Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
Gerry Letendre, RPh, MBA, CHt
An estimated 50 million Americans are partially or totally disabled due to chronic pain. This makes pain the single most common symptom for which individuals seek medical help. Acute pain can easily evolve into chronic pain. Chronic neuropathic pain is often the result of multiple unknown sources, which share a common pathway of how pain is perceived and registered.
There are many mass-produced oral pain relief medications on the market. Opioids, also known as narcotics, are a common treatment option for chronic pain. However, due to their dosage strength, dosage format or other factors, they can lead to unwanted side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, stomach irritation, gastritis, ulcers, and addiction. Additionally, many people have difficulty swallowing pills or tablets, presenting further obstacles to pain treatment.
Topical Pain therapeutics work remarkably well to control and alleviate pain for numerous individuals, but it takes the right combination and specific formulations that are custom-tailored to each patient’s specific needs to make a real impact in their lives.
The Compounding Solution
Sarasota Compounding Pharmacy specializes in offering custom compounded transdermal pain creams. Transdermal Therapy is the absorption of medication through the skin and provides a unique alternative to traditional methods of drug delivery and pain management. We can compound pain cream medications for patients with both acute and chronic pain including:
• Neuropathy / Diabetic Neuropathy
• Joint Pain
• Carpal Tunnel
• Chemotherapy induced Neuropathy
• Shingles
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Herniated/Bulging Discs
• Tennis Elbow
• Gout
• Osteoarthritis
Alternate Dosage Forms
The most common varieties of Transdermal Therapy are creams or gels that you rub onto the skin over your painful joints. Some types come in the form of a spray or a patch that sticks to the skin. Since the ingredients are absorbed through the skin, most topical medications are best used on joints that are close to the skin’s surface, such as joints in your hands or knees. Our innovative transdermal topical pain management formulations offer many advantages:
• Rapid onset of relief
• Targeted to the site of pain
• High local concentrations
• Non-Narcotic
• Non-Addictive
• Minimal Systemic Absorption
• Minimal Drug Interaction Risk
• Odorless
• Non-Sedating
• Precise, customized formulations & dosages
Combined Formulations
Most of the mass-produced topical treatments on the market are utilizing a single ingredient approach, typically an anti-inflammatory, in hopes that decreasing inflammation will decrease pain. Compounded pain creams use a multi-ingredient approach, incorporating four to six different ingredients. Each of these ingredients has a different mechanism of action, all working together synergistically to offer the possibility of a stronger therapeutic outcome for our patients.
At Sarasota Compounding Pharmacy, we use either Lipoderm or Lipoderm ActiveMax for the base in our pain cream formulations. These gluten-free bases from PCCA have been clinically proven to effectively deliver drugs through a patient’s skin. The molecular structure of Lipoderm ActiveMax allows it to penetrate through multiple layers of skin, soft tissue, fascia, tendons and muscle. Lipoderm ActiveMax’s unique composition also enables it to successfully carry multiple ingredients at once and deliver those medications deep down to the origin site of the pain.
Strength Variations
Compounded pain management medications are available by prescription only. Because patients vary in size, symptoms, and pain tolerance, commercially available medications sometimes may not provide the appropriate dosage strength for an individual patient. Through compounding, a prescriber and pharmacist can customize the dosage to the exact amount the patient requires and find a dosage form that best suits the patient’s needs.
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.
Please discuss it with your physician or contact us with your physician’s name and contact information, and we will supply them with information. Sarasota Compounding Pharmacy will work with your physician to design a custom compound to fit your specific needs.
Contact our Compounding Pharmacists for more information on how we can help you!
Sarasota Compounding Pharmacy:
More Than Just a Pharmacy
Sarasota Compounding Pharmacy is an independent, family owned pharmacy that has served the Sarasota community for over 40 years. They specialize in meeting patient’s needs through innovative compounding. Their compounding pharmacists work with physicians, veterinarians, dentists and other health care practitioners to prepare patient specific medications. Their compounding services allow them to create formulations in unique strengths and dosage forms.
Sarasota Compounding Pharmacy
Call 941.366.0880 or visit sarasotarx.com
2075 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, FL 34239
