Cindy Kudelka Acupuncture

05/05/2026

Feeling overwhelmed lately? You’re not alone.

With ongoing stress from the world around us, many people are noticing more anxiety, poor sleep, and tension in their bodies. The good news is—there are natural, effective ways to support your nervous system.

**Acupuncture for anxiety and stress relief** helps shift your body out of “fight-or-flight” mode and into a calmer, more restorative state. Patients often report feeling more relaxed, grounded, and better able to handle daily stress after treatment.

✨ Common benefits:
• Reduced anxiety & stress
• Better sleep
• Less muscle tension & headaches
• Improved mood & resilience

You can also support your body with targeted supplements:
• **L-theanine** – promotes calm focus without drowsiness
• **GABA** – helps quiet an overactive mind
• **Cortisol Manager** – supports healthy stress hormone balance
• **St. John’s Wort** – supports mood (mild–moderate depression)
• **SAMe** – supports emotional balance & neurotransmitters

⚠️ If you’re taking antidepressants or mood stabilizers, consult your prescribing doctor before starting any new supplements.

If you’re looking for **natural anxiety relief** and better stress management, acupuncture and integrative care can make a meaningful difference.

📍 Serving the community with personalized acupuncture care
📅 Message us or book online to get started

Email from Cindy Kudelka Acupuncture Take Control of Stress & Anxiety—Naturally   Home / News / Contact     A Gentle Way to Support Your Mind  & Body Right Now With ongoing political uncertainty and

02/12/2026

February in the Midwest is keeping us on our toes 🌡️

We’re seeing big temperature swings and unseasonably warm days (50s next week!) — and while that sounds nice, these rapid weather changes can stress the immune system.

When your body is constantly adjusting to fluctuating temperatures, it can weaken your protective immune response. That’s one reason we continue to see flu, strep, RSV, COVID, sinus infections, and lingering viral illnesses circulating right now.

Many people are saying:
• “I was sick weeks ago but I’m still exhausted.”
• “My cough just won’t fully go away.”
• “I feel like I keep catching everything.”

From a Chinese medicine perspective, this is often a sign that the body hasn’t fully cleared the pathogen and needs support restoring balance.

✨ How acupuncture helps:

Regulates immune response

Reduces inflammation

Supports lung & sinus function

Helps clear lingering symptoms

Strengthens overall resilience

If you feel “almost better” but not fully recovered, treatment can help prevent symptoms from becoming chronic.

In addition, here are some foundational immune support supplements commonly used this time of year:

• Vitamin D3: 2,000–5,000 IU daily
• Vitamin C: 1,000–3,000 mg daily (divided doses)
• NAC: 600–1,200 mg daily
• Fish Oil (EPA/DHA): 1,000–2,000 mg daily
• Host Defense medicinal mushrooms: As directed on label
• Zinc: 15–30 mg daily (with food)

Always check with your provider before starting new supplements, especially if you take medications.

If you’re experiencing lingering fatigue, cough, sinus congestion, or recurrent illness, this is a great time to support your immune system proactively.

Message me or schedule online if you’d like support getting through the rest of winter strong 💪

Email from Cindy Kudelka Acupuncture Don’t Let This Week’s 50° Weather Lower Your Defenses   Midwest Weather Swings & What They’re Doing to Your Immune System  As we move through February, we’re expe

01/27/2026

❄️ Feeling the effects of this cold weather? ❄️
After the recent snowstorm and deep freeze, many people are noticing more joint stiffness, fatigue, low mood, and frequent illness.

Winter places extra stress on the body—especially on the immune system, joints, and nervous system. This is where acupuncture can be especially supportive.

✨ Research shows acupuncture can help:
• Strengthen immunity during cold & flu season
• Support mood and stress response during darker months
• Reduce joint pain and muscle stiffness aggravated by cold

In my acupuncture practice, winter treatments focus on warming the body, improving circulation, and restoring balance. I may also recommend supportive supplements—such as Vitamin D for mood and immunity, medicinal mushrooms and omega-3s for immune resilience, and anti-inflammatory support for joint comfort, when appropriate.

Winter is not a time to push through symptoms—it’s a time to support your body proactively. If you’ve been feeling the effects of the cold or haven’t been in recently, now is a great time to schedule.

Email from Cindy Kudelka Acupuncture This Cold Weather Is Hard on Your Body—Here’s How We Help   Is it Spring Yet??? With the recent snowstorm and extreme cold, many patients are feeling the effects o

01/20/2026

🌤️ Winter Wellness Reminder for Midwest Winters: Vitamin D Matters 🌤️

In East Asian medicine, winter is a season of slowing down, conserving energy, and nourishing the body more deeply. Living in the Midwest, one challenge many people face this time of year is maintaining healthy vitamin D levels due to limited sunlight.

Low vitamin D is common in winter and can contribute to things like:
✨ Fatigue and low energy
✨ Seasonal low mood or depression
✨ Frequent colds or getting sick more often
✨ Eczema or inflammatory skin issues
✨ Thyroid imbalances, including hypothyroidism

Many integrative practitioners consider optimal vitamin D blood levels to be 60–80 ng/mL. Not all providers use this range, so if you’ve had labs done, it’s helpful to ask for your actual number rather than relying only on “normal” vs. “abnormal.”

Tips for better absorption:
• Take vitamin D3 with your largest meal of the day
• Include healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, eggs, nuts, fish)
• Liquid forms absorb better
• Pair with vitamin K2
• Many adults benefit from higher winter dosing (often up to 10,000 IU daily, depending on individual needs)

💡 People with darker skin tones are at higher risk for low vitamin D, especially in northern climates, and often need consistent supplementation year-round.

One product I often recommend is Orthomolecular Liquid D3 + K2, available through my Fullscript dispensary here:
👉 https://conta.cc/4r0rndh

Vitamin D is just one piece of a bigger picture that includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and seasonal support. If you have questions or want guidance, feel free to reach out or bring it up at your next visit.

❄️ Wishing you a healthy, well-supported winter ❄️

11/21/2025

If you’re living with chronic or acute pain, you don’t have to “just deal with it.” Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine are safe, natural, and evidence-based options that help reduce pain and support long-term healing.

Research shows acupuncture can help with many of the most common pain conditions, including:

✨ Low back pain & neck pain
✨ Migraines and tension headaches
✨ Knee osteoarthritis
✨ Shoulder pain
✨ Chronic muscle tension
✨ Post-surgical recovery and acute injuries

Acupuncture works by calming inflammation, improving circulation, and helping the nervous system shift out of pain mode. When combined with customized herbal medicine, the results can be even stronger — especially for conditions like endometriosis-related pain or menstrual pain.

If pain is affecting your sleep, mood, or daily activities, you deserve relief and a plan that supports real healing. I’m here to help you feel better, move better, and get back to your life. 💛

Send me a message or visit my website to schedule your appointment.

Email from Cindy Kudelka Acupuncture No need to suffer in pain any longer.   How Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Relieves Chronic and Acute Pain If you’ve been dealing with pain — whether it’s long-ter

08/02/2025

Starting August 17, I’ll be back in the office seeing patients. I look forward to helping patients with their path towards healing 

02/21/2023

In America today, opioid pain medications are prescribed at alarmingly high rates for pain management. With the known side effects, acquired tolerance over time, and potential addiction, it is essential to have access to alternative methods of pain relief, such as acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and/or cupping therapy, in order to eliminate the dangers associated with drug dependence and abuse.

Pain can present itself in a number of ways, including migraines, headaches. sports injuries, arthritis, immune conditions, surgical recovery, dental pain, and menstrual cramps. Any of these conditions may be treated successfully with acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.

There are multiple studies that have shown how effective acupuncture is for the treatment of pain. Prescription drugs' main purpose is to stop pain from being felt, but not for curing or healing the condition causing it. Acupuncture, by tapping into and amplifying our bodies' ability to self-heal, aims to resolve the root of the issue, which would result in not only alleviating the pain temporarily but also preventing it from resurfacing.

For those who are currently struggling with opioid dependence, acupuncture can provide relief during the withdrawal process, both physically and mentally. Given the statistics, opioids pose a serious threat to both physical and mental health. Those seeking pain management therapies owe it to themselves to try an alternative that poses no risks.

If you or a loved one are currently struggling with acute or chronic pain, please do not hesitate to reach out and schedule an appointment. Your body will thank you.

Yours in health,
Cindy Kudelka LAc, MSTOM

Photo credit: Miguel Teck Arteaga

02/20/2023

If I were to provide an acupuncture workshop to the general public, what type of information or features would you like it to include? For in person and online. What questions about acupuncture do you have?

01/26/2023

Welcome new member Cindy Kudelka Acupuncture!

Cindy graduated from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine-Chicago in 2010 with a Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine. Her five-year master’s program included over 3,000 hours of study and more than 1,000 hours of clinical internship. She is also board-certified in Chinese herbology and acupuncture by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Cindy’s specialty training includes balanced-method acupuncture, advanced-pulse diagnostics, the advanced classical Chinese herbal system of the Shang Han Lun, Master Tung acupuncture, bloodletting, and myofascial trigger-point therapy.

For more information call 847-579-9882 or
email [email protected]

01/24/2023

Many people do not realize that the costs of acupuncture services and prescribed herbal medicine are deductible medical expenses and can be claimed for tax purposes.

What is a medical expense?

Acupuncture falls under the definition of a medical expense which is: the costs of diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of diseases, and the costs for treatments affecting any part or function of the body. They include the costs of equipment, supplies, and diagnostic devices needed for these purposes.

What expenses can you include?

ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENTS:
You can include the amount you pay for acupuncture for you, your spouse, children, and dependents.

PRESCRIBED HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS:
Nutritional supplements, vitamins, Chinese herbal supplements, and other natural medicines that are recommended by a medical practitioner as treatment for a specific medical condition diagnosed by a physician are tax-deductible.

TRANSPORTATION TO ACUPUNCTURE APPOINTMENT:
The standard mileage rate allowed for out-of-pocket expenses for a car when you use it for medical reasons is 18 cents per mile for 2022.
Bus, taxi, train, parking fees, tolls, and plane fares primarily for and essential to medical care are also included.

How much of the expenses are included?

You can deduct only the amount of your total medical and dental expenses for the year which is more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

If you would like an itemized receipt of your treatments from 2022, feel free to contact me and I would be happy to provide that for you.

Yours in health,
Cindy Kudelka MSTOM, LAc