I love to prescribe custom herbal formulas and continue to be impressed by the elegant design of these ancient classical prescriptions and the breadth of conditions they can treat! I primarily draw my expertise from a classical lineage as taught by Dr. Suzanne Robidoux who learned from Dr. Feng Shi lun (冯世伦) who received his knowledge from Professor Hu Xi shu (胡希恕), who learned from the master eunuch Wang Xiang wei (王祥微). Standalone herbal consultations are 30 to 40 minutes–this includes a detailed discussion about your symptoms and checking your tongue, pulse, and abdomen.
Health conditions such as IBS, poor digestion, autoimmune diseases, gynecological issues, skin problems (rashes, eczema, itching, acne, fungal infections), neurological issues (tremor, TBI, nerve pain), anxiety, depression, insomnia, and perimenopausal issues (night sweating, hot flashes, mood changes, insomnia) all tend to respond more quickly with the addition of herbal medicine treatment.
Prior to your consultation I will need you to fill out a detailed form about your symptoms. You can download the pdf version ( herbal consultation intake form ) or, once you are set up with an appointment, I can send you the online form through our booking software. This will help focus our discussion of your symptoms. Ideally I like to create a custom formula of raw dried herbs for you to cook on the stove at home (like this: raw herb cooking instructions). This is the most traditional and strongest way to administer an herbal formula. I maintain a raw herb pharmacy at my home to ensure that as many herbs as possible are organic or pesticide free and to make it more efficient and convenient for you to acquire them!
If cooking the herbs is too time consuming, then I will order a custom tincture through Five Flavors Herbs at 344 40th St (between Manila and Broadway) in Oakland. In this case, I order the tincture through their system, their web interface sends you a link to create an account and pay for your order, and once you pay they will notify you when it is ready for pickup.
Catie Lowder, L.Ac. 