Your First Visit to Phoenix Rises Acupuncture in St. Augustine

What to Expect

So, before your first visit to Phoenix Rises Acupuncture in our beautiful and ancient St. Augustine, here are some of the things you should know.

Appointments usually last one hour.

Your first visit, including your full evaluation and treatment, is $210. Follow-up visits are $95 to $105. See all prices

Here’s something I share with all new patients to help you prepare for your first visit and make the most of your time and experience.

If you call and I don’t answer, it’s because I’m helping other patients, and I’m fully present with them. This is where online scheduling comes in handy: you can book any time, day or night, and you’re in control of your schedule 🙂

Online scheduling also keeps your information safe. To protect your privacy, I don’t take personal details like your name, date of birth, email or medical concerns over the phone. Everything you enter online goes through my secure, HIPAA-compliant patient portal.

I will ask you ahead of time to thoroughly fill out a few medical forms online, before your treatment.

While reviewing your history, we will discuss your past health, your lifestyle, your concerns and your goals for treatment. We may also discuss the difference between Western and Eastern medicine. These conversations are an important part of the diagnostic process.

Once this is completed, I will recommend a course of treatment and explain how acupuncture will fit into it.

Next, I will look at your tongue and your face, which, in Chinese medicine, tell me a great deal about your general health.

What tongue do you speak?

Then I might palpate your body, feeling for tender points and areas of tension.

I recommend that you wear comfortable, loose clothing for easier access to the points. In some cases, I might recommend a gown if your particular treatment calls for it.

Leave plenty of time both before and after your treatment. Vigorous exercise, sexual activities, eating a full meal and consuming alcohol should be avoided for at least 1 hour immediately before and after a treatment. In many cases, acupuncture will be augmented by other therapies such as cupping, massage, moxibustion and e-stim.

I will explain the treatment step by step as I proceed.

During and After Your Treatment

For most people, receiving treatment is quite relaxing. When the needle initially penetrates the skin, you will feel a small pinch.

After the needle is inserted, I will gently stimulate it to activate the point. You may feel a dull or heavy ache, a tingling, a numbing, warmth or an electrical sensation, which is a sign the point is responding. On rare occasions, the needle sensation may be painful. Please let me know if you feel any discomfort such as a sharp pain; I will adjust the needle and you will be fine. Rarely is there any bleeding from the needle insertion point.

How you’ll feel afterwards varies greatly from patient to patient and from session to session. Some treatments may leave you relaxed and energized; others may leave you with a desire to rest.

Curious how a tiny needle can do so much? Read How Acupuncture Works, or browse my blog for more.