ACUPUNCTURE ARTIST

Dr. Kuan Su’s journey to becoming a doctor specializing in acupuncture and alternative medicine was a very personal one.

More than 10 years ago, his wife at the time was pregnant with their son and developed gestational diabetes. She sought care through traditional medical treatments but no solutions to her condition emerged. Eventually, she was told she would need daily insulin shots.

Not satisfied with that remedy, she eventually turned to acupuncture. The leg swelling she suffered due to the gestational diabetes was reduced by about 50 percent with a single treatment, and Su, then a sales and recruiting specialist, knew he wanted to switch careers.

“I was in the treatment room with her, and I was stunned. I thought, ‘I have to do this instead. It’s super exciting’,” he explains. “Three months went by, our son was born, and we were very happy about it.”

Shortly thereafter, Su enrolled in a program at Pacific College of Health and Science in downtown Chicago. After his first few classes, he never looked back. The specialties he gravitated toward were pain and stress management, neuropathy, mental health issues, and other conditions such as insomnia and erectile dysfunction.

“Those were the major items that stuck out to me, especially when I was an intern treating patients,” he says. “Those are the areas I saw a lot of great results.”

Su likes to say that what he practices is complementary alternative medicine, with the emphasis on complementary. He doesn’t aim to replace traditional medical treatments, but to offer alternatives for those who have been unsatisfied with standard medical regimens or for those who are currently undergoing treatments that require additional support.

“A story I hear often is that patients will come to me, and they’ve already seen three specialists, tried an array of treatments and medication as well as supplements, and nothing has really worked,” he says. “I’m kind of their last hope.”

He also treats patients who have a condition where surgery has been recommended but they want to explore other options. Some patients come in for preventative reasons and others are just frustrated with the route they’ve already taken.

A big chunk of Su’s patient base is being treated for neuropathy—a numbness in the hands, feet, or limbs resulting from muscle strain, injury, diabetes, and an array of other causes.

“I see a lot of those patients because those tend to be severe and pretty chronic,” he says. “I see a lot of chronic pain, like post-op recovery, sciatica, temporomandibular joint disorder, or migraines where people have been suffering for way too long.”

Su also focuses his practice on health issues that are exclusive to men. “There are a lot of wonderful clinics in the Chicago area that treat women’s infertility,’ he explains, “but not a lot that treat men’s fertility issues like erectile dysfunction and prostatitis.”

However, it’s not just what happens in the treatment room that matters. Patients can also do plenty on their own.

“I give people recommendations what to do in between visits to expedite their recovery,” he adds.

Acupuncture North Clinic is located at 191 Waukegan Road, Suite 120, in Northfield. For more information, call 847-868- 0408 or visit acupuncturenorthclinic.com.