Acupuncture Full Chinese Herbal Consultation - AcuMedic Centre

This is the complete Chinese Medical consultation and individualised acupuncture treatment for whatever physical, mental or emotional conditions you may be experiencing.

This treatment, delivered at AcuMedic’s clinic in Camden, will give you an understanding of how Chinese Medicine views the cause of your symptoms and offer you solutions for treating these causes. This will usually involve acupuncture and Chinese Herbal prescription from a fully qualified CMIR-registered doctor with extensive Western medical training and unparalleled TCM expertise.

If the doctor thinks that we cannot help you then we will be honest and offer advice (you will be charged a reduced consultation fee).

All treatment is designed to be complementary to any conventional medicine that you are taking and we are happy to work alongside any other doctors in an integrative way. We even have an in-house GMC registered GP available to advise all of our clients.

Herbal prescriptions are charged separately. We do not put any pressure on our valued clients to buy prescriptions but the doctor will always be trying to maximise your health (that is their job) and this may involve herbs. For prices of our herbal prescriptions please look at our prices on the right of this page.

Our treatment includes:

A full Chinese medical diagnosis with personalised lifestyle advice
A session of authentic syndrome acupuncture tailored to your needs
An individualised herbal prescription from our doctors

About the Acupuncture at AcuMedic

Acupuncture treatment is available all over the world but not all acupuncturists are the same. Many acupuncturists in the West are only trained in a small modality of acupuncture such as trigger point acupuncture or perhaps 5 Element acupuncture. AcuMedicin London treats with SYNDROME acupuncture which is based on the complete system of theories in Chinese Medicine (including trigger point and 5 Element). This is authentic acupuncture treatment as practised in China and is based on Syndrome Differentiation diagnosis.

How we can help you

Chinese Medicine is effective for all kinds of issues: mental, emotional and physical conditions ranging from stress, depression and fatigue to pain and musculoskeletal issues to weight loss and addictions. Acupuncture is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as treatment for a whole range of various conditions.

Chinese Medicine and acupuncture look at your body with a wider perspective than conventional medicine, incorporating physical, emotional and psychological factors into one view of the whole body. Chinese Medicine and acupuncture also take into account external factors such as your lifestyle and environment. All this information is then combined to understand your individual pattern of illness.

Your treatment will be tailored to reverse this pattern and bring you back to a state of good health. It can be fast acting or the process can require time, but the effects are long lasting and deal with the underlying causes of illness.

You can ask for Free Health Advice and our doctors will let you know if, and how, acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help you. You can also visit our centre in London and one of our doctors will speak to you for free. This is a walk-in service.

How it works

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine work on the basis that the natural state of your body is one of healthiness, and that internal and external factors (e.g. diet and lifestyle) can cause imbalances that lead to illness. Addressing and reversing these imbalances allows the body to return to good health naturally.

Essential energy (Qi) flows through your body with your blood and along discreet pathways known as Acupuncture Meridians. According to Chinese Medicine, if you are ill in any way (physical, emotional or psychological) then this can be caused or lead to a blockage or stagnation in the flow of Qi in your body. Acupuncture uses micro fine needles inserted along special points (there are 360 such points around the body) along the meridians in order to clear these blockages and stimulate the flow of Qi. This begins to reverse the pattern of illness and helps the body to cure itself.

Modern science has shown using brain scans that acupuncture stimulates a brain response which leads to the release of powerful neurotransmitters to help pain relief and affect mood. This is only a small part of what acupuncture can achieve and more scientific studies are ongoing to try to explain the way acupuncture works from a Western scientific viewpoint.

Chinese herbal medicine is made up of hundreds of medicinal plants (we do not use any animal derived herbs). These have been studied and tested for millenia and form a key part of the success of Chinese Medicine. Many pharmaceutical drugs have been derived by trying to isolate an active ingredient in these herbs but the most effective and safe way is to use the whole plant and combine them synergistically with other herbs. This creates a complex formulae which can be tailored specifically for you.

For more information about Chinese Medicine please read our brief introduction.

What to expect

All appointments at AcuMedic are with a CMIR-registered doctor and will begin with a consultation so that the doctor can discuss any health issues and ask questions. Please feel free to bring along any information from your conventional doctor if it is relevant to your health.

Appointments last 40-60 minutes. This includes consultation, full Chinese medcial diagnosis and acupuncture treatment. If you are prescribed raw Chinese herbs (optional) then this can take up to half an hour to prepare after your appointment.

Please do not forget speak to our doctor about all your concerns during your treatment and we will try to address them all in your treatment.

Diagnosis and Consultation

There are four main diagnostic methods in Chinese Medicine which are observing, pulse diagnosis, questioning and listening. Each method has a unique function in the process of collecting different clinical information.

Observing involves looking at all the outward manifestations of your condition. This is done by observing your general vitality, complexion, figure and skin. One of the most well known parts of observing is tongue diagnosis. The tongue is like a mirror showing the state of your internal organs. The AcuMedic doctor will be able to judge the condition of your essential energy (Qi), identify the location of the affected parts inside your body, determine what exactly is wrong and identify how the disease might progress just from looking at your tongue.

There are over 50 different pulse types and the AcuMedic doctor will take your pulse on both wrists to determine which pulse type you have. Your pulse is identified in terms of depth, speed, strength, shape and rhythm. Your pulse is an indicator of how Qi and blood are moving around your body, therefore how well your internal organs are functioning. From your pulse the doctor can determine a great deal about your physical and emotional condition.

The doctor will ask you a huge variety of questions to learn about your symptoms and general lifestyle. It may seem like some of these questions are odd, but it all goes towards building a complete picture of you and your health. No matter how trivial something might seem to you, tell your doctor. No symptom that you have is unrelated or unimportant to your diagnosis. It is also very useful for your doctor to see the results of any medical tests you have had so make sure you bring them along to your first consultation and whenever you get new results through.

Once the doctor has finished diagnosing you, they will tell you about your particular Chinese Medical syndrome. These syndromes often have funny sounding names, like Liver Qi Stagnation or Kidney Yin Deficiency, but do not let the ancient language put you off. They will accurately explain why you have the symptoms you have and therefore what treatment you need.

The doctor will then suggest an acupuncture treatment plan based on the diagnosis to return you to good health, thereby easing all of the different symptoms at the same time.

If the doctor feels that you should take some Chinese herbal medicines in addition to acupuncture then an optional prescription will be written for you. This is charged separately to your treatment. The prescription may be in the form of raw Chinese herbs or herbal extract capsules which are assembled and dispensed by our expert dispensary on our premises.

Treatment

After a complete consultation you will be asked to lie on the bed and remove some clothing to receive acupuncture. The doctor will provide you with a blanket to cover yourself. Micro-fine needles will be inserted and you will be left alone to relax for about 20-40 minutes.

Please be aware that this is crucial treatment time for the acupuncture to have a therapeutic effect and you have not been forgotten. Just relax and enjoy the sensation of the acupuncture treatment (many patients will fall asleep). If you need to call the Clinic reception then there is a bell to alert us to come and talk with you.

After the required period of time the doctor will return to remove the acupuncture needles and leave you to get dressed.

Usually, the acupuncture needles do not hurt when they are inserted, although if a lot of blocked energy has built up at one area of your body, you may feel a pricking and pulling sensation as the Qi begins to flow. Most people find acupuncture incredibly relaxing.

AcuMedic doctors only use sterile disposable acupuncture needles. AcuMedic actually invented the disposable acupuncture needle.

For people who are afraid of acupuncture needles, please speak to your doctor who may recommend a different treatment based on electro-acupuncture instead of needles. Electro-acupuncture works in the same way as conventional acupuncture, but instead of using needles, an electronic pointer is used to stimulate the acupuncture points on the body.

After the Treatment

After acupuncture treatment you may feel very relaxed and may be a little drowsy. You will be able to get on with your day directly after treatment but you might want to try not to plan to do anything strenuous and enjoy the chance to relax.

Everyone reacts slightly differently after acupuncture but you should feel an overall improvement in your mental and physical state. For example, you may notice increased energy levels during the day and longer mental concentration or you may notice a healthier appetite as well as more restful sleep at night. In addition to improvements in your symptoms, you might notice positive side effects such as better skin and healthier complexion.

How soon you will see the results of acupuncture always depends a lot on the patient and the severity of your condition. The doctor should be able to give you a good idea of what results you should see and when you should expect to see them. It is most common for patients to feel the first effects of the acupuncture treatment after one or two sessions but it may take a bit longer.

The World Health Organisation

According to the World Health Organisation acupuncture has been proved, through controlled trials, to be an effective treatment for the following diseases, symptoms and conditions:

Low back pain
Sciatica
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
Knee pain
Neck pain
Headache
Sprain
Tennis elbow
Rheumatoid arthritis
Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
Periarthritis of shoulder
Stroke
Nausea and vomiting
essential Hypertension
primary Hypotension
Morning Sickness
correction of Malposition of fetus
Induction of labour
Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
acute Epigastralgia (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
Leukopenia
Biliary colic
acute bacillary Dysentery
primary Dysmenorrhoea
Renal colic
Postoperative pain
adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy

In clinical studies surveyed by WHO acupuncture has shown therapeutic effect for the following diseases, symptoms and conditions:

Obesity
Insomnia
Female infertility
Acne vulgaris
Cancer pain
Osteoarthritis
Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
Stiff neck
Tobacco dependence
Alcohol dependence and detoxification
Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
Diabetes mellitus
Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
Premenstrual syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein Leventhal syndrome)
Whooping cough (pertussis)
acute Spine pain
Bronchial asthma
primary Raynaud syndrome
Gouty arthritis
Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
chronic Ulcerative colitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance
Bells palsy
Cardiac neurosis
chronic Cholecystitis with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis
Competition stress syndrome
closed Craniocerebral injury
Earache
Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
simple Epistaxis (without generalized or local disease)
Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
Facial spasm
Female urethral syndrome
Hepatitis B virus carrier status
Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
Hyperlipaemia
Hypo-ovarianism
Labour pain
deficiency of Lactation
non-organic Male sexual dysfunction
MA

Acupuncture & Full Chinese Herbal Consultation