We have administered over 10,000 IV vitamin/mineral infusions here at StoneTree. That’s a lot!
Why so many? The obvious reason is the results–using IV therapy just works.
For complaints like migraine headaches, colds and flus, muscle cramping, wound healing, allergies, chronic fatigue, and many, many others, it’s a therapy that can get our patients better faster than with diet changes or oral supplements alone. (Read on for a longer list of conditions and complaints that we’ve used IV therapy with.)
But the results don’t tell you why. And the why is important.
There are two main reasons we use IV therapies for our patients:
Reason #1: To ensure nutrients actually get into your cells
When you eat food (or take supplements), you absorb nutrients from your intestines into your blood. At least, that’s the idea, and if all your digestive mechanisms are working right, it’s a great system.
As you age, however, or if you’re sick or things just aren’t working correctly for any number of reasons, you often don’t absorb nutrients as well. Your food and supplements don’t give you the same benefit. When we put vitamins and minerals directly into the blood via IV we bypass the intestines entirely, ensuring that the nutrients are available.
The other place that nutrient absorption happens is at the cellular level. Nutrients from our blood need to get into our cells and this is not a passive process. Your cells have to “actively” transport nutrients inside. Compromised cells don’t do this as effectively as they should.
When we put vitamins and minerals directly into the blood, the concentration in the blood changes so that it’s higher outside the cell than inside. The nutrients can then passively diffuse into the cell. That can allow the cell to get the nutrients it needs to start the active transport system again. Think of it as jumpstarting your cells to give them what they need to continue the process on their own.
Reason #2: To get a specific biochemical effect
Vitamins and minerals have real biochemical effects in the body. Just like pharmaceutical drugs, if you can get the blood concentrations at high enough levels, you can get the body to respond in specific ways. Vitamin C, for example, has a wonderful anti-allergy effect at high enough blood concentrations.
Because of the absorptive mechanisms in the digestive tract, however, it can be challenging to get the blood concentration high enough to get the biochemical effect you want. (Anyone who has taken lots of Vitamin C will attest to the effect of taking too much: the bowels become overwhelmed, the Vitamin C isn’t absorbed, and you have to run to the toilet with an acute case of diarrhea.)
When Vitamin C is given IV, we bypass the intestines and the side effects of a large oral dose. The blood concentration can easily rise to the level needed for the anti-allergy effect, and the patient gets allergy relief without the drowsy side-effect of anti-histamines.
What We Use IV Therapy For
Those 10,000 IV’s we’ve administered? We’ve used them for many things–here’s a list of some complaints and uses:
- Arrhythmia
- Anxiety
- Autoimmune issues
- Adrenal fatigue
- Alcohol craving
- Anemia
- Asthma
- Athletic performance
- Bipolar (mania)
- CFS
- Chronic candida
- Chronic EBV
- Chronic fatigue
- Cold/flu
- Constipation
- Depression
- Dermatitis Herpetiformis
- Diabetes (Type 2)
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Dysmenorrhea
- Eating disorders
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches (all types)
- Hypertension
- Infections
- Insomnia
- Lupus
- Macular Degeneration
- Mercury toxicity
- Mono
- Muscle cramps
- Parkinson
- Peptic Ulcers
- PID
- Polymyalgia Rheumatica
- Post-surgical wound healing
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Seasonal Allergy
- Shingles
- Sinusitis
- Ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s
And more!
This powerful treatment tool has been very helpful here at StoneTree over the years. Talk to your naturopathic doctor to find out if it’s the right fit for you.
You can book an appointment here, or call 705-444-5331.