From Scratch

Megan DiMaria

One day, while I waited in line to pick up a prescription at my neighborhood pharmacy, a jar filled with amber-colored granules caught my eye. The label read, "honeybee pollen."

"What is this for?" I asked when my turn in line came. Darby Brown, the pharmacist at Brown's Compounding Center in Parker, picked up the jar and dumped a few granules into my palm. The taste was earthy with a hint of honey. Not bad at all. He told me honeybee pollen is used to treat seasonal allergies, but it's essential that the bees are local for the treatment to be effective. The pollen Brown sells comes from Larkspur.

This unconventional, chemical-free treatment is par for the course for offerings at many of today's compounding pharmacies. If you haven't had any contact with compounding pharmacists since Mr. Gower in It's A Wonderful Life, then you're missing out on a great resource in your personal health management.

Compounding pharmacies specialize in preparing customized medicine that is not commercially available to provide an alternative to the mass-produced, off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all prescriptions most of us are familiar with. Compounded medications are prescribed by physicians, veterinarians, and other practitioners for patients whose unique needs preclude using standardized, chemical medications.

Dr. Linda Tetor routinely prescribes compounded medications in her practice at Hilltop Family Physicians in Parker. "I mostly prescribe bioidentical hormones, but I also write prescriptions for things like sore muscles for athletes, pain relievers, and anti-inflammatory topical creams," she says. Dr. Tetor says that what she really enjoys about working with compounding pharmacists is the greater flexibility they have to customize patients' prescriptions. "They are able to tweak a patient's dosing to a level that works best for that individual."

Some compounding pharmacies offer free educational seminars on the benefits of customized medications. ITC Compounding Pharmacy in Castle Rock conducts monthly women's hormone seminars to teach women the importance of balancing their hormones. They provide a simple saliva test to determine hormonal deficiencies and advise women on what steps they can take to restore balance in their system.

In addition to women who treat hormone imbalances with HRT, many other people regularly use compounded medications: children who need to take specially flavored medicine for ease of use; patients who are unable to take medications orally and need compounded ointments or solutions; patients taking multiple drugs who can take them more easily when compounded into a single dose (including hospice patients taking multiple pain management medications); cancer patients whose treatments are precisely designed for their specific needs; and patients who are allergic to binding agents, preservatives, and other ingredients in off-the-shelf medications.

Compounding pharmacists are trained and licensed in pharmacy schools, and the materials that make up the medications are obtained from licensed, FDA-registered manufacturers. However, this specialty has not been without controversy. Pharmaceutical companies claim compounded medications are not safe. Dr. Tetor says, "There are no proven studies to show one way or another. I have had patients that just love bioidentical hormones, natural thyroid medication, and testosterone as well."