Vitamin C (as sodium ascorbate) administered intravenously has numerous benefits, such as improving immune function, improving antioxidant status, reducing oxidative damage, detoxification, decreasing bronchospasm, aids healing, especially after surgery, and many other benefits. As such, it is a useful adjunctive therapy for acute and chronic infections, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lyme disease, asthma, and cancer patients and other diseases.
Serum ascorbate level above 4 mg/dl boosts interferon levels, which markedly improves immune response. This high serum level cannot be achieved with oral vitamin C due to gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea.
Additional nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants) can also be added to this IV treatment to correct nutritional deficiencies or for synergistic effects. B vitamins, especially B-12, improves energy production. Correcting nutrition deficiencies intravenously markedly speeds up progress and improves outcomes. For example, magnesium deficiency causes migraine headaches, high blood pressure, and muscle spasms. IV magnesium can rapidly correct these issues.
The most common side effects that may accompany intravenous administration of nutrients include the following, however, most can be prevented or modulated by varying the rate of infusion:
-burning and stinging at the site of infusion or if IV infiltrates into surrounding tissue
-muscular spasms, weakness, or fatigue
-allergic reactions (rare)
-local vein irritation & thrombophlebitis (very rare).
(Please note that Insurance, including Medicare, may not pay for this Non‑covered service. Medicare may consider all services ancillary to this treatment as Non-covered services and as such, Non-reimbursable. )