Diana Shkolnik LAc

I had terrible back pain that chiropractors and masseuses couldn’t fix. When a friend asked me if I tried acupuncture, I visited her as the first time in trying acupuncture in USA.
When I was little in Japan, my mom took me to an acupuncturist for ankle joint problem I had, and I did hate what they did, so this was kinda the last resort of thing I was made to try acupuncture again. My back was whacked for some reason for about a month, and I really hoped something sooth me little.
Diana had electric acupuncture on my back, which ran about 30 minutes. And alas it just made all good with the one session. She did tell me that I might want to come back, and I said I will just call back again if needed. And fortunately I felt good after all and didn’t need another treatment.

Diana is an extremely talented acupuncturist with many years of experience and a diverse and extensive resume. She cares deeply for her clients and has helped me a lot. I came to Diana several months ago and I have been seeing her at least once a week. I came to her because of a sprained hip flexor. Not only has she really helped me heal– but her warmth and kindness add sunshine to my day. There is a reason she keeps so busy– and that’s because she has an excellent reputation for doing wonderful work. My advice– get an appointment while you can!

I’ve been treated by Dr. Diana Shkolnik for 5 years, and am glad that I was referred to her for my pains and aches, that lasted for a long time, and were unresponsive for medications or biofeedback. She has done everything to alleviate my medical problems, which included Fibromyalgia, Migraines, sciatica, spasms, cramps, back and lower back pains, etc. She did acupuncture, combined with massage, and short term cupping, followed by short term detoxification. We’re still continuing maintenance treatments and, when needed, more active and frequent massage and acupuncture.
Dr. Shkolnik will provide any needed patches, sprays, herbs .if you ask for it. Nothing is being «hard sell», and often times she needs to special order my favorite menthol patches for migraine, because they sell out very quickly. The prices for all services, treatments and patches/​herbs are very reasonable, comparable to some other oriental medicine places. She also projects positive energy with her smile, friendly attitude and reassuring comforting when patients are in pain. There is hope, and there are results that I felt after seeing Dr. Shkolnik from first month of our treatments sessions. I also have diabetic nerve pain, and she helps treat them as well. Always in a good, positive mood, it gives me a feeling that everything will be okay and I will get better.
Based from my experience with Diana, I would highly recommend her as very educated, with great deal of experience Doctor of Oriental Medicine, dedicated to help sick people get back to their lives and jobs.

I know Diana for awhile, not only me but other members of my family went to see her help. She is a great listener and a high quality professional. She has a very good expertise in Chinese medication and she is always trying to find the right one for you. I am really grateful we have her in out lives, because she is not only a great acupuncturist and masseuse but a wonderful person! Her location is very convinient and she is very flexible in scheduling! I would recomend this place.

I have never done acupuncture before and I don’t really understand it… I always thought of it as one of those things that only works if you believe it works.
Regardless, I have a thyroid issue that has been present for almost 10 years now and has still not been properly regulated. My mom recommended I do acupuncture because she heard of someone with my same issue doing it and it worked wonders. The person she knew did 3 sessions (as recommended by the professional) and next time she went in for blood work, her thyroid was somehow perfect and she no longer needed to take daily synthetic thyroid meds.
I thought, hey, I will give it a try. So, when one of my daily deal websites sent me a deal for $ 99.00 for 3 sessions with Diana, I thought sure why not!
After reading up on acupuncture, I expected to go in and have her «evaluate me» based on my pulse, etc etc…(I can’t remember now what I read, but it was a bunch of stuff). Every site led me to believe that it would be about an hour long consultation so the professional could figure out your qi, your body, etc.
I walked in on a Monday; sat down and filled out some basic paperwork stating previous injuries, diseases, conditions, etc. She looked over the paper for about 20 seconds to make sure that I had filled it out and signed it, but didn’t really look at the symptoms or anything. I told her I was basically there for my thyroid and so we went into the room where I removed my shoes and laid down.
She inserted needles in my feet, ankles, hands, stomach, arms, ears, and head. Then she turned off the light, turned on the heater, and left me to marinate for 30 minutes. I now understand why people get relaxed by this… you are sitting in a warm, dark room for 30 minutes with nothing to do because you can’t use your phone and you are afraid to move any part of your body for fear of a needle falling out or getting pushed too far in. I nearly fell asleep.
Once she came back, she removed the needles and told me to meet her in her office. As I stood up, I noticed she left a needle in my arm… so I pulled it out and stuck it in the red bin. Once in her office, she had a few things to sell. One was needles to be stuck in my ears like band aids for a week to help with… something…another was herbal supplements to help with my thyroid. I am bad at saying no, so I said yes to the ear needles and no to the supplements (if they are big pills, I won’t take them… plus, how do I know if it is the herbs or the acupuncture that is working?). Out of the 4 ear needles, 2 of them fell out in my sleep the first night (they are supposed to last a week). One fell out by Wednesday and the other lasted until my next appointment on Friday. She took the one out and said she would put new ones in. I don’t think I should have to pay for them since they didn’t last (especially because she pulled one out herself), but whatever, I still paid. She also tried to sell me on more sessions by saying that I needed to go twice/​week (forever). I told her that I had already paid for 3 sessions and she had no clue until she grabbed my voucher out of the trash to make sure.
On my second appointment which was on a Friday, she showed her flexibility by allowing me to come late. I work in the East Bay and it normally takes me less than an hour to get home (lower pac heights), but traffic was crazy. So, even though I left work at 3 for my 4:30 appointment, I knew I wouldn’t make it there as I was sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. I called her before 4 and let her know that I wasn’t going to make it and she told me to update her every 20 minutes… which I did. I finally made it to her at 4:45 and she ushered me right in to the treatment room. She put needles in the same spots as before, but this time she included an electrical machine to some of the needles which felt like pencils tapping on my skin. This time, before standing up, I checked carefully to make sure there were no needles… there weren’t any needles, but there was a scratch on my right forearm that was about 4 inches long. It wasn’t bleeding profusely or anything, it looked like a cat scratch, but it was definitely from a needle. I am now starting to realize that she is not very thorough with everything.
My 3^rd and final appointment was basically the same. At the end, she asked me when I would like my next appointment. I told her that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue with it or not. She said she could do Monday. I told her I would call to make an appointment if I decided to do more sessions. She told me about her discount program. Basically, the more sessions you pay for up front, the bigger the discount. I got home and noticed that I had several bruises on my stomach from the needles.
Before I say no to acupuncture as a whole, I will need to try other doctors. Either way, I don’t recommend this place.

Great doctor, I was actually not sure about acupuncture till my first visit. I had a serious knee pain and somehow I was back on the ski slopes a few days later.

Diana is a great masseuse who helps keep my mind and body relaxed. She’s best if you are a regular client rather than someone trying to get a once-​a-​year deep tissue massage. Diana is very nice, professional, and conveniently located on Geary near Trader Joes. Be sure to bring cash for payment.