Side Effects

You may experience some common effects. Most are mild and may last up to a few hours.

• Dehydration – You may feel thirsty during and after a Vitamin C infusion. Please drink plenty of fluids, unless you are on a restricted fluids regime. If so, please discuss with your doctor;

• Reduced blood sugar – A Vitamin C infusion can reduce your blood glucose level. Having a meal before your treatment and snacking during treatment, reduces your risk of this. Please tell the nurse if you notice yourself sweating or feeling dizzy, shaky, or nauseous. We may need to give you a glucose drink to help;

• Cramps, headaches, tingling, numbness – You may experience cramps, headaches, tingling or numbness during the infusion. Tell a nurse if you feel shaky. We may need to give you a calcium and magnesium drink to help you with this;

• Irritation or pain – If you notice any irritation or pain during your infusion, please tell a nurse immediately. Sometimes if you move around, the needle gets dislodged and the infusion fluid will cause pain. Do your best to keep your arm still throughout the infusion. Occasionally people will notice increased pain at the site of a recent injury or trauma during an IVC infusion;

• Tiredness – You may feel tired after your treatment. Rest and drink plenty of fluids. This effect usually goes away after the first few infusions;

• Blood tests – A Vitamin C infusion can make some blood test results artificially high (eg: creatinine level). Do your blood test before treatment or more than 24 hours after the infusion;

• Finger-prick glucose testing – For people with diabetes, do not rely on finger-prick (capillary) glucose test results for 8-10 hours after your treatment because a Vitamin C infusion can make the results artificially high. A blood serum glucose test is not affected, however.

Uncommon Effects: There are also several possible effects which are not common, and require medical attention:

• Redness, pain, or swelling – If you develop any redness, pain, or swelling after treatment, please contact clinic staff urgently. If it is outside business hours, see a doctor at A&E or your GP’s after-hours service;

• Sore kidneys or blood in urine – The clinic monitors your kidney function while you have treatment because there is a reported rare risk of increased kidney stones. The clinic has not seen this in its patients. If you do notice pain in your kidney region (flanks) or any blood in your urine, please contact the clinic staff;

• Darkened urine or jaundice – Some people have a genetic deficiency that means higher doses of Vitamin C are inadvisable. The clinic always test your G6PD enzyme level before giving more than 25g/30g of Vitamin C. If you notice darkened urine or jaundice of your skin or eyes, please contact the clinic urgently. If it is outside of business hours, see a doctor at A&E or your GP’s after-hours service.