You read labels carefully and know what you can and cannot eat. Yet, you experience the painful effects of gluten sensitivity after taking a new medication. It doesn’t take long to realize the drug contains trace amounts of gluten. What’s a scared and confused patient to do?

All-too-often, patients simply stop taking their medication. But, depending on what’s ailing you, that decision could have devastating effects. Still, who wants to take something that they know will make them sicker in other ways?

Whether you are looking for an over the counter remedy or have just been prescribed a new medication from your doctor, the fact remains that those suffering from a gluten allergy must be as diligent about checking the active and inactive ingredients in their medication as they are the foods they eat. Of course, this can seem like a real mystery once you begin checking those labels.

What to Watch Out For

Generally speaking, there are a few things to be leery of when checking medication labels for gluten. These include:

• Any starch ingredient (including pregelatinized starch and sodium starch glycolate)
• Corn
• Potato
• Tapioca
• Dextrates, dextrins, dextri-maltose, and maltodextrin.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, and many medications contain amounts of gluten through cross-contamination. This leaves about 25 percent of celiac disease patients experiencing the effects of gluten every time they take medicine. So what can you do to avoid these painful side effects?

Buy Your Prescriptions from a Compound Pharmacists

Checking medications is your first defense against experiencing the effects of gluten sensitivities. Calling the drug manufacturer is another. But what do you do when the medication your doctor is prescribing has no gluten-free substitute? It may be time to try a compound pharmacist.

The compound pharmacist at Arena District Pharmacy has been specially trained to mix chemicals and create new forms of medications safely. Using a high tech precise methodology, a compound pharmacist can take a general medication (like a capsule) and turn it into something easier for the patient to take like a liquid or even a lollipop. The same is true when it comes to battling gluten sensitivities.

When a normal prescription contains a gluten filler, the compound pharmacist can create a new form of the drug, minus that filler.

Not every pharmacist can do this. That’s why so many celiac disease patients are seeking the help from these specialized pharmacists. It is the easiest and safest way to ensure that the drugs you are being prescribed won’t make you even sicker.

Gluten sensitivity and other allergies can be difficult to manage, and many medications include ingredients that may cause unwanted side effects. Our compound pharmacist can give you the medications you need without the fillers you don't. Stop in to speak with a pharmacist at Arena District Pharmacy today.