Drogheda Acupuncture and Wellness Clinic - Suzanne Cafferky
Acupuncturist and medical herbalist specialising in women's health issues, fertility, stress, respiratory disorders, anxiety and pain. Massage, Aromatherapy.
We have over 20 years specialising in Acupuncture & Wellness for Fertility & all other women's health issues, anxiety, stress and pain. We understand that navigating the journey of infertility can be a complicated, stressful time and recognise the impact this process has on both the mind and body. So, the focus of our practice is on providing our patients with the care, time and hands on attention they need while going through this often physically and emotionally demanding process. We offer preconception care for men and women, infertility, IVF support, health in pregnancy, birth preparation and labour support, post-natal and baby health, as well as general health. We also treat menstrual issues throughout the lifecycle, including menopause with a tailor made treatment specific to each person. We have been practicing acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in Drogheda since since 2001 and we are committed to maintaining our expertise by regularly uptraining. Alongside fertility and women's health, we also specialise in mood disorders, stress, pain, migraine and digestive disorders. We also offer private and group acupressure classes for labour. Facial Rejuvenation
Cupping,
Moxibustion,
Japanese Moxibustion
Shonishin Japanese Paediatric Acupuncture.
19/02/2026
I used a lot of homeopathic remedies on my children when they were young and to this day my 17 year old will ask for one when he feels certain symptoms coming on. The result was less sore throats, ear infections and all the common issues my children suffered with including helping bring down very high temperatures.
This pragmatic randomised controlled trial compared homeopathic and conventional primary paediatric care for acute illnesses in children from birth to 24 months, with conventional medicine used as a safety back-up in the homeopathic group when medically indicated.
Among 108 infants in India, those receiving homeopathic care experienced significantly fewer sick days, fewer illness episodes—particularly respiratory infections—required fewer antibiotics, and incurred lower treatment costs than those in conventional care. Children in the homeopathic group were also taller, though not heavier, over the study period.
Overall, the findings suggest that homeopathy, integrated with conventional medicine for safety, may be a safe, effective, and cost-efficient primary care approach in the first two years of life.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Wishing you a year filled with strong health, calm energy, and renewed vitality!
15/02/2026
One of the things I love most about practicing acupuncture is witnessing how deeply it can change women’s lives. Menstrual pain is so often normalised, yet for many it quietly shapes their choices, energy, and sense of wellbeing every single month. To see that pain ease — sometimes resolve entirely — is incredibly meaningful. This isn’t just anecdotal: a 2025 meta-analysis showed that acupuncture not only reduces the intensity of menstrual pain, but can create lasting change across cycles and reduce the reliance on pain medication. Being able to offer that kind of relief feels like a privilege.
14/02/2026
"Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses." — Laozi.
In TCM, the Heart is said to “house the Shen”, which governs:
Emotional awareness
Capacity for love and joy
Consciousness and presence
Ability to form deep connections
So when we talk about love—romantic love, compassion, joy, intimacy—we’re really talking about the Shen expressing itself through the Heart.
Heart Qi/Blood → open, warm, stable love.
Happy Valentines day!
10/02/2026
I see this daily in practice—and I experience it myself. Women’s health requires ongoing support at every life stage. Good nutrition, sleep and regular movement regulate hormones and the nervous system, while acupuncture, herbal medicine and mindfulness can help reduce stress markers, lower inflammation and improve resilience.
For many women, nervous system regulation doesn’t always come easy. According to a report from healthcare provider Altais, women are about 30% more likely than men to live in chronic fight-or-flight mode, thanks to a long intersection of biology, cultural expectations, habitual overgiving, and generations of conditioning to “push through.”
Chronic cortisol (the stress hormone) impacts overall health, from your heart, hormones, and brain, to digestion and the immune system. But here’s the powerful (and very important) part: regulation is learnable. When you teach your nervous system it’s safe, everything changes; your energy, focus, mood, health, and capacity to lead.
Breathwork. Movement. Rest. Therapy. Creative hobbies. Real sleep. Nourishing food. These aren’t just self-care practices. They’re strategic, science-backed acts to a calmer nervous system, and therefore greater health and longevity.
07/02/2026
Tea trumps coffee for post menopausal bone health.
We are often told that caffeine and alcohol are bad for bone. But it's difficult to know how bad because ethically you can't do a trial that doses people up with things that might be harmful, and the effects of caffeine and alcohol can be difficult to separate from the effects of other behaviours that might also influence bone. So I was interested to read this recent publication by some researchers in Adelaide who ran some clever statistics to examine the relationship between tea and coffee consumpton and bone mass in almost 1000 postmenopausal women over a 10 year time period, controlling for confounding variables. Turns out there was a positive relationship between tea consumption and BMD, especially for people with obesity. The same couldn't be said for coffee where more than 5 cups a day was associated with lower BMD especially in women with higher alcohol intake. The image pasted below shows this declining BMD with cups of coffee and increasing BMD with cups of tea. Something to think about. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/23/3660
02/02/2026
Be kind to yourself and remember to love yourself.
You are amazing!
Life is exactly what you tell yourself it is. Keep going.
02/02/2026
Neuroscience is finally catching up to what TCM has observed for over 2,000 years - 'The Brain-Cycle Connection'
New neuroscience research shows that the menstrual cycle “dramatically reshapes” the brain every month.
In TCM terms- thats about the 'kidney meridian' and the brain is called the “Sea of Marrow”, and it is governed by the Kidneys.
The Kidneys store Jing (Essence)
Jing produces Marrow
Marrow nourishes the brain, nervous system, cognition, mood, and memory
Each menstrual cycle draws on Kidney Jing and Blood. So of course the brain changes — it’s being filled, depleted, and refilled every month.
TCM has an unique concept linking the uterus and the 'heart meridian' which governs blood and houses the 'shen' which translates as the mind.
And then there is the "Liver meridian'
TCM says “The Liver governs free flow.”
Liver Qi ensures smooth movement of Blood and emotions
When Liver Qi is harmonious → adaptability, emotional resilience
When constrained → mood swings, irritability, cognitive rigidity
So when modern neuroscience talks about neuroplasticity TCM talks about the importance of our Liver Qi moving easily.
I love how TCM can help women throughout their lives navigate the ups and downs of hormones. It works and I can honestly say after practicing for 23 plus years that I have witnessed it dramatically improve women's hormonal, mental/emotional and physical lives.
01/02/2026
In TCM philosophy, movement plays a central role in maintaining health because it affects the flow of Qi (vital energy) and Blood.
Good health depends on free, smooth flow of Qi and Blood through our meridians.
Movement helps by:
Dissipating stagnation
Strengthening the body
Regulating internal organs
Calming the mind and reducing stress.
This post caught my eye because it features Huang Lian, a herb widely used in Chinese herbal medicine — but never as a single herb. In fact, Chinese medicine
uses intelligent, layered formulas where herbs support, guide, and protect one another.
At the core of every prescription lies an essential rule: protect the Stomach — because digestion is the root of energy, recovery, and resilience.
26/01/2026
Emotional safety matters (this is not fluff)
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, emotional safety is not psychological only — it is physiological.
Emotions are seen as internal causes of disease, and are just as powerful as pathogens or diet.
Your Mind and body are one system-
The mind does not live in the brain — it lives in the organs.
Each organ system governs specific emotional states.
When emotions are experienced within safety, Qi flows normally.
When emotions are experienced like fear, shock, or chronic stress, your Qi becomes disrupted and this disruption is what eventually leads to physical illness.
Emotional safety regulates the nervous system
Although ancient, TCM clearly describes what we now call:
sympathetic overdrive
vagal suppression
HPA axis dysregulation.
To translate into TCM language:
Fear drains Kidney Qi
Worry knots Spleen Qi
Anger binds Liver Qi
Shock scatters Heart Qi.
give the Shen a home
allow Qi to descend
reconnect the body to safety
restore internal rhythm.
This is why many people cry, laugh, sigh, or deeply relax during treatment.
The body finally feels safe enough to release.
24/01/2026
Research showed that 2 days of eating only 300grams of oatmeal cooked in water with only fruit or vegetables lowered cholestetol significantly.
A short-term oat-based diet appears to be surprisingly effective at reducing the cholesterol level. This is indicated by a trial by the University of Bonn, which has now been published in Nature Communications. The participants suffered from a metabolic syndrome—a combination of high body weight, ...
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Why You Should Choose TCM To Help You Maintain Your Health & Wellbeing In 2018.
I have a great job. By that, I mean I am practicing a system of medicine that not only has thousands of years behind it, but over the last decade has undergone serious evidence quality assessments for up to 120 plus conditions, from pain, gynae, auto immune issues, helping people undergoing cancer treatments with their many side effects, pregnancy related problems, muscular skeletal to name but a few. (See www.acupuncture.org.au for more details)
This system of medicine has many strengths. The first being the ability to see in a holistic format and that we may well treat people with the same complaint in a different way giving way to the old saying; ‘Different Diseases same treatment - Same disease different treatment’. We look at the whole system, so not just the ache in the stomach or the acne on your face ,for example. We ask you about everything from your digestive system, sleeping patterns, any pains in your body right down to taking your mental/ emotional wellbeing into account too. It may seem very diverse when going through these questions but remember, some meridians may pass from your foot right up into your face whilst crossing through various systems like your gynae, digestive, liver etc......!
It’s huge hidden area of strength is it’s ability to help us maintain optimum health and wellbeing which will help extend our longevity. It is also hugely helpful when people are undergoing western treatment whether it be chemo therapy or radiation therapy, hormonal IVF techniques, pain management etc.....It helps the person’s body perform better, offset any nasty side effects from drug therapies whilst NOT cause any side effects.
When you come into me , I take a full history, look at any blood test results, look at your tongue, take your pulse and then I will not only consider the symptoms of the disease or issue, but, how the imbalances in each of the body’s organ and meridian systems as a whole have contributed to the condition.
I have been practicing in Drogheda since 2002, and during that time I have completed many CPD courses from becoming a Chinese herbalist in 2008, finding a love of the power of medicinal mushrooms, training with Dr Trevor Wing in post graduate women’s health and fertility , treating people undergoing cancer treatments, a course specific on treating the menopause, Shonishin paediatric acupuncture with Stephen Birch, Japanese moxa techniques, to name but a few. My specialization and interest is in women’s health, stress and anxiety, however, I love how acupuncture alone can help so many conditions that often do not make any sense to you or your GP too.
Acupuncture and herbs are great at helping you maintain your health, it can help you recover and manage any illness, resolve stress and regulate mood disorders, balance hormonal dysfunction and abolish pain. However, what I love about it the most is, it gets your body back into balance by modulating your hormone, nervous and immune systems without causing side effects or having addictive qualities to it either and nearly always helps on many different levels, not only the issues that you may present with.
