Blog

Not sure what to ask at your first acupuncture visit? A printable-style list of straightforward questions, plus the health details you should always mention.

When you are comparing several therapies, it helps to walk into each first appointment with the same handful of questions. That way you can weigh acupuncture fairly against massage, naturopathy or counselling, based on answers rather than impressions.

Questions about the visit itself

1. What will the assessment involve?
2. What might I feel during treatment?
3. What happens if I start to feel faint?
4. Why are these particular points being chosen?
5. When will we look at whether the plan is working for me?
6. What other options could I consider instead?

Dr Christine Shen, Acupuncturist, is used to hearing exactly these questions at the Lane Cove clinic, and asking them is a normal part of informed consent.

Details you should always share

Some information may seem unrelated to the reason you booked, but let Christine decide that. Mention whether you are or might be pregnant, every medicine you take, and any implanted device such as a pacemaker. Leaving these out because you assume they do not matter can affect the safety of the plan.

What a good answer sounds like

You are looking for enough detail to make a genuine choice. A responsible explanation will not claim that problems can never occur; instead it will describe what is uncommon, what is expected and what to do if something feels wrong.

Linking questions to your goal

It can also help to think about the gap between your symptom and the change you would like. You might hope that one activity becomes less uncomfortable, want to understand the problem better, or need to know whether a medical assessment should come first. It is fair to ask when the two of you will sit down and judge how things are going, and which signs would mean trying another route.

Keeping the same list for each therapy you try makes comparisons fairer, and it gives you a record of the answers you received when deciding what to continue.