How did you get involved in the compounding practice?
About 20 years ago, while I was working at Green Brother’s Pharmacy across from St. Joseph’s hospital, we found the need for custom-made medications, especially Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement (BHRT) which was an underserved area in pharmacy practice. I attended some seminars to improve my skills and the compounding part of the pharmacy began to grow!
What is your education background?
I received my Doctorate of Pharmacy, or Pharm. D. Degree, from UCSF and I teach compounding at UOP here in Stockton.
What is the difference between a compounding pharmacy and a pharmacy?
We are a retail pharmacy that dispenses drugs like most others, but we also buy pure powders and liquids so we can make custom medications that you cannot get at a regular pharmacy. These include capsules, liquids, creams, suppositories, and lollipops. We are also the only retail pharmacy in the county, and one of only a few in Northern California, that makes sterile eyedrops and injections!
What services do you offer? Can you provide a brief description as well?
We make and dispense custom prescription medication and offer consulting appointments for women and men to help balance their hormones and provide medication reviews for people with multiple prescription. We also can use patient’s own blood to make Autologous Serum Eye Drops (ASEDs) for treating dry eyes and we can concentrate their blood to make platelet-gel spray help heal chronic wounds.
You offer appointments for private consultations, what do most people see you for?
Most consultations are women seeking information about ways to treat menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes, as well as adrenal fatigue. My husband, who is a pharmacist as well, likes to say I specialize in the “Middle age, middle weight, middle energy women that just don’t feel good!”
Who can benefit from your medications?
Kids or elderly patients that can’t swallow pills. Pets that need unusual strengths. Cream combinations in high strengths. Also, we compound medications tailored to the patient’s specific needs. For instance, if someone is allergic to dyes or fillers, we can make medications without them. Or if they’ve had a unique problem, like mouth cancer surgery, and they need a lollipop for pain on the roof of their mouth.
Usually, we help people after all the regular medications have failed to help their problems, so we generally are handling the toughest cases! Basically, we’re experts in figuring out how to get the drug you need to the place you need it. It’s really rewarding work.
Do you specialize in other areas you’d like the community to know?
Hormone Therapy is my specialty, but this is a very large subject! The sex hormones are best known for menopause symptoms, but they also affect adrenal function, thyroid functions, and mood levels. It can be a very complex balancing act.
Do you offer specialty products that are unique to your store?
Yes, I believe that we are the only local providers of both Dr. Wilson’s formulas for Adrenal Fatigue and the Rx Skin Therapy line of antiaging serums. We also carry a pharmaceutical grade line of vitamins as well as doTERRA oils.
We know allergies can hit hard here in the Central Valley, do you offer medications or have any recommendations?
Absolutely. We’re experts at getting drugs delivered to where they’re needed and with allergies, the sinus cavities are under constant attack from pollen and other allergens. We offer a nasal-nebulizer that enables a capsule of powder we make to be turned into droplet mist and deposit onto the nasal tissue. Those capsules can have a variety of anti-inflammatories and other medication to help with chronic allergy problems.
It seems as if the majority of your patients come to you for hormone imbalance treatment, can you elaborate on what our hormones do for our body, why they are important and how you help?
To begin, hormone is a general term for a chemical made in one part of the body that is released to tell another part of the body to do something. Adrenaline tells your heart to beat faster. Dopamine tells your brain you are experiencing pleasure. Insulin tells your body to store sugar. Sex hormones, like estrogen and testosterone, have many functions from tissue growth to mood, to energy and metabolism. If your body doesn’t have the right building blocks to make the hormones to send specific messages, you’ll see symptoms of that imbalance. The good news is that we can add back the hormones your body needs. Our focus is on add-back therapy for sex hormones, but doctors also do add back therapy for thyroid problems, adrenal problems, and in diabetes.
What are your most popular products people can walk in and buy in the same day?
Hands down, Dr. Wilson’s Adrenal Fatigue supplements are our best over-the-counter (OTC) items and they can be a great way to start dealing with fatigue and that two o’clock bonk that many of us have.
Can you elaborate on the Rx Skin Therapy products you carry?
The RxSkin Therapy is a skin care line that is made from pharmaceutical grade ingredients to help fight aging and they don’t require a prescription to purchase! This skin care line was created by a pharmacist for patients who were not getting the results they wanted from other popular lines of products. We sell them with a 60-day money back guarantee! Patients see the best results when they use the entire line with cleansers, topical serums, and glycolic acid peels.
Are there common misconceptions people may have about your business that you’d like to clarify?
Because we make medications from scratch, they usually are not ready in 10 minutes! It takes time and diligence to ensure they are made correctly. Our motto at the pharmacy… as fast as we can without rushing.
312 Lincoln Center | Stockton
