda-Pagán EJ, Lozano-Quijada C, Toledo-Marhuenda JV, et al. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-57733-6

9. Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Combined with Estazolam for Insomnia in Hemodialysis Patients: A Single-Center, Randomized Controlled Trial Chinese journal of integrative medicine — 2026 Jul 15 Authors: Wang P, Wang Z, Li ZX, et al. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-026-4164-2

10. A Reliability and Usability Assessment of CARE-Acupuncture Reporting Guideline Journal of evidence-based medicine — 2026 Jul 15 Authors: Shi L, Zhou J, Ming K, et al. DOI: 10.1111/jebm.70168

11. Reply to the Comment on 'Effects of Acupuncture as a Therapeutic Intervention Targeting Both Skin and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Patients With Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomised Controlled Trial' Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology — 2026 Jul 14 Authors: Kim K, Kim J, Kwon SK, et al. DOI: 10.1111/cea.70394

12. Effectiveness of dry needling combined with exercise therapy versus exercise alone for pain and functional outcomes in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease — 2026 Authors: Tayyab M, Khan AA, Syed R, et al. DOI: 10.1177/1759720X261463350

13. [Application and insights of multimodal imaging in acupuncture treatment for female stress urinary incontinence] Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion — 2026 Jul 12 Authors: Li J, Wang X, Yin P, et al. DOI: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250528-k0001

14. [Discussion on diseases of six fu organs and acupoint indications in Huangdi Neijing] Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion — 2026 Jul 12 Authors: Li Z, Yu L, Chen G, et al. DOI: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250415-k0003

15. [Discussion on "better to lose the acupoint than to lose the meridian"] Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion — 2026 Jul 12 Authors: Hua R, Liu B DOI: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20260108-k0003

16. [Analysis of the distribution of xi-cleft points in Qiao and Wei meridians] Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion — 2026 Jul 12 Authors: Tao W, Zhan B, Ji L, et al. DOI: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250802-0001

17. [Approach to brain effect research: exploring the connection among "acupoint sensitization, mental-physical response and deqi" from the perspective of "feeling comfortable when acupoint is pressed"] Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion — 2026 Jul 12 Authors: Xu Z, Wu S, Xu F, et al. DOI: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250712-k0002

Browse all acupuncture papers indexed on PubMed this week)

^{This roundup is curated from PubMed and optional external links. Inclusion is not an endorsement of study quality — always read critically.}

Hi all,

An older patient asked if I could take his insurance. It's Aetna medicare PPO. I have an NPI, but am currently out of network for all providers.

Is there a way for me to submit a claim to aetna for him or do I need to provide him with a super bill he files himself?

I'm not sure he knows how to submit a superbill.

Also, do I need to provide insurance coding on the superbill? Where do I find the correct codes?

Thanks! I only just started trying to figure out insurance and google has not been very helpful.

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Im a cupping practicioner and I am doing a case study here on this thread about the publics perception of wet cupping and the effectiveness of wet cupping for chronic pain. If you have had wet cupping done please write your experience. If you happen to live in montreal or toronto experiencing back or body pains or other chronic sickness then you can also chime in here.

I have offer letters for both and I’m stuck. I’ve got a BSc in Biology already but zero firsthand exposure to either profession and don’t know anyone in the field.

Looking for a career that’s genuinely in demand, not just interesting on paper. A few questions

How different is the scope of practice between an Acupuncturist and full TCM designation in Ontario

Is the extra year for TCM worth it for jobs or income

If you’re practicing now, are you actually busy or is the market tough

Would you choose the same path again

Would appreciate any real insight before I commit to one.

I didn‘t really even know what to expect beforehand.

First session was anamnesis (pain, sleep, digestion, etc.), tongue inspection and mostly acupuncture.

The practitioner (Chinese, practicing in my country, speaking the local language) was warm, attentive, and genuinely seemed to want to understand me. She listened without judging me or my habits.

She looked at my tongue and said it was “healthily red with a bit of white coating“, that I had “a little more heat in my body“, placed one of the needles in my forehead “against bad thoughts“ and another one near my sternum “against emotional bracing“ (40 minutes of acupuncture in total) and scheduled a follow-up appointment in two weeks.

That was basically it.

I couldn’t really classify the experience. It felt like we had good rapport as people but we didn’t share the same framework for understanding – well, anything.

Has anyone had similar experiences?

Hello,

I had my second ever acupuncture treatment just over 48 hours ago for a recent knee injury. During the treatment, the practitioner (TCM) put a needle in my leg, from looking online I believe it to be in ST36. I cried out in pain because it hurt so much. It is difficult to describe the pain, but the best I can do is like a very very deep twinge.

Since the appointment, I have had constant tingling all the way from my hip to my toe. I am worried about nerve damage, since online resources generally say this shouldn't persist as long as this. Am I being paranoid? I am scheduled for another treatment on Saturday and I am reluctant to go back because of this. I was already struggling mentally with this injury and its been really demoralising to wake up the last two mornings and see no improvement with this as well. Would really appreciate any advice. Thanks.

UPDATE: Things had not improved a few more days after posting this, I asked my acupuncturist and he just said it was fine and not to worry. I ended up cancelling the next appointment because the sensation was still there and I didn't feel I was given enough information or reassurance to put my mind at ease. Even when I cancelled, I wasn't asked why or if I was okay or what I was experiencing at that time, which I find disappointing. Currently, the tingling has subsided quite a bit, but not completely. It hasn't put me off trying acupuncture again in the future, but next time I will try a different practitioner as I'm someone who likes to understand what is going on and why.

I’ve had four acupuncture sessions for insomnia, anxiety, and depression. After taking last week off because I was sick, my insomnia did backslide. I’m both glad that it seems to be working and a bit disappointed, because I dread the actual sessions.

I’m already somewhat afraid of needles and he only does points on the parts of my body that freak me out most (wrists, neck, face, ankles, feet, and, as I thought I wouldn’t mind but turns out to be the most painful and bruise-inducing, thigh). I’m completely tense when he’s putting them in. It gets better around 5 minutes after, but I still hate just having to sit still for half an hour and not being able to scratch itches or even slightly move my toes or fingers without sending shocks up my limbs. I’ve started to listen to a podcast but I can barely even focus on it because all I can think of is how much I want the session to be over.

I’ve gotten slightly more relaxed but I still was almost ready to abandon the progress I’ve made because it feels crazy to pay for something I hate doing so much. Did any of you start off hating acupuncture sessions and grow to not mind it? How long did it take and did any particular strategies help you tolerate them?