Should You Try IV Therapy?
IV Therapy – is it part of your health plan?
I’ve said it many times before – our bodies were not meant to deal with 21-century stress. Family, jobs, finances–even physical trauma and toxic burden–can cause a tremendous amount of stress on the body. While yoga, exercise, mindfulness, vitamins/minerals and herbs are cornerstones of a stress-busting regimen, sometimes you need to bring out the big guns. Sometimes, more targeted therapies such as intravenous injection therapy (IV therapy) can help your body recover faster from stress to get you back on your feet and buffering the stresses of life like your usual resilient self.
What is IV Therapy?
Intravenous infusion therapy (IV Therapy) involves injection of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other therapeutic compounds straight into the bloodstream through a catheter inserted into a vein in the arm or hand. If you’ve ever received IV medicine or rehydration this concept may be familiar.
Why do IV Therapy?
This therapy provides a significant advantage over oral supplementation in that it bypasses the digestive system entirely, which has a number of benefits:
- We can achieve higher doses – some compounds can only be absorbed to a certain concentration in the gut, like Vitamin C. Higher blood concentrations of a therapeutic compound can have very different benefits than at oral concentrations
- We have superior absorption in disease states – some people who are stressed or sick have what we call “leaky gut syndrome” which I have blogged about previously, where increased inflammation causes reduced absorption of nutrients through the digestive tract. IV therapy allows us to replete deficiencies or ensure maximal absorption in individuals with leaky gut.
- Some substances are actually degraded by digestion – by injecting these therapeutics directly into the blood, we can guarantee that the beneficial compounds will make it to the tissues that need them.
- We can often see effects even faster – B12 injection versus oral supplementation can often boost someone’s mood or energy levels the very same day whereas oral supplementation can take longer. Different forms of administration have different rates of absorption and retention in the body.
What is IV Therapy Useful For?
- Fatigue – chronic fatigue, adrenal fatigue, etc.
- Adjunctive Cancer Care – not as a substitute for chemotherapy, but to minimize side effects of treatment and to improve quality of life in palliative and/or terminal cases of cancer
- Immune Deficiency/frequent infections
- Tissue and Wound healing
- Macular Degeneration
- Back pain/ muscle spasm
- Liver and Kidney Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- COPD/Asthma
- Anxiety – although a tolerance of injection is required
What do you need to know about safety?
IV therapy if administered correctly is normally very safe with no downtime or recovery, although allergic reactions and adverse effects can occur. A licensed professional has been trained to minimize risks and to address these effects, and we use bloodwork and a physical examination to determine whether a patient has any contraindications to treatment. A naturopathic doctor can assess your eligibility for IV therapy and go over any pertinent risks and benefits regarding your case.
Many conditions can benefit from IV therapy and it can be a powerful tool in the pursuit of health. Speak with us to determine whether IV therapy is right for you – it can be a simple and stress-free addition to your get-better plan!
