I went here last week after trying another acupuncture clinic that is about twice the price.
I called on Wednesday to make an appointment for Friday, and Nate informed me that they were doing free initial appointments on Thursday only. Bonus! I rearranged some things and was able to come in Thursday.
I can only review this based on comparisons to the other place because that is the only other experience I have with acupuncture, and I don't know what a 'normal' experience consists of.
Being antisocial in general and self-conscious periodically (and currently), I was apprehensive about the community room. I'm not big on spilling all of the details on my bowel movements, period clots, and why I'm angry while other people a few feet away are trying to sleep. Thankfully, and maybe unfortunately, Nate did not talk to me very much. Perhaps this was because it was free, but it spared me from having a bunch of strangers visualize what the contents of my toilet look like on a regular basis, so I was cool with it. The intake process lasted about 7 minutes as opposed to the hour or so at the other place. He felt my pulses but didn't look at my tongue, which I thought was The Thing To Do in acupuncture.
The other major difference was that the recliners only allow for needles to be put in on the front of the body and face. At the other place, I was on a massage table where I started out face down with needles in my back, shoulders, neck, and scalp and then basted for a while before flipping over and doing the front. I really do prefer to have both front and back poked, so this was a big drawback for me.
One thing I was worried about was being able to fall asleep in a room full of others. This was not a problem at all, and I actually fell asleep more easily than I did at the other place. However, I am a very light sleeper, and my nap was over permanently once a couple of other people came in and sat in the recliners next to me.
It took me a bit longer here to get his attention with my 'meaningful look' signaling it was time to get the needles out of me than it does at the other place, where I am given a handheld pager thingy that brings the poker guy running to my aide.
The one thing that made me super self-conscious to the point where I will probably not go back regularly is that, when I was done, I sat waiting for Nate to finish up with the other people and tell me what to do next. He had spoken with the people who got done before me afterwards and went over a treatment plan with them, so I figured I'd at least be told something. After a while, he looked at me and said, 'Are you okay?' Embarrassed, I took that as my cue to leave and went up to the front desk, where the very nice woman asked if Nate had told me....something. I told her Nate hadn't told me anything.
She gave me a slip of paper with the practitioners' schedules on them so that I could make an appointment later because I told her I felt too strange (common for me after acupuncture) to figure out when I could come in next. I may make some appointments to supplement my treatment at the other clinic, but I won't make this my primary place. I like being poked in the back too much and HATE feeling like an idiot. I'd rather pay more and go less often and not have to worry about those two things. read more