Feel Recharged and Restored with Wellness Injections in Seattle

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF VITAMIN B-12?
Vitamin B-12 is a water-soluble B complex vitamin. It’s found naturally in many foods, such as meat, fish and dairy products. Foods most rich in Vitamin B 12 are beef kidney, beef liver, canned salmon, eggs, ground beef, milk, trout. Vitamin B-12 is added to some foods and is available as a dietary supplement.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE VITAMIN B-12 DEFICIENT?
Laboratory blood tests.

WHAT ARE SOME SYMPTOMS TO LOOK FOR?

• Difficulties with maintaining balance
• Fatigue, weakness, or lethargy
• Dizziness or feeling faint
• Feeling of pins and needles
• Headache or irritability
• Mouth sores
• Constipation
• Reduced cognitive function (memory or comprehension issues)
• Dementia
• Confusion
• Memory Loss
• Mood changes
• Sore and swollen tongue (may appear pale yellow or red)
• Vision changes
• Megaloblastic anemia
• Appetite loss
• Weight loss
• Dementia
• Depression
• Tingling or numbness in hands and/or feet
• Heart palpitations
• Pale skin
• Infertility

WHY GET A VITAMIN B-12 INJECTION?
Vitamin B-12 is essential to your brain and nervous system and without this vitamin you may feel tired and weak among other symptoms. This vitamin plays a key role in DNA production, red blood cells, and nerve cells.

HOW ARE THE VITAMIN B-12 INJECTIONS GIVEN?
The injections are given intramuscularly (typically the upper arm, thigh, buttock) after cleansing your skin and using a small needle.

WHAT IF YOU ARE NOT DEFICIENT WOULD A VITAMIN B-12 INJECTION BE HELPFUL?
This can help raise your energy and endurance during exercise. This has been used by some to help lose weight but is not guaranteed. Having a large amount of Vitamin B-12 is not harmful. It should be noted that there is no report of B12 toxicity. If you’re an otherwise healthy person, B12 injections are completely safe—and if you see positive results, there’s no reason to stop getting them.

WHY GET INJECTIONS IF YOU ARE TAKING ORAL SUPPLEMENTS ALREADY OF VITAMIN B-12?
While an oral supplement may not be fully absorbed the injections are 100% absorbed directly into the tissues. The injections bypass the digestive system.

WHAT ARE SOME RISK FACTORS THAT CAN INCREASE THE CHANCE OF DEVELOPING VITAMIN B12 DEFICIENCY?

• Vegetarian or plant based diet
• High alcohol consumption
• Older age
• Pernicious anemia
• Atrophic gastritis, which refers to inflammation in the stomach
• Helicobacter pylori infection
• Celiac disease
• Crohn’s disease
• A history of gastrointestinal surgery
• Pancreatic insufficiency
• AIDS
• Some hereditary conditions that affect vitamin B12 absorption
• Use of gastric acid inhibitors such as omeprazole (Prilosec®) and lansoprazole (Prevacid®), and histamine 2-receptor antagonists, such as cimetidine (Tagamet®) and ranitidine (Zantac®)

WHAT CONDITIONS CAN VITAMIN B12 SHOTS MAY HELP REDUCE THE RISK OF?

• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Neurological disorders
• Problems with thinking and memory
• Vision loss
• Infertility
• Neural tube defects in children born to those with a vitamin B12 deficiency

WHAT ARE SOME BENEFITS OF VITAMIN B12 SHOTS?

• Weight loss by speeding up your metabolism
• Better sleep
• Improve concentration and mood
• Boosts to your immune system
• Possibly help with hair growth or stop hair loss
• Improve fertility

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS?

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Indigestion
• Mild diarrhea
• Feeling tired
• Headache
• Pain, redness, or itching at the site of the injection
• Swelling sensation in the body
• Temporary itching of the skin

HOW OFTEN DO YOU NEED TO REPEAT THE INJECTIONS?
Depending on how deficient you are this may be ONCE A WEEK for 4-8 weeks followed by MONTHLY injections.

Each dosage will be 1000 micrograms or 1 cc which is equivalent to half a teaspoon.

WHAT IS A TRIGGER POINT?
Trigger points are due to damaged and painful MUSCLE fibers and may be formed after acute trauma or by repeated micro-trauma. Trigger points are very tender knots/nodules in the muscles. Trigger points can be responsible for pain in parts of the body that are quite some distance from where the nodule is itself. This is most commonly the back and radiate pain and discomfort into the shoulders and neck. These points are usually palpable and produce a characteristic referred pain upon palpation, along with pain locally and occasionally a local twitch response.

WHY GET A TRIGGER POINT INJECTION?
A trigger point injection is a great alternative to taking pain medications.

HOW IS THE INJECTION PERFORMED?
The injection can be performed very carefully with a dry needle, local anesthetic or numbing medication, cortisone, or neuromodulator to relax the muscle (e.g. Botox) into the area of pain and tenderness can relax the muscle and allow it to heal. The skin will be marked and then cleaned with alcohol wipes. Then a cold spray is followed by placing a small 25 gauge needle. This therapy is best used with a rehabilitative approach including strengthening and stretching of the musculature.

Injections usually take just a few minutes. Several sites may be injected in one visit. If you have an allergy to a certain drug, a dry-needle technique (involving no medications) can be used. One to five trigger points may be injected in one session, and sessions are typically repeated at regular intervals in a series and coordinated with physical therapy. Injections that relieve pain allow greater participation by the patient in stretching programs, aerobic exercise programs, and other physical therapy treatments.

WHICH MUSCLES ARE COMMONLY INJECTED?
The most common muscle groups treated using trigger point injections include the masseter (jaw), levator scapulae (neck), gluteus medius (buttock), quadratus lumborum (lower back), trapezius (shoulder), sternocleidomastoid (neck), and temporalis (temples) muscles.

WHAT ARE THE AVERAGE PRICES?
$100 for one muscle and typically each visit will involve 2-4 muscles treated at each visit. Increased cost if botox or similar medication is used.

WHO IS NOT A CANDIDATE FOR THIS INJECTION?

• Cobalt allergy
• Active infection over the site of trigger point.
• Patients taking anticoagulation
• Pregnant patients
• Patients where anatomical landmarks are indistinguishable.
• Patients with local anesthetics allergies
• Severe fibromyalgia
• History of keloid formation
• Poorly controlled psychiatric disorder
• Patient with severe needle-phobia
• Sensitivity to vitamin B12
• Leber’s disease, which affects the optic nerve
• Kidney problems
• Hypokalemia, or low potassium levels

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS?

• Pain
• Bleeding/Hemorrhage at treatment site
• Infection
• Allergic reaction to the anesthetic agent
• Systemic anesthetic toxicity
• Formation of a hematoma
• Vascular injury
• Although rare, there are some reports of complications such as pneumothorax or collapsed lung, especially when treating trigger points in the neck and shoulder region using a needling technique.

IV fluids are specially formulated liquids that are injected into a vein to prevent or treat dehydration. They’re used in people of all ages who are sick, injured, dehydrated from exercise or heat, or undergoing surgery. Intravenous rehydration is a simple, safe and common procedure with a low risk of complications.  Even healthy individuals who want a boost for their energy and endurance level an IV treatment can be beneficial.  As opposed to drinking liquids IV fluids are absorbed 100% into your system.

What are IV fluids?

IV fluids are liquids injected into a person’s veins through an IV (intravenous) tube. They prevent or treat dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.  Your treatment can be combined with certain vitamins to enhance your well being.

Why are intravenous fluids used?

Water is essential to every cell in our bodies. In fact, our bodies are made up of about 60% water. When you don’t have enough water in your body, that’s called dehydration.

What are the effects of dehydration?

When you’re dehydrated, it can affect:

• Skin health.
• Energy level.
• Balance of important minerals (electrolytes) in the body.
• Cognitive (mental) performance.
• Gastrointestinal function (your ability to digest food and create pee and poop).
• Headache frequency and intensity.
• Many organs, including the kidneys, heart and brain.
• Physical performance.

Signs of severe dehydration include:

• Dizziness
• Dry eyes (no tears).
• Dry lips and tongue.
• Dry, wrinkly or blotchy skin.
• Fatigue (feeling tired).
• Fast breathing.
• Hands and feet that are cool to the touch or blotchy-looking.
• Less pee than usual (fewer than four times per day).
• Pee that’s dark yellow and smells strong.

Procedure Details

What are the types of IV fluids?

There are different kinds of IV fluids. At Forever Young Aesthetics we will decide which type is right for you, depending on why you need them.  Most commonly we utilize lactated Ringer’s, which contains sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and lactate. It’s used for aggressive fluid replacement.

What happens during rehydration with IV fluids?

If you need IV fluids we will:

• Decide the type of IV fluid you need or vitamins.
• Determine the amount of fluid you need and how quickly. This is based on many factors, including your weight, age and medical conditions.
• Disinfect (clean) the skin where the IV will go, usually on the inside of the elbow or on top of the hand.
• Tie an elastic band (tourniquet) around your arm to make blood fill the veins.
• Examine the veins to find the exact insertion site.
• Slide a sterile needle into the vein, which may pinch. The needle will have a small plastic tube at the other end.
• Remove the tourniquet.
• Place a small plastic attachment onto the tube.
• Test the tube to make sure a little bit of fluid can go in.
• Tape the IV needle to your arm so that it stays in place.
• Attach the small tube to a longer tube, and then attach it to a bag of fluids.
• Hang the bag from a hook on a tall stand (called an IV stand).
• Check your IV line regularly and monitor the amount of fluid entering your body.

What happens after IV fluids?

IV fluids can make you feel better very quickly. But we will determine when you can stop receiving intravenous fluids.

Risks / Benefits

What are the advantages and risks of this procedure?

IV rehydration is a common, simple and safe procedure that can make you feel better quickly and help save your life if you’re seriously ill.

But rare complications can occur, including:

• Air embolism: An air embolism, or gas embolism, occurs when an IV pushes too much air into the vein. It’s rare but can have serious consequences, including possible death.
• Collapsed vein: Sometimes, the vein collapses when the needle is inserted or when an IV is in place for a long period of time. If this happens, your healthcare provider will try to find another vein to use. There are many other veins to take over for the collapsed vein.
• Fluid overload: If too much fluid is given too quickly, you can experience a headache, high blood pressure and trouble breathing. This usually resolves quickly with an adjustment to fluid levels. But it can be dangerous.
• Hematoma: A hematoma occurs when blood leaks from the blood vessel into nearby tissues. It looks like a bad bruise and usually goes away in a few weeks.
• Infection: If the area isn’t clean when the needle is inserted, infection may occur. Your healthcare provider can usually treat infections with antibiotics.
• Infiltration: If the needle moves or gets dislodged, fluids can enter tissues around the vein. This may cause stinging and bruising, but it’s typically easy to resolve.
• Phlebitis: Phlebitis occurs when the vein becomes swollen because of the IV. It’s one of the more common complications, but it’s usually easily treatable by removing the IV, applying a warm compress and elevating t headache or trouble breathing.