1. Description of compounding
Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing
personalized medications for patients. Compounded medications are
“made from scratch” – individual ingredients are mixed together in
the exact strength and dosage form required for the patient. This
method allows the compounding pharmacist to work with the patient
and the prescriber to customize a medication to meet the patient’s
specific needs.
Everyone experiences some sort of pain in their lives. It can take
the form of a stress-induced headache, a muscle group strained from
sports activities, or the result of an injury at work or an
automobile accident. For some, pain can be chronic in nature and
something they live with on a daily basis. Struggling through
chronic pain or the side effects of pain medication does not have to
be a daily activity. Pharmacy compounding offers patients customized
options for pain medication. It provides valuable benefits to those
for whom pain management has become a way of life.
2. Completely CUSTOMIZED medication for patients with
targeted ingredients
Many patients experience stomach irritation or other unpleasant side
effects from taking pain medication. Some have difficulty taking the
medication in its commercially available form. Pharmacy compounding
can provide alternate methods of delivery to make the process
easier. Instead of a capsule or tablet, pain medications often can
be compounded as dosage forms such as:
• A topical gel, cream or spray form
that can be applied directly to the site of the pain and absorbed
through the skin.
• A custom-flavored troche that dissolves under the tongue, a nasal
spray, or a suppository.
Such dosage forms may bypass the
gastrointestinal tract, providing optimal results with less GI
irritation, and help patients who have difficulty swallowing pills,
removing yet another source of aggravation.
3. Localized increased effectiveness
Pain can be debilitating, whether it’s acute muscle or nerve pain
resulting from an accident, or a chronic condition such as arthritis
or fibromyalgia. Pharmacy compounding may help improve a patient’s
quality of life by providing relief with potentially fewer side
effects and less overall medication. The ingredients are all FDA
approved chemicals, and we provide an alternative way to deliver
them to them. Many of our patients have found relief that they
haven’t found before.
4. Side effects Minimized
Since a lower dosage of medication is used and applied topically,
the blood levels are fractions of what is seen following oral
dosing. Due to this, the number and severity of side effects is
limited as well as the potential for organ toxicity. Additionally,
our transdermal creams are non-opioid so they are non-addicting.
5. Formulations are tested for shelf life and potency.
A portion of our actual formulations are sent to an independent lab
where they are tested for their potency and shelf life. In
addition, many of our formulas are guided by various BUD
(beyond-use-dating) studies run on common formula through our
compounding partners at PCCA.
6. Synergistic Components
Our transdermal pain creams have several ingredients that work
together to provide unique and synergistic action with a low side
effect profile. For example, for Musculoskeletal Pain and
Inflammation, our KLCB formula contains a non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory medication, Ketoprofen; a local anesthetic,
Lidocaine; a muscle relaxant, Cyclobenzaprine; and a anti-spasmodic,
Baclofen. For Neuropathic Pain, our KGLC formula contains Ketamine,
a NMDA- calcium channel blocker; Gabapentin, an AMPA-Na Channel
blocker; Lidocaine- a muscle relaxant; Clonidine- an Alpha-2 agonist
that produces some peripheral and spiral chord analgesia as well as
potentiating the neuropathic pain relieving action of Ketamine.