I first came to acupuncture when I injured my back severely working outside in my backyard. A friend quickly referred me to Claudia at Venn Acupuncture and shared that I could book an appointment with her online. I did exactly that. I went to vennacupuncture.com and was able to easily book an initial appointment with Claudia. Venn Acupuncture has 2 locations: one in Berkeley off of Ashby and the second in Albany off of Solano Avenue. Appointment times are pretty flexible with openings starting on Wednesday through Saturday from 9 AM to 5 or 6PM most evenings. Parking is easy to find at both locations as well.
My initial appointment with Claudia took 90 minutes. The first 45 minutes were spent reviewing my medical history, my family's medical history and talking through how I came to hurt my back. Claudia made me feel at home in her clinic and talking her through my injuries and ailments felt natural to me. I should share here that at this point in time, my back injury was so severe that I could hardly walk and I felt lucky if I slept 3 to 4 hours during the night. The second 45 minutes of my initial appointment, Claudia got me on her acupuncture table. She looked over my back and proceeded to place her needles with care and expertise, constantly asking for feedback to see if I was doing okay. I'm not a fan of needles of any kind for any reason so I was a bit hesitant at first, but by the time she was finished, I hadn't felt a thing. By the time the first appointment was over, I had more mobility in my lower back and I actually slept through the night which was something I hadn't been able to do for at least 6 months. I continued my appointments with her weekly, and by the end of the 6th week, my back pain was gone.
Even though my back is no longer injured, I still continue my weekly appointments with Claudia. One of her specialties is working with women who may be experiencing hormonal imbalances and fluctuations. I'm a woman in my mid-40's, who at this time, had been dealing with buying a new home, caring for elderly parents, caring for her own home and family (which includes a very moody teenager) in addition to trying to understand why I couldn't keep up with all these challenges like I used to when I was in my 30s. As I was continuing to see Claudia for my back injury, we would regularly discuss lifestyle stress, diet, my mood swings, certain hormonal shifts. Claudia shared with me that Acupuncture along with herbal formulations can help my body find balance. I have found this to be true, and with Claudia's expertise, her acupuncture treatments in addition to her herbal formulations have helped me to navigate this challenge holistically. During the pandemic, I had shared with my doctor that I found myself feeling depressed with all the changes that were happening at that time. My doctor was quick to prescribe an anti-depressant for support. When I shared these same challenges with Claudia, I no longer take an anti-depressant as I feel that acupuncture and herbs have been the natural treatment that my body needed. In the 6 months' time that I've been going to Venn Acupuncture issues such brain fog, constant fatigue, difficulty sleeping and anxiety have reduced greatly. I don't expect anxiety to go away ever, this is something I've had all my life, but instead, Claudia has helped me to understand what my symptoms look and feel like and has offered me the tools and support I need to mitigate its symptoms.
All in all, I cannot say enough good things about Claudia and Venn Acupuncture. Claudia is such a kind and intelligent person. She genuinely provides the highest level of service to all of her clients and willingly shares her expertise in ways that will enrich your life. Because of Claudia, I recommend acupuncture to anyone I know and just like my friend who started me on my acupuncture journey, I readily and happily recommend Claudia and Venn Acupuncture to everyone. read more
