Specialty Pharmacy in Houston
COMPOUNDING SERVICES
At Advance Pharmacy, our compounding pharmacists specialize in producing customized medication for individuals needs in key areas:
1. Non-steroidal antiinflammatories: flurbiprofen, diclofenac.
2. Anesthetics: lidocaine, tetracaine.
3. Vasodilators: nifedipine, verapamil.
4. Pain blockers: ketamine, amantadine.
5. Nerve agents: amitriptyline, gabapentin.
6. Other pain-relieving agents: capsaicin, menthol.
By combining various agents which employ different mechanisms to alleviate the sensation of pain, physicians have found that smaller concentrations of each active pharmaceutical ingredient can be used. Topical creams and gels can be formulated to provide high local concentrations at the site of application (e.g., NSAIDs for joint pain), for trigger point application (e.g., combinations of medications for neuropathic pain), or in a base that will allow systemic absorption. Side effects associated with oral administration can often be avoided or reduced significantly when medications are used topically. Studies suggest that there are no great restrictions on the type of drug that can be incorporated into a properly compounded topical gel or cream. When medications are administered topically, they are not absorbed through the gastrointestinal system and do not undergo first-pass hepatic metabolism. In addition, these topical pain creams may also significantly reduce or completely eliminate the risk of addiction, which is present in many conventional uses of narcotic oral pain medications.
We work together with patient and practitioner to customize pain relief medications that meet the specific needs of each individual. Please contact our compounding pharmacist to discuss the dosage form, strength, and medication or combination that is most appropriate for each patient.
PAIN MANAGEMENT
Our optimal treatment may involve the use of medications that possess pain-relieving properties, including
the following medications such as:
Scarring is a natural part of the healing process after we are injured. We have all had scars at one point in our lives, varying from the results of a skinned knee resulting in a hypertrophic scar to a severe, painful and
DERMATOLOGY THERAPY
Compounded medications are also useful for many other health concerns. Ailments ranging from migraines to gout can be best treated by customized compounded medication. At Advance Pharmacy,
disfiguring keloid scar. When skin is wounded, the blood clots and the area may become inflamed. These inflammatory cells produce substances called cytokines, which stimulate fibroblasts and increase collagen production to repair the damaged area. Excessive collagen production results in a hypertrophic scar or keloid. Our scar creams not only improve the appearance of pre-existing scars but also help in preventing any scarring disorders, including hypertrophic and keloidal scars. Due to the excess of scar tissue, scars will appear raised, thick, and darker than common scars. While hypertrophic scars remain confined to the area of the original wound, keloids expand into the surrounding tissue. Scar Cream is intended to prevent the excessive collagen production which causes these disorders. Some medications that we use for our scar cream include the following:
1. Antihistamines: diphenhydramine, loratadine.
2. Antioxidant: EGCG.
3. Corticosteroids: dexamethasone, triamcinolone.
4. Collagen synthesis inhibition: verapamil, tranilast.
5. Other scar-reducing agents: celecoxib, imiquimod.
There are various other dermatology conditions that we can treat with our formula. We can work with you and your health care provider to customize treatment for acne, psoriasis, eczema, sunburns, radiation burns, baldness, fungal infections, fever blisters, warts, uneven skin pigmentation, viral infections, scarring, and more.
FAMILY PRACTICE & SPORTS MEDICINE
we are able to offer customized antifungal creams, oral rinses, and medicated lollipops or troches. We also offer many customized options in the field of sports medicine that reaches far beyond athletic injuries. Our pharmacists can work with your health care provider to tailor your medications for athlete’s foot, muscle aches, calluses, carpal tunnel, dry skin, nail fungus, hemorrhoids, sprains, trigger point, excessive sweating, and much more. We can also provide medications for iontophoresis.
Some medications that we use for our wound cream include the following:
1. Antibiotics: clindamycin, ciprofloxacin.
2. Anesthetics: lidocaine, prilocaine, tetracaine.
3. Vasodilators: nifedipine.
4. Other wound agents: phenytoin, misoprostol.
Women have conventionally used synthetic estrogen therapy to treat menopausal symptoms and to help protect against osteoporosis.
HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
Another option for women needing hormone therapy may be the use of bioidentical hormones instead of the use of synthetic ones. Bio-identical hormones are structurally identical to hormones that are naturally produced by the human body, and intended to replace these hormones when their levels decline as a result of aging, disease, or surgery. Compounding pharmacists help to meet the hormonal needs of pre-menopausal and menopausal women through the use of plant derived hormones that are biologically identical to those naturally occurring in women.
No two women are alike, of course, and the value of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy is that it can be tailored to fit your individual body and hormone levels. In addition, hormones can be made in a variety of strengths and dosage forms including capsules, topical creams and gels, suppositories, and sublingual troches or lozenges.
With the help of a doctor and a compounding pharmacist, a woman can start and maintain a bio-identical hormone replacement regimen that closely mimics what her body has been doing naturally for years.
At Advance pharmacy, we compound personalized bio-identical hormones including estriol, estrone, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone, using the exact dose of the specific bio-identical hormones needed by each woman in the most appropriate dosage form for that individual. This personalization allows the prescriber to take full advantage of the therapeutic benefits that can be obtained through the use of bio-identical hormones, while minimizing the potential for adverse effects.
Decisions about whether to stop, start, or change your HRT should be made on an individual basis only after consulting your physician and a knowledgeable pharmacist. Our goal is to work together with physician and patient to solve medication challenges and optimize each patient’s health and well-being.