Medication and iV Information

IV Therapy is the fastest and most efficient way to get your body the vitamins and fluids it needs to help alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms associated with dehydration. The intravenous (IV) route is the fastest delivery method because it introduces the benefits of the IV drip directly to your circulation, replacing fluids, nutrients and vitamins throughout your body.

An IV drip can quickly and effectively alleviate symptoms like migraines, nausea and many more, speeding up your recovery from hangovers, cold, flu, food poisoning and other conditions. Vitamin IV drips can also be used to help improve your overall wellness.

Listed below are all of the medications that we use in our iV drips. Please use the contact form if you need further information.

Magnesium

Generally stored in bones, muscles, and soft tissues. It has been found to reduce fatigue, migraines, muscle spasms and may even help those at risk of cardiovascular diseases. Magnesium participates in many important bodily functions including energy creation, protein formation, genetic maintenance, muscle function, and nervous system regulation. There are many potential positive effects of magnesium supplementation including benefits see in angina, acute migraines, cluster headaches, depression, and chronic pain. In recent years, double-blind trials have shown IV magnesium can rapidly abort acute asthma attacks. The benefit of intravenous administration of magnesium may allow the opportunity for ailing cells to take up magnesium in ways not achievable when taken orally.

Calcium

Calcium gluconate is a mineral supplement and medication derived from calcium salt of gluconic acid. Calcium is the most common cation and the fifth most abundant inorganic element in the human body. It is essential for the maintenance of the nervous, muscular, and skeletal systems, and for cell membrane and capillary permeability. Calcium’s role in building bones and supporting their health is well known, but it is also important for nerve conduction, blood coagulation, and electrical conduction in the muscular tissue of the heart.

Ascorbic Acid

Ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin found in fruits and vegetables such as citrus fruits and green peppers. Ascorbic acid is a free radical, an antioxidant scavenger, and plays a major role in oxidation-reduction reactions. Ascorbic acid is a cofactor for enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of collagen (essential for tissue maintenance and repair), carnitine, and neurotransmitters. Humans cannot synthesize ascorbic acid endogenously and a lack of dietary intake can lead to scurvy. Vitamin C is most frequently used as a nutritional supplement. It also is used as an adjunct treatment of idiopathic methemoglobinemia and with deferoxamine in the treatment of chronic iron toxicity. Ascorbic acid was approved by the FDA in 1939.

Zinc

Zinc also plays a role in the regulation of the immune system. Being an essential element, it is not synthesized by the human body but must be ingested through food or mineral supplements. Some of the common food sources of zinc include beef, poultry, seafood, and grains, among others. In adults, normal serum zinc levels are between 70 and 250 ug/dl. After oral ingestion, zinc absorption occurs mainly in the ileum and duodenum and its binds to plasma proteins such as albumin in the blood. Following its metabolism, it is excreted mainly in the stool; some metabolites are also excreted in the urine and sweat, but to a significantly lower extent.

Symptoms of Zinc Deficiency

With zinc playing a significant role in many of the body's key processes, zinc deficiency can result in a variety of illnesses and medical disorders. Some of the clinical manifestations include, but are not limited to, the following:

Hair and weight loss.
Delayed wound healing and skin lesions such as oral lichen planus, pemphigus vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, and epidermodysplasia verruciformis, among others.
Decreased taste sensation and loss of appetite.
Altered cognitive and motor performance in neonates and infants.
Increased susceptibility to infections due to decreased functionality in monocytes, neutrophils, granulocytes, and phagocytosis.
Exacerbation of hypertension as well as other cardiovascular diseases.
Delayed puberty and growth retardation in adolescents.
Osteoporosis as well as other abnormalities in bone mineralization and development.
Decreased folate absorption which may result in macrocytic megaloblastic anemia.
Mental lethargy and mood disorders.

Glutathione

Glutathione is a potent antioxidant that naturally occurs in the body. Glutathione aids the immune system and has been found to help in the prevention of cancer, cystic fibrosis, HIV, and the normal aging process. Glutathione (GSH) is composed of three amino acids combined to produce a peptide that is both a powerful antioxidant and performs several critical roles in the body. According to researchers this peptide is so essential to optimum health that the level of Glutathione in cells could possibly be used to predict how long an organism lives.

Glutathione catalyzes glutathione S-transferases (GST) and glutathione peroxidases (GPx). Thus, playing a role in detoxification by eliminating toxic electrophilic molecules and reactive peroxides. Glutathione plays a crucial role in a detoxification system that is fundamental in plants, mammals, and fungi.

Aside from its detoxification role it is important for a variety of essential cellular reactions. Its presence in the glyoxalase system, is fundamental to DNA and RNA nucleotide reduction. Glutathione is also a constituent in the regulation of protein and gene expression, exchange reactions including thiol to disulfide ratios involve glutathione.

Glutathione can exist intracellularly in either an oxidized (glutathione disulfide) or reduced (glutathione) molecular state. The ratio of reduced glutathione to glutathione disulfide has been shown to be critical in cell survival, this system is very tightly regulated.

Deficiency of glutathione puts the cell at risk for oxidative damage. An imbalance of glutathione is present in many pathologies including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, cystic fibrosis (CF), HIV and aging.

While Glutathione is vitally essential to maintaining a healthy immune system, it isn’t classified as an essential nutrient; this is because the body does create its own supply from the amino acids:

L-cysteine
L-glutamic acid
Glycine

One of the reasons why Glutathione is so important for optimum health is that it’s present in every cell in the body. One way antioxidants like glutathione help maintain good physical health is by neutralizing free radicals, which can cause cellular damage through oxidation. Since glutathione is naturally present within all types of cells, it is in a prime position to do this. It’s considered one of the most important antioxidants in the human body.

Glutathione is an essential molecule required for detoxification. Glutathione acts by assisting the body’s machinery in the removal of harmful destructive oxygen containing molecules.

During the body’s normal functioning an excess of oxygen containing molecules are produced, these molecules are typically very reactive with other molecules they come in contact with. In modern biochemistry these are referred to as reactive O2 species.

Reactive O2 species molecules include peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anions (O2 with unpaired electron) these molecules are very toxic to the cell. The toxicity can be explained by the tendency of these molecules to bind or destroy important biomolecules.

The body has a natural system to remove these reactive O2 species. These systems metabolize and scavenge for reactive oxygen species, in a controlled and precise fashion.

Biotin

Biotin (vitamin H; coenzyme R; classified as a B vitamin) is a dietary component that is important for the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids. It is found primarily in liver, kidney, and muscle. Biotin functions as an essential cofactor for five carboxylases that catalyze steps in fatty acid, glucose, and amino acid metabolism. It is also an important factor in histone modifications, gene regulation, and cell signaling. Mammals must consume biotin to replenish stores. Sources of biotin include organ meats, eggs, fish, seeds, and nuts. As a dietary supplement, biotin has been promoted to be useful in the treatment of hair and nail problems, cradle cap (seborrheic dermatitis) in phenylketonuria patients, biotinidase deficiency, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, candida infections, and high cholesterol. It has also been used in pregnancy, hemodialysis, and peritoneal dialysis, as biotin deficiency is more likely in these situations. Biotin is found in many cosmetics products.

Vitamin B Complex

Supplementation of B vitamins has been shown to improve ratings of stress, mental health, vigor, and cognitive performance. These B vitamins are essential in helping your body breakdown and convert food into the energy it needs to function and thrive. Deficiency can manifest in many ways so be sure to look out for fatigue, irritability, poor concentration, anxiety, and depression.

Vitamin B complex is essential for a wide variety of functions in the human body, its deficiency can also lead to several disorders including chronic neurological ones. Biochemically, different structures are grouped together under B complex based on their natural occurrence in same type of food and solubility in water. Since humans are not able to synthesize vitamins in B complex on their own and these vitamins are easily excreted from the body through urine, their regular intake is essential to maintain energy production, DNA/RNA synthesis/repair, genomic and non-genomic methylation as well as synthesis of numerous neurochemicals and signaling molecules. B complex deficiency is normally caused due to four possible reasons; high consumption of processed and refined food, with lack of dairy and meat-based food in diet, excessive consumption of alcohol, impaired absorption from the gastrointestinal tract or impaired storage and use by liver.

B vitamins are necessary for the proper functioning of the methylation cycle, DNA synthesis, repair and maintenance of phospholipids and generally essential for healthy skin, muscles, brain, and nerve functionality.3 The individual functions are described below but more often than not they work together to achieve the required effect.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

It plays an important role in energy metabolism, immunity boosting and functioning of nervous system. It can help avoid type 2 diabetes, several cardiovascular diseases, some vision and kidney disorders and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

It is a powerful antioxidant and plays a vital role in maintaining healthy blood cells and boosts metabolism.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

Niacin plays a critical role in proper functioning of the nervous and digestive systems. Like other vitamins from the family, it is necessary for energy production and metabolism of fatty acids. It also provides healthy skin, nails, and hair.

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)

Pantothenic acid is essential for healthy development of the central nervous system. It is involved in energy production and through different metabolic and anabolic cycles in development of amino acids, blood cells, vitamin D3 and other fatty acids.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

Vitamin B6 has a very influential role in synthesis of neurotransmitters and is essential for good mental health. It also has a direct effect on immune function. It plays a role in metabolism of amino acids and is a necessary co-factor in the folate cycle, lack of which can lead to anemia.

Vitamin B12

B12 is a powerhouse for the body, helping make DNA, nerve and blood cells. Your metabolism cannot function without it. No metabolism equals no energy. For the 40% of Americans deficient in B12, signs include exhaustion, fatigue and, brain fog.

Methylcobalamin, or vitamin B12, is a B-vitamin. It is found in a variety of foods such as fish, shellfish, meats, and dairy products. Although methylcobalamin and vitamin B12 are terms used interchangeably, vitamin B12 is also available as hydroxocobalamin, a less commonly prescribed drug product (see Hydroxocobalamin monograph), and methylcobalamin. Methylcobalamin is used to treat pernicious anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency, as well as to determine vitamin B12 absorption in the Schilling test. Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin found in the foods such as meat, eggs, and dairy products. Deficiency in healthy individuals is rare; the elderly, strict vegetarians (i.e., vegan), and patients with malabsorption problems are more likely to become deficient. If vitamin B12 deficiency is not treated with a vitamin B12 supplement, then anemia, intestinal problems, and irreversible nerve damage may occur.

The most chemically complex of all the vitamins, methylcobalamin is a water-soluble, organometallic compound with a trivalent cobalt ion bound inside a corrin ring which, although similar to the porphyrin ring found in heme, chlorophyll, and cytochrome, has two of the pyrrole rings directly bonded. The central metal ion is Co (cobalt). Methylcobalamin cannot be made by plants or by animals; the only type of organisms that have the enzymes required for the synthesis of methylcobalamin are bacteria and archaea. Higher plants do not concentrate methylcobalamin from the soil, making them a poor source of the substance as compared with animal tissues.

Folic Acid

Folic acid is a water-soluble, B-complex vitamin that is available orally and parenterally. This vitamin is found in a variety of foods including liver, kidneys, yeast, and leafy, green vegetables. A deficiency in folic acid can cause a variety of hematologic complications including megaloblastic and macrocytic anemias. In addition to treating megaloblastic and macrocytic anemias as well as tropical sprue, this vitamin is also used as a diagnostic aid for folate deficiency. In recent years, it has been discovered that adequate folic acid intake can substantially decrease the risk of congenital neural tube defects. Unlike the folic acid derivative leucovorin, folic acid is not clinically useful in offsetting the action of folate reductase inhibitors because it requires the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase for activation. Folic acid is also ineffective in the treatment of aplastic and normocytic anemias. Prescription forms of folic acid were approved by the FDA in 1946. In 1998, the recommended dietary allowance for all women of childbearing age who are capable of becoming pregnant was increased to 400 mcg of folic acid daily. As of 1998, the FDA has required that all food manufacturers fortify enriched grain products with folic acid to reduce the risk of congenital neural tube defects.

NAD+

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) is a prevalent cellular electron transporter, coenzyme, and signaling molecule found in all cells of the body and is vital for cell function and viability. Its reduced (NADH) and phosphorylated forms (NADP+ and NADPH) are as important as NAD+. Each step of cellular respiration—glycolysis in the cytoplasm, the Krebs cycle, and the electron transport chain in the mitochondria—requires the presence of NAD+ and NADH, their redox partner.

The manufacture of cholesterol and nucleic acids, elongation of fatty acids, and regeneration of glutathione, a vital antioxidant in the body, are just a few anabolic processes that frequently require NADP+ and NADPH. NAD+-dependent/-consuming enzymes modify proteins post-translationally in various cellular processes using NAD+ and its other forms as substrates. NAD+ also acts as a precursor for cyclic ADP ribose, an essential component of calcium signaling and a secondary messenger molecule.

The amino acid tryptophan and the vitamin precursors nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, often known as vitamin B3 or niacin, are used by the body to naturally produce NAD+. It can also be produced from biosynthetic intermediates including nicotinamide mononucleotide and nicotinamide riboside. NAD+ is continuously recycled within cells as it transitions between its many forms through salvage mechanisms. Mammalian cells may be able to take up extracellular NAD+, according to studies on cell culture.

The highest NAD+ levels are found in neonates, and they gradually decrease with increasing chronological age. They are around half of what they are in younger persons after age 50. Model organisms have been used to study the subject of why NAD+ levels fall with aging. However, during other metabolic activities, NAD+ is consumed by NAD+-dependent enzymes and may subsequently become depleted over time, contributing to increased DNA damage, age-related illnesses and diseases, and mitochondrial malfunction. During redox reactions, NAD+ and NADH are not consumed but rather continually regenerated. Views of aging and senescence frequently highlight a deterioration in mitochondrial health and function with age, and investigations of NAD+ depletion and the associated oxidative stress and damage corroborate these theories.

The age-related drop in NAD+ levels is caused by rising levels of CD38, a membrane-bound NADase that degrades both NAD+ and its precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide, according to a 2016 study in mice, which exhibit age-related declines in NAD+ levels similar to those seen in humans. The study also demonstrated that human adipose tissue from older adults (mean age, 61 years) expresses the CD38 gene at higher levels than that of younger adults (mean age, 34 years). Other research in mice, however, has shown that oxidative stress and inflammation brought on by aging lower NAD+ production. Therefore, it is likely that a number of mechanisms work together to cause individuals to lose NAD+ as they age.

When it was recognized that pellagra, a condition marked by diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and mortality, could be treated with foods containing NAD+ precursors, particularly vitamin B3, the clinical significance of maintaining NAD+ levels was established in the early 1900s. Notably, the skin does not flush with NAD+ injection, in contrast to vitamin B3 (niacin) intake, which also causes this negative effect. Low NAD+ levels have recently been associated with a variety of age-related ailments and diseases linked to increased oxidative/free radical damage, including diabetes, heart disease, vascular dysfunction, ischemic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and vision loss.

Selenium

Selenium is an essential nonmetallic element which is chemically related to sulfur. It is found in rock, shale, sandstone, limestone, coal, soil, surface water, and vegetation. Foods which contain significant amounts of selenium include meat, poultry, grains, and seafood. Selenium concentrations are relatively high in many of the soils of the United States, especially the western states. Although selenium deficiency is rare in the United States, selenium deficiency has been linked to diseases such as Keshan disease, a juvenile cardiomyopathy due to very low dietary selenium intake and Kashin-Beck disease, an endemic osteoarthritis. Low selenium body concentrations are also associated with prematurity, acute illness, and prolonged total parenteral nutrition (TPN) therapy. Symptoms of selenium deficiency include muscle weakness, myalgia, myositis, increased erythrocyte fragility, pancreatic degeneration, macrocytosis, and pseudoalbinism.

IV Fluid (Normal Saline)

Normal saline is a crystalloid fluid, an aqueous solution containing minerals (such as sodium and chloride), and other water-soluble molecules that can crystalize, but can also move through cell membranes when in liquid form. It is administered through an intravenous (IV) drip. Normal saline can be used for both adults and children.

Lipo-C

Lipo-C injection contains a mixture of compounds that may aid in the reduction of adipose tissue (fat). The mixture of compounds individually may be effective, however in combination they may exhibit more lipotropic activity than when administered alone in a synergistic fashion. Injection of this mixture of lipotropic compounds may be more effective than oral supplementation, this is due to the increased bioavailability of parenteral exposure.

These lipotropic agents are structurally and functionally closely related to the B-vitamins, or are involved in the homeostasis of energy production from fat. These compounds are often employed together in the hope of potentiating fat-loss, thus while the MIC mixture and B vitamin(s) are often injected separately, they are part of the same overall injection cycle. The non-vitamin compounds (MIC) that are injected into the body stimulate the liver into optimizing the process of metabolism, elevate the movement of and utilization of fat, and provide the needed metabolic environment of the body for a fatty acid (fat) mobilization and utilization.

Lipotropic compounds are used on the potential for release of fat deposits in some parts of the body. They sometimes go by the names Lipo-Den, Lipo-Plex, Lipo Shot, or MIC Injection. The lipotropic agents included in this injection are:

Methionine

Methionine helps the liver maintain the optimal ability to process fatty acids. Methionine is a major constituent of S-adenosylmethionine which has been shown to be associated in genetic regulation and activation of certain genes. Methionine contributes to methyl donation to histones that activate certain genetic processes that may be involved in the increase in lean tissue. Although indirectly linked to lipolysis, it is believed that the increase in lean tissue increases resting metabolic rate, therefore increasing the overall required calories that must be obtained from storage or dietary intake. Methionine, via S-adenosylmethionine, has been shown in animal models to increase CNS activity, therefore increasing the caloric requirements required by the CNS. The downstream effects of this may ultimately lead to increased caloric requirements for the entire organism. Although studies have not been replicated. In humans, there may be an association due to the similarity in pathways shared between organisms.

Inositol

Inositol is a sugar-like molecule, referred to as a sugar alcohol. Even though very similar in molecular structure to glucose, this molecule does not exhibit the traits that simple carbohydrates exhibit. Contrary to simple carbohydrates, this sugar alcohol has been shown to not actively increase adipose storage. In fact, Inositol has been found to decrease fatty acid synthase activity, a multi-enzyme protein that catalyzes fatty acid synthesis. This set of enzymes ultimately enables the body to produce triglycerides fat molecules that reside in adipose tissue (body fat).

Inositol may be effective in reducing insulin resistance, a common condition associated with increase adiposity (body fat). Insulin resistance, a condition to which your body becomes resistant to the activities of the hormone insulin. This condition leads to excess blood glucose levels and a host of symptoms and dysfunctions. A chemical called Inositol phosphoglycan is known to regulate the body’s sensitivity to insulin signaling. Inositol phosphoglycan structurally incorporates Inositol, thus inositol is required for this molecule to exert its regulating behavior.

The proper functioning and sensitivity to insulin is found in most healthy individuals, and is essential in maintaining overall health. Excessive exposure to blood glucose ultimately leads to insulin resistance and poor nutrient transport. Inositol may be effective in reducing this condition while at the same time reducing fatty acid (fat) synthesis.

Choline

Choline is a simple molecule usually classified as a B vitamin. The B vitamin class is usually involved in the generation of energy and support of metabolism. Choline is an important precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter is involved in a host of activities, one of which includes muscular function and contraction. Acetylcholine is a fundamental neurotransmitter that enables the communication between neurons. Increased neural communication results in increased CNS activity which ultimately leads to increased energy expenditure. Energy expenditure requires nutrient input, either from stored energy (fat), or dietary nutrients. Choline exist in a delicate balance and homeostasis with methionine and folate. When these nutrients are not in balance adverse health effects may be present. Along with the increase in CNS activity comes increased cognitive ability, reported by many users. Choline may be effective as a nootropic, or a substance with ability to increase cognition. Increased neural cognition is thought to be due to choline’s role as a precursor to acetylcholine.

The supplementation of choline has been shown to reduce serum and urinary carnitine. The reduction of carnitine in these fluids may indicate carnitine has been partitioned in tissues that utilize it as a fatty acid mitochondrial transport. When carnitine is used in the mitochondria it transports fatty acids to the location which they are broken down and used as energy. It has also been reported that molecular fragments of fat have been found in urine after carnitine and choline supplementation, which may be due to incomplete fatty acid oxidation and the removal of the subsequent byproducts. This means, choline supplementation may increase the utilization of carnitine and increase the removal of fatty acids, even though all fatty acids are not burned as energy. The fragments of fatty acids not burned as energy are extruded in the urine as molecular fragments.

Methionine, which helps the liver maintain the optimal ability to process fatty acids; Choline, which stimulates the mobilization of fatty acids and prevents their deposition in a given part of the body; and, Inositol, which aids in the transport of fat into and out of the liver and intestinal cells, acts synergistically with choline, exhibiting more lipotropic activity than when administered alone.

As soon as the effect of all 6 of these substances wears out, the body gradually begins returning to its normal rate of fat and general metabolism.

Typically, these compounds are administered in concert. Injections can be administered up to twice a week. B12 is purported by its users and practitioners to help speed up overall metabolic processes and create a greater feeling of overall energy & well-being. Because these lipotropics are structurally and functionally closely related to the B-vitams, they are often employed together in the hope of potentiating the potential for fat-loss, thus while the MIC mixture and B vitamin(s) are often injected separately, they are part of the same overall injection cycle. The non-vitamin compounds (MIC) that are injected into the body stimulate the liver into optimizing the process of metabolism, elevate the movement of and utilization of fat, and boost the metabolic power of the body for awhile.

Other compounds are included as an attempt to further potentiate these effects:

L-Carnitine
Thiamine HCl (Vitamin B1)
Dexpanthenol (Vitamin B5)

Who Should Not Take Take This Medication: If you have an allergy to methionine, inositol, choline, or any part of this medicine. Tell your healthcare provider if you are allergic to any medicine. This includes rash; hives; itching; shortness of breath; wheezing; cough; swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat; or any other symptoms involved.