John Nelson, MS, DIPL, LAc

Two months ago, I went to see John for chronic pain in my forearms, twice a week. He introduced Chia seeds a few weeks into the treatment, which worked like a charm. Sadly, now that I’m no longer using them, most of the pain has returned. While the acupuncture wasn’t effective for my forearms, I have no doubt that my body benefited from it. I believe John is skilled, but his arrogance exceeds that skill. I happen to be extremely nervous and hypersensitive to needles, and only turned to acupuncture out of desperation. I had a difficult time the first few weeks, but slowly began to relax and trust the process/​John. My final visit was last week. I started treatment around 11:50, and dozed off. At some point I woke up and wondered why he hadn’t checked in on me, and dozed off again. This time when I woke up, I was alarmed because I knew I had been on the table longer than usual. I checked my phone, and it was 12:40. At first I started calling out, but after no response, I began to yell (his office is next door) because I was panicked about removing the needles. Five minutes later and still no response, with a shock I realized that that was exactly what I was going to do. 12 needles later, finding the biohazard container to put them in seemed like a victory. As I walked out of the treatment room, I noticed the door was open. His door was shut, and no one else was in the suite. Three days later, I received a lazy, glib, and haughty phone message from him saying «I figured if you were mad at me, you would’ve called. Oh well – you survived.» He then asked me to call him back to confirm future appointments. When I called back, he once again dismissed the situation, making it seem as though I was overreacting. He also gave me a mind-​boggling excuse as to why he didn’t hear me. He said he was involved in a long and protracted phone call, and put his earbuds in because he knew I was next door, and didn’t want to disturb me. Try following that line of logic. Is there some new technology that allows your voice to be muted while speaking? He also said when he heard me shut the door to leave, he followed me outside to try and catch me, but I was already gone. No… I was across the street, and didn’t see him. When he asked if I would be at my next appointment, and I said I would think about it, he said I would be «foolish» to stop the treatment. I left a message later canceling all future appointments, saying that his behavior was grossly unprofessional and showed a complete lack of integrity and regard for my well-​being – and that all trust and respect had been dissolved. In his last message, he finally apologized, and asked if I would please be willing to have a conversation with him, because he wanted to «regain his dignity with me.» Guess what? Honesty, dignity and integrity is present immediately when a situation goes awry. It doesn’t show up when you realize that it’s too late, that you screwed up, and you’re scrambling to cover your bases. That John didn’t recognize that this was one of those situations, speaks volumes about his character.

I have a chronic skin condition and have seen tens of alternative, allopathic, and Chinese practitioners over the years. John’s style of practice resonated with me more than any practitioner I’ve ever worked with. In my first visit with him, without asking me any questions and from reading my pulse, he honed in on the root origin of my condition, which for me is at its core, psycho-​emotional. He worked with me, on the psycho-​emotional level, as well as more directly on a body level, with great sucesses and with incredible depth. After seeing him for some time, I began to find that he is incredibly well respected and sought after in the community, that he is constantly learning and improving his practice and techniques, and that he works with channels/​meridians that many TCM practitioners aren’t informed on. He is «the real deal» AND he is compassionate, dedicated to his purpose through his work, and is a clear and direct communicator. All of these things, and so much more, contribute to making him one of the best practitioners around.

John has been treating me for years for a life-​threatening illness. His knowledge and intuition are all you could want, but in addition he is a warm loving individual who truly cares about helping and healing. I travel from the city to see him because he’s worth it!

I can’t tell you how much difference this has made in my life.

John is the real thing. He practices Traditional Chinese Medicine with acupuncture, moxabustion, and herbs. When he takes the multiple pulse readings he needs in order to assess what is going on in the meridians and throughout the body, he makes you feel that nobody has ever truly attended to you like this in your life! And for many of us that is probably true. He doesn’t just feel your pulse – he LISTENS to it! Another reviewer refers to «his compassionate presence.» To that I say YES, that’s John. He helped me enormously going through a series of radiation treatments. He works with some of my clients who also report back on his work with glowing praise for his ability to help them with pain. John is a treasure.

Love love love John!
A friend thought it was a good idea to see John about my painful plantar fasciatus, which I had for 2 yrs. He was confident that he could help me, yet humble at the same time. Yes — my feet were healed and he knew exactly what he was doing. Since then he has helped me with other things, I now consider him my main doctor/​healer. John is very intuitive, down to earth, makes me laugh, open and seriously good at his work. I always look forward to being treated by him and I always leave feeling amazed and grateful and well cared for.

John has been a pillar on my journey to recovery after a high speed collision. He is amazing, i have found him to treat me with lots of respect, not to mention he is kind, caring, compassionate, funny, intuitive, and understanding.
Thank you!

I absolutely adore John. He’s warm, funny, committed to his practice and learning.
He’s been studying Chinese medicine (and medicine in general) for quite some time, even before he started his traditional schooling, and he takes his practice seriously without being overly serious himself, if that makes sense.
I’m an acupuncturist as well, but practice in SF and San Mateo, and when patients need referrals for the east bay, I feel absolutely comfortable that I can refer them his way and he’ll take care of their case in the utmost professional and loving way.
As his good friend for over 20 years, I trust him personally as well as professionally. Don’t hesitate to see John… Besides, he has many good teachers himself so he always has new techniques to try.