How Many Sessions Until I Feel Better?
An important question! We're glad you found us, and we want to help you feel better as soon as possible.
In order to reach your goals, it's important to understand & stick to your treatment plan. Your treatment plan is a personalized recommendation for how many treatments you may need & at what frequency, in order for you to feel better. This plan is an estimate based on our years of experience. We recommend getting your appointments on the calendar after your first session to make sure you carve out the time to stick to the plan.
To start, your plan will include treatments that are closer together in a series. This may be 1-3 times per week, depending on the severity of your symptoms and how long you have been experiencing them. There is a certain amount of “momentum” we are trying to achieve. We don't want treatments to be too far apart during this phase, so that we can keep building on the previous session. If your symptoms are severe and your practitioner has recommended 2-3x/week, this phase is usually for a few weeks before going down to 1x/week.
At the beginning, we expect your response to acupuncture to be mild and temporary. If your symptoms are not gone overnight, don't worry--this is normal. Even temporary relief is a good sign that your body is responding to treatment. You may notice small changes at first, like you slept better or had less pain after your first session. Some people don't notice a change until the 3rd or 4th session--everyone is different, and this is also in the range of normal.
At each session, your practitioner will check in with you about your chief concern and the specific ways it has impacted your life. If you weren't able to sleep on your left side, for example, we will check in about sleeping on your left side at each session to make sure we're on the right track. Pain and other uncomfortable symptoms are easy to forget once they go away--this is why we take detailed notes and stay focused on the goals we set at your first session.
After the first few sessions, we want to see the treatments start to "hold." This means your symptoms begin to stay at a lower level between sessions. After the first few weeks, you may notice your pain is less intense or less frequent. With time, you may notice you aren't getting daily headaches anymore, or you can eat a meal without jaw pain. It could be that you can garden without your sciatica acting up. Maybe you're sleeping deeper because you're holding less stress. Maybe someone close to you notices that you're always in a better mood after acupuncture! The "magic" of acupuncture comes with consistency.
We recommend booking out your sessions 4-6 weeks in advance: this helps you to prioritize the time to be consistent with your plan and work towards the results you came in looking for. It also helps to make sure your practitioner is available at a time that fits your schedule so your treatment plan is not interrupted.
If I want to keep feeling better, do I have to continue treatment forever?
You don't need to come in forever! After your symptoms improve, we want to space out treatments for as long as possible without your issue returning or your pain increasing. We want to see you get better!
If we have reached our treatment goals, we have two options. You can discontinue treatment (we'll be here, just call when you need us!), or create a maintenance plan, where you come in much less frequently to keep your symptoms quiet.
Hope this was helpful! Any questions? Feel free to give us a call: 201-472-5357
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