Vitamin IVDrips.

The honest version of IV therapy

IV vitamin therapy is one of the most heavily oversold treatments in aesthetics, so it is worth being straightforward about what it is.

A cannula is placed in a vein, and a bag of sterile fluid containing a formulation of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes runs into your bloodstream over a period of time. Because the digestive system is bypassed, absorption is not a limiting factor, and blood levels of the contents rise faster and higher than the same substances taken orally.

That is genuinely useful in specific circumstances. It is much less useful in a healthy person who eats reasonably and absorbs normally, because your body has efficient ways of excreting what it does not need. We would rather say that clearly than let you assume otherwise.

Our IV menu

Every drip below goes through the same screening first: your history, your medications, your allergies and, where relevant, your kidney function. Where a drip needs an extra check, it says so. How long the infusion runs depends on the drip, and we will tell you when you book.

Myers’ IV

Named after the Myers’ cocktail, a mix of vitamins and minerals in sterile fluid, and the drip most people mean when they ask for one. The nurse practitioner goes through exactly what is in it at your screening. It is screened like everything on this menu, with particular attention to heart and kidney conditions and any fluid restriction. It is $149.

Vitamin C IV

Vitamin C in sterile fluid, at a level higher than you could reach by mouth. Because high-dose vitamin C is not safe with G6PD deficiency, that is part of the screening we do before any drip, alongside the usual history and medication review. It is $149.

B-complex IV

The B vitamins together in one drip. It makes most sense where your history or blood work points to a shortfall, and if the question is B12 alone, a B12 injection is usually the simpler route. It is $149.

Glutathione IV

Glutathione is an antioxidant your body makes itself, given here intravenously. The evidence for giving it to healthy people this way is limited, and we will say that at your screening rather than let the marketing speak for it. It is $199.

NAD+ IV

NAD+, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is a coenzyme your body makes from vitamin B3. It is widely promoted as a drip, and the evidence for giving it intravenously to people who are otherwise well is limited, so we will not describe it as doing more than that evidence supports. It goes through the same screening as every drip and is $199.

Iron infusion

An iron infusion starts with a consult with our Nurse Practitioner or with our Naturopathic Doctor, and your blood work decides whether you need one at all. If your results do not show low iron, we will not recommend one, which is the same test rather than assume approach as the rest of this page. You are also screened for any previous reaction to an iron product. The price depends on the product your results and your clinician call for: $250 or $650, as listed in the prices below.

Where it makes real sense

Rehydration, when you are genuinely depleted from illness, heat, exertion or a period of poor intake.

Documented deficiency, particularly where absorption is the problem rather than intake. Conditions affecting the gut, previous surgery affecting absorption, and certain medications all make oral supplementation unreliable.

As part of a wider plan, where blood work has actually shown something and the IV is addressing that finding rather than a general sense of feeling run down.

Where we will manage your expectations

If you feel tired, tired is a symptom with a long list of causes and most of them are not vitamin deficiencies. Sleep, thyroid function, iron, mood, and how much you are actually eating all matter more. An IV may make you feel better for a period, and it will not address a cause we have not found.

If you are hoping for better skin or hair, correcting a genuine deficiency helps and adding vitamins to normal levels does not.

Screening is not a formality

Putting fluid directly into someone’s circulation is a medical act. Volume matters in anyone with a heart or kidney condition. Specific components matter in specific conditions, and there are formulations we will not give to certain people.

Your history, your medications, your allergies and, where relevant, your kidney function are reviewed before anything is prepared. That review is overseen by Alex Dinovich, FNP-PHC, our Nurse Practitioner. If we do not think a drip is appropriate for you, you will be told so, and if we think you need blood work first, we will say that too.

Who this suits, and who it does not

It suits you if you are dehydrated or depleted, if you have a documented deficiency or an absorption problem, if you have been screened and cleared, and if your expectations are realistic.

It does not suit you if you have heart failure, significant kidney disease or a fluid restriction, if you are allergic to a component, or if you are acutely unwell with something that needs a doctor rather than a clinic. We do not treat in pregnancy without a clear clinical reason.

At the appointment

You are screened and consented, then seated comfortably. A registered nurse places a cannula, usually in the arm, and the infusion is started at a controlled rate. You are monitored while it runs, and you can read, work or rest.

Expect a brief sting on insertion, and possibly a cool sensation along the vein as the fluid runs. Tell the nurse immediately if you feel unwell, itchy, breathless or if the site becomes painful.

Afterwards

The cannula is removed and pressure is applied briefly. Bruising at the site is possible. You can drive and return to your day.

We will tell you honestly whether we think repeating it is worthwhile, and in a number of cases the more useful next step is blood work rather than another bag.