Iv Fluids

[JaneEyre9]

How fast do you get your IV fluids?

I got 2 liters today in about an hour because the EMTs were eager to move things along. I started to feel better during the first liter, but at the end of the second liter, I felt my heart rate spike and there was a "coolness" in my chest and throat that was very uncomfortable. I wondered if anyone here has had that type of reaction from getting IV fluids too quickly.

Also, if EMTs giving them at home are not able to wait for me to get them slowly, do any of you have another way of getting IV fluids at home? Usually when I need an IV, I'm shaking and feeling so terrible that a trip out to a clinic or office is sort of out of the question.

Thanks for your help!

[Ernie]

Hi,

I usually get 0,5 L per hour and the max I got was 5 Liters in 10 hours.

[Jacquie802]

Hi,

I don't get any IV fluids but I was wondering if you could have a home health aide (not sure if they can give IV's??) or visiting nurse give you the fluids?

[goldicedance]

Preface my remarks by saying that I am not a doctor.

However the rate of infusion that you received seems pretty fast to me.

At an infusion center, it took about 1.5 hours to get a liter of fluid.

Why did the emt's deliver the infusion? Is that usual in your area?

Perhaps your doctor could write an order for IV saline when needed and then you could arrange to receive it at your local hospital infusion center. When I feel really bad, I then get an infusion.

Chat with your doctor about your needs.

Lois

[flop]

Hi,

the rate of IV fluid depends on many factors. When I have been very dehydrated I was given a litre of Saline over 15 mins then 500mls of Gelofusin over 30 mins (45 mins for 1.5 litres).

It probably depends on how dehydrated you are, what your BP and HR are, how effective your heart is at pumping (giving fast IV fluids to someone who's has heart failure can cause pulmonary oedema - "fluid on the lungs") (usually these are elderly patients who have ischaemic heart disease / previous heart attack).

Your doctor may be able to advise on how fast you could receive IV fluids but really it can only be assessed at the time of the infusion by checking your response to the fluids and then altering the rate.

Hope you're feeling better now,

Flop

[doctorguest]

EMTs are trained to administer fluids quickly because in trauma situations this is what needs to be done to quickly replenish bood volume and avoid/treat shock.

For POTS, it's probably not the best solution because a quick fuid push like this will translate into "a quick push out" through urination. While nobody knows for sure, probably giving it slower, like 1 L over 1-2 hours, is better so that the fluid has a chance to normalize in the appropriate body compartments and increase plasma volume in the blood vessels.

The sensation of coldness was probably from the fast hydration with chilled fluid.

If you can't go to the infusion clinic or your doctor's office for fluids when needed, consider taking 1g of salt tablet orally followed by quickly drinking 4 oz (about 120 ml) of water. This is equivalent to getting in a quick fluid push of normal saline and works for many patients with POTS (those who can tolerate salt tablets, that is .

[JaneEyre9]

Thanks for the helpful feedback, everyone.

I plan to talk to my doctor about my options for getting fluids at home and making the prescription more specific in terms of rate. The last time I had a crisis requiring fluids, I was having a drug reaction that lowered my BP, so the EMTs ended up giving me fluids at home and then eventually taking me to the ER. They told me that if I ever had a POTS crisis like that again, I could call them to administer fluids at home as long as I had a prescription. When I get into a real crisis like that (which isn't too often), it's tough to tell if I need to have "just IV fluids" or if an ER trip is also necessary. I think that because I know I have POTS, I try to avoid the ER as much as possible.

Doctorguest-- Your advice really helps, thanks! I know that the fluids definitely helped me, but I probably excreted more than usual because of the fast infusion. I am late in saying this, but I really appreciate you being a part of this support forum. I'm sure you have an incredibly busy schedule, so taking time to read and post here is a true gift to us.