Frequently Asked Questions

Our treatments are a very different approach to health than that which many, even those who have taken therapeutic herbs before, may be accustomed. We recommend all patients have some understanding of the facts below before, especially before having a consultation. Keep in mind, what we offer are Chinese herbal recommendations intended to restore harmony in the body. These herbs act as a dietary supplement, not a medical procedure. We do not offer miracle treatments. For emergencies and medical diagnoses, we advise you to consult with your primary care provider.

FAQs - General and for First-time Visitors

Do you accept card/Apple/Google Pay?

Yes, we accept all three forms of payment.

We only accept walk-ins for both acupuncture and herbal consultations. No appointments. 

Yes, but perhaps not in the way you have in mind. We treat the pattern of disharmony out of which your health complaint arose. Our google reviews are full of many success stories, but they may not give the whole picture as to how we treat. For example, one disease may require different treatments based on the person and the way they present. It is not in line with traditional Chinese medicine to say, “Oh you have diabetes, you need this herb”. Accordingly, every treatment process will be different. Diseases are not treated as single-entities. If you see any herbalist, they will choose a formula (classical or customized) that seeks to restore balance to your system, as it is on the day of your consultation. Chinese medicine is often times a slow, system-building approach, which addresses a pattern (Ted Kaptchuk analogizes it to one’s “internal climate”) pertinent to one’s health complaint. It requires commitment on behalf of the patient/customer to be mindful of their health and to take their herbs daily, sometimes several times a day, for several months.

Generally speaking, there are three different approaches that we offer.

#1 – Over-the-counter:
If your health complaint is acute and not intertwined with several other health issues, an over-the-counter formula may be right for you. Herbal practitioners will usually know hundreds of classical formulas in the Chinese cannon indicated for common patterns and symptoms. These are so common that distributors in China have prepared these teas in the form of tea-pills. Some more benefits of tea-pills are that they are relatively cheap and can be easily taken. They may also serve as a good starting point for people new to Chinese medicine. The staff at the store here are qualified to recommend these for customers, but they are not qualified to make custom herbal formulas using individual ingredients.

#2 – Herbal Consultation
If your health complaints are chronic and intertwined with other health issues, having an herbal consultation may be right for you. Importantly, this approach may be fairly expensive and requires more commitment from a patient than does taking over-the-counter herbs. After the cost of the consultation and herbs, new patients will typically spend around $150 for two weeks of a formula. We do not accept appointments, only walk-ins.

If you come in for a consultation, the herbalist will use the tools of traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis (see: pulse and tongue reading and the 10 questions) to come up with a treatment. Consultations take, on average, about ten minutes. Then, you can take your prescription to the first floor to be filled.

#3 – Acupuncture
Our acupuncturist, Zhuang Cai performs treatment of chronic pain, emotional disturbances, and pain resulting from acute injury or illness. Mr. Zhuang Cai is an acupuncturist in New York, NY with 19+ years treating symptoms of physical and mental health disorders. As an

Acupuncture sessions are $55. Walk-ins are available Tuesdays and Fridays 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.. No appointments. 

Typically, coming in early is your best bet. We open at 10am every day besides Wednesdays and major holidays (when we are closed). Saturdays are typically our most busy, with Thursdays and Fridays coming in second place. Frank begins to see his last patients at 4pm. Please check our website and facebook for updates regarding vacation and holiday hours.

As we only offer walk-ins, we occasionally have to turn away patients as early as 2:30-3pm because it gets so busy. 

Often times, patients with chronic conditions will need to take their prescribed herbs very consistently, almost every day, for a few months. This is to build a certain level of strength and balance, before one may consider spreading out their treatments. It is important to note that health is a journey that also involves managing stress, lifestyle, and environmental factors, not just ingesting herbs.

There are no guarantees with this medicine, as with any treatment. Despite how some patients may describe their experiences, Frank is not a miracle worker. If you haven’t already, reading our reviews of Google may give you some idea as to how effective Frank’s treatments

Yes, this is common (especially if a patient cannot physically come into the clinic or if they do not speak English or Chinese) for a loved one to come in and act as an intermediator. However, it is incredibly important that the patient has a commitment to and an understanding of this medicine. Not everybody is willing or able to take herbal tea consistently. Many of the statements made here in these FAQs are made to prevent people from spending money on something that they or their loved ones will not take.

Frank speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Unfortunately, our staff only have the capacity to speak those two languages. If you or a loved one want to be treated by him, but cannot speak English, we highly suggest bringing in a translator. Translator can be done via phone call, if the patient or translator cannot be physically present. We discourage non-English speaking patients arriving with only Google Translate as their communication tool. Unfortunately, we’ve found that Google Translate has limited capacity when it comes to relaying information regarding health concerns. A lack of communication may result in a patient receive improper treatment.

Yes, this is common (especially if a patient cannot physically come into the clinic or if they do not speak English or Chinese) for a loved one to come in and act as an intermediator. However, it is incredibly important that the patient has a commitment to and an understanding of this medicine. Not everybody is willing or able to take herbal tea consistently. Many of the statements made here in these FAQs are made to prevent people from spending money on something that they or their loved ones will not take.

Yes. Occasionally, people will only want the consultation so that they can research their prescribed formula before committing to purchasing the herbs. While we appreciate that line of thinking, we also want people to know that the consultation does not offer much value without the herbs. As mentioned above, the language of Chinese medicine contains a lot of terminology that, admittedly, will sound incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Learning to bridge that gap in understanding from written word to felt experience is much better facilitated while taking the herbs and doing research. To make an analogy, having the consultation without the herbs is like taking a pottery class without clay to sculpt. The following question will shed more light on this topic.

While we encourage people to do their own research online, take what you see with a grain of salt, especially if you are new to Chinese medicine. The information online and in the dominant culture often focuses on individual herbs and isolated symptoms. When in actuality, Chinese medicine almost entirely uses herbs in combinations, known as formulas or decoctions. Individual symptoms are also taken as only one part of a general pattern. Often times, symptoms that appear the same in different patients will warrant different treatments.

If you are coming to us and are inexperienced in Chinese medicine, we would usually suggest you come into the store for a recommendation. We may even approve of a formula you found online. Otherwise, you may send an email with a brief description of health complaint to linsisterherb@gmail.com, if it is inconvenient for you to travel here.

In the case you are coming to us because you have found a specific formula but cannot find it to purchase elsewhere, please tell us the doses of each herb and the quantity of formula sets you would like (typically, one set is for one day’s dose). Unfortunately, this approach also runs into problems as articles frequently will not disclose the doses of each herb (perhaps to discourage people from self-diagnosing).

We cannot guarantee that any of our herbs are organic. As for the health benefits of our herbs, we can point to the many positive reviews from customers and patients on Google. Whether or not that health benefit is outweighed by one’s sensitivity to inorganic herbs is ultimately for a patient to decide.

If you are the inquisitive type, we strongly encourage you to have your questions prepared to ask during your consultation. As we are a high-volume clinic, our herbalist Frank can be difficult to reach between patients for questions. Please also keep in mind, we are a high-volume clinic, not an education center. There is only so much time for Frank and the staff to answer questions while also having time to treat. Experience can be enriched by research and vice-versa, so we encourage anyone interested to delve into the world of Chinese medicine literature. A common starting point for beginners is the book The Web That Has No Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk

FAQs - After Getting Your Herbal Formula

How do I take my formula?

Take the following instructions, unless otherwise instructed by Frank the herbalist or Zhuang Cai, our acupuncturist.

Standard directions – Make once, drink twice:
Each clear plastic baggie (holding green and white tea packets) represents one set of your daily formula. Empty the contents of one set, and dissolve the granules with 16 ounces of warm water. Make it like instant coffee. Drink half in the morning, after having some food (a snack will suffice). Drink the remaining half in the evening (again after having some food). Before ingesting the evening dose, it can be stored in the refrigerator and then reheated in the microwave, or it can be stored in a thermos.

Alternative direction  – Make once, drink once:
Follow the Standard instructions above, but drink all of the fluid once. Also, in this direction, your formula should also be taken after having some food. This direction is usually taken by patients for whom it is more convenient to take all at once.

Alternative preparation – more or less water
16 ounces of water is just a recommendation for new patients. In reality, one just needs enough water to ensure that the herb granules fully dissolve. Using less water may be suitable for patients who would rather get it over with more quickly. The downside is that the taste will be stronger.

 

We recommend you instead have some honey or candy as a chaser. Adding honey to a very bitter formula will usually not be enough to make it more palatable.

Herbal formulas are uniquely customized by the herbalist to target an overall pattern in your life and body, which reflects your chief complaint. Therefore, to really understand what the herbs are for, it requires some understanding of how Chinese medicine treats and diagnosis. Therefore, this is a question, you should remember to ask Frank during your consultation. For the sake of transparency, we have listed the common and scientific names on their herb packets. As we are a high volume clinic, we encourage you to look up these herbs online, if you are interested. Admittedly though, much of the language used in Chinese medicine will be difficult to comprehend by laypeople. The staff may have some knowledge about individual herbs, but in TCM, herbs are hardly taken individually. The interactions between all the herbs that make up formulas requires years of study to understand. Frank and the staff, unfortunately, do not always have time to educate patients about Chinese medicine. Please have your questions prepared to ask during your consultation. Otherwise, it may take several days for Frank to have a chance to respond to you. To avoid any unwanted surprises or what might seem like gatekeeping, we encourage curious patients to do some research before coming here. There are many resources for people to learn more.

There are two typical options: refill your formula or have another consultation. Your choice, of course, depends on how your body has responded to the formula and/or the herbalists recommendation. Frank will sometimes, suggest patients to come back again after a certain amount of time. If he did not mention that, by default, the recommendation is first to take note of how your body reacts to the formula. If you feel that your formula is the right direction for you (e.g. you’ve noticed some alleviation of signs and symptoms or you’re feeling more harmony in your body), you may want to consider refilling your formula by filling out this form https://linsisterherb.com/formula-refill/ . Usually, patients will only get a refill for the same amount of sets they received for their first cycle. For example, if you got 14 days of your formula initially, you may benefit from having another 14 days for your refill.

Typically, it is a good sign if your body is changing as you take the formula. Therefore, after your first or second refill, you may find that your formula is no longer as applicable. At this point, you may consider updating your regiment by having another consultation, especially if your situation matches the following: if you reached a plateau in your progress, if your chief complaint has changed to a new issue since your last visit, if many secondary complaints have come up since your last visit, if several months or years have passed since your last visit. If you experienced severe undesirable side-effects while taking your previous formula, you should stop taking the formula immediately and read the question regarding negative side-effects below. 

Although it may be hard to believe, but your herbal formula is likely already indirectly or directly treating that issue. This isn’t just some convenient answer. The questions and tools of inspection Frank goes through during your consultation are meant to thoroughly gather signs and symptoms that inform an appropriate treatment plan. For example, a patient Frank once saw for her stomach issues, later called back to ask if the formula is also treating her depression. As you may have guessed, the formula was indeed already treating both as these issues are closely connected (in both Chinese medicine and Western medicine). Chinese medicine is a holistic approach that recognizes underlying health patterns, one of which is selected according to your chief complaint and, most famously, the qualities of your tongue and pulse. Therefore, as herbalists targets the chief complaint of a patient, it is expected for other symptoms to also improve.

In a non-hollistic approach to treatment, where one might treat various symptoms as distinct entities, the treatment may become unfocused. Following this approach, the underlying root condition, from which other symptoms arise, may not actually improve. Unless you forgot to mention something very severe, such as severe bleeding, it is generally a good idea to try taking your formula for the set number of days prescribed to you. Of course, there are occasionally exceptions (see: the question below).

Please bring up any medications you are taking with Frank during your consultation. For the most part. Frank generally prescribes herbs that are commonly used and gentle. Therefore, the likelihood of a contraindication with one’s medications is rare. As a precautionary measure, space out the ingestion of your pharmaceutical drugs with your herbal tea by 1-2 hours.

If you develop a reaction that is very severe (e.g. vomiting, migraine, etc.), immediately discontinue your formula. Regardless of the severity of your negative reaction, please email us at linsisterherb@gmail.com to describe the symptoms. While, slight discomfort may be expected for some after taking a formula, we want to make sure it is conducive to your health improving.

Generally, our herbalist Frank will recommend formulas that include very commonly used herbs. A benefit of this strategy is that these herbs are less likely to provoke a negative side effect (even when taken with pharmaceuticals). On occasion, some patients may have an unforeseen allergy to one herb in a formula. In this case, we suggest the patient discontinue their formula and contact us. The practitioner may suggest you take out an ingredient or return your entire formula.

If you suspect that your formula is negatively impacting your sleep quality, consider taking your doses earlier in the day.

If you suspect that you may be very sensitive to herbs, but want to continue taking the formula, consider splitting one day of your formula to be taken across two days, instead.

The way to make sure if there was a mistake is to check the names of the herbs written on the packaging of your herbs. Sometimes the packaging will differ from that which you received previously, but the herbs will be the exactly the same. This is because we source herbs from different distributors to ensure a consistent supply.

Many factors go into making sure that an herb’s harsh effects will be neutralized: preparation of the herb before distribution, the qualities of other herbs in the formula, the duration of the treatment. More likely than an herb’s potential toxicity being a threat to a patient is the chance that they may have an allergic reaction to one of the herbs or an extreme sensitivity to herbs in general (see the section on side effects for more).

Our store abides by FDA regulations. Almost every two years, we will take products off of our shelves that the FDA has banned for retail. Keep in mind, the herbs Frank prescribes, are intended to gently harmonize imbalances in one’s system. Accordingly, the toxicity of an herb presented in a text online will typically only be relevant when that herb is taken individually and at inappropriate doses. For this reason, certain herbs we will not sell unless they are included with other herbs as part of a formula, 

Regarding herb functions, one must look at the formula as a whole to understand the treatment. There are herbs that show up in many different formulas that have wildly different indications and actions from one another. This emphasizes how important the herbalist is determining which dynamics between herbs are appropriate for use. While we encourage people to research their formulas, learning to bridge that gap in understanding from written word to felt experience may be much better facilitated while also taking the herbal formula.

For custom herbal formulas prescribed by Frank, we accept returns with a 30% surcharge. Preparing the individual herbs together and then having to redivide them after a return requires labor on our behalf. Therefore, we strongly recommend people have consultations only if they are thoroughly prepared to take the herbs and understand what the process entails.