Addiction is bad and I lived my life close to drug addiction via my readings, movies, and screenplays and only one time as a victim and a drug junkie!
It all started with me answering ten phone calls in twenty minutes and at the same time verifying five prescriptions standing behind the bench and dispensing a couple of supplements and answering a technician what to say to an angry patient. All at the same time!
Suddenly I felt this sharp pain in my arm that I couldn’t comprehend. I rolled up my sleeve. It’s like a snake bit me!
That’s when I saw them! those devilish little red pimples glowing on my upper arm
And the pain grew within two hours like nothing I ever experienced. In the Deja Vu experience, I realized that I had this pain for the last few days and I didn’t check my arm at all! Did some mosquitoes have a feast on my arm last night? I don’t know!
Within two hours I tried lidocaine and Voltaren gel.
At night I tried diphenhydramine and steroids and whatever I could get my hands on.
Nothing worked!
The following day I was suffering. I still went to work. No one to cover my shift!
And in a moment of despair, I knew what it was. My primary doctor -who was in the nearby clinic – confirmed to me by one question he asked: how are you dealing with stress in your life?
I answered him: by having shingles on my arm!
He laughed and confirmed the diagnosis.
He gave me a Valtrex prescription to fight the virus but how about pain?
No pain no gain but I had a C3 course for hormone replacement therapy training with PCCA in Las Vegas tomorrow. I can’t go there like that! And I can not cancel this awesome trip.
First, I love Vegas! And second, I need this knowledge and networking!
I need to focus, I need to get it together and find answers to my problems!
It’s a prestigious educational course I will have to wait another year to attend.
That’s when I called the consultants’ hotline of pharmacy Compounding centers of America, PCCA, and I spoke to the man with the plan; Andy!
I asked Andy about something to help with my shingles pain. I told him: save me before I cut off this arm!
Andy asked me about my pain level? I replied 10/10. I am suffering!!
Andy has a way of replying on the phone you have to understand. He takes his time then throws an answer to you when you don’t expect it so you better be ready with a pen and paper!
But Andy took a deep breath and told me slowly: Well, I will tell you a formula. It’s twenty years old, but it always works. Use it as I tell you to use it. Follow directions faithfully and you will be ok.
I wrote the information down and asked Andy to repeat it several times. Brain fog From pain is real!
I called my doctor and asked him to give me a verbal prescription. He told me ok, you got it!
then I created the formula on my station and ran to the lab to make it.
After half an hour I had the cream mixed and milled and ready to go!
A white smooth pain cream I poured in two small pumps so I can travel to Vegas with them.
Andy told me to apply the cream topically five times daily for the first week, he warned me that by that by the fifth hour I have to apply it again otherwise I will want to chop my arm off! I already was at this stage.
So, I did that! I applied the cream to my arm! Washed my hands and left the lab.
I started compounding two years earlier than this day and I like pain creams because they work right on the area where you have the pain with fewer side effects than oral drugs that affect the whole body.
Those compounding solutions do not compromise your ability to work or poop! Those who know traditional pain meds know how they affect your gut health!
So, I had helped so many patients using pain creams but it was the first time I try a topical pain formula on myself.
Two hours passed from applying the shingles pain cream on my arm and I figured out I was involved in the workflow inside my pharmacy helping patients and being as productive and useful as I can and I feel no pain! Wait.. no pain???!!’
When my close friend had the same shingles blisters on the back of his neck a month ago he took a week off work and he went to the emergency room and took all forms of oral drugs to help with his pain and that didn’t help at all!
I HAD NO PAIN!!! AFTER ONE HOUR! Andy is a magician!
After a few hours, as the clock ticked the end of the fifth hour since the initial application, I started feeling the awakening of the giant, and the sharp numbing pins in my arm clocked in. Here we go again. It’s brutal! I ran to the bathroom, took off my shirt, and applied the cream as a faithful obedient junkie!
Few minutes of waiting and there I am working with my patients enjoying a zero pain life!!
The following day I was in Vegas attending the most wonderful educational session offered by PCCA! And to the record, it was the most educational conference I learned and gained knowledge from. That was the 2016 C3 BHRT course!
Five years later, a few days ago, Using the same formula, in my current pharmacy, Welltopia, I helped a patient and a friend right before I traveled to attend the 2021 international seminar for compounders offered by PCCA.
The patient had shingles all over his forehead and he was suffering. I contacted his primary physician and made the same formula Andy taught me and also gave my patient an over-the-counter scar cream formula – ExScarLeto Gel- to help with his scars because I still have them and I don’t want My patient to have them after the blisters heal!
And the outcomes were solid! The patient, went pain-free from day one and his scars healed in five days and he sent me a text message telling me I am a magician.
He also sent me before and after pictures and gave me permission to use the pictures to tell the story.
I wanted to use this story to tell you the bigger story of a group of pharmacists belonging to a 40 years old organization that I am proud to be a member of.
A group of magicians who belong to the top class of Hogwarts school of magic passing a wand of science-based medicine from one generation of compounders to another!
And this magic is based on safety and efficacy. research and bravery of interesting stuff we put together to create formulas called custom made drugs only 1% of pharmacists create all over the world!
If you want to learn more about PCCA, google them and check the tenacity of their work.
And if you want to learn more about the shingles pain formula, send me a question!
Finally, I couldn’t find a better way to say:
Happy 40 years of awesomeness PCCA! Forever grateful.
