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Ask our pharmacist today about
CUSTOMIZED COMPOUNDING
of your prescriptions.

Compounding for Special Needs:

In every field of medicine, there are some patients who do not respond to traditional methods of treatment. Some require medications in strengths not manufactured by drug companies. Some require alternate dosage forms for ingesting a medication due to several factors such as:

Allergies causes by preservatives
Sensitivity to standard drug strengths
Bitter or unpalatable taste
Difficulty swallowing a tablet or capsule
Stomach irritation

In these situations, specialty compounding has been a successful alternative that may serve you well!
 

Compounding for Pets:
Pet owners want the highest quality of veterinary care yet getting the pet to take the complete amount of medication prescribed is often difficult. Think how hard is it to get a cat to swallow a pill?

Also, the dosage acceptable for one pet may be unacceptable for another. A medication that works for an 80 pound golden retriever is far too much for a six pound Yorkie to handle.

Because of these and other factors, pet medications present unique problems that are often best dealt with through compounding.

Ask your physician or our pharmacist about customized compounding your medicine needs!

What is compounding?

Prescription compounding is the art and science of creating the specific compounds that meet the requirements of the patient as established by his/her physician. 

The compounding pharmacists at Letourneaus Pharmacy have mastered the ancient science of gathering, mixing, stirring, grinding, and measuring pharmaceuticals in the right dosage and form to meet the special needs of the individual patient. With a doctor's prescription, our compounding pharmacists can tailor-make medications in a variety of dosage forms, strengths, and flavors. We can produce lactose-free or preservative-free medications or even meet the special prescription needs of the family pet.

If there is an allergy to a certain drug, we can frequently compound alternatives. Even the flavor of the medication can be changed. Reasons may vary for needing compounding services, but we can help make it simple.  Allergy-sensitive people often have problems with fillers, dyes, sugars, and other additives, or with side effects, such as stomach discomfort. These problems can be avoided by having a customized medication.  By being able to titrate a dose or reformulate a medication, we can enhance the quality of health care. 

History

The practice of preparing medications dates back to the origins of pharmacy; yet compounding's presence throughout the pharmacy profession has changed over the years.   In the I930s and 40s, approximately 60 percent of all medications were compounded. During the 1950s and 60s, with the advent of manufacturing, compounding declined. The pharmacist's role as a preparer of medications quickly changed to that of a dispenser of manufactured dosage forms.

In the 1980's, and especially in the 90's, physicians and patients came to realize, once again, the benefits of preparing customized medications to meet specific patient needs. Today an estimated 43,000 prescriptions are compounded daily, or one percent of total prescriptions dispensed.

Compounding requires much time, expertise, equipment and chemicals which are not available in all pharmacies. Letourneaus Pharmacy is proud to offer you this very specialized service. 

Customized Dosage/Forms

 
With the physician, pharmacist and patient working closely together, compounding can give the patient significant advantages. The ability to meet special needs or conditions to medication is one of the largest advantages of compounding.
 
Compounded drug therapy can utilize other dosage forms, such as vaginal, urethral, topical gel, creams, ointments, suppositories, drops, inhalation, ophthalmic, nasal sprays, transdermal patches and medicated lollipops. In some cases they can be produced in chewable form instead of a liquid or sugar-free for diabetic patients.
 
The Letourneaus Pharmacy compounding pharmacist can meet these special needs.

Pediatrics

 
Parents often have a difficult time getting their children to take their medicine because of the taste. A compounding pharmacist can work directly with the physician and the patient to select a flavoring agent, such as vanilla, butternut or tutti-frutti that provides both an appropriate match for the medication’s properties and the patient’s taste preferences. 

Veterinary

 
Compounding for the family pet is also now available.  Depending on size and breed of the pet, the specialized dosage form could make a difficult but needed treatment a lot easier. Whether it is fruit flavors for birds, tuna for cats or beef or chicken for dogs, we can help. If you have livestock or larger breeds of animals with special needs, solutions may be available. 

Hormone Replacement Therapy

 
Compounding pharmacies are meeting the needs of pre-menopausal and menopausal women by use of plant-derived, bio-identical hormones.  The natural hormones are more appealing to these patients because they mend a hormonal imbalance with hormones that are identical to those produced in the human body.
 
The Letourneaus Pharmacy compounding pharmacist can tailor a hormone regimen that mimics what a female's body has been doing for the past 50 years.  Since all women are not the same, the pharmacist can add value by preparing the medication to "fit" the patient.
      
By using a combination of hormones, the compounding pharmacist can assist the physician in treating the patient's menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, as well as maintaining low cholesterol levels and improving heart functioning.  Our compounding pharmacist, working in triad with the patient and her physician, can start and maintain natural hormone replacement.  Natural hormones can be placed in capsules, creams or sublingual troches.  As the patient works with her physician and compounding pharmacist, she can choose the route that is most beneficial and pleasing to her. 

Other reasons for compounding

 
The most important reason for compounding is patient non-compliance. Many patients are allergic to preservatives or dyes, or are sensitive to standard  strengths. With a physician’s consent, a compounding pharmacist can change the strength of a medication, alter its form to make it easier for the patient to ingest, and add flavor to it to make it more palatable. The pharmacist also can prepare the medication using several unique delivery systems, such as a sublingual troche or lozenge, a lollipop. or a transdermal gel. Or, for those patients who are having a difficult time swallowing a capsule, a compounding pharmacist ran make a suspension instead.
 
Compounding pharmacists also help patients who are experiencing chronic pain, such as arthritic patients who cannot take certain medications due to gastro intestinal side effects. Working with their physician, a compounding pharmacist can provide a topical preparation with the anti-inflammatory or analgesic their doctor prescribed for them.
 
Compounders focus on meeting special needs. These may involve compounding an eye drop in a sterile compounding lab, an injection for impotency, preparing medications for veterinarians in a variety of dosage forms and flavors, providing natural alternatives in hormone replacement therapy, or assisting physicians in treating hospice patients.
 
The ultimate goal in preparing any of these customized medications is to help the physician and patient achieve a more positive therapeutic outcome.

Pharmacy Compounding Pharmacist compounding of medications is the combination of the art and science of pharmacy. Pharmacist combines the purest of drugs and chemicals, the latest in research, and state of the art technology in the mixing of medicines. Pharmacist begins with the unique needs of the individual patient for a medication not commercially available in the strength, flavor, or dosage form required. Pharmacist adds creativity and determination to solve problem with the knowledge of pharmacology and chemistry, and taking into account the potential for incompatibilities or interactions that may take place either in the container or the body. Compounding · Making any strength of a medication when specific doses are not commercially available. · Preparation of a medication that has been withdrawn from the marketplace due to economic concerns, not safety. · For those patient(s) that cannot or have trouble swallowing, pharmacist creates a concentrated liquid or a rectal suppository. · For those patient(s) that may have sensitivity to dyes, preservatives, or fillers, pharmacist creates or prepares allergy-free medications. · For children, pharmacist formulates liquid medication for taste flavored liquid medications for compliance with children. · For patient compliance, pharmacist may combine many medications into one dosage form. · For animal, pharmacist may create flavoring medications or preparing unique dosage forms.