Chinese Herbal Medicine

Depending on the formulas, some herbs may not have any side effect at all while some may have expected or intended side effects. For example, for patients with chronic sinusitis, TCM considers this type of condition as having excess Dampness lingering in the body. Herbs that are used to treat chronic sinusitis are formulated to dry up Dampness therefore patients may start to feel like their sinuses are dry with extended use. Another example would be when treating digestive issues such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's disease or Colitis, we would expect temporary change in bowel habits before patients start to experience normalization of bowel movements.

We would generally advise against sharing your herbs with others even with similar symptoms. Chinese herbs are formulated for specific body type. For example, if you are prescribed migraine herbs and your migraines are affected by your menstrual cycles, the same herbs would not work for someone with other type of migraine. Your body temperature is also an important factor when we are prescribing a formula. If you runs hot, the herbs prescribed would have some cooling aspect and if you runs cold then the herbs we use would be warming. We certainly would not want to give warming herbs to someone who is already running hot, this would aggravate their symptoms. 

Chinese Herbal Medicine is not covered by insurance. However, you may use FSA or HSA funds to pay for your herbs when they're prescribed to treat specific health conditions.