Compounding pharmacies are pharmacies that get the pure active ingredients for a medication and put them together into custom formulations for you. Since corn products are in so many medications, a compounding pharmacy is often the only way to get a corn-free version of a medication. Rather than repeat good information that’s already been given, I’m going to direct you to an excellent blog post on getting medications compounded corn free and then add my own notes to it:

Getting Medications Compounded on News for Corn Avoiders

My Additional Notes

• Your doctor may not know how to write a compounding prescription. Here is a link on how to do so to print out. Basically, they need to write “Compounded medication. Free from corn, [other allergens].” Then the *generic* name of the medication, and the amount and prescribing instructions. As long as they write compounded, though, your pharmacy should be able to call them and get any details worked out.
• Some insurances cover compounding prescriptions with no problems, some won’t cover them at all, and some only cover if the drug is in their formulary, meaning it would normally be a precription. So compounded meds like acetaminophen or Benadryl are often not covered because they are usually over the counter. You’ll just have to talk with your insurance. In general compounding pharmacies do not bill insurance for you, so you do have to pay up front and then submit later.
• Call several pharmacies until you find one that is willing to work with you. Explain that you need everything done just right because you react to a number of preservatives, excipients, and sweeteners. If they are disbelieving, move on. Ask about whether you can bring in your own filler to use that you know you tolerate, since you may react to all the fillers they use normally. If they are hesitant, move on.
• Some compounding pharmacies charge more than others. If you have a few that seem like they can work with you, ask them the price for a 90 day supply of the first drug that you want (probably Benadryl, since there is no corn free version available off the shelf) and use that as a comparison point.
• When you fill your first prescription, less is more. Go small because if you react, the pharmacy will probably not give you your money back. Maybe they will, but I wouldn’t count on it. With compounding unfortunately you can’t really fill just 1 or 2 pills for just a few dollars, as they have to calibrate the machines and all that jazz for 1 pill or for 100. So usually there is a minimum charge for that, and then a discount for quantity. So for example, a 90 day supply may end up being not much more expensive than a 30 day supply, but a 10 day supply could cost the same as a 30 day. Usually the price breaking point where you are paying a decent amount per pill is about 30 days. Or that’s been my experience.
• If you are getting a capsule with a filler included in addition to the medication, be sure the filler is safe for you. Lots of times pharmacists try to insist that microcrystalline celllulose and lactose monhydrate are corn free. Many corn allergics react to them all the same. (Note: They may also be safe for you, it’s just not impossible to react to them. You will need to make sure.) The gelatin or veggie capsules may be corny, even if the manufacturer states that they are not. If it is possible, see if you can get a sample of the filler and capsules they want to use, without the actual meds, to trial to make sure you tolerate them. If you can’t tolerate any fillers they stock, they should let you bring in your own. Or really just start out with bringing in your own to reduce variables.
• Many medications can be compounded without a filler. Do that when possible. Benadryl usually requires a filler because the amount of active ingredient needed is too small for the machine to measure. Some pharmacists will hand-stuff the pills without the filler but very very few.
• If you are someone who is really having a lot of trouble finding a filler you tolerate, due to multiple sensitivities or an extremely sensitive corn allergy, you may need to go to some effort to find a pharmacy who is willing to make some pills for you without filler. Normally for very small doses like 100mg or less (so that would be most antihistamines) people say that a pill “can’t” be made without a filler. What they mean is that it can’t be made EFFICIENTLY. When using a capsule machine, one mixes up enough med+ filler to just exactly fill each capsule with the right dose and then does all the pills at once. If one were to sit there and hand stuff each individual pill, they could do it without the filler. Now finding someone who is willing to do this may be hard, but is technically possible. People have accomplished it. So if you need to, and aHere is a youtube video showing how pills are made by one compounder.
• In addition to the capsules, medication, and filler, watch out for them stuffing cotton into the bottle to keep the pills from rattling around. I swear the cotton my last pharmacy used was corny somehow. Also watch out for whether they ship their meds with packign peanuts in the box. Those are made from corn starch.
• There are some pharmacies that say they do compounding but do not actually order the pure medications. They get their medications from a distributor that actually already has excipients, fillers, and inactive ingredients in it. McKesson one such company- they distribute powder-form drugs with fillers already in it at specific concentrations, and the fillers are often corny. When you contact a compounding pharmacy make sure that they are getting the PURE medications.
• Note that some pure medications are corny. Acetaminophen is made with acetic acid, which can be from corn. Antibiotics are cultured on corn sugar. Any mineral that ends with “citrate” or “lactate” will be that mineral + citric acid or lactic acid from corn. If you need the drug you need the drug, but be aware that the pure meds themselves can cause a reaction.