I don’t know what it is about IV infusions that really appeals to me – I think because I know just how good I feel after I have a vitamin B injection, and I figure that if you can get a big dose of vitamins all at once, why not! Today I speak with Dr William Mooney of Face Plus MediSpa who do heaps of IV infusions to help people feel better. Such an interesting podcast – enjoy.
Trish: Hey everyone out there in podcast world. I’m here today again with Dr. William Mooney from Face Plus Medispa in Bondi Junction and there’s a clinic in Bankstown as well. We’re going to have a talk today about IV Infusions, which is something that they offer at the Face Plus Medispa. I really love them, I’m quite excited by them and I reckon they’re gaining momentum.
So welcome, Dr. Mooney.
Dr Mooney: Yeah, g’day Trish. Great to be back on your show.
Trish: Yeah, fantastic that you’ve taken the time to do it again. I know you’re really busy. But you guys were the first people I ever heard about offering IV Infusions, and you offer them in your clinic. So tell us a bit about them?
Dr Mooney: IV Infusions: Recline, Relax, Reboot. It is an exciting new innovation in medicine, in cosmetic medicine and in general health medicine, that we’ve really jumped on and having amazing results with. I think it is at the forefront of modern medicine. It really began when I was abroad about five or six years ago, I was in Los Angeles at a conference. I saw a van go past with a syringe on the roof, and I was like to my friend, “What the hell is that?” He said that’s a mobile hangover cure. A bit like the pizza car that flies by with a phone on the roof, this actually had a big plastic syringe on the roof and I thought it was funny, I thought it was very Hollywood and probably a tad ridiculous.
But I looked into it and I found out about it, and there was at that time a hangover clinic in Sydney and I thought, “Wow, a hangover clinic. What do they do?” Then I looked into it; if you over imbibe, if you drink too much, what makes you feel bad the next day is primarily dehydration but also some trace elements that can be missing. So you can rehydrate more effectively intravenously than trying to rehydrate orally, often because you feel nauseated at the same time if you’ve had too much to drink.
What started out as a concept for a hangover cure has morphed into something totally different. You know what? We don’t really use it for hangovers at all anymore. What we’ve done is morphed it into a new age, anti-aging, health and wellness process that really is the mainstay of our clinic down in Bondi Beach, super popular with great results.
Trish: So what are the different kinds that you can have? I saw it at a wedding fair … Before my daughter got married, there was a wedding fair and there was a hangover stand there, and there was doctors actually giving people intravenous IV Infusions. I was like, “Oh my god, what’s it about?”
Dr Mooney: It’s funny, as I said that was the initial concept and how it sparked my interest when I saw this crazy van shoot past in LA all those years ago. But really we don’t use it for hangovers, we use it for a bunch of different reasons. It can be for generally being worn down, emotionally, physically, or work-wise. So people, especially … I live in Bondi, people work hard, play hard there. They’re all exercise hard. After the City To Surf marathon we get a bunch of people coming in because they’re exhausted … Or the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon that some of my staff are involving themselves in this year. Also people who are just working super hard; people work hard now. People work 10-12 hour days and they do it five, six times a week. Sometimes they’re single parents or busy parents at the same time, and they just don’t have enough time to have a square diet and look after themselves at the same time. People with jet-lag, fantastic. Absolutely that hazy feeling you get when you jump off a plane can be totally obviated when we use IV therapy.
So what I’ve done is made a whole lot of different treatments and basically we tailor them to what your body needs. It really is a bespoke IV treatment menu that we’ve got. The most popular one, the one I use the most, is something I call the Bondi Rescue. I liked it because well I live in Bondi and I need a Bondi Rescue every now and again, I watch the Bondi Rescue show and I thought it was funny and cool and a great name. That’s really our signature treatment, and it’s got a bunch of different stuff in it. It starts with a base solution of 500mls or a litre of solution, which is an IV/Saline derivative. But then all the good stuff is in there as well; there’s a high dose of Vitamin C, there’s Glutathione, Zinc, and B-dose complex 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. Plus we can add or subtract things according to what trace elements the patient might need.
When I analysed this stuff, the changes that all these elements can have on your body are quite amazing, Trish. It’s great for fatigue, for mental fatigue, for physical fatigue. Also it’s an anti-aging complex. Vitamin C activates production of collagen, Vitamin B helps fight pigmentation, and together B and C they counteract damage done by free radicals. Zinc is amazing for immunity and it also helps stimulate growth and production, and Glutathione is one of the most powerful antioxidants. You know when you have this treatment, it takes about 20 minutes and you come out feeling absolutely amazing. It’s a good feeling that lasts with you for days, weeks.
Trish: So basically you come in, have a consultation, and then you kind of make a big of a recipe for me and then I sit there for what an hour?
Dr Mooney: What we do is … The whole experience at that spa is quite amazing. I’ve seen a bunch of different spas, I’ve been everywhere, I think that our Bondi Beach spa is the most beautiful medispa in Sydney. It’s just such a cosseting, beautiful environment. My staff are amazing down there. So your whole journey from arrival right through to your treatment is a most pleasurable one. A nurse takes a full history and I always see every patient before they have any treatment. Then we make a decision on what the best treatment recipe is for the patient who needs it. We can add on to your treatment with a facial, with a massage, with a Healite. It’s a most cosseted, beautiful environment we have. It’s a lovely reclining chair, we’ve got top-of-the-range Beats by Dr Dre headphones as well as iPad, music, food. It’s quite a lovely journey that you have. Yeah, you get a little prick, but life’s full of little pricks, Trish isn’t it, pretty much?
Trish: Yeah, that’s true.
Dr Mooney: Ours is pretty quick. You’re hooked up to a drip and it takes about half an hour maybe 45 minutes. But the journey during that time … You can have a Healite at the same time, or you can just listen to lovely music, or you can chat to your friend get it done with a friend at the same time.
Trish: Yep, okay. Because I have actually been in the clinic while someone’s having an IV Infusion, they’ve just been sitting there, their arm is out, they’re on a recline, and they’ve got the earplugs in, they’ve got a heal light on their face. It looks pretty chilled out to me.
Dr Mooney: Tell you what, especially for something like jet lag, I like it because I’ve got the clinic, but my lovely partner Jane and I will go straight from the airport, zoom to the clinic, jump under that light, and then we’re good to go. None of that fuzzy feeling for the first couple of days that you often have if you come back from abroad. So it’s great for me, because I’ll come back from a conference and I’m good to go for work on the same day that I arrive home.
It’s interesting when you think about it, because the problem … The good thing and the bad thing is your liver. Your liver is your customs. Anything that you put in your mouth and eat or drink has to go through customs. It’s like arriving in the country. The liver takes a whole heap of the good stuff out. Now it takes some of the bad stuff out as well, but it puts a limit on what sort of doses you can give people. With an IV therapy, you bypass that customs process. You bypass the process where some of it goes into your kidneys and is excreted in your urine. You can titrate exactly the doses of all the different meds, vitamins, minerals, and goodies that you want to go into the bloodstream. So it’s a much higher and stronger and more effective dose.
Trish: Yep.
Dr Mooney: My super nurses down there, they take a look at your gender, your age, and your weight and they titrate the exact amounts that you need.
Trish: Mm-hmm (affirmative). I’m so going to come and get one done when I’m in Sydney, because over here on the North Coast it’s actually quite hard to find and they’re not quite … Because they’re so great I’m surprised there’s actually not more of them, I actually don’t know why there’s not more of them, or at least not in … I know they’re probably-
Dr Mooney: Well every time we have one of these chats, Trish, you’re getting closer and closer to convincing me to open a Face Plus outpost in Byron Bay-
Trish: Yes-
Dr Mooney: Which I think is inevitable, basically. Because it would be my favourite part of the country, and it’s something I love to do.
I think, Trish, how my clientele have changed and we treat chronic disease patients such as patients with Crohn’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes sufferers, patients with eating disorders. Psychological and physical ailments that until now just needed an extra boost. Sure they’re getting their meds or their psychological support, but sometimes you just need that extra boost. That’s why I think this treatment is most exciting.
Trish: Yep, that’s true. If someone just came in and said, “Oh my god I just want Vitamin C,” or if “I just want Vitamin D,” can it be that simple? Or you basically come in and you do a script according to what their consult is? So you have to have a consult first?
Dr Mooney: Look, you can. But you need a consult first. You can have a Vitamin B12 shot, which is fantastic. Vegetarianism is the new super fad that seems to be sweeping the eastern suburbs, and if you’re a tree vegetarian you will become Vitamin B12 deficient. So B12 shot is something you can have instantaneously.
But you need a consultation. It’s a bit like when I do rhinoplasty, Trish. Girls will come in and say just the bump, or just the tip. It never is. There’s always some other component that they can’t quite see, and that’s why you come to a specialist really, isn’t it? They see you not as a single entity or it’s just a single problem, but as a whole, a whole patient.
Trish: Yeah.
Dr Mooney: Sure you can come in and have that if that’s what you really want, but I would always as a patient ask you to be guided by a specialist team.
Trish: Now you guys are open … What days are you open? You’re open every day of the week, aren’t you?
Dr Mooney: We’re open Monday to Saturday. It’s usually something we can fit in at relatively short notice, but it always pays to book ahead. If you’re planning a weekend in Sydney it’s a lovely thing to do before you leave on a Saturday afternoon, or a Monday morning before you fly home. But you can sort of see when you’re going to need it, if you’re planning your life carefully, and table it in. I’ve got regulars that come every month, you know. They really find a difference and they tell me their productivity and their mood is great for the first three and a half weeks and they can tell with a few days to go that they’re due for another IV shot, another Bondi Rescue.
Trish: Totally. I’m exactly like that with my B12. Because I have B12 because I don’t eat much meat, I’m not vegetarian but I very rarely eat meat. So I do the same thing with my Vitamin B12, and I can tell, “Oh my god, hang on. I feel like I need it.” Then I look at the calendar and it’s like I need it. So I know exactly what you mean.
Dr Mooney: Absolutely. It’s interesting isn’t it?
Trish: Tell me how much is it?
Dr Mooney: Well the prices change significantly depending on what we’re doing. But the Bondi Rescue is $330. Jet Lag Cure is about $195. Vitamin deficiency can be anywhere from $150 to $250. Hangover Cure is $185. Then Immunity Booster is about $220. Intramuscular B12 shot is $49. So there’s quite a range. Like anything, what I say to anyone is be assessed carefully by a professional, go to a reputable place, work within your budget.
Trish: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Dr Mooney: Look at that menu and decide … You’ve got to do a quality of life assessment don’t you? Do I buy a new t-shirt or do I make myself feel better for the next month?
Trish: Totally. Yeah, totally. It’s a no-brainer. I think what I like as well, say for example if you were saying, “Okay I want to change my life,” you know when you know something needs to change, this could be the perfect start. It could be the catalyst to actually put you on the road to a better lifestyle. When you’re starting a diet, or when you’re starting a new way of life, or just when you’re feeling down I guess.
Dr Mooney: Good call, I never thought about that Trish but you’re probably right. I think people make big life changing statements on a Monday morning after they’ve had a crazy weekend or after a big trip away. It’s probably when they’re feeling bad that it’s motivated. So it’s probably better to make a first step on a new life journey when you’re feeling good and clear, rather than bad and not so crash hot.
Trish: Totally. I think one of the things that I like about it, I think from what you’re saying, depending on the combination it’s actually rejuvenating as well, so rejuvenating from the inside.
Dr Mooney: Absolutely. I love that all those different trace elements have such a good, positive effect. I really love that, I’ve spoken to you before about the layer cake concept of beauty and anti-aging, and not just jumping on a Botox needle straight away, or just jumping on one treatment straight away, or thinking about surgery straight away. I like little steps. I like a multilevel technique. It makes the most sense to start your journey in looking better, being younger, and being more healthy, by replacing what’s missing rather than adding something foreign straight away.
Trish: Yep.
Dr Mooney: I think, once again, it’s a lovely first step to health rejuvenation and a better quality of life.
Trish: Yep. I have a friend who was getting it done and she decided that she was going to stop smoking. So one of the first things she did on the day that she decided to stop is she came and had some IV Infusions and that was a once a month thing, and that’s kind of her treat every month she’s stopped smoking. She is like a different person. Of course, you’re going to be like that when you stop smoking anyway, but she just made that part of her repertoire for health and wellbeing. We used to go and have a facial once a month which she can still do, but now she has her IV Infusions once a month.
Dr Mooney: If you think about it how much cigarettes cost at the moment, she could have a Bondi Reboot or Bondi Rescue for like four or five days smoking for regular smokes.
Trish: That’s so true, I didn’t think of that. That’s so true.
Dr Mooney: Would you prefer to have 500 cigarettes or a Bondi Rescue? It’s a no-brainer really.
Trish: That’s so true. That’s so true. Alright, so it only takes about half an hour. Come in for your consult. Open six days a week. And walk away feeling a million bucks.
Dr Mooney: That’s exactly right.
Trish: I love it.
Dr Mooney: Come down and try it, Trish.
Trish: I will, I definitely will.
Thank you so much for your time today.
Dr Mooney: Alright Trish, it’s always a pleasure. Absolutely pleasure to speak to you, and we’ll speak to you about something new soon.
Trish: Awesome. Listeners, if you’re around Bondi or … Sorry, do you do it in Bankstown as well, or just Bondi at this stage?
Dr Mooney: Bondi, but we’re going to morph across to our other stores soon. Certainly it’s going to be the backbone of the Byron Bay outpost.
Trish: Awesome. That sounds great. Alright, so you can google Face Plus Medispa in Bondi, or you can drop us an email to info@plasticsurgeryhub.com.au. Thanks so much, Dr. Mooney. I’ll speak to you soon.
Dr Mooney: Have a great day, great to speak again. Bye.
Trish: Bye.
*This transcript is taken from an interview with Dr. William Mooney and Trish Hammond, founder of Plastic Surgery Hub. We have very gratefully reposted her work to inform and educate our customers. You can find more of Trish’s wonderful articles at: www.plasticsurgeryhub.com.au
Trish is a plastic surgery blogger. She is passionate about wellbeing, health and beauty, and doesn’t mind a little bit of ‘help’ from the amazing cosmetic and beauty procedures that are available today. Trish spends her days talking to women and men who are looking for suggestions and advice on procedures that are available to them. Cutting through the sales pitch and hype, a down-to-earth response on general information is what you will get.
