What happens during an appointment?
This depends on what it is you are coming in for. If it is a musculoskeletal problem, Bob Clickner will take a brief history of your various falls, surgeries and other injuries, and then have you get on the treatment table for acupuncture and/or bodywork during the remainder of your appointment. Receiving bodywork is generally a very comfortable, quiet process that feels a lot like taking a nap. Acupuncture is also relaxing, revitalizing and generally not uncomfortable.
Depending on your case, Mr. Clickner may recommend half hour follow up treatments or a series of hour-long treatments.
If your health problem is complicated, deep, or pervasive, Mr. Clickner may want to schedule you for a two hour consultation to start. During this appointment, he will take a detailed health history from you. He may ask about accidents and surgeries, both recent and old. He may ask about diet, sleep patterns, exercise and other health habits. He may ask to see your tongue and feel your pulse as he looks for clues about your particular health complaint. Much of this first visit will be spent taking your history and discussing theories about what is going on. He may also take time during this first appointment to discuss your personal nutritive needs, and possibly recommend dietary changes to address the specific needs of the various organ systems involved in the health condition. He may recommend a few herbs or supplements to help rebuild your health.
Will insurance cover my visits?
We have seen increasingly that patients' insurance plans do cover acupuncture, but every plan is different and you will need to call them to see what your plan covers. Bob gives patients a bill with procedure codes and diagnosis codes which they can submit to their insurance for reimbursement. Some patients have been successful in getting reimbursement for treatment. Also, if you work for a company which provides a medical savings account, you can use that money for treatment. Patients with ALFAC have received reimbursement for treatment. Lastly, if you are coming in due to pain from a recent car accident, your auto insurance or that of the responsible party will usually reimburse you for treatment. You may need to do a little homework about your options.
How many visits will it take?
This is a difficult question to answer as a health condition can have many facets and everyone recovers at different rates. Patients who take an active role in the process (for example communicating about changes/lack of changes in symptoms or following dietary suggestions) will notice faster results. Simple health conditions resolve quickly, in as few as three to five visits, while other, multi-layered conditions may take up to a year. This does not mean weekly visits for a year -- at first Bob may want to see you more often, but after awhile, once you have got some momentum, he would ask to see you only now and then. You would come back in when improvement seems to have "levelled off". At these appointments, he would assess your progress, see what the next layer of the "onion" is, and begin peeling. If at any time he feels he is no longer making progress, he is happy to refer you to another practitioner whose approach might work better.
