Flourish Integrative Health - Acupuncture Clinic in Santa Rosa
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Frequently Asked Questions

About Flourish

Our vision is to provide coordinated holistic care to our patients, so that you have a team of experts working together to help you thrive. Functionally, we are a single location where patients can receive multiple forms of care (acupuncture / herbal medicine, massage and naturopathy). Each modality operates as a separate business (different booking systems, different pricing), but it’s all in one home – and we work closely with each other to ensure that you get the best care possible.

Although we specialize in fertility, pregnancy, women’s health and bodies, we treat all people who walk through our door with specialized individualized support. We regularly treat pain, sleep issues, digestive complaints, immune support, hormonal regulation, emotional imbalances, and complicated internal medicine concerns including cancer support, male health/ fertility and pediatrics. 

Hundreds of rigorous, scientific studies have shown acupuncture to be highly effective in areas including regulating the nervous system, reducing inflammation, improving circulation, reducing stress, releasing endorphins and much more. That being said, Western medicine is still trying to understand from its framework exactly how it achieves these results. From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, acupuncture helps to promote the circulation of Qi and blood in your body as a way to bring your body back into balance.

Acupuncture is only one part of our training as practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), now referred to as East Asian Medicine. TCM is a broad system of medicine that also includes herbal medicine, dietary recommendations, spiritual & emotional wellbeing, moxibustion and specific forms of bodywork. All of these are tied into your care at Flourish, depending on your need.

Our initial intake + treatment is $175 (fertility $185). For follow-up acupuncture treatments, the majority of our patients purchase packages, which brings the cost per appointment down to $105-120 / appointment, depending on the size of the package.

We happily provide superbills (healthcare-specific receipts) upon request, which you can use to communicate with your insurance company about whether they are willing to reimburse you for any of the appointment fee. However, we are not in-network with any providers, and do not manage the billing process with insurance companies.

New Patients

Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine is slow, personalized medicine. Our goal is to bring your body into balance in a sustainable manner, which can take time. For many patients, some relief does come with the first treatment. For some, it may take a few treatments before noticing a shift. Coming consistently is key to success: we generally ask for patients to come weekly to begin (occasionally twice a week for intense pain). A full course of treatment may take anywhere from a month to a year or more – depending on the issues that we are trying to address and how long they’ve been occurring.

Your practitioner will create a personalized treatment plan as part of your intake appointment, which will lay out expectations of care on a more personalized level, after assessing your specific needs. If you’d like to have more insight into the likely course of care for your case before signing up for your first appointment, please set up a 15-minute free phone consultation with one of our acupuncturists.

Acupuncture is a really gentle form of treatment – many patients fall asleep on the treatment table with their needles in! Our acupuncture needles are about 1/20 the width of the hypodermic needle that most of us are familiar with, so it’s a very different experience from most other needles you are likely to have experienced.

Most of the time, acupuncture is completely painless. There can occasionally be a pinching sensation with the insertion of an acupuncture needle, but once it’s in place, you shouldn’t feel sharp or pricking pain. If you do, let your acupuncturist know, so that they can adjust the needle and make you more comfortable.

You can make an appointment by clicking here and selecting from “Initial” (general), “fertility” or “prenatal” consult.

Of course! You have the option to schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation with one of our acupuncturists. Or, you can email us at info@flourishintegrativehealth.com

Click here to go to our New Patient page!

We recommend clothing that is loose, comfortable, and easily shifted about. For most appointments, we will need access up to your elbows, up to your knees, and possibly to your belly – so any outfit that can easily accommodate access to those areas is ideal.
We are currently encouraging most patients to come in for an in-person combined initial intake and acupuncture appointment. The 15 minute free consult is a phone appointment.

You don’t need to bring anything with you to your first in-person appointment, other than a well-fitting mask! If you’d like to share blood work or imaging with your practitioner, you’re welcome to do so via email.

There is no particular restriction on what you do after your treatment. Some patients feel a little spacey or tired afterwards, some feel energized.

It’s helpful for us to have as much notice as possible if you do need to change your appointment, so that we can offer the time slot to another patient that may need care. We have a 48-hour cancellation policy: you are able to cancel and reschedule your appointment online with more than two day’s notice. If you need help, you can reach out to info@flourishintegrativehealth.com or your provider for assistance. If you need to change your appointment with less than 48 hours of its start time, you will need to call or email us to let us know, and a late cancellation fee applies.

Lots and lots! Acupuncturists are required to complete a 4-5 year long graduate degree program (masters or doctorate degree). This education includes close to 1000 hours of clinical training, and academic training in both the East Asian approach to medicine as well as Western medicine. In the state of California, we are also required to sit for a licensing exam, and to maintain our license through continuing education classes.

Safety

While there are risks and side effects to any form of care, acupuncture is a generally very safe form of treatment, when you’re in the hands of a licensed acupuncturist. Bruising, swelling or slight irritation at the site of a needle does occur occasionally, more in some patients than others, and patients sometimes get slightly woozy or spacey after treatment – but we don’t often see other side effects amongst our patients.

Gross! No way! All of our needles are single use, and disposed of in sharps containers, per healthcare regulatory guidelines.

Fertility

Your initial appointment will be conducted with one of our Chinese medicine specialists, who will take an in-depth health history – including your fertility journey thus far, any relevant diagnostic test results, your diet and exercise routine, general physical function (periods, digestion, sleep, etc.), and your emotional wellbeing.

Based on the learnings from this initial appointment, you will receive a fertility wellness plan tailored to your case. This plan will include nutritional advice, lifestyle recommendations, referral to our wonderful naturopath or massage therapist as necessary, and herbal / supplement prescriptions – all based on any identified health imbalances.

Your clinical care at Flourish will start in the following week or so – acupuncture is part of every treatment, and your practitioner may also include electrical stimulation, moxibustion, gua sha, or light bodywork. Our treatments are generally painless (honestly!) and greatly relaxing.

While the majority of our fertility patients come in weekly for care, you and your practitioner will decide the frequency of treatments that is most appropriate for your case. One of the great joys that we have as acupuncturists is that we get to spend so much time with our patients, getting to know their case, and supporting them closely in making positive changes over time.

This is a great question to pose to your practitioner as part of your initial intake conversation, since each journey is so unique. One thing that we emphasize with most patients is that it takes three months (give or take) from when your body starts to develop an egg / sperm to when that egg / sperm is released for conception. So we think of that three-month window as an appropriate starting place for most of our patients to see more robust results. We also understand that your goal isn’t just conception, it’s a healthy baby and healthy pregnancy! Part of the joy of the care we provide is that we get to support you from pre-conception through your pregnancy, if you’ll have us. Many facilities end fertility care shortly after conception, but some of our patients are all too familiar with the fact that fertility challenges can actually show up later in pregnancy. So, we are here to be your partner in care every step of the way. You can read more about our pregnancy care here.
Most of the time, it’s the person that will be carrying the child that engages our care. They come in with the dread that something is very wrong with them, or that their eggs are poor quality. And, all too often, the health of their partner’s sperm (when a partner’s sperm is being used) is an afterthought. But did you know that “male factor infertility” (sperm / semen issues) contributes to fertility issues half of the time. HALF. And, of course it’s half of the time, they’re half of the genetic puzzle! Semen analysis came back “normal”? There’s still work we can do. Semen analysis does not measure genetic quality, just like female hormone tests don’t measure egg quality. And did you know what’s considered a “normal” motility rate has been dropped by 90% in the past decades? So even when things are deemed “normal”, that doesn’t mean they’re great, or even particularly good. Able to conceive, but suffering multiple miscarriages? This can be due to sperm quality as well! Recent research supports the finding that even conditions late in pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia or stillbirth can result from poor sperm quality. So, that’s why, for couples looking to conceive together, we strongly encourage both partners to come in for care. Outcomes are so much better with both partners coming in – even for those couples undergoing IVF or IUI. Your goal is not just conception, it’s a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby. Investing in the health of both partners, (whenever possible) prior to conception can make a significant difference.
  • Advanced maternal age
  • Amenorrhea
  • Anovulation
  • Blocked fallopian tubes (partial blockage)
  • Combination fertility problems
  • Cysts, fibroids, polyps
  • Elevated FSH
  • Elevated prolactin
  • Endometriosis
  • Hormonal imbalance
  • Immunologic infertility
  • Irregular periods
  • Luteal phase defect
  • Missed miscarriage
  • Ovulation problems
  • Pelvic scar tissue
  • Polycystic ovarian
  • syndrome (PCOS)
  • Poor egg quality
  • Recurrent miscarriage
  • Sperm allergy
  • Unexplained infertility
For semen & sperm health…
  • Abnormal semen analysis
  • Anti-sperm antibodies (ASAB)
  • Epididymitis
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • High semen pH
  • Hormonal imbalance
  • Impotence / performance issues
  • Low libido
  • Low sperm count, morphology or motility
  • Low testosterone
  • Orchitis
  • Poor sperm quality (DNA)
  • Toxic exposure
  • Varicoceles
  • Unexplained infertility