Pain can lock you out of life but it doesn't have to
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 automobile accident. For some, pain can be chronic in nature affecting their lives on a daily basis.
Pain is the most common symptom for which individuals seek medical help. Acute pain can easily evolve into chronic pain, which can become difficult to treat. Commercially available pain medications can cause drowsiness, dizziness, or stomach discomfort and those taking these medications learn to accept those conditions as a part of daily life.
The compounding solution
Struggling through chronic pain problems like arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches and nerve and muscle pain does not have to be a daily activity. There is a better solution in pharmacy compounding: customized options for pain medication.
What is compounding? Compounding is the art and science of preparing customized medications for patients. Its resurgence in recent years provides valuable benefits to those for whom pain management has become a way of life. Every individual is unique, and the types of pain experienced can be equally diverse. By working with a compounding pharmacist, your physician can prescribe treatments tailored specifically for your pain management needs.
Alternate dosages
Many commonly prescribed pain relief medications help the symptoms associated with chronic conditions such as arthritis, but they can also result in stomach irritation and other unwanted side effects. Compounding can provide alternate methods of delivery by combining the ingredients of traditional oral pain medications in a topical gel, cream or spray form that can be applied directly to the site of the pain. Lower dosages of the medications can be used to achieve the same effect without the typical side effects.
For example, migraine sufferers may be administered pain medications through nasal sprays, topical creams, or flavored troches or lozenges. These dosage forms bypass the gastrointestinal tract, providing optimal results with less GI irritation.
Combined formulations
Often, patients in pain are placed on a variety of medications to take care of all the symptoms associated with the condition. On many occasions, these multiple products can be eliminated by a specifically prepared compound that combines several medications into a single topical cream or gel, ready to be applied directly to the affected areas.
Strength variations
Because patients vary in size, symptoms, and pain tolerance, commercially available medications often do not provide an appropriate dosage strength. Through compounding, a physician and pharmacist can customize a medication to the exact amount needed by the patient.
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 is an effective way of providing relief with potentially fewer side effects and less overall medication. Through compounding, the relief of pain can be customized to specific needs.