the Cost of Single Acupuncture Treatments

For $60, the acupuncturist does a tongue and pulse diagnosis (common in traditional Chinese medicine), asks about symptoms, performs acupuncture, Tui na massage, and cupping. For an extra $6 or $8 she will give you the specific herbs that are supposed to help with your symptoms.

The whole thing takes about an hour, but 30 minutes of that is relaxing with the acupuncture needles in. I know that doesn't sound relaxing if you've never had acupuncture before, but you don't actually feel the needles once they're in, usually.

I really like this acupuncturist. I am going for insomnia, which is said to take several visits before you see an improvement. I noticed that I slept better for about two days and then was back to normal - I have no idea if that was a placebo effect or not. The needles don't bother me at all.

The Tui na massage feels good - it involved a lot of pressure and sort of a slapping motion, but actually feels really good.

Cupping is something I had never had done before and probably wouldn't have done if it hadn't been included, but it was very intriguing. A vacuum is created in a glass cup by burning a match in it and the cup is placed on your back. It sort of suctions up your skin, and the practitioner moves the cup around, creating kind of a massaging effect. I am not sure what the long term effects are supposed to be.

Obviously, don't go to an acupuncturist if you're not comfortable with acupuncture! Have the acupuncturist explain what he or she is doing before you get acupuncture performed.