The art of compounding is centuries old. Medicines have been made from plant and animal sources for hundreds of years. With the advances of modern medicine and science, most medicines arrive at the pharmacy already manufactured. Compounding went into decline.

Now, a special niche market has formed. Compounding is back and is here to stay. There are pharmacies all across the country and around the world returning to their roots. For some, this is by choice. For others, it was a necessity. With large box stores entering into the pharmacy market, smaller independents have had to look elsewhere to survive. Being able to offer a compounding service that other pharmacies cannot, has meant survival.

Compounding pharmacies are stepping outside the box. Drugs that are no longer being manufactured, usually due to low sales volume, can be compounded to prevent a patient from having to change his medication. New flavors, strengths, and dosage forms can now be made. Bio-identical hormones, topical pain medication, and veterinary requirements can now be fulfilled. The art of compounding is back.

Hospice compounding is an area of compounding where compassion is our main focus. We try to make the patient as comfortable as possible. Whether we make a customized pain formulation or provide an alternate route for drug delivery, the patient's well being has to be the priority.

Pain relief is usually the first symptom requiring medical attention. A compounding pharmacist can provide tailored medication for both acute and chronic pain. Also, if swallowing is a problem, pain medication can be formulated in topical, rectal, or sublingual forms. We adjust to meet the needs of the hospice patient.

Do you know a cat that refuses to take medicine? A dog that will not get near theirs, or cannot tolerate oral anti-inflammatory medication? Bridgetown Pharmasave can help you with some of your most challenging pet medication problems.

Our pharmacists can work with you and your veterinarian to pair the most appropriate flavor with the prescribed medicine and the type of animal. For example, we can flavor medication with beef, cheese, chicken, liver and peanut butter for dogs; salmon, sardine and tuna for cats; and alfalfa, apple and carrot crème for horses.

In addition to specialty flavoring, we can compound medication into a variety of dosage formats including: topicals, solutions, suspensions, oral pastes, capsules, and injections. If a small dosage is required for the animal, we can compound the medication into the smaller increment needed, or concentrate a medication for larger animals.

By working with you and your veterinarian, Bridgetown Pharmasave can customize a medication to meet the specific needs of your animal. Ask your veterinarian or pharmacist about the benefits of compounding to meet the needs of you and your pet.

Many people struggle daily with chronic pain problems like arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches and nerve and muscle pain. Now there is the option to receive pain relief through the compounding of customized pain management medication. Finding the right drug or drug combination to treat your pain is the goal of Bridgetown Pharmasave.

Many traditional pain management medications are effective in treating the symptoms of chronic pain conditions such as arthritis. Unfortunately, they are often associated with unwanted side effects such as stomach irritation. Compounding pharmacies 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. Other acute conditions such as migraine headache can be treated with flavoured troches or lozenges that get into the blood stream quickly by bypassing the stomach with less intestinal irritation. Many chronic pain patients are placed on a cocktail of different pain relief medications to treat the symptoms of their condition. Multiple products can often be combined into a single topical preparation ready to be applied to the affected areas.

Because everyone differs in size, symptoms and pain tolerance, many patients cannot find a commercially available medication that meets their needs. By working with your physician, Bridgetown Pharmasave can customize a medication to the exact amount required to meet your specific needs. Ask your physician or pharmacist about the benefits of personalized compounding.

Hormone therapy was always considered for women who have entered menopause. Not any more. Women who suffer from PMS, endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, and low libido now have options. Bio-identical hormone replacement (BHRT) is becoming an alternative to synthetic hormone treatments of the past. BHRT employs hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) that are identical to what is, or has, been produced by the body. And women are not the only ones who suffer from hormone deficiency. Men are now being treated with testosterone for andropause.

We work with the patient and the physician to determine the best choice of medication, and the appropriate dose. Many choices are available for dosage routes. Oral, topical, sublingual, or rectal are all possibilities.

How can one accurately measure hormone levels? The best method is saliva testing. Saliva testing provides an accurate measure of free hormone, that is, the hormone that is available to interact with the receptors on the body. Blood testing does not measure free hormone levels.

Saliva testing is simple, stress- free, and noninvasive. Collection of the sample can be at any time of the month, and at any place, as no special processing is required prior to shipping. Hormones that can be tested include estradiol, estriol, estrone, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA-S, and cortisol.

Bridgetown Pharmasave has an arrangement with Rocky Mountain Analytical, of Alberta, to send our saliva tests for analysis. Rocky Mountain is currently the only lab in Canada certified for saliva testing. For more information, please use this link to their site.