Fibromyalgia Treatment · Vienna, VA · Serving Northern Virginia
Fibromyalgia Treatment Without Medications
Fibromyalgia is real, it is exhausting, and it is widely misunderstood — including by the conventional medical system. At AcuPoint, we treat fibromyalgia at the source: the nervous system. Our goal is for your good days to far outnumber your bad ones — and to help you get back to the full, active life you've been missing.
Dr. Teresa McFarland, DAc, L.Ac. — Doctor of Acupuncture, NCBAHM National Board-Certified, with specialized post-graduate training in fibromyalgia and chronic pain.
4M+
Americans living with fibromyalgia
0
FDA-approved medications that cure fibromyalgia
2-3
Months to begin feeling meaningfully better
3
Integrated therapies working together at AcuPoint
Do Any of These Sound Familiar?
- You wake up exhausted no matter how many hours you slept
- Your pain moves around — it's your shoulder one day, your hips the next
- You can no longer focus at work or think through problems you used to handle with ease
- You've had to step back from work, hobbies, or relationships because of pain and fatigue
- You feel like you have the flu, but you don't
- You've been told by doctors that your tests are "normal" — but you know something is very wrong
- You feel guilty or embarrassed because people in your life don't understand why you can't just "push through"
Understanding Fibromyalgia
What Is Actually Happening in Your Body
Fibromyalgia is a chronic nervous system disorder. The nervous system becomes dysregulated — overactive and hypersensitive — causing it to amplify pain signals far beyond what the body is actually experiencing. Even mild sensations can register as intense pain. This is not psychological. It is a measurable, physiological dysfunction of the nervous system.
Medical research is still uncovering exactly why it happens. We know there is often a genetic component, and that it can be triggered or worsened by physical injury, illness, prolonged stress, or emotional trauma. Many fibromyalgia patients spent years in high-demand roles — caregivers, veterans, professionals under sustained pressure — running on empty before symptoms became impossible to ignore.
If You've Been Told Your Tests Are Normal — You Are Not Alone
Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion — meaning it can only be confirmed after other conditions have been ruled out. Because its symptoms overlap with so many other disorders, and because standard lab work and imaging consistently come back normal, the path to diagnosis is rarely straightforward.
Most fibromyalgia patients have spent years bouncing between specialists before receiving a clear answer. A rheumatologist for the joint pain. An orthopedist for the muscle pain. A neurologist for the headaches and brain fog. A sleep specialist for the insomnia. A gastroenterologist for the digestive symptoms. A therapist for the anxiety and depression. Each visit ends with normal test results — and often a new prescription to manage whichever symptom brought them to that particular office.
This is not because those physicians aren’t skilled. It’s because fibromyalgia is a systemic nervous system disorder, and conventional medicine approaches it one symptom at a time. The medications prescribed along the way — often SNRIs, anticonvulsants, or antidepressants — can provide partial relief but do nothing to address the underlying dysfunction. Many patients find themselves on multiple medications, still struggling, and no closer to feeling well.
By the time most fibromyalgia patients find us, they are exhausted — not just from the condition, but from the search for answers. If that describes you, we want you to know: what you’ve been experiencing is real, it has a name, and there is a treatment approach that works at the level where fibromyalgia actually lives.
Fibromyalgia Symptoms
Fibromyalgia Affects Every Part of Your Life
One of the most difficult aspects of fibromyalgia is how many different symptoms it produces — and how unpredictably they shift from day to day.
Physical Symptoms
- Widespread body pain that moves and shifts — aching, burning, or throbbing
- Chronic fatigue that sleep does not relieve
- Heightened sensitivity to touch, temperature, light, and sound
- Poor sleep quality or insomnia, even after a full night in bed
- Headaches and migraines
- Digestive issues including bloating and IBS-type symptoms
- Jaw pain or TMJ issues
- Flu-like symptoms without an actual illness
Cognitive Symptoms ("Fibro Fog")
- Difficulty concentrating or staying focused on tasks
- Memory lapses — forgetting words, names, or why you walked into a room
- Mental fatigue that makes thinking feel slow and effortful
- Difficulty processing information or making decisions
- Confusion or disorientation, especially during flares
The Part Nobody Talks About Enough
The physical symptoms of fibromyalgia are real and debilitating. But for many of our patients, the emotional and social toll is just as heavy — and far less acknowledged.
Because fibromyalgia is an invisible illness, people around you may struggle to understand why you look fine but feel awful. You may feel a deep sense of grief for the person you were before — the one who could work full days, keep up with friends, or get through a weekend without paying for it for the next three days. Many patients tell us they feel shame and embarrassment about what they can no longer do, which isolates them further and slows their recovery.
At AcuPoint, we see and hear all of it — not just the physical symptoms. Your story, your losses, and your goals are part of how we build your treatment plan.
Why Conventional Medicine Falls Short
No Medication Fixes Fibromyalgia
There is currently no prescription medication that cures fibromyalgia. Conventional medicine’s most commonly used treatments — SNRIs like Duloxetine (Cymbalta) and Milnacipran, anticonvulsants like Pregabalin (Lyrica), and tricyclic antidepressants like Amitriptyline — can help manage individual symptoms. But none of them address the underlying nervous system dysfunction that causes fibromyalgia in the first place. And for many patients, the side effects of these medications compound the very symptoms they’re trying to relieve.
Fibromyalgia is an example of a condition where conventional medicine does not yet have a viable path to improvement — and where integrative medicine steps in to fill that gap.
.
Conventional Approach
AcuPoint Approach
Treatment target
Individual symptoms
Root cause — the nervous system
Mechanism
Mask or suppress signals
Calm, reset & heal the nervous system
Medications
Required — ongoing
None
Side Effects
Can worsen fatigue, pain & cognition
None
Goal
Symptom management
More good days — get your life back
Not sure if this is right for you? The consultation is free, in-person, and comes with no pressure or commitment. It starts with a conversation.
Our Approach
How AcuPoint Treats Fibromyalgia
We treat fibromyalgia using a combination of three therapies, tailored to each patient's specific symptom picture. The combination — and the sequencing — is determined during your consultation.
1
Acupuncture — Calming the Nervous System
Acupuncture stimulates specific points along the body's meridian system to regulate the nervous system, reduce pain-amplifying signals, and promote the body's natural healing response. For fibromyalgia patients, it works to quiet the overactive nervous system that is at the root of the disorder — not just manage individual symptoms.
Acupuncture
2
ATP Resonance BioTherapy® — Healing at the Cellular Level
ATP Resonance BioTherapy uses low-level electrical frequencies to target specific tissues, nerves, and systems in the body. For fibromyalgia, it is particularly effective at reducing inflammation in the nervous system and muscles, restoring healthy cellular function, and accelerating the recovery process that acupuncture initiates.
ATP Resonance BioTherapy®
3
O3 ReBoot Therapy® — Restoring Oxygen and Energy
Chronic fatigue is one of the most debilitating aspects of fibromyalgia. O3 ReBoot Therapy introduces medical-grade ozone to increase oxygen utilization at the cellular level, reduce systemic inflammation, and restore the energy production that fibromyalgia disrupts. Many patients notice improvements in energy and mental clarity alongside reductions in pain.
O3 ReBoot Therapy®
What your treatment looks like
What Your Treatment Journey Looks Like
Every fibromyalgia patient is different, and your treatment plan is built around your specific symptoms and goals — not a generic protocol. That said, here is what most patients experience:
1. The first thing that shifts is often your mood. Many patients notice they feel calmer, less anxious, and more emotionally resilient within the first few weeks of treatment — before the physical symptoms fully improve. This is not coincidental. As the nervous system begins to calm, the emotional and cognitive symptoms tend to lift first.
2. Physical improvement typically follows. Pain, fatigue, and sleep quality begin to improve as treatment progresses. In our intensive program, most patients begin to feel meaningfully better within two to three months. Full treatment — getting you to the best possible place — takes longer, and periodic follow-up treatments are typically needed to maintain results.
3. Fibromyalgia and stress. Fibromyalgia is sensitive to stress, and flares can accompany stressful life events — a difficult work project, a family event, or an unexpected health issue. We plan for this. When we know a stressful period is ahead, we build in additional treatments to help you weather it with minimal symptoms.
4. The goal is not to manage your fibromyalgia. It’s to help you have far more good days than bad ones — and to get back to working, socializing, and doing the things you love.
Patient experiences
What patients say about treatment at AcuPoint
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Fibromyalgia Questions, Answered
Acupuncture — especially combined with ATP Resonance BioTherapy and O3 ReBoot Therapy — does more than manage pain. It works to calm and reset the dysregulated nervous system that causes fibromyalgia symptoms in the first place. Patients typically experience improvements not just in pain, but in fatigue, sleep, mental clarity, and mood. The goal is meaningful, lasting improvement — not indefinite symptom suppression.
Every patient is different, and we discuss realistic timelines during your consultation based on your specific situation. Generally, patients in our intensive treatment program begin to notice meaningful improvement within two to three months. Many patients notice mood and energy improvements earlier than that — often within the first several weeks. Full treatment to reach your best possible level of function takes longer, and follow-up treatments help maintain your results over time.
Fibromyalgia is not a condition that is typically cured completely — by any treatment. What we aim for, and what our patients achieve, is a life where good days far outnumber bad ones. Patients return to work, to social activities, to the hobbies and relationships that fibromyalgia had taken from them. Flares become less frequent and less severe. And when stressful events arise, we have a plan to help you through them.
Yes. Many of our patients are managing fibromyalgia with prescription medications when they first come to us. Our treatments work alongside — not against — your current care. We never advise patients to stop or change their medications; any changes to your medications should only be made in consultation with your prescribing physician. As your symptoms improve through treatment, some patients work with their doctors to reassess their medication needs over time.
AcuPoint Wellness Clinic is not in-network with insurance providers. Instead, we provide a detailed superbill after each appointment that you can submit directly to your insurance company for potential reimbursement — many patients with acupuncture benefits receive partial or full reimbursement this way. Many patients also use HSA or FSA funds to cover treatment costs.
The reason we operate this way is straightforward: being in-network requires following treatment protocols dictated by insurance companies, with hard visit caps that simply aren't enough for patients managing a complex, whole-body condition like fibromyalgia. Staying out of network allows Dr. McFarland to design a treatment plan based entirely on what your body actually needs — not what an insurance policy allows. We're happy to discuss costs and what to expect during your free consultation.
Your first visit is a free, in-person consultation — not a treatment session. We sit down together in a comfortable room and I learn your full health history: how long you've had fibromyalgia, what your symptoms are, what you've tried, what your daily life looks like, and what your goals are. From there, I build a custom treatment plan. Most patients choose to begin treatment right away, but there is no pressure to do so.
Your practitioner
Who you'll be working with
Dr. Teresa McFarland, D.Ac., L.Ac.
Dr. McFarland has specialized post-graduate training in treating fibromyalgia and complex chronic pain conditions. She has treated patients with fibromyalgia throughout her clinical career, including veterans living with chronic pain and nervous system dysregulation — conditions that share significant overlap with fibromyalgia.
Doctor of Acupuncture · NCBAHM National Board-Certified · AcuPoint Wellness Clinic, Vienna VA
Related conditions we treat
You may also be dealing with
Peripheral Neuropathy
Nerve damage causing numbness, tingling, and pain in hands and feet.
Chronic Neck & Back Pain
Persistent pain that hasn't responded to conventional treatments.
Migraines & Headaches
Chronic migraines and cluster headaches treated at the nervous system level.
You Don't Have to Keep Managing. You Can Start Improving.
Your first visit is a free, in-person conversation about your fibromyalgia, your history, and what's possible. No pressure. No commitment. Just answers — and a path forward if you're ready for one.
Located in Vienna, VA — serving Tysons Corner, Oakton, Reston, Herndon, and Fairfax.
Free, in-person consultation. No commitment required. We'll call you within one business day.