Renee Heenan Acupuncture

Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday.
My family and I just watched the 2017 movie Gifted.
Have you seen it?
It's a drama about an Uncle raising a little girl math prodigy.
I cried.
And I started to think of my Dad.
So, I'd like to share a photo of him, with my Uncle and Grandmother.
🥰

You know that moment when your back “goes out” and suddenly you’re 94 years old trying to put on socks?

Back pain is sneaky like that.

Sometimes it starts dramatically.
Sometimes it slowly builds over years:
sitting too much,
stress,
old injuries,
bad sleep,
muscle tension,
carrying children,
carrying everyone emotionally,
all of it.

And eventually your body starts protesting.
One of the things I hear all the time is:
“I thought it would just go away.”
Three months later people are grunting every time they stand up and avoiding sneezing because it feels too dangerous.

Acupuncture is really good at treating back pain because we’re not only looking at the painful area.

We’re looking at:
inflammation,
circulation,
stress,
muscle guarding,
sleep,
recovery,
and WHY the body stopped adapting well in the first place.

The goal is not to become deeply spiritually connected to your heating pad.

The goal is daily functionality with so little pain that you stop thinking about your back altogether.
That’s the kind of healing I’m here for.
Link in bio to get started.

Thursday's are herb days! How cute are these little bales of epimedii (h***y goat w**d). Why are they bundled like this? I have no idea, but I love it! Life of an Herb dealer 😂

One of the most common questions I get is:
“How many treatments will I need?”
And I totally get why people ask.

We live in a world of:
one-click ordering,
same day delivery,
and antibiotics that knock something out in 48 hours.
So it can feel surprising when acupuncture works best as a process instead of a one-and-done fix.

Although, sometimes it IS a one-and-done!
Sometimes it's 5.
Sometimes it becomes maintenance b/c work requires you to keep doing the thing that your body doesn't like.

Most chronic symptoms did not appear overnight.
The insomnia.
The migraines.
The digestive issues.
The burnout.
The chronic pain.
The hormonal changes.

Usually the body has been compensating for awhile before symptoms become loud enough to interrupt your life.

One treatment can absolutely create meaningful change.
People often sleep better, feel calmer, or notice symptom relief quickly with the first treatment.

But lasting change often happens through repetition.
Frequency and duration are part of the healing.
Through helping the body practice a new pattern long enough that it starts becoming the default instead of the exception.

Real healing tends to be less like flipping a switch and more like watching your body remember how to function well again.
That’s the kind of change that lasts.
I'm here for it.
Link in bio to schedule your first appointment.

Tired…but also weirdly wired.
Exhausted…but unable to rest.
Dragging all day…then suddenly awake at 11pm reorganizing a drawer for absolutely no reason.

In Japanese Medicine, we often think about this as the body borrowing fire from deeper reserves.

The “go juice.”
The backup battery.
The reserves that help you push through stress, overwork, poor sleep, emotional overload, travel, caregiving, perimenopause, all of it.

And the body CAN do that for awhile.
(Humans are incredibly adaptive.)

But eventually people start noticing little signs that the reserves are not replenishing well:
waking during the night,
feeling anxious and depleted at the same time,
brain fog,
burnout,
hormonal chaos,
afternoon crashes,
hot flashes,
heart palpitations,
feeling emotionally thinner than usual.

The goal is not to shame yourself for being stressed.
The goal is to help your body stop living off emergency energy all the time.
That’s one of the things acupuncture and herbs do beautifully:
helping the system replenish while still functioning in real life.
More sleep.
More resilience.
More steadiness.
Less “I think my nervous system is being held together by caffeine and sheer force of will.”

Your body is always trying to adapt for you.
Sometimes it just needs more support in the process.
Link in bio to book your appointment when you’re ready to feel more like yourself again–
and resourced.

Heart health is not just about avoiding a heart attack someday.
It’s about how your body is functioning NOW.
Energy.
Circulation.
Inflammation.
Stress.
Sleep.
Recovery.
Feeling calm enough to actually enjoy your life.

Your body keeps score.

I look at heart health as more than numbers on a lab report.
I look at the whole picture:
digestion,
sleep,
emotional health,
daily habits,
and how hard your body is working just to keep up.

No, acupuncture & Chinese Medicine do not replace your cardiologist.

Yes, it CAN be great support alongside the care you’re already receiving.
Because prevention matters.

Paying attention and making meaningful micro-changes over time–adds up.
Your heart deserves support long before it starts screaming for attention.

Link in bio to take a whole systems approach to your heart health.
Feel free to text/call me to see if I'm a good fit. 918-519-1163

“You’re kind of my last resort.”
I hear this ALL the time.
Usually after someone has:
seen five practitioners,
had normal labs,
tried random supplements from the internet,
gone gluten free,
downloaded meditation apps,
spent $400 at Sephora trying to look less exhausted,
and quietly started wondering if maybe this is just their personality now.

One of the things people love most about what I do is I look at the whole picture
instead of isolated symptoms.

Because everything IS connected.

Sometimes patients cry in the first appointment simply because someone is finally connecting the dots in a way that actually makes sense.

Not:
“everything is normal, good luck.”

More:
“ohhhh. THIS is why all of these symptoms keep showing up together.”

That moment matters.
Your body is communicating.
I help listen and make it make sense–to you.

If you’ve tried everything and still don’t feel like yourself, I'd love to help you get to the bottom of it.
Link in bio to book your appointment.

Sweaty, snappy, thirsty, chafed– feeling personally victimized by summer right now?

I have some thoughts.

One of the easiest ways to support your body in summer is through cooling foods.
Think:
watermelon,
cucumber,
mint,
berries,
coconut water,
citrus,
leafy greens,
tofu,
light soups,
herbs,
and actually hydrating before you become a human raisin.

Also:
less alcohol,
less fried food,
less “I survived on iced coffee and vibes.” Or I had “margaritas for dinner”

Your body is always adapting to the season it’s in.
This just helps you work WITH that instead of fighting your way through summer
feeling inflamed and miserable.

Also–the office is dark and cool. The perfect internal temperature, mood soothing place to be this summer. 😉

Link in bio book your calm down support system. Physically and emotionally.

Eastern Medicine does not view ADHD as a moral failure or a broken brain. Or even something to “fix”.
It’s a different way of processing the world.
And whether you take medication or not, supporting the BODY matters:
sleep,
stress,
digestion,
focus,
nervous system regulation,
energy,
recovery.

Because everything works better when the whole system is more supported.
The goal is not becoming a productivity robot.
Or “normal” (boring!)

The goal is YOU feeling better in your actual life.
Less overwhelmed.
More resourced.
And maybe finding your keys a little more often too. OR NOT. I’m not here to judge.

Link in bio when you’re ready for systemic support–which raises overall dopamine levels.

I’m a fan of many tools. Including HRT.

One of the biggest misconceptions about HRT is that once you start estrogen or progesterone, everything is suddenly supposed to feel effortless again.

Like–back to normal.

Sometimes it DOES help dramatically. Yeah!

And sometimes your body is still out here doing interpretive dance with your hormones for awhile.
Or it’s fine…then not. Again. And again. And again.
You know what I’m talking about.

Perimenopause is a transition.
During the process the body is often UN-predictable.
It’s part of the transitional landscape.

Even with HRT onboard, many women are still dealing with:
sleep issues,
irritability,
anxiety,
rage,
brain fog,
hot flashes,
weird periods,
feeling unlike themselves,
or suddenly having the emotional resilience of a toddler who missed nap time.

That does not mean you’re failing hormones.
It means you're adapting.

Acupuncture, and often herbs, work beautifully alongside HRT because it helps support the BODY navigating the transition:
more regulation,
more resilience,
better sleep,
less inflammation,
better flow.
Less “what fresh hell is this?” energy.

You do not need to grin and bear it (or cuss and cry) your way through this phase of life.
And no, you are not crazy.
Your body is just moving from Peacekeeper-Helper to Leader-Queendom.

Link in bio if you’re ready to feel more like yourself again.