Compounding pharmacies can help you get the medication you need without the complications that generic doses can come with. Here are some tips for using a compounding pharmacy to provide your medications.
Talk with Your Doctor
The first step is to decide whether a compounding pharmacy is right for you. These specialized pharmacies can be very helpful for patients with allergies, who may be allergic to certain dyes in medicines or chemicals in the pill coatings. They are also helpful if you need a dosage of medicine that's not typically offered to the mass market. Before you give up on a certain medication, ask your doctor whether another form of the medication could be safe and effective.
Decide on Medication Form
Your doctor will help you determine what forms of medicine are available to you with the help of a compounding pharmacy. It may be possible to turn a medication into different forms such as liquids, creams, gels, powders, or injections. Whether or not this is safe depends on the individual chemicals in the medication.
Contact Compounding Pharmacies
Once you have a prescription that determines the dosage and form for your medication, begin to contact compounding pharmacies to see if they can help you. Some pharmacies will only create certain kinds or forms of medications, so be sure to share your prescription with them.
Research Each Facility
Before you choose a compounding pharmacy, take a look at their licensure, such as their state and FDA approval. Ask any questions up front to make sure that you are comfortable with their medical credentials.
Visit Facilities to Check Safety Standards
Many compounding pharmacies will let you pay a visit to the laboratory so that you can make sure your medication will be created in a safe way. If you choose to visit a compounding pharmacy, take note of the physical condition of the lab as well as the safety procedures being followed by the staff.
Stay in Touch with the Pharmacy
Even once you choose a pharmacy like Camelback Pharmacy, it's important to keep communicating with your doctor and the pharmacist to make sure these specialize treatments are working as intended. If you are trying a new medication, you might need to adjust the dosage or format in order to make it most effective for you. Fortunately, this is exactly the role of a good compounding pharmacy; it allows you to keep customizing your medications until they work for your body.
Share24 July 2015
My name is Katie Langer. For a long time, I was bed ridden and I felt like I had no control over my life. I simply went along with what was instructed by my doctor and I didn't ask questions. It wasn't that my doctor wasn't willing to work with me, but I preferred to simply not think about the illness I was suffering from. I didn't realize that some of the symptoms I was suffering from were side effects of my medication and were not normal. After communicating more with my doctor, I was able to alleviate my symptoms. Since then, I've taken an interest in patient-doctor relationships and how to improve them.
