Instead of getting drugs for pain and stress, I have been relying on Dr. Melissa Carr for three years now. She is the perfect combination of the caring, effective alternative care provider and the mind-boggling skilled medical professional. Melissa is amazing in any kind of health crisis, but more importantly, she gives a great tune-up! If you are feeling stressed, or you are not getting over an illness, or are in pain, she can help you in balancing your body and helping it heal. If you do what she tells you to do you, will get and stay healthier.

I now see acupuncture as an integral part of my overall health care regime. On top of being a wonderfully skilled doctor, Melissa is a caring and joyful person. Office visits are always a pleasure.

It is so rare that true human warmth and compassion are coupled with formidable medical skills. Melissa has been through years of training and it shows. She sincerely cares about your health and your progress, just like the old-fashioned family doctor of the past. I see her regularly and have recommended her wholeheartedly to friends and clients.

Ellen Kreutz
Inspiring Interiors

A few months ago I began seeing Dr. Melissa Carr as I had been suffering from back and pelvic pain and wanted to give acupuncture a try.

Not only was I pain-free within the first 3 days of my first visit, but I have been pain-free since that time. Dr. Carr is a total professional who took a thorough medical history, but also explained in detail how acupuncture works and how it would help me. Her patient rooms are clean and Dr. Carr follows strict hygiene protocols. Acupuncture turned out to be painless and very relaxing…I look forward to going as I can have a 45 minute nap!! Dr. Carr also prescribed a herbal tea to help me with my pain and it is actually not bad, although she had warned me it would taste awful.

Dr. Carr’s office is welcoming and her staff friendly. She also has a good-sized library on wellness and natural health, which her patients are welcome to use.

I highly recommend Dr. Carr as an acupuncturist and Dr. of TCM.

--Meridith Kho, 

Owner,
MS Kho Consulting,
North Vancouver

In January 2008, I had torn my Achilles tendon while playing indoor soccer. On top of being a painful injury, it is also a long process to heal. Being a fibrous tendon with limited blood flow to begin with, it had a lot of scar tissue from the trauma of surgery. I had done the physiotherapy required when I was able to. It was nearly 4 months before I could walk properly. I noticed that no matter what I tried, there was a stiffness that remained.

I had never tried acupuncture before, but was eager to play soccer again and was willing to try anything. My goal was to play in a soccer tournament for the May long weekend. Dr. Carr advised that we had plenty of time to get there. After one treatment, the stiffness was gone! I had renewed flexibility as I walked out of her office. I booked several sessions after that initial one and began running and swimming after virtually no exercise for a year. My confidence came back as I took up soccer again. Further treatments worked on blood flow as well as other past injuries I had sustained (a knee in particular).

Dr. Carr showed tremendous care in my healing process. She would always explain the process she was attempting and how it would work. Explanations were futile, however, as I would be so relaxed as she began treatment that I would literally fall asleep as she placed the needles in my legs. It became my weekly power nap. I would leave with a strange sensation…a natural high, to say the least.

As May approached I was prepared to play in the tournament over the long weekend. It was a success, we met my goal and I am happy to say that I am able to be playing again when I thought the injury I had sustained would keep me from playing altogether.

I recommend acupuncture to anyone who has never tried it, in particular Dr. Carr who has a professional demeanour, as well as a natural healer’s touch. She always greets with a smile and immediately makes you feel welcome to her office. I look forward to my future treatments.

Thank you Melissa!

--Alan Gowland, 

Owner,
Speedpro Signs,
Burnaby

Dear Dr. Carr,

Yesterday, after mowing my lawn, I pulled out my weed eater and attacked the 4 foot high long grass and weeds growing along the ditch in my back alley. It was a tough battle. At the end I had to crawl out of the ditch covered in weeds, grass and dust, but I crawled out victorious and rewarded myself with a cold beer in the hot tub. All in all, a pretty fine day.

Some people may ask what the big deal is, cutting the grass, trimming the weeds, having a beer outside in the hot tub. It’s not a big deal to most people; however, it is if you have had allergies to grass and trees for the last 40 years…

Since I was a kid, mid-June has always been a nightmare for me, the peak of the allergy season, a season that typically starts in early May and end in mid-July for me. This is a time most Vancouverties look forward to, as the sun starts to show its face after months of rain and darkness. For me, I always wished for a long, wet, rainy and dark spring. It’s a time I always stayed indoors as much as humanly possible, ideally in air-conditioned homes and offices to further filter the air. You wouldn’t catch me sitting outside having a cold beer in the hot tub, let along cutting the grass and you definitely wouldn’t see me with a weed eater in my hands. Itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, I had all of these in the extreme. Have you ever seen someone sneeze 20 times in a row? The first one or two sneezes feel pretty good, but after a dozen, you’re drained, you’re on the floor wondering if you’ll survive.

This all started to change two years ago, thanks to the incredible abilities of Dr. Melissa Carr. After an initial consultation, Dr. Carr put me through a series of acupuncture sessions and set me up with a herbal tea mix designed specifically for my needs. Being new to acupuncture at the time, I didn’t know what to expect and was a little worries about the needles. Turned out there was nothing to be worried about. I found it to be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable experiences I’ve had. The tea mix I still look forward to every evening, a little honey to sweeten it up, tastes great. I don’t know all the details, but unlike allergy medications, the tea is for my general health and in turn it helps my immune system deal with the allergies. I get to feel great without the side effects of the allergy pills (which never worked in any event).

When you have severe allergies, you’re tired, you’re depressed, it’s like you’re in a prison watching the world go by outside, and you can’t go out and take part in that world because it will make you sick. Dr. Carr’s treatments changed all that and in turn changed my life. I now enjoy the outdoors again. I’m one of the few people that can’t wait to go outside and cut my lawn because it’s something I couldn’t do in the past.

Dr. Carr, thank you. You have allowed me to open doors and enjoy the world again. I am forever grateful!

--Brad Tower, 

Mortgage Broker,
Dominion Lending Centres Financial,
Burnaby