cus·tom
/ˈkəstəm/
adjective - NORTH AMERICAN
made or done to order for a particular customer. "a custom guitar"
Why did you need to see that? Because you're about to get something infused directly into your bloodstream, and if it isn't "custom" it may be "trouble". You may not know it, but everything we do is "custom". Sounds cool, but does it really matter? You bet it does, and here's why:
Sure, we have a list of "menu" items. You'll see the Lagniappe, the Gastro Relief, the Rockstar, among others, and think you have to get one of those.
Those items are listed because we've found them to be effective combinations, and they tend to work well for specific symptoms. It doesn't mean you're stuck with everything listed on the menu, or that you can't add something. That can be REALLY important. If you get your IV from a place that has "premixed" IV bags, or a bottle of "Lagniappe" they inject into your bag of Ringer's Lactate/Normal Saline, you're getting what's in the bag/bottle, or you're getting a different bag.
That's why we only hire RNs. There are LPNs, LVNs, EMTs and paramedics who are AWESOME at giving IVs. I know a guy in Colorado who is potentially the single best IV starter in the country (not kidding - it's possible), and he's a paramedic. The law around here however says that if you mix IV bags with more than one ingredient (meaning you aren't infusing a premixed bag or injecting a premixed medicine cocktail into a bag), you have to be an RN. Well, we don't want to give you the "my way or the highway" combination that someone shipped us from 1,000 miles away. We want to take YOU into consideration.
Let's take the Lagniappe for instance. It's got a hell of a powerful multi-vitamin in it called Infuvite. Well, what if we're looking at your paperwork and it turns out you've had a reaction (usually a flush) to niacin? Well, you can't have that multi-vitamin. So, since we have an RN who mixes your bag CUSTOM for you, we leave it out.
What if your blood pressure is right at the low end of what we consider safe to receive an IV? Well you damned sure don't want any Magnesium because that lowers your blood pressure. We leave it out.
You know that NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can be hard on your liver. Acetaminophen can be too. So, if you're getting the Rockstar and you tell us you just took three 325mg Advil, we aren't putting the Toradol in your bag. It could be bad for you.
We can give you dozens of examples of why you might want to add something or have something left out of your IV, and the only way for us to do that is to have a staff that's trained in mixing IV bags, and do them for you custom each time. Yeah, it costs us a little more, but we don't pass that on to you. It's the right, safe, and best way to do it.
If you're out of town and considering #IVTherapy, or you're looking at getting one from somewhere else in one of our towns, make sure to ask, "does someone mail you this bag, or do you mix it, and if you mix it can I leave something out." Make sure they ask about your allergies, take your blood pressure, check your heart rate, etc.
Yes, we offer you a bunch of snacks and you can watch a big screen TV, and you sit on a leather lounger, but #IVTherapy is a MEDICAL PROCEDURE, and you and the people who give it to you need to treat it as one.
You're one of a kind. Make sure your #IV can be too.
