r/acupuncture

Are there any Acupuncturist you recommend or anyone that you think I should avoid?

What is the best Acupuncture clinic in Austin, Texas?

The clinic I work at in San Francisco is looking for another provider. We’ve listed the job on LinkedIn and Indeed, but I’m curious if there are other places that providers are looking for jobs.
Thank you!

Hi all just wondering if there’s anyone who has experience with the various schools and programs in Ontario to give me an indication of which one would be the best to choose to study at! I know Loyalist just started a program this year, there’s TriOs in Ottawa and quite a few in Toronto. Any advice or knowledge or experience would be so greatly appreciated. DM me if you prefer. TIA!

Hey everyone, looking for some advice or shared experiences from anyone who’s used Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture for gut and anxiety issues.

I started seeing a TCM practitioner back in October last year (so about 10 months now) specifically to address SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth), along with high stress and anxiety.

The Progress So Far:

• What’s improved: My burping has decreased quite a bit, and my bowel movements are definitely more regular.
• What’s still lingering: My tongue is still consistently coated white, I’m dealing with heavy fatigue, my anxiety/stress is still lingering, and my gut makes a lot of digestive noise/gurgling.

The Herbal Formula Conundrum: Since day one, my practitioner has kept me on the exact same two herbal formulas:

• Xiang Sha Yang Wei Wan (typically for warming/strengthening the Spleen/Stomach and transforming dampness/stagnation)
• Jia Wei Xiao Yao Wan (typically for clearing Liver Qi stagnation, Heat, and supporting Spleen)

Here’s my dilemma: whenever I try to taper off or stop taking the pills, my symptoms flare back up and I feel worse. So they are clearly doing something to manage the baseline, but I really don’t want to be reliant on taking these exact same pills every single day forever without making further actual progress.

My Questions for the Community:

1. Is it normal in TCM to stay on the exact same herbal formulas for 10 months straight? My understanding was that as the body shifts, the formulas usually adapt to target the remaining pattern (like the persistent white tongue coating/fatigue).
2. Has anyone with SIBO/gut issues successfully transitioned off long-term herbal maintenance, or modified their protocol to hit that last layer of stubborn fatigue and dampness?
3. Should I bring this up directly to my practitioner to ask for a custom or modified formula, or is it time to get a second opinion from another practitioner or functional medicine doctor?

Would love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or any questions I should be asking at my next appointment! Thanks in advance.

Saw an online ad from CBS Acupuncture that claims they accept traditional Medicare and my supplemental insurance to cover acupuncture treatments. Made an appointment in two weeks.

Im skeptical, but will try it. Thoughts?

https://www.cbsacupuncture.com/

Hello. I’m recovering from a badly compressed L3 nerve root that was so bad I was in a wheelchair for a few weeks in April. I’ve tried many things including steroid shots (no help,) meds and PT. I’m a lot better than I was but I still have a lot of nerve tingling and back pain that gets progressively worse the longer I stand. I’ve had no meaningful improvement since June but I’m at the point where I can function in my day to day life but I’m not living a full life, ie. Unable to go for walks, go to concerts or be places where I have to stand a while. What sucks is it doesn’t feel bad enough to have surgery but I also don’t want to live the rest of my life like this.

Anyway, I had my first acupuncture session today with electric stim. (Is that the right term?) The practitioner said she noticed inflammation. (I didn’t know because I can’t see my back!)

It’s been six hours and I feel like my back pain is actually worse than before. Is this common? Is there anything I should do tonight to make sure I maximize whatever benefit I may have gotten? I have another appointment in a week and I plan to go for a few more to give this a real chance of working. Or am I wasting my time?

Thanks in advance for responding.

I’m supposed to start at pacific college Chicago in a month and these posts on debt and school closures are making me nervous. I live in Chicago suburbs and the acupuncturists I know are successful and satisfied with their schooling & career choice.id love some feedback on the school or your career in general. I currently run a successful massage business and this is my secondary schooling. TIA

Has anyone gotten an infection from an acupuncture needle?

I received an acupuncture treatment yesterday. This is my fifth treatment with this therapist. And there were some needles placed in my feet. Well on one of the locations on my left foot, I woke up with it being EXTREMELY itchy today and a little red and irritated. I’m sure it will go away, but I’m slightly worried/ concerned it’s becoming infected. The area is becoming raised.
Going to the doctor if it’s not better by tomorrow.

Edit: typo

Since autoimmune conditions are a western concept I've only found blogposts on the topic. Has anyone come across books or other literature addressing this concept in through the TCM lens ?

*I am not requesting an official diagnosis and I understand and accept that no one here can say what happened for sure. :)*

I’ve been dealing with some pesky neurological symptoms for a few years now: weakness in limbs, brain fog, sometimes stumbling over words, dizziness. I addressed these symptoms with my new acupuncturist for the first time today (we’d mainly been working on uterine fibroids).

He placed an electrode on a needle at each side at the base of my skull. He normally keeps the power in a very low setting but I asked for a higher setting today. The power wasn’t painful but felt very palpable. Like a tiny impact.

Well, the power must have been too much because I’ve been dizzy all day (more than usual and I am still a little dizzy), fumbled over words earlier in the day (my speech is fine now), and just haven’t been able to focus on anything. Earlier, just writing this post would have been taxing.

I messaged my acupuncturist but only told him about the dizziness because I didn’t feel like writing a long text. He told me that patients can become dizzy and it should wear off soon.

I am mostly recovered now but *what* led to this reaction??

UPDATE: It is the next day and I am 97% myself again. Wow. What a scary ride. I actually checked in my the doctor last night and he told me not to worry. Worrying would exacerbate my symptoms. He assured me I wasn’t harmed. By the way, I also experienced nausea which started the evening after the session but ended early this afternoon. Not sure if it was a related symptom but it’s gone away as well.

Edit: Zhenggu defined as Traditional Chinese HVLA techniques

I, F33, had the Mirena hormonal coil for 18 months until Oct '25. It never fully settled and I ended up on the progesterone only pill for about 9 months as well.

- I gained 2 stone

- I was suicidal quite often

- My moods were all over the shop

- Constantly bloated

I've been off all hormonal birth control since Dec 2025.

My cycles were regulating slowly, but I'm still some level of bleeding for 15 days each 30 day cycle. This most recent cycle has gone a bad again. I don't want the GP offering me more synthetic hormones. I've had tonnes of tests to see what's going on, and they've all come back fine except for non-concerning HPV.

I'm looking at going to get an acupuncture consultation to see if that can help before going back to the GP. Thoughts?

My partner is in the program and I’ve done a lot of acupuncture. Are really 98% of schools closing by 2028?

Is there any site metrics that show a school that could survive?

She just started at VUIM in Virginia and apparently their financial responsibility score isn’t great?

She would be done with masters in Dec 2028. Is there a chance she can’t finish?

Hi,

okease is it normal to feel worse? Feels like it is difficult for le to breathe. Feel like i can't get a full breath.

Is it a normal sensation?

Update : Going to the emergency to see what is happening. He put a needle up my diaphragm,but more up where my ribs are.

I hope it's just anxiety.

I follow this page and the vast majority of post from acupuncturist are just negative about everything. The schools are horrible, they can’t get patients, or make enough money. I believe there is a hard divide in our profession between the dedicated practitioners and those that paid for a certification. In my cohort we had 14 people graduate 4 of which were serious practitioners the rest coasted. The 4 that dedicated there life to this are in the solid 6 figure range 5 years out. The rest are still complaining about the myriad of reason for there own failures. If your market is saturated move, if you didn’t learn what you wanted continue to study, and if your not making enough money get on the grind. We are in the middle of a boom time for our profession especially those they are already graduated. The pool of subsequent acupuncturists will continue to get smaller as schools close and the demand is only going up. This profession is amazing the amount of doom and gloom about it makes me feel this page is all bots

Jason Wright of ACAHM has written a White paper with guidance for students during school closure. Find it here: https://www.acahm.org/resources/position-paper-school-closure-guidance/

The document says students who "immediately transfer and continue enrollment at a teach-out institution may be able to continue their federal aid as normal." Does this mean they can still access capped Direct Loans at the new school (the $20,500/year) or are they meaning that the legacy provision will hold? The RISE rule itself says under “Transferring Between Schools Within Same Program of Study” that if a student transfers to a different institution (even within the same program of study) that counts as a new program of study, and the student is not eligible for the interim exception (legacy Grad PLUS/loan-limit protection).

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/01/2026-08556/reimagining-and-improving-student-education-federal-student-loan-program-final-regulations

The document says a teach-out institution should offer "ACAHM-accredited/pre-accredited program(s) of the same program type." Oikos doesn't currently hold either status because their accreditation visit isn't until September. Does ACAHM consider Oikos a valid teach-out partner under its own criteria right now, or only contingent on a future accreditation decision that hasn't happened?

The 25%-residency transfer-credit rule (5.03) can be waived for teach-out students, but only the receiving institution can request that waiver (not students) and it's not guaranteed. Have ACCHS/5B/East-West/Oikos have requested it?

I just started acupuncture for fertility, mainly to try and regulate my menstrual cycle. I have some questions. What is my acupuncturist looking for when she looks at my tongue? What does my pulse tell her?

This sounds ridiculous but what am I meant to do while the needles are in? I've been kind of closing my eyes but feel a bit self conscious about it.