Compounded Hormone Therapy for Women
When your prescriber wants a strength, a ratio, or a form that manufactured products don't come in — or one without an ingredient you react to — the prescription has to be compounded. Lititz Apothecary prepares compounded progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and DHEA on Main Street in Lititz, Pennsylvania, licensed to serve patients throughout the state.
Each preparation is made here by a licensed pharmacist, for one patient, exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. If you already fill somewhere else, we can handle the transfer — and a pharmacist answers our phone during business hours.
What We Compound for Women's Hormone Therapy
Our pharmacists compound estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA — individually, and in combination preparations that hold more than one hormone at patient-specific doses. A manufactured product arrives in fixed ratios and fixed strengths; a prescriber who wants a particular combination, or a strength between the commercial increments, has it compounded instead. These are the same preparations many prescribers and patients refer to as bioidentical hormone therapy.
These are the forms that come up most often in women's hormone prescriptions:
| Form | Notes |
|---|---|
| Creams and gels | Dispensed in metered-dose click pumps |
| Vaginal creams | Prepared to the prescribed strength |
| Troches | Dissolving, taken as directed by your prescriber |
| Custom oral capsules | Made to a strength between commercial increments |
| Suppositories | Prepared patient-specifically to the written order |
This is what prescribers commonly request, not a complete catalog. If your prescription names a formulation you don't see listed, call and ask — we will tell you straight whether we make it. The full set of standard dosage forms is on our compounding services page.
One thing we do not make: hormone pellets. Pellets are implanted, which falls outside what this pharmacy compounds, so if your prescriber has recommended them that is a conversation to have with them. Everything above — the creams, the vaginal creams, the troches, the capsules, the suppositories — we prepare here in our own lab.
Dosing Precision — Metered-Dose Dispensing
Hormone creams and gels leave our pharmacy in metered-dose click pumps, not open jars. Each click delivers the same measured amount, so the dose your prescriber wrote is the dose you apply — the first week and the tenth.
That consistency matters most when a prescriber is adjusting an order. If the amount applied is the same every day, any change they make is a change against a known quantity rather than a guess about how much came out of the jar.
It is also part of why a prescriber compounds in the first place rather than reaching for a fixed commercial strength: the preparation is made to the strength on the prescription, and prepared again at a different strength if the order is revised.
Compounded Testosterone for Women
We compound low-dose testosterone for women on a prescriber's order. Commercial testosterone products are manufactured at male-range strengths; a prescriber writing a low female-range dose needs it prepared to that strength, and that is a formulation problem a compounding pharmacy solves.
Forms are creams and gels in metered-dose click pumps, troches, and capsules. Low-dose titration is exactly where the metered dispensing described above earns its keep. Testosterone also appears in combination preparations alongside estrogen, progesterone, or DHEA at patient-specific doses — something no fixed commercial product can do.
Testosterone for men is prepared differently and at different strengths; that is covered on our testosterone therapy for men page.
Thyroid Medication Compounding
We compound levothyroxine (T4), liothyronine (T3), custom T4/T3 combinations at patient-specific ratios, and synthetic blends prepared to the ratios previously found in desiccated thyroid preparations.
Commercial thyroid products come in fixed ratios and fixed strengths. A prescriber who wants a specific T4/T3 balance, or a strength that falls between the commercial increments, needs it compounded. Dyes and fillers can be left out of the preparation when the prescription calls for it.
Custom oral capsules and liquid suspensions are the most common forms here; troches and creams are used as well. Patients managing thyroid conditions often also work with their prescriber on hormone therapy or low dose naltrexone, and all of it is prepared in the same lab by the same pharmacists.
Our Pharmacists
Your prescription is prepared and checked by a named pharmacist, not an anonymous facility. Our compounding team is Chet Patel, PharmD, RPh; Vishesh Patel, PharmD, RPh; and Brian Bradshaw, RPh, who brings more than 30 years of compounding experience to the bench — three licensed pharmacists with decades between them.
On a hormone prescription, that means a pharmacist reviews the order, confirms the formulation with your prescriber where anything needs clarifying, prepares it for you specifically, and checks it before it is dispensed.
If you have a question about your preparation — how to use the pump, how it is stored, what is in it — call (717) 626-2222 and ask for a pharmacist. You will be talking to the person who made it.
How to Get Your Prescription Filled Here
- 1
Your prescriber writes the prescription.
They can send it to us by e-prescribe, call it in at (717) 626-2222, or fax it to 717-626-7920. If they have formulation questions, our pharmacists are glad to talk it through before they write.
- 2
Or transfer what you already fill elsewhere.
If another pharmacy has your hormone prescription now, call us and we will handle the transfer. Refills work the same way — one call and we take it from there.
- 3
We prepare it here, for you.
Compounded preparations are made patient-specifically rather than pulled off a shelf, so there is preparation time involved. We will tell you when to expect it when you call.
- 4
Pick it up, or let us bring it.
Pick up at 100 East Main Street, use parking-lot pickup, or take free local delivery in the Lititz area. Prescription services are Pennsylvania-only.
What it will cost
Cost depends on the hormone, the strength, and the form your prescriber wrote for, and most compounded hormone prescriptions are not covered by insurance. Call (717) 626-2222 with the details and we will walk you through what yours will cost before you commit to anything.
Transfers, refills, and delivery
We handle transfers from your current pharmacy and set up refills with one call. Free local delivery and parking-lot pickup are available in the Lititz area. Refills & transfers · Delivery & curbside
Serving Women Across Pennsylvania
The pharmacy is at 100 East Main Street in downtown Lititz, Lancaster County — a few doors down from the rest of what makes this a town people drive to on a Saturday. We are licensed to fill prescriptions throughout Pennsylvania, so a prescriber anywhere in the state can send one here, and we deliver and ship within Pennsylvania.
Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 6:00, and Saturday, 9:00 to 1:00. Call (717) 626-2222 or see our contact page for directions and everything else.
Common Questions About Compounded Hormone Therapy
What does it mean for a hormone prescription to be compounded?
Your prescriber specifies the hormone, the strength, and the form, and we prepare that exact preparation for you rather than dispensing a pre-made commercial product. Compounding is what makes strengths, ratios, and forms possible that manufactured products simply don't come in. Everything is prepared as prescribed by your healthcare provider.
Which hormones do you compound?
Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA, along with combination preparations containing more than one of them at patient-specific doses. That list is representative rather than complete — if your prescriber has written for something you don't see here, call us and we will tell you plainly whether we make it.
What forms do you make them in?
Creams and gels dispensed in metered-dose click pumps, vaginal creams, troches, custom oral capsules, and suppositories. The full set of standard dosage forms our pharmacy prepares is listed on our compounding page.
How much does compounded hormone therapy cost?
It depends on the hormone, the strength, and the form your prescriber wrote for, so there is no single number we can put on a page. Most compounded hormone prescriptions are not covered by insurance. Call us with the prescription details and we will walk you through what yours will cost before you commit to anything.
Do I need a prescription?
Yes. Compounded hormone therapy is prepared only on a prescriber's order, for one named patient. Whether hormone therapy is appropriate for you, and in what form and strength, is a conversation with your healthcare provider. Once the prescription is written, we can take it from there.
Do you compound thyroid medication too?
Yes — levothyroxine, liothyronine, and custom T4/T3 combinations at the ratio your prescriber specifies. Many of the patients who fill hormone prescriptions with us also work with their prescriber on thyroid medication, which is why both are prepared in the same lab by the same pharmacists.
Questions about compounded hormone therapy? Talk to a pharmacist.
Call (717) 626-2222 and we'll walk you through it, or have your prescriber send the prescription over and we'll take it from there.
Compounded medications are prepared to a licensed prescriber's order and are not reviewed or approved by the FDA for safety or effectiveness. Nothing on this page is medical advice.