You’ll get infusion therapy through an IV under the close watch of health care professionals. You may be able to get it at home, or you’ll need to go to a doctor’s office, hospital, or infusion center to have treatment.

On the day of your infusion therapy, hospital staff will need to take your blood pressure and other vital signs. You can help them with this process by wearing loose-fitting clothes. If you think you’ll get cold, it’s OK to bring a jacket or sweater.

Check with hospital staff first, but it should be OK to eat and drink as normal before an infusion therapy session. Some hospitals may even offer tea, coffee, and water and allow you to bring snacks.

Be sure you’re well-hydrated before your appointment. Drinking lots of water, a sports drink, or juice helps your veins to expand (dilate), making it easier to insert the needle used during your treatment.

Certain medicines may interact with the drugs used in infusion therapy. Share a list of all of your prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and supplements with your health care team.

Infusion therapy may not be right for you if you have certain other illnesses. Be sure to let your health care team know about all your medical conditions.

You may want to know what to expect during an infusion treatment, the chances of side effects, and side effects to look out for. Write down a list of questions and bring it with you to your appointment.

Your infusion therapy session could last for a few hours. Take this time to relax. You could take a nap, watch TV, read, or listen to music.

You could have side effects from the medicine given during your infusion therapy session or the infusion process. Possible side effects include:

● Redness, pain, or itching where the needle was inserted
● Feeling sick to your stomach (nausea)
● Throwing up
● Leg cramps
● Chest pain
● Warmth or pressure in your neck

Tell your nurse or other staff member if you have any of these side effects.

If you can’t make it to a session, reschedule it right away. Some medications are meant for long-term use and your migraine symptoms may return if you stop taking them.

Writing down your symptoms will help you and your doctor to figure out if your treatment is working. Record your symptoms, when they happened, how long they lasted, and what may have triggered them.