A&M IV Co. Clinical TeamSep 22, 20266 min read

How to Build Your Own IV Drip, and When a Set Recipe Is the Better Buy

Our Pick Your Own Drip starts at $139 for a liter of fluids and electrolytes, adds vitamins, minerals, amino acids or prescription support at $20 each, and every recipe is reviewed by a Nurse Practitioner before it runs. Here is what you can put in the bag, what it costs, and the point at which a set recipe is cheaper.

Most IV menus are a list of named drips with a fixed ingredient list and a fixed price. That works when one of them matches what you want. It does not work when you want three things from three different bags, or when you want a liter of fluids with exactly one vitamin in it and nothing else. The Pick Your Own Drip is the answer to that: the same base every drip on our menu is built on, then a la carte ingredients, then a clinical review before anything is mixed.

The base every drip starts from

One liter of sterile isotonic fluid with electrolytes: sodium, chloride, potassium and the other minerals your nerves and muscles use to signal and contract. That is $139, which is also the price of the Hydration Drip, because it is the same bag. Every named recipe on the menu is this base plus ingredients, and the Pick Your Own is you choosing the ingredients instead of us.

What you can add, and what each one does

Every add-on is $20. The configurator groups them three ways.

Vitamins and minerals: vitamin C, a co-factor in collagen production and an antioxidant; vitamin B-complex, the group of B vitamins your cells use to turn food into energy; vitamin B12, used in nerve function and red blood cell formation; biotin, used to build keratin, the protein in hair and nails; magnesium, which muscles and nerves use to relax and signal; zinc, a trace mineral used in many enzyme reactions including wound healing.
Amino acids: taurine, which supports muscle contraction and helps regulate water and mineral balance; arginine, which converts to nitric oxide and improves blood flow to working muscle; carnitine, which helps the body convert fatty acids into usable energy; glutamine, used in muscle repair and immune function.
Prescription support, each reviewed by your Nurse Practitioner before it is given: Nausea Relief, an anti-nausea medicine; Stomach Relief, an acid reducer; Inflammation Relief, a corticosteroid; Pain Relief, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory; Sleep Support, a sedating antihistamine; and glutathione, the antioxidant your cells make to protect against oxidative damage.

Those are physiological roles, the same descriptions on our ingredient glossary. None of them is a promise about how you will feel, and a bag you designed yourself does not come with one either.

What it costs, worked through

Base plus one ingredient is $159. Base plus three is $199. Base plus five is $239, which is exactly the price of the Myers' Cocktail, and the Myers' carries five ingredients. So the arithmetic is simple: if the recipe you are building looks like a named drip, the named drip costs the same or less and someone already thought about the combination. Pick Your Own is the better buy when you want fewer ingredients than the closest recipe, or one the recipe does not include.

Fluids plus magnesium, for the person who only wants the mineral: $159.
Fluids plus vitamin C, zinc and B-complex, an immunity recipe without the glutathione: $199 against $239 for the Immunity Booster.
Fluids plus Nausea Relief and Stomach Relief, for a queasy day with no vitamins wanted: $179 against $199 for the Nausea Relief Drip, which carries an extra-strength dose and B vitamins.
Fluids plus four amino acids and magnesium: $239, and at that point the Performance Drip at $299 adds vitamin C, B-complex and B12 for $60 more.

The review before anything is mixed

Every recipe goes to your Nurse Practitioner before the visit, along with your intake: health history, allergies, medications. She confirms each add-on against that list and can decline one. That is the part a la carte menus elsewhere tend to skip, and it is the reason the prescription items are on this list at all: an anti-inflammatory is not right for someone on a blood thinner, a sedating antihistamine is not right for someone who has to drive, and a person building their own bag does not always know that. If an item is declined, the price of the bag drops by $20 and the rest of the visit goes ahead.

Who builds their own

Someone who has had IVs before, knows which two ingredients they wanted, and does not want to pay for the other five.
Someone whose doctor or dietitian has suggested a specific nutrient by IV and who wants exactly that.
Someone who wants a named recipe minus one thing: the Myers' without calcium, the Immunity Booster without glutathione.
Someone comparing prices who has worked out that their recipe comes in under the closest named drip.

If you are not sure what you want, do not build one. Read which drip should I get, or call and describe the day you are having; a named recipe is almost always the right first IV.

When an IV is not the answer at all

A custom bag is still an elective wellness IV. Chest pain, trouble breathing, confusion, fainting, a severe allergic reaction, or vomiting that will not stop are emergencies: call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Symptoms that are new and unexplained need a diagnosis from your doctor before anyone, including us, puts nutrients in a vein for them. We are not a substitute for emergency care.

Who this is not for

Anyone 17 or younger. No exceptions, and a parent's consent does not change it.
Pregnancy. Possible, but your obstetric provider signs off on elective IV hydration before the visit, so tell us before you book.
Heart failure, significant heart or valve disease, kidney disease or dialysis. A liter of fluid is a real volume load and the right answer may be less, or none. Tell us before you book.
Anyone 60 or older. IV fluid volume is capped at one liter every two weeks with no extra-fluid add-ons, so mention your age range when you book.
Anyone taking a water pill, lithium, an ACE inhibitor or ARB, metformin, an SGLT2 medication or a blood thinner. All of these change what is safe. Bring the list.

How a visit works

You build the bag on the booking page, enter your address and pick a time, and pay by card; the total is shown before you pay, travel included across most of our service area. Your Nurse Practitioner reviews the recipe and the intake, and a licensed nurse comes to your home, hotel or rental. The bag runs about an hour once the line is placed, a little longer with several add-ons. If the schedule shows no open slot for the time you want, send a request and every nurse on the roster is texted.

A&M IV Co. is a Nurse Practitioner-owned mobile IV practice based in Brentwood, serving Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

Frequently asked questions

Can you build your own IV drip?

Yes. At A&M IV Co. in Nashville the Pick Your Own Drip starts at $139 for one liter of fluids and electrolytes and adds vitamins, minerals, amino acids or prescription support at $20 each. A Nurse Practitioner reviews every recipe against your intake before the visit and can decline an add-on, and a licensed nurse places the line at your home, hotel or rental. The bag runs about an hour.

How much does a custom IV drip cost?

At A&M IV Co. the Pick Your Own Drip is $139 for the fluids and electrolytes base plus $20 per add-on, so one ingredient is $159, three are $199 and five are $239. Five add-ons is the price of the Myers' Cocktail, which carries five ingredients, so a custom bag is the better buy only when you want fewer ingredients than the closest named recipe or one it does not include. Travel is included across most of the Nashville service area.

What can you put in a custom IV?

At A&M IV Co. the choices are vitamin C, vitamin B-complex, vitamin B12, biotin, magnesium and zinc; the amino acids taurine, arginine, carnitine and glutamine; and prescription support reviewed by a Nurse Practitioner: an anti-nausea medicine, an acid reducer, a corticosteroid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, a sedating antihistamine, and glutathione. Each is $20 on top of the $139 fluids base.

Is a custom IV drip safe?

The safeguard is the review. Every Pick Your Own recipe at A&M IV Co. goes to a Nurse Practitioner with your health history, allergies and medications before the visit, and she can decline an add-on that does not fit, such as an anti-inflammatory for someone on a blood thinner. Adults 18 and older only; pregnancy needs an obstetric provider's sign-off; heart, kidney and fluid-restriction conditions are reviewed individually. An IV is elective wellness care and not a substitute for emergency care.

Should I build my own drip or pick a named one?

Pick a named drip unless you already know the two or three ingredients you want. A&M IV Co.'s named recipes cost the same as or less than the equivalent custom bag, since the Myers' Cocktail is $239 with five ingredients and a custom bag with five add-ons is also $239, and each recipe was built by a Nurse Practitioner for a specific situation. Build your own when you want fewer ingredients than the closest recipe, or one it does not carry.