#we use medpex and goldpharma for meds and needles but i dont know the canadian equivalents sorry

[fred-the-dinosaur]

Might be different because I'm in Germany but I think saline bags and all the equipment to do them should be prescription free and available online. A friend of the family did it for a while. Biggest issue is the expertise to do the infusion and know what needles and bits to buy, but if you're a nurse that's already solved.

Ketorolac and ondansetron are probably prescription only, they are here for sure. But in my experience the vials for i.m. are also labelled safe for i.v. So if you can get it prescribed i.m and the doses line up that might be an option. And it might easier to find someone who will prescribe it for im injections.

Last ditch option, but worth mentioning. It might need to be i.v. for speed of action, but if the i.v is mainly because of nausea, most meds for nausea and pain here come with a suppository option for if you cant keep anything down. I've had those prescribed even when they aren't allowed to give i.v meds.

Hope you can just find a prescriber, but if not maybe this might help you scrape through til then.

Hi! Do you have any advice on seeking IV medications (specifically things like saline, ketorolac, ondansetron) outside of the hospital system? Not sure what to look out for. I have severe POTS and these are normally the rescue treatments that I get in the ER but recently haven’t been able to make the 10 minute walk to the ER anymore in these situations and it’s scary. I’ve got experience with IV access so I’m not worried about that bit.

I have been referred to electrophysiology but it’s Canada so… this can and will take years to get resolved (already been three years since it got unmanageably bad).

Honestly my wife is in the same boat in the US. She has POTS and since I'm a nurse the IV administration itself would be easy, but we can't find anyone willing (or possibly allowed?) to prescribe IV medications like saline that we can administer at home. So if someone knows why this is, I'd love to hear about it.

Also I don't know what you've heard about the US, but wait lists for specialists are definitely not a Canada-only problem. Wait lists for POTS care in the US are 2-3 years long and we're still probably talking thousands of dollars out of pocket.