Author Elise Abbas, Pharm.D. Candidate 2016
Nearly every month we have a pharmacy student who is on rotation come to our pharmacy and spend four weeks learning as much as one can, in a hands on environment, about specialized compounded medications. At the same time, we are able to learn a few things from the student, as they are asked to present a topic of interest at the end of their month and support their research with reliable resources. A recent student, Elise Abbas, 2016 Pharm. D. candidate presented a topic of interest that has become quite popular among sports medicine doctors, athletes, and anyone in pain who is unable to or has no desire to take oral anti-inflammatory and other over the counter and prescription pain medications for various reasons. I am going to let her tell you her story.
After having to have surgery in order to repair two torn knee ligaments, I was left with knee pain and ugly scarring. In order to rectify this issue, Regel Pharmalab has given me the opportunity to use two personally customized creams.
The first cream consisted of a ketoprofen, camphor, and menthol combination. Prior to using the cream, I was simply using oral naproxen, which left me with many gastrointestinal side effects. The cream allowed me to target the drug to exactly where I needed it without interfering with the innocent bystander, that is my stomach. When applied, the cream had a fantastic cooling sensation followed by hours of joint pain relief! It worked so well, in fact, that I wondered if my knee pain had dissipated spontaneously or if it was indeed the cream helping. To test this theory, I abstained from using the cream, which previously I was applying twice per day, for two days. I noticed the difference quite suddenly! The penetration of the medication to my sore, achy knee joint works very well and I would recommend this or a similar product to anyone with post-surgical, arthritis, or even general pain.
The next problem the surgery caused was scarring from the incisions. After the ACL/PCL repair, I was left with a three-inch, inflamed, and raised scar along with eight smaller scars from arthroscopic incisions. With summertime quickly approaching, I planned to wear shorts, swimsuits, and other light clothing that would expose my knee. The longer a scar is left untreated, the more difficult it is to correct later down the road; I needed to act quickly. Two formulations were devised. For the first 30 days, the cream included tranilast, betamethasone, and diphenhydramine in a silky silicone base. Although I am only on day 20 of treatment, I have noticed the scar starting to lay flatter. As you know, scars take months to heal so I will not see any major changes until much later, but this is a great start! After my first 30 days, I will switch to the second formulation which includes tranilast, pentoxyfylline, and EGCg which are also in a silicone base. All the above components will assist in breaking down the damaged skin while helping to rebuild new skin. I am excited to see how this story will end!
We will keep you updated with Elise’s progress on her scars over the next several months. If you have a problem with a scar or achy joints lets us formulate a medication for you.
Give us a call if you would like to know if Regel Pharmalab can help you @ (901) 757-9434 or email me (jregel@regelpharmalab.com)
Do you have an interesting sports injury? Tell your story below.
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