client experiences - Irmgard Acupunctuur

Smoking like a chimney

irmgard Acupuncture, acupuncture treatment, client experiences, Earacupuncture, This is how I work 14 June 202613 July 2026Addiction, Quitting Smoking

An elderly man came to me with a strong desire to quit smoking. Having smoked his entire life, he knew it would easier said than done. Since every addiction arises from an underlying need, I asked him when he felt the strongest urge to smoke.

“That’s when I feel very irritable,” he said. “I smoke to suppress that feeling.”

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Making decisions from stress or from calm

irmgard background information, client experiences 20 August 202422 July 2026autonomic nervous system, menopause, stress

A woman comes to me with menopausal symptoms. Her schedule is completely packed, and she constantly feels as though she has to do everything. After a number of treatments, she starts to feel more comfortable in her own skin and reconnects with her own needs.

One day she says: “I looked at my packed schedule and thought: this is ridiculous”.

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Children’s acupuncture happiness

irmgard acupuncture treatment, client experiences 20 August 202412 July 2026children acupuncture, shonishin

A mother brings her son to my practice because he has been incredibly tired lately. He is a very sensitive and extremely bright boy., so I decide to use Shonishin. This is a needle-free acupuncture treatment for children that is a very gentle technique using rounded instruments.
Because I expect this technique will help him relax more, I ask his mother to stand on his other side in order to teach her what to do so that she can use it at home.

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Treat at an appropriate frequency

irmgard background information, client experiences 20 August 202413 July 2026frequency, pain, scar

“I’d like you to come for treatment six times a week”

This is the first and, to date, the only time in my acupuncture practice that I have ever made such a proposal.
Normally, I treat clients with pain complaints once or twice a week in the beginning. In this way, the treatment can build on the effects of the previous treatment and you will ultimately need fewer treatments.

But this case is exceptional:

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this young student cut her index finger on a broken glass and the scar fused with the nerve. Although the scar and nerve were separated, two years down the line the nerve pain still shoots from the finger to the shoulder. It’s impossible for her to sleep for more than an hour at a time becauseof the pain. She has difficulty planning activities, because the pain might resurge and then she is unable to do anything.

So, I begin treatment on the healthy finger. The pain immediately subsides for a few hours and then returns. When I treat her again later in the week, the pain has returned in full force. This calls for drastic measures. I tell her that treating her twice a week will not bring any lasting results and that it will be a waste of time and money if I keep having to go back to the starting blocks after each treatment.
When I propose treating her six times a week, she decides to go for it!

So, she comes for treatment six times a week for two weeks, then the following week she comes three times, followed by two treatments the week after that.
The treatment stops and except for a very slight stinging sensation in her index finger, which she can live with, the nerve pain has completely disappeared. She can sleep again and is pain-free for a year.

But after a year, she comes back to the practice because the pain has returned in full force. We immediately start treatments six times a week, but this time the pain does not significantly lessen with each treatment. So, my conclusion is that there must be something that structurally continues to irritate that nerve. I tell her that I think that there might still be glass in that finger.
Her surgeon checks it out and discovers that there are still two pieces of glass in her finger.They are removed and at Christmas I get a card from her saying that she is doing well now.

This anecdote illustrates the importance of a well-coordinated frequency of treatment. It also proves how effective acupuncture is without directly pricking the painful area. And it shows that acupuncture can’t eliminate mechanical blockages.

Therefore both Chinese and western medicine care are essential.

Irritability MOT

irmgard background information, client experiences 20 August 202413 July 2026short temper, yin yang

Someone comes in for an ‘MOT’ because she has a very short fuse and is extremely restless. She comes to the practice regularly because she really struggles with this. One day she comes in and she is boiling over.
She has just retired and I ask her what she is doing differently than usual because the inner turmoil is now at the max.

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What is the cause?

irmgard client experiences, my way of practice 20 August 202423 July 2026

I am always curious about the cause of your symptoms.

For pain complaints, for example, I look at your posture and the physical strain you experience in daily life. I also ask about stress and tension in your life. For digestive problems, I naturally ask about your eating habits. There are many more examples I could mention.

Because symptoms usually do not arise out of nowhere.

Sometimes the solution lies in something very small and ordinary. That is also clear from the following story about sleep problems.

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