Testimonials

Bell's Palsy

I received outstanding service from Dr. Zhao

On the morning of 7th August 2008 I woke up with facial paralysis on the left side of my face. Later that day, after other possible causes such as stroke were eliminated, I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. The paralysis was complete—no forehead movement, my eye did not close, no mouth movement and general drooping of the whole left side of my face. I had no sensation on that side. Dr. Joy Zhao, the doctor that was assigned to my case, prescribed traditional medications and also started me on a regimen of acupuncture. Within two weeks, anyone meeting me without knowing about my palsy did not notice anything unusual about my face. In less than three weeks, family and friends who did know about the palsy were commenting they totally forgot about it because my face is back to normal. As for sensation, I have all feeling back in my face, my eye blinks normally, I no longer need to drink through a straw, my eyebrows are even and I don’t see anything unusual about my face. I received outstanding service from Dr. Zhao and her staff, and I am quite satisfied with the results. I hope you continue this program and convince the insurance companies that this alternate treatment is effective and much needed by all patients with my condition.

Bell's Palsy

I experienced an inexplicable and obvious improvement

I am 80 years old, a retired U.S. Army pathologist. In early 1966, while undergoing my Internal Medicine residency in New York city, I had a sudden attack of severe form of Bell’s Palsy( Ramsy-Hunt syndrome ).I was treated and managed with the available medications of the time, pain medications and compresses. Due to the severity of the facial nerve paralysis, the specialist in New York Eye, Ear Medical Center performed a Facial Nerve decompression procedure, to save the facial nerve from atrophy due to the suspected massive edema. My post-surgical course was uneventful. The left side of my face continued to have severe flaccidity and paralysis. My smile was obviously asymmetrical and face lopsided. For many months thereafter, the left side of my face remained flaccid with no visible movement, food and liquid would leak out from the left side of my mouth when I attempted to feed myself. I lived with this facial deficiency for the next 52 years of my married life, had two children and practiced pathology with the U.S. Army Medical Corps. A year and a half ago, while recounting and comparing our lives with a friend and colleague, we were informed by a classmate of my husband about the neurology-acupuncture integrated practice of Dr. Joy Zhao, here in Burien. Despite our professional hesitation, we called for an appointment and resolved to try this technique, as practiced by Dr. Zhao. After only the third session, I experienced an inexplicable and obvious improvement in the left side of my face. The wrinkles and left naso-labial fold returned and my face became more symmetrical. My husband, also a physician/radiologist, and I are very thrilled and happy with the outcome of my acupuncture treatments, thus far. I recommend Dr. Zhao’s technique and medical philosophy, when and where properly applied, without reservation.

Dementia and Lower Back Pain

She is regaining her grasp of rational behavior

In early 2012 my wife and I came to Dr. Zhao with her two presenting problems: short term memory loss (later diagnosed as dementia) and a disabling lower back pain caused by two severe lower back fractures. A schedule of acupuncture treatment began, with primary focus on reducing the disabling pain. Prior to the time of this treatment she required some assistance to make a number of bodily movements (in and out of chairs, bed and cars). By the third treatment some reduced pain and improved movement had occurred. Over extended time this improvement continued. I no longer had to hide the available pain pills. As treatment continued, her pain symptoms continued to diminish and her bodily movements became more flexible. Near the completion of the series, I observed that one evening while preparing for sleep she giggled while approaching the bed, turned her back to the bed and hopped backward onto the bed, just for the fun of it. While she still occasionally reports slight “back pain,” she no longer has the severe pain she experienced before the treatment.

In early 2013, a second series began, with primary focus on cranial acupuncture. By the second week of treatment she began to actually listen to my comments and suggestions. The significance of this change is that she had not been able to actually hear my comments for several years because of mental distractions (heard strange voices). She soon began to evince calmness and an interest in things and people, which had been lacking for the past few years. She began to read the newspaper and discuss articles with me. Clearly, she has been discovering the world around her. Later, she began reclaiming previously lost vocabulary and continues to increase her verbal communication skills. Her entire personality presentation is currently undergoing significant change. Tasks that used to require an hour or so are now being completed in a few moments. Her level of confusion has been significantly reduced. She reads newspaper articles and readily discusses them. She now presents an almost ever-present sense of humor that has been missing for several years. In many ways, she is regaining her grasp of rational behavior. The speed with which these cognitive and emotional changes are taking place is at times simply overwhelming to her. Our hope is that she can retain and build on this new beginning.

Parkinson's Disease

A big thank you to Dr. Zhao!

My mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 11 years ago at the age of 51. This was very devastating to our family. She was immediately put on medication, but throughout the years, her disease progressed and the medication dosage increased, as well as trying different medications. The progression of the disease caused her a lot of mental and physical pain. She became imbalanced and would fall, at times it would be physically hard for her to talk, her handwriting became small, she could no longer dress herself; and at this point, we were willing to try something new. It was at this time that Dr. Zhao recommended acupuncture. After my mom’s first acupuncture session with Dr. Zhao, we saw a great deal of improvement. She became more mobile and less dependent on my dad. Her neck tightness/pain had disappeared. My husband stated seeing her walk across the kitchen so fast that he couldn’t believe it was her! The side effects of dyskenesia improved to where it lasted a tolerable 5–10 minutes compared to 30–60 minutes. My dad was so happy with her improvement that he took her to California to see her family, and they too were so happy and surprised. My mom has been improving more and more every week and has had more energy. So much so, that she does almost everything on her own now. She is doing so well, that the acupuncture treatments have been tapered to once every 2 weeks compared to twice a week. We are all so happy and excited about the outcome. A BIG THANK YOU to Dr. Zhao!

Parkinson's Disease

Mom’s Parkinson’s has greatly improved

We opted for acupuncture with Dr. Joy Zhao instead of pharmaceuticals. After just 5 treatments Mom’s Parkinson’s has greatly improved. She can hold her hand out steady, take big steps and is finally sleeping through the night! Her new normal is bright eyed and aware and all without side effects! Mom’s recovery is noticeable by her ability to communicate better and to walk instead of being frozen or shaky. She can also sleep through the night and wake up refreshed to start her day by herself or with little help; much better, more alert.

Parkinson's Disease

I am amazed at her progress

I am a close friend of your patient. She has been having acupuncture for the past few months. I see her every other week and I am amazed at her progress with speech, motor skills, walking and overall condition.

Parkinson's Disease

It’s been slowly getting better

After about four sessions I noticed after a nap, I would wake up and my hands would not be shaking and if they should start, I could make them stop. It’s been slowly getting better since then. Slow but steady.

Syncope and Dizziness

I immediately noticed improvement

This document is to describe my diagnosis and treatment by Dr. Joy Zhao and to attest to the progress I have made thus far.

My issues with syncope (fainting) began in the summer of 2017. During one occurrence, I fell and fractured my ankle. Being stubborn, I did not listen to my physician’s advice to stay off of it. It therefore did not heal properly and an ankle fusion surgery was scheduled for January, 2018. Meanwhile, my episodes of dizziness increased along with episodes complete loss of consciousness.

After my surgery, my blood pressure in the hospital plummeted along with my cortisol levels. My one night stay turned into seven. I would become dizzy just trying to sit up in bed. A cardiologist was brought in to assess me and a litany of tests was performed. Because of the dizziness and continued fainting, it was not safe for me to return home and I was sent to an assisted living facility for over two weeks.

The cardiologist finally ruled out any heart issues. An endocrinologist determined that I had adrenal deficiencies which caused the cortisol levels to drop and prescribed both steroids and medication to raise my blood pressure. I was also sent to UW medical Center for a Tilt Table Test. Meanwhile at home now, my episodes of dizziness were occurring 5–10 times daily with total loss of consciousness happening 3–5 times per week. I was unable to work, drive or basically function. I became increasing depressed.

I had seen Dr. Zhao previously for headaches with fantastic results and wanted to see what she thought of my condition. We discussed a plan to keep my medications and their current levels and to introduce both cranial and lower lumbar acupuncture treatment.

I immediately noticed improvement after my first session. The dizziness dropped to 3–5 times per day and fainting only occurred once. After a month of treatment, dizziness is minimal and no loss of consciousness. As I enter the maintenance phase of the plan, the ultimate goal is to alleviate the need for medication.

I realize that my rapid results are dramatic and may not be normal. Dr. Zhao’s unique combination of applying both Eastern and Western medicine in her practice has helped me to the point of where I am now

comfortable to return to work, to drive and to resume a “normal” life. I am eternally grateful to

both Dr. Zhao and her colleague Jonathan for giving me quality of life.

Vertigo

Give Dr. Zhao a chance

Hi! My name is Jeff H. If you’re reading this, thanks! I was sitting in the same place you are a year and a half ago, wondering if I could figure out what was causing my dizziness, memory loss, and not being able to drive or wear my glasses, and having just a hard time standing. At first I was sent to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor at Highline Hospital. That doctor said “100% you have Meniere’s Disease.” So he put me on a powerful steroid and told me “You will have this the rest of your life.” After all the testing they did, these steroids would cause mood changes and I felt just drugged up. So for two and a half months, I was taking this medicine and going to physical therapy twice a week and still seeing the ENT doctor. Things never got better, just worse! So my last option was where you are sitting now, to see Dr. Zhao. I had an examination with Dr. Zhao, and she said “You don’t have Meniere’s Disease, you have labyrinthitis, which is an inner ear problem.” So I said “Okay! Good news!” So I had my first acupuncture treatment with Dr. Zhao that day, and then had another one the next day. On the third day, I had my physical therapy appointment—the physical therapist wanted to know what the heck happened. My balance and my memory were a lot better, and I was even driving again and wearing glasses. I told the therapist about Dr. Zhao’s acupuncture, and she couldn’t believe it. So if I hadn’t taken that chance where you’re sitting now, I probably never would have figured out what was really wrong, and would have probably still been on those steroids without knowing the real cause of the problem. I still go see Jon once a week and have now been back at work for 12 months and haven’t had any major problems at all, even driving 6 hours a day. So all I can say is, give Dr. Zhao a chance, and go in with an open mind to learn about your problem, because her knowledge of acupuncture and also being a neurologist is a bit plus and very rare!

Migraines

I will continue working with Dr. Zhao and her wonderful team

I was referred to Dr. Zhao as a last resort. I had been suffering from daily, crippling migraines and the amount of medication I was taking to cope with it was putting me at extreme risk for a heart attack or stroke. Many other medications had been tried to little or no effect, except for bad side effects, and I was facing giving up my career and applying for disability. I didn’t know that Dr. Zhao used acupuncture in her practice until she brought it up as a possible treatment. She told me my condition was severe and that it could take a year of regular treatment to see results. I agreed because her commitment to help me return to health was as strong as mine and she was the first doctor in years to not start throwing pills at me in a hit or miss fashion. It has taken a year of treatment but I now enjoy days and sometimes weeks without migraines and it has enabled me to keep my career going by working at home. My anxiety level is much lower these days and I will continue working with Dr. Zhao and her wonderful team.

Migraines

The acupuncture works

I really wasn’t a believer in acupuncture, but my migraines were so bad that I couldn’t function; I’d throw up, miss lots of work due to my migraines. I went ahead and had a couple of treatments in December 2014 for my migraines. At first, I didn’t think the acupuncture was doing anything, then I noticed a couple of weeks after that I was waking up without a migraine. I have not missed one day of work all this year (7/9/15), which is a miracle because I was always missing work because of my migraines. The acupuncture works. Sure, I’ve had small migraines but nothing that kept me down and out. My bosses are so proud of my 7 months 9 days!

Headaches

Thank you so much for all of the special things that you do

Dr. Zhao, I want you to know how much I appreciate everything that you do for me. You are always so good to me, I feel so fortunate to have you as my doctor! You are by leaps and bounds the best doctor that I have ever had! Although dealing with this headache is not easy, I am confident that dealing with it while in your care makes it a lot more bearable. Thank you so much for all of the special things that you do. Thank you for your expertise, your kindness and caring way; oh, and I love your stories too!

Headaches

My plan is to resume treatments

The onset of period of feeling lightheaded as well as the increased frequency of headaches prompted me to pursue acupuncture treatment for the first time. The once or twice a week treatments for six weeks helped both of these conditions. During a recent trip I did not have any treatments. I am now experiencing a return of the headaches and some lightheadedness. My plan is to resume treatments once a week.