About San Antonio Acupuncturist Bethany Richardson, L.Ac., FABORM

I came to Chinese medicine through my own path of “di-ease”.  As a small child I got bit by a brown recluse spider.  Luckily, the doctor had recently seen what a bite from this poisonous spider looked like and I was immediately started on a 30 day round of daily penicillin shots.  Literally, my mother took me to the doctor every day for a month.  Around the third week I started to recognize the drive to Dr Shaver’s office and would throw down in a fit.  By the end of the regiment, it took 3 nurses and my mother to hold down this 7 year old little girl to give me my daily shot.

Soon after this I started to get strep throat.  A lot.  Like four to six times a year.  Which means more penicillin.  My poor gut was constantly being blasted with antibiotics and my normal gut flora never had a chance to recover from the initial round of penicillin shots.  By the time I was 10 years old the doctors advised my folks to take my tonsils out.  This helped to a degree, meaning I only got strep twice a year.

Fast forward 14 years.  At 24 I got my bi- annual strep infection.  By then, I could just call the doctor and get a prescription as they trusted me that I knew the basic symptoms at this point in my life.  But this time it was different.  After one round  the pain in my throat subsided  but it didn’t go away.  So I started my second round of 10 day antibiotics, with the same results.  At this point I had been on antibiotics for 20 days without results.

I was preparing to move across the country and it was important that I get better.  From there I got a very strong antibiotic, I don’t remember the name but I was told to always take it on a full stomach or it could cause internal bleeding. Yikes! This round of antibiotics was only 3 days.  It knocked it out and I made my move across the country, no problem.  Then, just 3 months later, I got step again.  I was beyond frustrated.

My new roommate in San Francisco said, “Go to my Chinese Medicine doctor, he works wonders”.  I thought what do I have to loose?  He gave me the nastiest herbal decoction I have ever tasted.  Bitter and nasty.  But within 24 hours my throat felt so much better that I contemplated ditching the rest of that nasty drink.  Yet I persevered and I drank it twice a day for 5 days.  That was over 25 years ago and I have never had step throat again.

Though the herbs were about the worst thing I’ve ever tasted I have no qualms and would do it all over again.  In running the numbers I figured out that by the time I took those herbs I had somewhere between 80 -100 doses of penicillin.  Having so many doses of antibiotics every year has cause a number of consequences that I dealing with even today.   Had I known about the power of Chinese Medicine, even a few years prior, it would have helped considerably in getting my body back in balance.

I ended up taking a night course in Shiatsu and fell in love with the Chinese diagnosis class.  It was taught by a women named Diane Montiel, LAc.  She became my mentor.  I went to her office as a patient and ultimately worked for her and as I walked the complicated path of getting my Master’s degree in Chinese Medicine as well as a state and national license.   My sound board when I complained and my guide when I was confused.  She was a beacon and kept me engaged and on track.  I am forever grateful to her.

I opened Enliven Health and Wellness in 2002.  In 2004 I became one of the staff acupuncturist at Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco, in one of the first on site acupuncture programs at a fertility clinic in the country.  I got certified in Functional medicine and started to look at health from both perspectives and I became a Fellow with the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine.

Ultimately, a group of fertility acupuncturist started a collective of sorts where we could support fertility patients on site at all the major fertility centers in the bay area.  Pacific Fertility Center, UCSF, Laurel and Spring to name a few.  With Integrative Fertility, we could maintain our private practice and know that if we could not be at the clinic for a clients IVF or IUI someone whom we trusted would be.  We supported each other and our practices.  It was a win win. And the doctors and clients liked having a group that was well trained and profession.

As fate would have it, I have landed back in San Antonio.  Land of my birth and that of my mother and grandmother.  And though I miss that temperate climate of Northern California, the sight of a mesquite tree brings me great joy or the amazing cackle of the grackle.  And how I love warm nights, a rare event in the bay area.  There is beauty and wonder in every landscape.  Having been away for sometime lends me an eye to more deeply appreciate this land.  I’m grateful to have the chance to practice here and offer the perspective on health that years of study have and continue to provide me.

I can’t speak about myself without acknowledging those who walked before me and generously handed down their knowledge.  It’s been an honored to learn from so many.  Here are a few of the amazing teachers I have had the privilege to learn from and be inspired by: Diane Montiel, Sharon Weizenbaum, Jeffrey Yuen, Kiiko Matsumoto, Richard Tan and Yi Tian Ni as well  Loren Brown for continuing to bring knowledgable teachers to our table through Integrative Fertility Symposium, Medigogy.com and and Pro D Seminars.

Biography

California License in Acupuncture and Herbology CA#8377

Texas License in Acupuncture and Herbology # AC01984

Nationally Board Certified in Acupuncture NCCAOM, 2000 #18362

Nationally Board Certified in Herbology NCCAOM, 2000 #18362

Fellow of the American Board of Reproductive Medicine FABORM, 2002

Master of Science in Oriental Medicine, Meiji College of Oriental Medicine, 2002

Professional Affiliations

In-house Acupuncturist at Pacific Fertility Center, San Francisco 2004-2014

Post Graduate Training

Graduate Mentorship Program, White Pine Institute
Institute for Functional Medicine
Tan Balancing Method

Professional Associations

Californian State Oriental Medicine Association (CSOMA)

NorCal Fertility

Integrative Fertility

Endometriosis Association

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