Education
Peptides
It seems like everywhere you look, there is a new "peptide" that everyone is talking about. But what are peptides, and how could they help your day-to-day lifestyle and improve your general health?
In the most general sense, peptides are short-chain amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. They act as crucial signaling messengers regulating essential processes in the body.
By using different types of peptides, the specific goal you're trying to achieve can be made more easily and effectively. For example, the peptide BPC-157 is used to increase the blood flow to injured tissue and to support the digestive system. So if an individual had sustained a tear to a muscle, they could benefit from using this peptide to decrease their healing time.
There are different types of forms and delivery of peptides as well. Many of these will be intramuscular or subcutaneous injections, which means that they would be injected directly into the muscle or the subcutaneous fat layer of skin. There are oral forms of peptides as well that an individual would take by mouth, just like their normal prescription medications.
Why do peptides have to be compounded? This is a great question! Unlike mass-produced medications, peptides are compounded to create custom, specialized treatments based on the patient's specific needs and dose. Because of this, peptides cannot be sent to "big box" pharmacies because they do not have this capability. Here at Henderson Family Medicine, we work very closely with our compounding pharmacies to ensure the highest quality for our patients and receive the best prices for these as well.
Our goal here at Henderson Family Medicine is not only to treat our patients with the utmost care and integrity, but also to educate our patients and community on how to care for yourselves and your family effectively!
IV Hydration
IV hydration, you mean just saline that helps you when you are dehydrated? Well, yes, but there is so much more to IV hydration therapy than only using it when you are completely worn down and dragging.
The base of every IV hydration therapy is saline (salt and water). This is an isotonic solution that matches the salt concentration of our blood. It is used for rapid rehydration and replacing fluid straight into the bloodstream.
Here at Henderson Family Medicine, we offer up to 4 different "mixes" for our IV hydration therapy to achieve different goals for our patients. These mixes help to replace the vital vitamins our body needs to perform and feel the best they can!
Though the vitamins are an incredible part of IV hydration, they are not the only upside. IV therapy can also be used to give medications intravenously, which means through the vein; this means that they go directly into your bloodstream. This promotes quicker and, in some cases, more effective outcomes of these medications. An example of this would be if you were experiencing a migraine headache. While you receive essential vitamins to replenish your body through your IV, we would also give an anti-nausea medication (Ondansetron) and an anti-inflammatory medication (Ketorolac) to help alleviate the symptoms of your migraine.
Why is IV hydration considered self-pay? This is because most insurance companies do not see this treatment as "medically necessary". Even though we cannot bill this to your insurance, every IV is eligible for HSA/FSA coverage.
Click here for more information about the IV Hydration Therapies that we offer!