138 ELLE AUSTRALIA
❯❯ WHAT IT IS: IV therapy
involves administering a vitamin
cocktail intravenously, bypassing the
digestive system so cells absorb up
to 90 per cent of the nutrients,
some of which you’d miss out on if
taken orally. This particular treatment
is paired with skin-brightening
Omnilux light therapy, so you get
ȱȱȱ¡ȱęǯ❯❯ WHAT I EXPECTED: My
colleagues wimped out when they
heard the alleged secret to more
energy, brighter skin and increased
immunity was an intravenous
vitamin C-infused drip, but I’m about
as willing a therapeutic guinea
pig as you can get (although
I draw the line at group
exercise). I tried to go in with
no expectations, instead seeing
it as an opportunity to tick
¡ȱěȱ¢ȱ¢ȱȱǯ❯❯ WHAT IT’S REALLY
LIKE: I was lying on
a treatment table, nervously
anticipating the pinch of the
needle, when Duquessa
(duquessa.com.au) owner and
nurse practitioner Katherine
Millar-Shannon told me I have
ȃĴ¢ Ȅǯ ¢Ƿ
No, actually it’s my own fault,
because I didn’t eat a big
enough lunch or drink enough
water beforehand and both
Ĵ
ripe for the pricking. The IV
eventually took, as long as
I kept really, really still. The
treatment lasted about 40
minutes; the liquid felt cold
going in and, strangely, there
was some shoulder pain on the
same side, but a heat pack eased
the discomfort. I was told
I might feel heaviness in my
chest; my asthma kicked in but
ěȱȱ
¢ȱȱȂȱę¡ǯTHE
RESULTS:
Afriendsaidshefelt
“high”afterasimilar
drip,so–Mum,look
awaynow–Iwasatad
disappointeditdidn’t
havethesameeffect
onme.Millar-Shannon
toldmeIwouldfeel
hungoverifIdidn’teat
aprotein-richmealand
drinktwolitresofwater
stat,soIdutifullyate
abigbowlofspaghetti
bolognaise.Shealso
explainedI’dsleeplike
ababythatnight,orI’d
hardlysleepatall,but
eitherwayI’dwakeup
refreshed.Isleptokay,
anddidn’treally
somersaultoutofbed
–Ijustfelt...normal.
Anticlimax?Kindof.
Butoverthenextfew
daysIadmitmyskin
wasphenomenal.It
evenclearedupafew
blemishesIhad.
VitaminCsang,“We
willstillbe,friends
forever”,sowillIbe
BFFswithvitamin
drips?I’dsaymoreof
casualacquaintances
thatshoulddefinitely
catchupsoon.- LAURA COLLINS
STICK IT TO MEIV THERAPY
COST: FROM $249 PER TREATMENT