Hi Sue,
I just completed my 5th treatment last week. I've gone once a month, and was given chinese herbs (granulated) to take in the interims. He instructed me on some dietary changes as well - no sugar, dairy, raw foods,(gotta cook the veggies - some fruits are ok) alcohol, cold beverages (not even water) and said I needed to stay away from high acid forming foods - being overly acidic in my body. I was very faithful to all of the above for 2 mos. My BP really came down and stabilized - and I stopped craving the darn sugar, and even lost some weight. (And then I went on vacation and into flare and really got off track 
- need to get back on! )
My rheumie recommended acupuncture for help with my back pain. That didn't happen until after the 4th visit. I think I may have even felt a little worse for the wear after the first 3 visits for a few days and then it would level off. After the last two tx's - I haven't really dealt with that and there's been some sustained decrease in the back pain. I don't know what to say about the AI stuff - except that I'm still struggling with that - especially over the last year. I guess I was prepared to be patient - my body has been dealing with health problems for a lot of years, so I didn't expect an immediate turn around. The decrease in back pain is very helpful, regardless, and is pretty significant. Is it all due to the acupuncture????????
I'm glad you started this thread - and hope to hear from some others - and also how, or if, you think you've been helped. The research I did prior to starting did indicate it takes several visits before appreciable benefits generally occur, and there is some evidence that it can be helpful for Lupus and Fibromyalgia. We'll see, huh? For others who might be thinking about trying it - the needles/pain thing isn't worth worrying about. Out of all the needles he's used over the 5 treatments - I've only really felt a couple sticks - and it was a very brief "owie". I generally find the treatment itself relaxing.
Lucy