Short answer - NO.

More nuanced answer: The hands and feet have lots of nerve endings; the back and abdomen far fewer. Different areas of the body have different levels of sensation. You should feel a pinch for a fraction of a second or possibly a sting but it should be fleeting. On some areas you may not feel the needle enter at all. But once the needle is in, it should not provide any discomfort whatsoever.

Your Acupuncturist knows where to needle you to achieve your health goals. Acupuncturists can compensate when they must needle more sensitive areas by having excellent needling technique that is either very quick or very smooth, but please do not over-focus on anticipating possible momentary discomfort to the point you miss out on excellent healthcare.

In general, expect to have a New Patient Exam to identify your health goals and have your baseline health snapshot taken for future comparison. After your exam is completed, analysis will be done on the information gathered to allow for planning your future treatments to align with your health goals. After around 5 treatment visits we can reassess where progress was made and where it fell short. Coming in consistently in the beginning is important to gain momentum to clear hurdles. Skipping and postponing treatments can hinder progress. Commit to your health; the results will be worth it.

Treatment planning considers which modalities & substances are most appropriate for your situation; how motivated you are to incorporate individualized lifestyle suggestions, your eagerness to clear away what is blocking you from your idea of perfect health, how closely the treatments should be spaced, & how many treatments it will likely take. One size does not fit all.

The longer you have been actively building a disease state, the longer you can expect it to take to unravel the knot. To get faster/ better results, it is important to recognize your habitual thought patterns, method of assigning meaning to events, & beliefs you hold about yourself and others build your body & attract or repel certain experiences to or from you. Acupuncture is going to provide a re-set for your body/mind/emotions. If you insist on restoring your habitual thought patterns, method of assigning meaning to events, & beliefs about yourself and others, the good results may be temporary. But if you use this opportunity to safely let go of what is no longer serving your highest & best life, results will be more dramatic!

Most people enjoy their health journey on Acupuncture when delivered by a caring, competent Practitioner. Enjoy the ride.

Flexibility is offered for those who feel drawn to what Acupuncture promises yet feel cautious because it seems strange. You could start out at O.M. Connection with bodywork.

In Florida, Acupuncturists are Oriental Medicine Practitioners. Oriental Medicine contains multiple modalities, not just Acupuncture. We are permitted to do bodywork. At O.M. Connection you can receive multiple bodywork forms: TuiNa Chinese Medical Massage, Cupping, GuaSha, ChiNeiTsang, and Toksen. These are great for general health, overall balance, & promoting a feeling of well-being. But in order to receive acupuncture or herbal medicine, a New Patient Exam must be done to identify the exact nature of your health to avoid moving things in a direction that is not beneficial for your presentation.

Do give the bodywork a try if nothing else!

By correctly diagnosing you according to our system of understanding of human health, then treating you according to that diagnosis, Oriental Medicine can correct musculoskeletal issues that are creating: pain, reduced range of motion, loss of strength. It can correct organ system function loss such as poor circulation of blood/lymph, poor metabolism of water, poor digestion, discoordinated hormone signaling, inability to self regulate mood & emotions, inability to concentrate when needed, inability to get replenishing rest & sleep. Be aware that there is no one-to-one relationship between Allopathic disease names with Oriental Medicine diagnoses. For instance, if you have a diagnosis of High Blood Pressure per Allopathic standards, there is not an equivelent in Oriental Medicine. What you are experiencing body function-wise and what is observable about you, is what will get treated. Would you like to have normal, healthy body functioning restored to you? or hit a target number on a test through use of prescrition drugs while your enjoyment of your body steadily declines? Receiving well planned & expertly executed Oriental Medicine in conjunction with the Patient reducing the sources of toxicity that cause havoc in his/her body can restore proper body & mind functioning, and assist a person to align with his/her purpose in life.

While the following is not the outcome for every Patient of the Clinic, it is more common than not. Actual Allopathic disease names Patients have brought with them to the Clinic as an Identity, but through OM treatment, to have such a decrease in the symptoms that are associated with their labels, as to stop self-identifying with those labels includes: POTS, Hypertension, Pre Diabetes, Hypothyroid, Fybromyalgia, Depression, bulging disc, PCOS, premenstrual syndrome, sciatica, ulcerative colitis, neuropathy. OM Connection has experienced Patients reducing or eliminating medications for: migraine, metabolism, ADHD, pain, neuropathy, controlling blood pressure numbers, controlling blood sugar numbers, sleep, anxiety - because those Patients found they do not need them or could manage with much less dosage. Most of those Patients had an interest from the beginning to see if their medications could be reduced or eliminated, but for some patients who reduced or eliminated medications, they had no expectation Oriental Medicine could do that for them; it came as a surprise. OM Connection has assisted Patients many times to totally side-step & avoid getting prescribed new medications or getting procedures ordered because they are receiving routine holistic preventative healthcare.

During treatment followups, OM Connection has experienced Patients reporting things like arguing less, handling situations better, feeling grounded, letting go of the past, not feeling lost, craving healthier inputs, not feeling as much enjoyment out of things that are not healthy, realizing it is time to end a non-productive relationship, or through improvements in the Self, a relationship becomes much better. All of the changes the Clinic has witnessed are because Oriental Medicine creates movement where there is stagnation, establishes the ability to hold on to what should not be draining away, the ability to release what needs to go, the ability to make sense of what comes in and transform it into something useful or send it on its way.

If there is a fear of needles, such as a Phobia, we can substitute cold laser stimulation of acupuncture points instead of needles. You will do the New Patient Exam as is normal but when we do the treatments, instead of needles we can use cold lasers to stimulate the points. If and when you reach a comfort level we will try the needles using excellent technique and the smallest needles, very tiny.

O.M. Connection prices are openly listed on the Online Booking page as a sign of respect & trust to you; but you are asked to please avoid turning your healthcare decisions into shopping for indistinguishable widgets. Yes, your decision should factor in the cost of the treatments, but you really owe it to your health journey to take the time to do a quick consultation with the Practitioner you are considering. Having good Patient / Practitioner rapport is important to the healing process. Your Practitioner is a part of the Medicine in that he or she turns on your ability to heal yourself when you feel trust and safe.

Please read OM Connection’s Google reviews. Watch OM Connection videos to gauge the level of knowledge, skill, & grace applied in OM clinic treatments. O.M. Connection is based on the philosophy of giving more in value to you than it collects in payment. Prices are comparable to what you pay to engage other competent licensed professionals to work on you, your car, your home.

There are some who count pennies on health but splurge on cars, trips, handbags, watches, toys. Can the luxury automobile be enjoyed to its fullest though, if when the owner gets out of the vehicle, he or she is bent and limping across the parking lot into the store? Can the trip to a dream location be enjoyed to the fullest if the trip taker is plagued with anxiety, fears, allergies, sensitivities, & catches sick easily? Can a person truly enjoy an expensive face lift or mommy or dad-bod makeover if their body moves ancient & decrepitly, or they have zero energy to be a spouse & parent, or cannot go a day without pain pills? If that person gets compliments on looking good for their age but has stiff joints with hormones all over the place, is that high quality of life?

It's not wrong to have nice things. It's not wrong to get "work done". But health of body & mind is the only real asset you have in this lifetime. OM Connection is dedicated 100% to your enjoyment of your body & mind to live your highest good. By the way, when Oriental Medicine addresses the cosmetic (face, hair, weight) it achieves it by addressing the underlying health imbalance that is causing things to drupe or accumulate: Oriental Medicine results in the inside + outside looking & feeling great. Choose wisely.

Yes. Veterans frequently have a combination of physical & emotional health concerns that have not been resolved from conventional treatment. Veterans are then pleasantly surprised to find that Oriental Medicine can address it all: body, mind, & emotions through Acupuncture, Medical Bodywork, & Herbology.

Your VA healthcare Providers can request a referral for you to receive healthcare from Cerise Persia Harbour, Acupuncture Physician at OM Connection in Baymeadows/ Mandarin area of Jacksonville. The Request will be turned into a Referral by a Veterans Affairs - Community Care Network (VA CCN) Coordinator.

Not only can you expect your aches, pains, & mobility issues to improve but the treatments you receive from your other Practitioners will become more effective, even care received from your Mental Health Providers! Expect improvement in sleep, digestion, bowel movements, better concentration, relaxation, energy, happiness, clearer thinking.

A CCN referral for Acupuncture usually includes an initial exam, 12 sessions, & 2 reevaluations to assess effectiveness of treatment to adjust or make changes to the treatment plan if necessary. If improvement is clearly demonstrated and more improvement can be made, additional treatments can be approved. If you are not granted a CCN referral by the VA, it is highly recommended to self-pay for Acupuncture if you are not happy with your current state of health.

You or your Provider can get answers to any Oriental Medicine questions by calling or texting the OM Connection clinic number 904-580-3980. Reach out today.

Yes, these Plans. Check if your particular benefits package covers Acupuncture or Bodywork

Kaiser Permanente CAM Discount Program Plans

UHC Dual Complete (Supplemental Benefit)

UnitedHealthcare - Navigate Plans

UnitedHealthcare - Charter

UnitedHealthcare Medicare Plans

UnitedHealthcare Plans

NexusACO R (referral) accountable care organization (ACO)

For other Coverages, OM Connection provides you documentation for you to get reimbursed by your Carrier. The price of treatment will be the Usual & Customary Pricing of the Clinic.

If you contribute to an HSA or have a Flexible Spending Account, you can pay directly for treatment with those funds.

Yes. There are 3 categories of House Calls:

1) For established Patients who are under the weather or have twisted an ankle, etc. finding it dificult to get to the Clinic. I come to them so that they recuperate quickly & easily; this is a one-off kind of thing based on temporary/ unexpected circumstances. This is a clear benefit of being an established patient should it be needed.

2) For the niche Patients who want a concierge, pampered health experience of not leaving the house. This arrangement is on-going and regular; everything needed for excellent treatment is brought there. In some cases, a "treatment room" or "treatment space" is maintained in their home. The exact terms would be decided over consultation. Please inquire further. 904-580-3980

3) For families who want all the members to recieve the benefit of this ancient natural healthcare system; making a visit to their house is the most convient & effective arrangement for all parties. When this is chosen, it is most often exercised once a month or twice a quarter. At any given visit, some family members will be recieving preventative/ maintenence type treatments while others are addressing specific issues. The exact terms would be decided over consultation. Please inquire further. 904-580-3980

Your health is your greatest asset. The tighter your budget for spending on Acupuncture/ Chiropractic/ Massage Therapy/ Reiki/ Counseling, etc, the more you must lean on lifestyle modification and detoxifying your & your family’s kitchen & medicine cabinet, which are the sources of most people’s complaints and symptoms. What you stop doing and what you start doing daily is key. As stated previously, the more you do on your end in your daily life, the less treatment is required. A way to make treatment more effective and therefore reduce the number of treatments is to implement a healthy lifestyle. O. M. Connection can provide guidance in this area.

All of the Professions listed above have invested in learning real healing techniques, not to get rich, but to help Humanity. Practitioners want to do what every human wants to do, pay the bills by doing what they love. O.M. Connection charges the amount per treatment session and prescribes the number of treatments that will cover the level of analysis, attention, and effort required to deliver on the health goals you identified, factoring in your current level of health and types of medications you are on.

There are 2 options for people who want Acupuncture but cannot afford any private one-on-one sessions:

1) Community Accupuncture

2) NADA + Groups.

Read about this in a separate FAQ

Community Acupuncture is a delivery method that lowers your cost to receive acupuncture because it lowers the cost to the Practitioner to provide it to you. It does this by

1) restricting the points needled to points located on the ear, head, elbow to fingers, and knee to toes. These areas are easily accessible, but don't be fooled - very powerful treatment can be accomplished with these distal areas.

2) the patient does not need to undress therefore the need for physical privacy is eliminated opening the treatment up to being done in a group.

3) because it is a group setting, discussing Private Health Information is limited. The initial health screening is private and where PHI is freely discussed. The practitioner draws up a treatment plan from this initital disclosure of PHI and sticks closely to the plan. Sticking to the intital plan further reduces costs to the practitioner.

4) the participating patients are seated in chairs in a circle or lying on mats on the floor in a large room with retained needles, listening to soothing music

People who want the health benefits of Acupuncture but who simply cannot afford private one-on-one sessions at all, or who cannot afford one-on-ones as often as needed, so they supplement or alternate one-on-one treatments with Community Acupuncture treatments. Also, healing from acute injury or healing from deep-seated, severe, chronic conditions are best suited for daily acupuncture in 5-10 day increments. In those cases, private, one-on-one sessions would be pricey. Lastly, some patients, once they try Acupuncture in a group setting are going to prefer acupuncture in a group because of the camaraderie and power of being in a circle with other humans tuned into healing.

Community Group Acupuncture is available to you once you start with a private one-on-one Initial Health Screening. Community Group treatments are still geared toward achieving Patient goals, therefore an exam with full medical history and prescription history is needed to design an individualized plan to select which points will be needled for that particular Patient during Community Group sessions.

Group Acupuncture is also available for events such as a de-stress session held at work for employees or families that want healing sessions done together so that the entire household gets a benefit.

The NADA Ear Protocol was developed by an MD named Micheal Smith in the 1970s in Bronx NY in consultation with Acupuncturists specifically to counter the harmful effects of substituting Methidone for Heroine, which was observed to be just as adictive as heroine but without the high. It consists of needles in 5 specific points in the ear. The ear is proven to map to the entire body. Or said another way, the entire body can be found on the ear itself.

NADA is found to be extremely helpful in detoxifying the lungs, kidneys, liver, nervous system, and settling the mind when someone is in the midst of abstaining from substances they are addicted to. The full protocol is to receive needles in the ear into the NADA points on both ears, with needles retained for 30-45 minutes, for 10 days in a row. The person must sincerely desire to quit and actively be abstaining from the substance. NADA supports that person in his or her efforts to stop needing a substance. NADA is usually provided to a group, seated in chairs. It is only on the ear. 10 days is considered the amount of time a person needs support with physical withdrawal.

It does not have to be heroine that a person is trying to kick, or methidone. It can be sugar, alcohol, caffiene, smoking, rigid or habitual thought processes. The "+" indicates that when done by an acupuncturist, a few other points can be added based on individual symptomology if appropriate. This is offered at a low cost per person per day and requires a group to book. It can be your circle of friends, your family, or another group you belong to. To do the full protocol it should be done 10 days straight. It could be used to improve the detoxification effect of a fast you undertake or a juicing diet. When people use the NADA protocol to destress, it is not done for 10 days in a row. In that case, it is a one-and-done treatment. Those can be good for on-the-job-site work groups to give back to employees and acknowledge stress.