Vital Mix
IV Therapy provides an infusion of vitamins and minerals for health & energy
About six months ago, Robin Mahler was suffering from low energy and it was having an impact on her usually busy, active life. She knew her body well enough to know something wasn’t right, so she turned to the physicians at Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic for help.
After a consultation and blood work, they recommended she try IV therapy, a fast-acting intravenous infusion of vitamins and minerals. The mix included high doses of Vitamin C, Vitamin B, calcium, and magnesium in a solution of sterile water. Mahler started out with two infusions in two weeks and felt better immediately. Since then, she’s come in for IV therapy whenever she starts to feel run down and fatigued.
“This has been a game changer for me,” she said. “I feel like I’m back to myself again.”
She spends about 45 minutes in the chair for each treatment, and because the vitamins and minerals are pushed into the bloodstream and bypass the liver filtration system and bowels, the vitamins and minerals go to work immediately.
“People can expect to feel better right away and the effects last for about a week. Some will feel it longer,” said Dr. Autumn Dugas, a physician at the Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic who oversees the IV therapy program.
Her patients come to her with a number of health concerns. Many are suffering from low energy, brain fog and chronic fatigue, and others look to IV therapy for immune support. It’s helpful for those suffering from Covid and long Covid, and it can be used as a preventative for people who plan to travel. For some people, a dose of magnesium has also proven to be an effective treatment for migraines.
“IV therapy can also be a part of treatment for any chronic illness as a way to support other treatments,” says Dr. Kaila Sellars, who is also a physician at Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic.
The IV that Mahler received is the Myer’s Cocktail, which was developed in the 1970s. Each one-liter bag is mixed on site for each patient, and depending on the patient’s needs, other minerals and vitamins can be added. For example, glutathione, a powerful antioxidant, is often added for patients who need healing support.
There are several ways to take IV therapy. It’s offered in a “push,” which usually takes less than an hour, or a gravity drip, which can take up to three hours. IV therapy is safe for most people, except for those who have blood pressure issues.
At Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic, patients must have bloodwork done and have a consultation with a physician prior to IV therapy to be sure their symptoms can’t be attributed to something serious. They also discuss medications and supplements that may have an impact on their health as well.
“It’s medically driven and specific to each patient,” Sellars says.
Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic has been offering IV therapy for more than 20 years, but recently, Sellars and Dugas have seen in uptick in interest in IV therapy. Because the procedure is fast-acting and safe for most people, the procedure is growing in popularity nationwide. In the Billings area, it is offered at several medical spas, including Vitality Medical and Wellness Center.
Vitality Medical and Wellness Center opened two years ago and has provided IV therapy since it opened. Melissa Fuller, a nurse practitioner and medical director at Vitality, oversees IV therapy there. The center offers a variety of cocktails, with the immunity and wellness blend being the most popular. They also offer a blend for weight management, radiant skin and stress relief, as well as an infusion of prenatal vitamins for expectant mothers. Athletes can come in for pre- and post-workout cocktails to help them with performance and recovery. Vitality also offers hangover remedies for a quick recovery after a night or weekend of overdoing it.
Because the cocktails are administered with 1,000 milliliters of water, they not only deliver the positive effects of vitamins and minerals, they offer instant hydration, which also provides great benefits.
“It’s better and faster than just drinking water,” Fuller says.
Vitality’s clients are not the only ones who swear by IV therapy. Fuller also takes them.
“When I’m feeling the sniffles or feeling run down, I will get an IV and I never get sick,” Fuller says.
While most everyone can benefit from a boost of vitamins and minerals and the hydration an IV offers, Dugas and Sellars are on the lookout for what might be causing the symptoms that drive people to consider IV therapy. It may take a few IVs to get someone’s health back on track and an occasional IV to maintain good health, but a need for more frequent IV use is cause for concern.
For Mahler, the occasional IV therapy boost is all she needs to maintain a steady, adequate energy level. She’s glad to have the support of the physicians at Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic and has encouraged others to give IV therapy a try.
“Talk to your doctor first,” Mahler says. “There’s so many options that you need to be sure you are getting exactly what you need.”
