Acupuncture is a safe and low risk therapy. I am accredited by the BAcC which means I am held to the highest safety standards. I use single use, sterilised, individually wrapped acupuncture needles and I have been rigorously trained in hygiene and treatment protocols.

If you have any of the following conditions, please let me know in the first consultation. I need to be aware of these conditions from a safety perspective and may use finer needles, shallower insertion and may deem it necessary to swab the skin before insertion:

• Endocarditis

• Pericarditis

• Any heart condition or valve defect

• A pace-maker or electrical device

• Epilepsy or history of fainting

• Blood thinning/anti-coagulant medication like warfarin

• Haemophilia

• Cancer treatment - please seek guidance from your Oncologist before treatment

• Lymphedema/lymph node removal (advisable to seek verbal doctor’s consent first)

• Autoimmune condition

• Pregnant - if seeking preparation for labour please consult with your midwife/doctor first and seek written approval

• Recent heart attack or stroke

• Recent Botox - it is advisable to wait 6 weeks before needling into affected areas

• Any notifiable disease - please call or email first before coming for treatment so that we can discuss your needs

You may be required to undress down to underwear to expose the leg below the knee, abdomen, back, arms or shoulders. If you would prefer to avoid undressing, please wear loose-fitting clothing that can be rolled up, I can also use couch roll or a towel to cover you and keep you warm.

Make sure you have eaten something before treatment.

Please don’t drink alcohol or take recreational drugs before treatment, I cannot treat a patient under the influence.

If you have any recent blood work or medical reports and feel comfortable bringing them to treatment, this would be helpful.

Plan your journey, if you are more than 15 minutes late, I may not be able to treat you as it may impact the next patient.

Drink water. Try not to drink alcohol that night, if you do don’t drink too much, as it can interfere with the effectiveness of the treatment and affect sleep.

Think about any advice given and what you might be able to incorporate. It’s usually best just to focus on one piece of advice and make small changes that fit in with your existing routine.

Please let me know if you have had a great treatment. If you have any constructive criticism, I would welcome this feedback in an email to pgd.acupuncture@gmail.com or call me on 07872 315 476.

Other than feeling very relaxed after treatment, side effects are rare. Very occasionally, patients can experience a ‘healing crisis’ where symptoms temporarily worsen for a period of 24-48 hours before getting better.

Occasionally some local bruising (in 3% of treatments) can occur that can last a few days to a week, but this is not typical in treatment.

Rarely, some patients can feel drowsy for a period of time, in which case you are advised not to drive or operate machinery.

Acupuncture is typically pain-free. However, some people experience a dull sensation or a tingling around the insertion point, this isn’t a painful feeling but an unusual one. Some patients don’t feel anything and go to sleep. For nervous patients I incorporate breathing with the treatment to reduce nervousness and can use finer needles to help them feel more comfortable.

Most conditions respond well to a weekly treatment over 4 weeks. At 4 weeks we will review the effectiveness and either reduce treatments to maintenance-only, maintain frequency or refer.

For hormone /fertility conditions, a 3 month treatment period is recommended, ideally every week if possible or fortnightly.

I treat anyone; however, I have not specialised in the treatment of very young children, I can refer on to specialist colleagues in this case.

Any child under the age of 18 needs to be accompanied by an adult/parent/guardian.

I regret that I do not have wheelchair access at my private clinic but can refer on to an acupuncturist who does have wheelchair access. My clinic is located up a short flight of stairs and so patients will need to be sufficiently mobile to climb one flight of stairs.