The brain you’re born with must last you a lifetime, treat it with tender loving care. While the cells in other parts of your body are constantly renewing themselves, your brain cells are not. Never fear, there are a variety of brain-healthy habits that you can employ to keep your brain in tiptop shape:

• Exercise your brain – Whatever your thing is, there’s a brain exercise for you – read a good book, put together a jigsaw puzzle, do a crossword puzzle, or puzzle through a Sudoku. Heck, play Grand Theft Auto V or download a brainteaser app. While there’s no scientific proof that these activities will improve your memory or your brain function, they can’t hurt and they’re fun!

• Engage in a healthy lifestyle – The healthy things that you do for your body (like getting regular aerobic exercise, engaging in mindful relaxation, and managing your stress) also help you keep your brain healthy. In fact, those activities are total win-wins.

• Hone a healthy diet – The adage that you are what you eat has withstood the test of time. A healthy diet adds up to a healthy you, and that’s also true of your brain (your healthy diet directly contributes to your healthy brain). Keep your energy, your health, and your brain in optimum form by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, cutting back on processed foods and refined sugars, and incorporating delicious whole foods into every meal.

• Augment with the right vitamins – vitamin and mineral supplements can help give your brain the boost it needs. Your compounding pharmacy can help you navigate your way past the endless bottle of vitamins that you are likely to find when you wander around on your own through the massive aisles of your local mega-center. After all, not all supplements are created equally, and they’re only helpful when they are used appropriately.

For Specialized Guidance with Vitamin Supplements, Contact Kress Specialty Apothecary Today

Vitamin and mineral supplements can play an important role in your brain-healthy lifestyle, and the specialty pharmacy professionals at Kress Specialty Apothecary can help you identify your needs and the appropriate corresponding supplements. Contact us today by either stopping in our apothecary in Barrington, New Jersey or by giving us a call at 856-323-8723. If you’re ready to explore keeping your brain in tiptop shape, we are here to guide you.

The pre- and early menopausal years continue to wreak havoc on many women’s hormone levels, and the effects can be very discouraging. You might even feel as if you no longer enjoy life the way you once did. But there’s no reason that you have to white-knuckle it through this hormonal rollercoaster, help is available in the form of hormone replacement therapy in general and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy specifically.

What Does Hormone Imbalance Look Like?

Some women experience only very minor pre-menopausal changes, but other women can get hit hard by the hormonal imbalance of menopause. It’s definitely a mixed bag, and has to be considered on an individualized case-by-case basis. The symptoms of hormone imbalance, however, tend to be fairly consistent – they can range a great deal, however, in severity:

• Irregular periods that are often accompanied by cramps;

• Dreaded hot flashes;

• Night sweats;

• Lack of concentration;

• Inability to fall or stay asleep;

• Weight gain.

You don’t have to accept these symptoms at face value; you can fight back.

Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy

Most hormones prescribed by doctors are concocted in a laboratory, and they almost all contain added chemicals in the mix, which allows each company to patent its own product. Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT), however, uses natural hormones only, and they contain no added chemicals. BHRT is a natural and safer alternative to synthetic hormone replacement therapies. Although synthetic hormone replacement therapies can provide significant relief, they can also harbor significant risks:

• Blood clots;

• Cancer;

• Heart disease; and

• High blood pressure.

BHRT doesn’t carry the same risk factors because bio-identical hormones travel through your body just like your own hormones do, and they aren’t altered by the addition of foreign substances, which can lead to chemical imbalances in your body.

For More information on Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement, Call 856-323-8723 or Stop by Kress Specialty Apothecary Today

BHRT can provide a safe and effective alternative to synthetic hormone replacement, and can help make you feel like you again. Contact one of our compounding specialists today by either stopping in our apothecary in Barrington, New Jersey or by giving us a call at 856-323-8723. We’ll work with your doctor to design and compound the most effective bio-identical hormone replacement therapy for you. It’s time that you enjoy your life to the fullest.

While you may associate anxiety mostly with humans, animals can be just as prone to anxiety in certain situations. In fact, aside from aggression, anxiety is the second most common behavioral disorder in dogs. Like humans, anxiety can have many different symptoms in dogs, including crying, whining, barking, pacing, or acting out in various ways.

Some common situations in which dogs or other pets may experience symptoms of anxiety include:

• Separation from their humans
• Thunderstorms
• Fireworks or other loud noises
• Car rides
• Vet visits

In some situations, if a dog is left home alone during a thunderstorm or similar anxiety-inducing event, they can cause significant destruction by tearing apart furniture or walls or soiling inside. Not only do you not want your dog to be upset, but such anxiety attacks can cost significant time and money to repair.

Consider Compounding

The good news is that there are solutions to resolve your dog’s anxiety issues. There are training methods that focus on changing how your dog feels in certain situations and how they react to feelings of anxiety. However, such training can take time and medication can be used to help create a stable emotional state while training is in process and can actually help training be more effective.

Anti-anxiety medications can work for pets just like they work for humans. However, because pets have different biology than humans and can be of varied sizes and weights, it is critical to specially tailor anti-anxiety drugs to your pet’s specific needs. Compounding is the perfect solution to this, as our compounding pharmacists can adjust dosages, ingredients, and other aspects of a medication to ensure it is safe and effective for your pet.

In addition, giving a pet medication can be anxiety-inducing in itself – both for you and for your pet! Compounding allows us to change pet medication from a hard-to-administer pill to flavored chews, liquids, and other forms that are more pet-friendly and owner-friendly, as well.

Call 856-323-8723 or stop by today for more information.

At Kress Specialty Apothecary, we want all members of your family – including the furry ones – to be both mentally and physically happy and healthy. We have many solutions to help alleviate your pet’s anxiety and your concern that you may come home to a huge mess. Please feel free to either call our pharmacists or drop into our store to discuss your options today.

Sleep is essential for our bodies to perform properly. Without the necessary sleep, you can lose focus, become irritable, and make regular errors at your job or school. Many people who cannot easily fall asleep or stay asleep for a period of time are desperate to get a good night’s rest, so they turn to over-the-counter medications such as Benadryl or prescription medications like Ambien or Xanax.

While taking such medications can help you stay asleep, they also can have some serious side effects that should be concerning. Depending on the specific drug, some side effects can include the following:

• Keeping you in the early stages of sleep so you never actually have a restful night
• Dry mouth
• Reduced memory
• Constipation
• Blurry vision
• Dependency on the drug

It’s important to know that there are other options out there to help you sleep properly and our pharmacists can work with you to find the right solution for you.

Natural Supplements

There are many supplements you can take that are natural and easy on your body that can help you overcome your insomnia. Some natural sleep aids can include:

• Magnesium
• Vitamin B6
• Melatonin
• L-theanine
• 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)
• Vitamin D (for drowsiness during the day)

We can create a combination of these supplements to prevent you from having to take a number of pills each night.

In addition, people can react to these supplements in different ways, including experiencing some intestinal issues. Our pharmacists can create topical gels that prevent the vitamins from entering your stomach or we can lower your dosage to prevent such side effects. We can also compound formulas that are safe for pregnant women, who so often long for a good night’s sleep.

If your insomnia persists, we can address a possible hormone imbalance that may be causing the problem. We can test to see if you have any deficiencies in your hormones and then create a solution for the underlying problem to try to resolve your insomnia.

Call 856-323-8723 or stop by today for more information.

At Kress Specialty Apothecary, we want all of our patients to live healthy and well-rounded lives. We seek out the safest and mildest solutions to help you sleep with the fewest side effects. We can examine a possible underlying problem that is causing your insomnia and use our compounding skills to create a gentle formula that helps you achieve a full night’s rest so that you can be your best self during the day. Call us or come by our retail store today!