IV Therapy

Consider IV therapy if you’re in addiction recovery and want to maintain lasting progress and improve your wellness. This complementary treatment may help eliminate toxins from your body and promote equilibrium. At Victory Treatment Program in Knoxville, Tennessee, addiction medicine specialist and board-certified family nurse practitioner Stacey Maltman, FNP-BC, and the team provide IV therapy to teens and adults as part of addiction recovery. They offer anti-nausea and vitamin drips that boost energy and flush substances from your bloodstream. Call Victory Treatment Program today to schedule an IV therapy appointment, or book online. 

What is intravenous (IV) therapy?

IV therapy administers vitamins, minerals, and nutrients directly into your bloodstream via an intravenous drip. The drip contains a mixture of saline (salt water), vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It’s attached to a clear plastic tube that connects to a needle. Your provider inserts the needle into a vein in your inner elbow, and the solution slowly enters your bloodstream.

IV therapy is unique in that the nutrients bypass your digestive system entirely. When you take vitamins and supplements orally, you only gain about 50% of their benefits because they break down in your stomach. IV therapy allows for greater uptake by your cells and, in turn, better results. 

Are there different types of IV therapy?

At Victory Treatment Program, Stacey and the team use IV therapy specifically for addiction recovery. There are two types of recovery drips:

Anti-nausea drip

Weaning off substances like drugs and alcohol takes a toll on your body. Over time, you become dependent on these substances, so quitting results in a variety of symptoms, including nausea. Nausea makes it difficult to get out of bed, much less work, so an IV drip can help you return to your normal routine.

Vitamin drip (for increased energy and detoxification)

Substances like opioids, alcohol, and marijuana build up in your bloodstream the more you use them. As a result, it often takes weeks or even months for them to clear your system, even if you’re on the road to recovery. But a vitamin drip may help flush them out of your system quicker.

A vitamin drip provides your body with the nutrients it needs to feel good. The team orders blood work during your initial consultation. They review the results of those tests to check for vitamin and nutrient deficiencies and use that information to determine the type of vitamin drip that will most benefit you.

What does IV therapy involve?

At Victory Treatment Program, IV therapy is an outpatient procedure that takes 60-90 minutes.

You sit in a comfortable reclining chair, and your provider cleans and sterilizes your inner arm with an antiseptic solution and prepares your IV drip. Once the solution is ready, they gently insert the needle into your inner elbow. 

The IV solution slowly drips into your bloodstream. You can read, listen to music, watch TV, or take a nap while you wait. Once the drip finishes, your provider removes the needle from your arm and wraps it with a bandage. They then monitor you for 15-20 minutes, ensuring you don’t experience any side effects.

There’s no downtime after treatment, so you can return to work and other activities immediately. 

Call Victory Treatment Program today to schedule IV therapy, or book your appointment online.