How IV Therapy Changed My Life

A couple of months ago, I posted about my first experience with IV therapy. That definitely opened up a larger conversation – over social media with those of you that were interested in how I felt afterwards and how I wasn’t scared of needles – and internally with myself. After first trying out IV therapy, I felt “normal”. I don’t think I had even realized the daily pain that I was walking around with – what had become my “normal”. But after just a 30 minute session in the big plushy chair, receiving some B vitamins, magnesium, and glutathione, I had this energy about me, a true physical feeling that felt nostalgic of childhood days where nothing hurt. It was… kind of amazing for me.

That was September. And a month later, we had our wedding. I was a nervous wreck for the weeks leading up. Not because I was worried the caterer would be late or that I’d trip on my dress going down the aisle, but because I had no idea how my body would be able to hold up through an entire weekend of festivities and then get me through an international flight to head on our honeymoon. In a word, it truly seemed impossible.

Prior to my wedding, I was taking some time off of work and my full time job was healing. I was leisurely looking for another job after leaving my position in PR to move to Austin for my now husband’s dream job and also spending several hours a day finalizing contracts and creating calligraphy DIYs for the wedding. But when I wasn’t at my laptop at the kitchen table, I was healing. This meant resting a LOT, sleeping with my ice pack, taking lots of epsom salt baths, sitting on the couch and reading, etc. etc. It was hard not to feel guilty about all of the rest I was getting – especially because when it came down to it….I was still having a lot of daily pain.

I knew I had to start up a somewhat aggressive protocol. Just getting a “normal” amount of rest and care wasn’t going to be enough for me because I wasn’t in a normal health situation. Simply making sure I went to bed at a decent hour and drinking enough water each day wasn’t going to cut it.

So I started at the neurologist’s office, which seemed like the obvious answer. If you revisit this post, you can get a detailed look into the protocol that he put me on. In a nutshell, vitamins, less caffeine, PT for my neck (occipital neuralgia), plenty of sleep, no more high intensive exercise, and #aimovig. (Which I have a post on here, but I need to share a new update soon!)

After a month or so, I really started to feel like my pain level was cut in half. I was able to go out to happy hours with new friends, travel to Houston for wedding planning, and just hang out at the dog park with Cam and Wex.

Even so, there were times were I knew my body was going to take a beating (like the wedding and honeymoon for instance) and I just know myself and my pain and I knew that there are just some things I don’t have enough spoons for.

So enter IV therapy. Think of it as a boost for your body. I went in the day before my wedding and I got my normal blend of B-vitamins, glutathione (a heavy detox for the body), and magnesium (great for restful sleep and migraines). They also gave me a complimentary b12 boost since it was my wedding weekend!

By the time I stepped out of the infusion center to wait for Cameron to pick me up, I could immediately feel a difference. Most notably: no pain. My normal baseline is a slight ache on the right side of my head that grows and gets worse throughout the day as I get hungry, tired, etc. It was such an odd feeling to feel completely ok. Energized. Comfortable. I immediately flashed back to days running around on the playground or dancing for hours at the studio as a younger version of myself. It was insane. “This is how the other half lives!” I exclaimed to Cameron as we ran last minute errands for the wedding.

And I stayed feeling great. Through the rehearsal dinner. Through the sleepless night before our wedding day. Through the getting-ready jitters. Through the vows. Through 3 plane rides and 3 different countries.

A miracle. Truly.

A lot of people have been asking me recently where I’ve been going for infusions, what I get, etc., and I’m excited to announce that I have been working with Restore Hyper Wellness to receive these healing services. So far, I have received IV therapy at Restore, but that doesn’t even scrape the tip of the iceberg of what they have to offer in terms of alternative therapies for chronic pain. In the coming months, I’ll be exploring more of their offerings, but for now, be sure to visit their website to view a full list of services. I really want to try out their hyperbaric chambers!

I go to Restore for many reasons, but ultimately, I love their staff and the heart they have for everyone who walks through the door. The last time I was there, I sat in the chair for two hours because my veins were taking their sweet time absorbing my infusion, and someone checked on me every few minutes. I also got a front row seat to see them greet each and every person that walked through the door and I was really touched how they listened to each of their needs and got them set up quickly and comfortably to receive their treatments. We really need more care like that going around for the #spoonie community.

I’ll be back to Restore more over the next couple of months into 2020, so be sure you’re following along on Instagram to see what other healing remedies we explore together.

And check their locations map here to see where the closest Restore location is to you!

I can’t really begin to describe how much one drip does for me. And that just makes me feel so much more passionate about advocating for patients with serious chronic illnesses and rare diseases that need these infusions even more so than me, and more often.

The average Joe or Jolene may not know it, but this type of alternative therapy is widely inaccessible for the people that need it most. I started to join in on the discussion and advocacy surrounding improving access to infusion therapy for chronically ill patients after I witnessed how beneficial it was for myself.

And for me, it doesn’t just stop there.

As some of you all may know, I have been looking for another job in Marketing and Communications since I had to leave my last position in Houston to move to Austin at the end of July. While on my honeymoon, I spotted a job posting and learned about a 501(c)(3) non-profit patient advocacy organization called NICA (n-eye-ka) which stands for the National Infusion Center Association.

I applied for a job to be their new Communications Coordinator, and after a few interviews, meeting the team, and swapping stories about our passion for advocating for more affordable and effective health care – especially for those that suffer from invisible illnesses – I was offered the position and accepted.

I start tomorrow!

I really wanted to share my story on the blog today, and let you guys know about this new chapter in my life. As you can see from my Instagram for the past several months, advocacy has become my song and spreading my story about healing has become my voice. I’m excited to get to share the voices of other patients and work for an entity and a brand that is doing so much good for the chronically ill community.

I have so much more to say about what I learned during my time off work and what my intentions are for going back to work full time, but I’ll save those for later posts. The best place to stay up to date is by following along on Instagram!

Thanks for being here and for always hearing and receiving my story with open hearts.

X,

Cristina