Acupuncture + Chinese Medicine | Austin, TX
Chronic Illness & Autoimmune Conditions
Individualized care for people living with chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, and persistent or overlapping symptoms.
When your symptoms don’t fit neatly into one box
Chronic illness often doesn't show up as a single symptom. You may be managing pain and fatigue, digestive changes and anxiety, hormonal symptoms and poor sleep or periods of feeling better followed by unexpected flares.
Some of our patients come to us with an established autoimmune or chronic illness diagnosis. Others know that something feels wrong but are still searching for answers.
How acupuncture supports chronic conditions
Chronic illness isn’t an isolated sickness. It is an ongoing relationship that affects many systems of the body and aspects of life. Rather than zeroing in on specific symptoms, Chinese medicine uses symptoms to understand the larger picture.
Treatment commonly looks like a blend of:
Acupuncture: supports circulation, your body’s internal signals and development of new neural pathways to support regulation
Herbal medicine: prescribed to support your specific condition, herbs can help integrate in between treatments
Lifestyle guidance: helps soothe the nervous system, especially during seasonal and healing changes
Areas of Healing
Pain & Physical Function
Supporting pain management, mobility, muscle tension, stiffness, and physical function.
Digestive & Gut Health
Addressing digestive symptoms that may accompany or overlap with chronic health concerns.
Energy & Hormone Health
Supporting energy, hormone balance, menstrual health, and symptoms that may fluctuate alongside chronic health concerns.
As your symptoms change, your treatment can change with you.
Conditions & Symptoms We Commonly Support
Autoimmune & inflammatory
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Crohn's Disease
Ulcerative Colitis
Lupus
Sjögren's Syndrome
Eczema & Psoriasis
Neurological & Pain
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Migraine
Neuropathy & Neuralgia
Multiple Sclerosis
Chronic Nerve Pain
Post-Stroke Symptoms
Persistent Pain
Sciatica
Chronic & Systemic
Chronic Fatigue
Long COVID & Post-Viral Symptoms
Chronic Urticaria
Interstitial Cystitis
Chronic Pelvic Pain
Dysautonomia & POTS
Complex & Multisystem Symptoms
Chronic Digestive Conditions
Don't see your condition listed? We work with a wide range of chronic and complex health concerns not listed here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Acupuncture is commonly used alongside conventional medical care. We consider your current diagnoses, medications, supplements, and other treatments when developing your care plan and encourage continued care with your physicians and specialists.
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That’s okay. You don’t need to choose one symptom for us to address. Chinese medicine considers how different symptoms may relate to one another, allowing us to develop a treatment plan around your overall presentation and the concerns that are most affecting your daily life.
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No. You do not need a specific diagnosis to begin acupuncture. Treatment is based on your health history, current symptoms, and individual presentation, whether you have an established diagnosis or are still looking for answers.
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Yes. Chronic conditions can change over time, and treatment can be adjusted based on how you're feeling at each visit. We look at patterns in your symptoms, including what may contribute to flares or periods when you're feeling better.
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Treatment can be adapted to your comfort and tolerance. We can use fewer needles, gentler stimulation, shorter treatment times, or other modifications when appropriate.
Beyond Chinese Medicine: A Holistic Approach to Chronic Illness
Just like our bodies are made up of interdependent systems, so should our methods of recovery be. Beyond acupuncture and other treatments, we have found that healing chronic illness is dependent on multiple facets of life. It is not necessary to do all this work at once. Find what comes naturally and move with that.
Complementary modalities
Chinese medicine and acupuncture excel at orienting the body to new neural pathways, but oftentimes integration of acupuncture treatments in between sessions includes support from other modalities. Most chronic illness patterns are sources of long-term adaptations, so there is often a period of reorienting to the new nervous system patterns acupuncture introduces. Other modalities that support this process include Chinese herbal medicine, integrated movement practices (such as yoga and pilates), and somatic therapies.
Dr. Izabel can work with you to understand what a good fit in your treatment plan might be or other ways to support integration outside of treatments.
Other tools for nervous system regulation
Having practices outside the treatment room for when stress begins to spike helps ensure the work sticks. Working with a licensed counselor is a great option to learn the tools, but there are also many resources online to build your resourcing. A couple ones we love include somatic tracking and experiencing, gentle breathwork, co-regulation with a trusted person and outlets for self-expression.
Keep in mind that nervous system regulation does not mean being calm all the time. True regulation builds capacity and safety to meet challenges that come your way.
Lifestyle foundations
Chinese medicine does a wonderful job at capturing all the aspects of life that contribute to good health, but we understand integrating all these changes at once can be overwhelming. A couple areas worth focusing on include restorative sleep practices, compatible and nourishing foods, time in sunlight and nature, building meaningful connections and incorporating gentle movement. Try to find one these areas that feels most accessible to change and move with that.
Dr. Izabel will also work with you and makes recommendations as to what might be the best first start to nourish your recovery.