Most people have never hadan IV outside a hospital.

The whole visit

1. Before you come

   Drink some water on the way. There is no fasting for any of this, and you do not need to eat first, because there are snacks and drinks in the lounge. Wear sleeves you can push up past the elbow, and bring a list of anything you take regularly, including supplements and anything herbal. That list matters more than people expect, because some combinations change what is safe to give you.

2. The consultation

   However long it takes. Some people are ready in half an hour, some talk for an hour, and nobody gets moved along. What is going on with you, what you have already tried, what you are hoping for. This is also where you say if you are a hard stick or if needles are not your favourite thing.

3. The line going in

   You feel the needle, and then for most people very little after that. What stays in your arm is a small flexible tube, not the needle, so you can move, use your phone and hold a cup.

4. Your own room

   Not a line of chairs. A zero gravity full body massage chair, red light facial lamps and a steamy eye mask, which every drip patient gets. Phone, laptop, a book or a nap. You can bring somebody with you.

5. Leaving

   You drive yourself home. There is nothing in a vitamin drip that affects that. If anything about your visit changes it, you will be told before you leave rather than after.