FAQs

Dr. Yelverton specializes in cancer treatment support, women’s wellness, constitutional wellness, and supportive treatment of psycho-emotional issues. She treats a wide variety of conditions, including:

1. Cancer support
2. Hormonal imbalances 
3. Menstrual irregularity
4. PCOS
5. Fertility challenge in men and women
6. Menopausal symptoms
7. Fibromyalgia
8. Peripheral neuropathies
9. Trigeminal neuralgia
10. Musculoskeletal pain
11. Arthritis/Joint pain
12. Carpal tunnel syndrome
13. Stress
14. Anxiety
15. Insomnia
16. Adrenal fatigue
17. Allergies and sensitivities
18. Immune support
19. Headaches

Dr. Yelverton has helped even the most difficult cases. Under her care, you can expect a comprehensive consultation and dynamic treatment plan that evolves with your needs. Schedule a visit with her today.

Dr. Cheryl Yelverton attended medical school at Duke University and completed a surgical residency and surgical oncology fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, Florida. She practiced in Broward County in the Memorial Healthcare and HCA Healthcare Systems, specializing in general and breast oncology for nearly 15 years. Read more here.

There is no minimum or maximum to the number of treatments you can receive, although giving the body time to detoxify and adjust to its changing condition between treatments is recommended.

Your first visit will include your consultation, in which you discuss the reason for your visit, your medical history and any previous treatment you have had for the condition. Dr. Yelverton will explain and answer questions about how acupuncture works to treat your condition, as well as explain the corresponding Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis. She will then position you on the table and administer your treatment. Only the skin in the areas she will need to place the needles will be exposed. She may include adding heat via a heat lamp, either therapeutically or for your comfort. Your treatment will last for 20–25 minutes, after which she will reassess you and discuss with you her recommendations for additional treatments and any other therapies that may be helpful, such as dietary modifications, specific exercises or herbal medicine. She will also answer any additional questions you may have.

You should wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing that allows you to expose your arms above the elbows, your legs above the knees, and access to any area you may specifically like treated, such as your back, without removing your clothing. Acupuncture is generally performed exposing as little skin as possible, clothing limitations permitting. Gowns are available for those requiring exposure of larger areas of skin for treatment.

We recommend not exercising on treatment days after treatment, as it tends to disrupt the balancing of the qi flow achieved during your treatment. Exercising prior to your acupuncture treatment is fine. In fact, the improved post-treatment blood flow may help mitigate exercise-induced muscle soreness and accelerate workout recovery. If you exercise before your treatment, we ask that you have a light post-workout snack and a shower prior to your acupuncture visit.

People experience a variety of sensations during a Reiki healing session. Some report seeing colors, usually colors corresponding to those associated with the chakras. Some report feeling lighter, as though relieved of a burden as their healing progresses. Others experience no unique sensations at all or fall asleep during their healing and feel relaxed and lighter at the end. Many have reported noting incredible clarity of thought and vision, as though seeing the world clearly for the first time at the end of their treatment and for several days afterward. As you process the healing over the next several days, you may experience recall of a worrisome or emotionally impactful event depending upon what issues you have chosen to address. This is because Reiki will create your safe space in which to process the experience if you are ready to do so.

Whether or not your insurance may be used to cover your treatment is wholly dependent upon whether your insurance includes benefits to cover acupuncture treatments. Not all insurance companies offer plans that include acupuncture benefits, and not all plans in companies that offer acupuncture coverage include such coverage. At the CARE Wellness location, we can check your specific policy coverage prior to your initial visit. We do not accept insurance at the Spiritual Journey location.

There is no set number of visits that will “fix” a presenting condition. The number of treatments needed to improve or resolve a condition depends upon the condition, how long you have had it, how severe it is, and your underlying constitution. Short-term conditions, such as a recent trauma or overuse strain, can be improved or resolved with a few sessions. Long-standing issues or constitutional decline may require months of treatment or periodic “maintenance” sessions after an initial series of frequent treatments.

Individual treatments are 25–45 minutes in length depending upon what condition is being treated. The effects of the treatments will generally last anywhere from 1–7 days. This is dependent upon the severity of the condition, how long it has existed prior to treatment, and the constitution of the person under treatment. Acute conditions, such as a recent mild to moderate physical trauma, can be improved or healed with a few sessions. Chronic conditions, such as long-standing (10 years or more) osteoarthritis, will require more treatments. The effects are also cumulative, so that with consistent treatment, long-term relief can be achieved and sustained as the body heals itself.

In the United States, it is actually illegal to treat cancer with acupuncture and herbal medicine, as their effectiveness is slower than cancer’s ability to rapidly advance. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are therefore employed to support the body’s constitution and ameliorate the side-effect symptoms associated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments. Acupuncture has been shown in multiple studies to effectively reduce or eliminate pain and nausea, while herbal support is largely used to restore the constitution and alleviate fatigue.

In general, needle insertion is typically painless or occasionally experienced as minor pin prick sensations that quickly dissipate once the needle is in place.

Yes, acupuncture is very safe, especially when practiced by fully trained and licensed acupuncturists. Acupuncturists are required to complete 3–4 years of training, including 660–870 hours of hands-on clinical experience prior to licensure. Well-documented studies cumulatively evaluating more than a million treatments have shown that the risk of a serious side effect is approximately 0.05 in 10,000 treatments, or 0.55 per 10,000 individual patients. Minor complications such as mild soreness or temporary bruising may occur in up to 6–15% of treatments. This is in contrast to dry needling, which can be practiced by non-acupuncturists after 18–54 hours of training in weekend courses. Minor complications of dry needling occur in over 36% of treated patients, and major complications occur in 1 in every 1,024 treatments.

Yes. Acupuncture needles are as thin as or thinner than a human hair. Needles are not inserted in or through areas including major blood vessels and generally not inserted deeply for most points.

Absolutely. In fact, we recommend having a light meal or snack half an hour to an hour prior to your visit if you have not eaten for several hours. If you are expecting a treatment that requires you to lie on your stomach, do not eat more than will allow you to lie face down on a table without discomfort.

The purpose of the treatment is to move qi and blood to achieve a state of balance in their movement throughout the body. Teaching the body what is supposed to be its “normal” state allows it to heal its imbalances on its own as much as it is capable of achieving. The general response to this restoration of balance is relaxation. Many people fall asleep during their treatments and feel quite peaceful and euphoric once finished.

Relaxation is the number one side effect of acupuncture. In general, there are no negative side effects. Occasionally, one may sustain a bruise, a little bleeding under the skin (hematoma) or a little muscle soreness from needling a point. These are generally harmless and will resolve. They can also be treated during a follow up session. Serious complications are very rare. (See the safety question above)

There has been no documented evidence of interference or negative interaction between Chinese herbal formulas and Western medications, although cautions exist regarding taking specific herbs while taking certain medications. Acupuncturists educated in herbal medicine are taught to assess for potential interactions between proposed formulas and prescribed medications when considering which formulas to recommend. 

Generally no, however some may experience GI upset with some formulas. At East-West Integrative Medicine and the CARE Wellness Center, we source high-quality formulas for our patients from reputable companies with strict, in-house and independent quality-control testing and management of their products.

No, cupping is not painful at all. The suction generated will feel like a gentle to moderate tug on the tissues within the cups. Patients generally describe this as a wonderful pull or stretch sensation as it is often used for myofascial release of tight or tense muscles. The color changes that occur reflect the underlying condition being treated by the cupping therapy.

Some foods may interfere with the intended function of formulas. For instance, if you are started on a formula to treat dampness but continue eating a diet that promotes dampness within your system, you are working directly against the intention of taking the formula.

Dr. Yelverton discusses dietary changes and recommendations with you during treatment sessions and when prescribing formulas.

Yes. Dr. Yelverton discusses dietary changes and recommendations with you during your sessions so that your diet works with your treatments to correct the condition under treatment.

It is important to maintain a normal state of hydration throughout the day, not just after an acupuncture session. Drinking water consistently throughout the day is the easiest way to accomplish this. If you sweat prodigiously, as with intense exercise, it is a good idea to replace lost electrolytes with a packet added to a pint or quart of water on that day as long as your kidney function is normal.