IV therapy puts fluids, vitamins, minerals or other nutrients into a vein through a small IV in your arm. At GIOSTAR, a licensed professional gives every drip in a recliner at our Henderson wellness center, after a nurse practitioner reviews your history and helps you choose.
People who book a drip usually have something on the calendar: a round of golf in July heat, a red-eye home from a work trip, race week, or a monthly slot they want to keep. This article covers what an IV drip is, who gives it, what a session feels like and how to pick among the drips on our menu.
What IV therapy is
An IV, short for intravenous, is a thin tube placed in a vein. A bag of fluid hangs above you, and the fluid runs down the line into the vein at a pace your provider sets. What is in the bag decides the drip. It might be fluid and electrolytes, a mix of vitamins and minerals, or amino acids.
You may also hear about vitamin shots. A shot goes into a muscle as one dose and is over in seconds. A drip runs slowly through a vein, so a session takes the better part of an hour, and sometimes longer. That time is part of the visit: you sit in a recliner, read or answer email, and head back to your day when the bag finishes.
The IV therapy drip menu at GIOSTAR
GIOSTAR offers five drips plus a slower NAD+ infusion. You choose with your nurse practitioner, and the easiest way to choose is by what is on your calendar.
- IV Hydration. A bag of fluid with electrolytes, our simplest drip. People book it for days in the heat, long flights and hard workouts. It runs roughly 45 to 60 minutes.
- Myers Cocktail. The classic all-round drip of magnesium, calcium, B vitamins and vitamin C, run slowly over 60 to 90 minutes. Where IV Hydration is mostly fluid, the Myers Cocktail is mostly nutrients.
- Vitamin C drip. Vitamin C with minerals and fluid alongside, in two strengths your nurse practitioner picks from. It runs 45 to 120 minutes, depending on strength.
- Beauty & Glow. The one drip on our menu built around glutathione and biotin, the B vitamin in many hair, skin and nail supplements, with vitamin C and fluid. It runs about 45 to 60 minutes.
- Performance & Recovery. Fluids, electrolytes and amino acids, the building blocks of protein, for active people. It runs about 45 to 60 minutes. Tell us before you book if you compete in a tested sport.
NAD+ runs over 2 to 4 hours in three doses and has its own page. Read about NAD+ IV therapy at GIOSTAR.
Who gives the IV, and who decides which drip
Two people shape your visit. Your nurse practitioner meets you in person in Henderson, reviews your history, your medications and your plans, and chooses a drip with you. Then a licensed professional places the IV and runs the drip. Dr. Ryan Peterson, our Medical Director, oversees care at the center.
That visit with the nurse practitioner is the medical review every IV needs, so you usually do not need a note from your own doctor first. If you have a heart or kidney concern, your nurse practitioner may check with your own doctor before choosing a drip.
Tell your nurse practitioner about your full health history and every medication and supplement you take. That includes pregnancy or breastfeeding, heart, kidney or liver concerns, and any limit your own doctor has set, such as on fluids.
What a session looks like
IV therapy at GIOSTAR follows five steps.
- Free consultation. You talk with our patient team, free and with no obligation. We explain how IV therapy works here, ask what is on your calendar and book your visit with a nurse practitioner.
- Meet your nurse practitioner. An in-person visit in Henderson to review your history and medications and choose your drip. You get the full total before you book.
- Treatment day. We check your blood pressure and pulse, place a small IV and start the bag. Most drips take about an hour. Your first visit can stretch to 90 minutes, because the health review comes before the drip.
- Aftercare. You leave with aftercare instructions and our number for any question.
- Follow-up. Before your next drip, we ask how you felt and whether your schedule calls for a regular rhythm. You decide together, with the price in front of you.
Before your drip
Drink a glass or two of water that morning, eat a light meal a few hours ahead and wear a top with sleeves that roll up. Bring your list of medicines and supplements.
After your drip
Leave the bandage on for 15 minutes and keep the IV site dry for an hour. Keep drinking water through the day and keep to light activity for the rest of the day.
A small bruise where the IV went in is normal, and so are extra restroom trips for a few hours. Bright yellow urine for a day is normal after B vitamins. Call us at 702.703.5393 if the IV site swells, turns red or keeps bleeding after 15 minutes of pressure, or if you feel lightheaded an hour after you leave. For chest pain or severe trouble breathing, call 911.
How often people come in
The rhythm depends on the drip. IV Hydration runs from weekly to monthly, as needed. The Myers Cocktail is usually weekly to start and then monthly. Beauty & Glow is timed around events on your calendar, or monthly. Performance & Recovery runs weekly in a heavy training block, then monthly or around big events. Your nurse practitioner sets the rhythm with you and adjusts it at follow-ups.
Some people prefer to fold drips into a larger plan. The Concierge Longevity Program includes monthly IV credits, booked around your calendar.
Who can get IV therapy, and what it costs
GIOSTAR gives drips to adults 18 and over. A teenager who just finished a tournament cannot get a drip here.
The total depends on the drip you choose and how often you come in. Your nurse practitioner gives you the full total at your free consultation, before you book. Insurance does not cover IV therapy, so it is a self-pay service, and Cherry offers monthly payment plans for qualified applicants.
IV therapy at GIOSTAR in Henderson
GIOSTAR stands for Global Institute of Stem Cell Therapy and Research. Founded by Dr. Anand Srivastava, GIOSTAR International is part of a network across three countries, built on research at Salk, UC San Diego, UC Irvine and UCLA. Our Henderson wellness center is at 2482 W. Horizon Ridge Pkwy, Ste 100, Henderson, NV 89052, with private treatment rooms, an IV lounge with recliners and free parking at the door.
Your first step is a free consultation with our patient team, online, by phone at 702.703.5393 or in person. To see the full menu, read more about IV therapy at GIOSTAR, or learn how peptide therapy works as a separate program.
