The Basics of a Compounding Pharmacy

Pharmaceutical scientist working in a lab

Over the years, reputable compounding pharmacists in Stoney Creek have been providing individualized and customized medications to people. However, compounding pharmacies have seen a significant increase in popularity only in recent times as people learn more about the capabilities and advantages of compounding.

What Is a Compounding Pharmacy?

A compounding pharmacy is not your typical pharmacy. Yes, they do sell medications. But more than that, they sell medications that are specifically customized and formulated for the medical needs of each individual. Your compounding pharmacist can formulate a drug to fulfill most special requirements, such as:

  • Your doctor’s prescription
  • Medication doses that are not commercially available
  • A version of your medication that is hypo-allergenic
  • Added flavoring to make your medication less bitter
  • Alternate medication forms such as drops, pills, liquids, powder, ointments, and troches

What Are Compounded Medications?

Compounded medications are drugs mixed together based on a recipe to create a formulation that may not be available in other conventional pharmacies. Compounded drugs are recommended for people with special needs. For example, some drugs can cause stomach issues to some people, so the doctor might recommend a compounded drug with an antacid to help sooth the stomach.

Benefits of a Compounding Pharmacy

Pharmacist putting medicines on the rackSome of the benefits of a compounding pharmacy are the following:

Provides access to hard-to-find or discontinued medications. Finding out that the medication you regularly take and need has been discontinued can be heartbreaking. Sometimes medications get phased out by their manufacturers for several reasons. In some cases, the number of drugs dwindles so low that it becomes so hard to find. As a patient who takes any of these medications, you may feel frustrated and hopeless. Fortunately, you can still have access to these important drugs with the help of a compounding pharmacy. A compounding pharmacist can closely reproduce or replicate the medication to make sure that you get to continue receiving all the benefits of the prescription.

Makes drugs easier to take and use. Some medications have an unpleasant taste or are just difficult to take. For example, some prescriptions are sold only in pills, but some people prefer liquid medications because they find it hard to swallow pills. A compounding pharmacy can easily accommodate this request. They can even add a more favorable flavoring at your request to make the prescription more palatable.

Formulates medication that meets your medical needs. Consider this scenario: You only need 10 mg of a drug, but the lowest dose sold commercially is 40 mg. Obviously, this presents a problem. Instead of manually dividing large doses into more favorable doses, you can simply buy one that is already formulated specifically for your needs at a compounding pharmacy. This can also save you from accidentally overdosing. Additionally, if you have any allergies to additives or preservatives commonly found in commercial drugs, a compounding pharmacist can formulate a hypoallergenic version of the medication you need.

Compounding pharmacies are an essential resource for patients who require specialized medication or have prescriptions that are hard to find. They can help modify a prescription to accommodate your dose requirements and allergies. Additionally, they can make a prescription more palatable by adding flavoring, which is especially useful for kids.

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