Susan Merenstein, Pharmacist/Owner
Susan Merenstein, Pharmacist/Owner
Welcome to Vital Health Pharmacist –
A Place for Consultation, Hormone Balance, and Functional Health!
Hello, I am Susan Merenstein, Clinical Holistic Pharmacist with over 41 years of practice and owner of Murray Avenue Apothecary, a compounding and wellness pharmacy, as well as LabNaturals, Inc. (CBD, Non-Toxic Skincare, and Glutathione, the master antioxidant) in Pittsburgh.
I have been studying hormones and consulting with women and men to help them discover an increased quality of life and health for over 21 years.
My mantra is to be aware of symptoms, get educated and take a proactive role in your health.
My holistic philosophy is to act like a detective to find out why a person is sick. We never have a deficiency of a pharmaceutical drug-but we can have vitamin, mineral and hormone deficiencies that impact our daily lives and lead to degeneration as we age.
I like to start at the foundation of health, giving back important nutrients at the cellular level like Vitamin D, Probiotics, Fatty Acids, Glutathione, and Vitamins, and combine them with proper food, drink, rest, play, stress management, and sleep. I look at this as a life pyramid with love, purpose, and discipline at the base.
I grew up in my dad’s pharmacy in DC, took my first steps there. My dad compounded concoctions for cough, colds, and aches and pains. People called him Doc and it made me so proud. I always knew I wanted to be a Pharmacist and I have enjoyed every minute of my practice.
I attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and graduated in 1981. I worked in several independent pharmacies before I began compounding and consulting in 2001. Since then, I keep learning new holistic ways to balance hormones, detoxify the body, and lead hundreds of clients to a better quality of life.
Almost 27 years ago my husband Barry was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and the conventional approach consisted of toxic drug therapies with brutal side effects-he had no quality of life, nor was he healing from his disease. I started researching other treatment modalities including Thyroid, Testosterone, DHEA, as well as human identical Hydrocortisone (Cortisol). His healing accelerated dramatically to the point that currently he is in complete remission and has been for years with no surgery and no heavy biologic treatments!
Twenty-one years ago, I entered my own peri-menopause kicking and screaming. I had horrible PMS, was at least 20 pounds overweight, and had just had a tubal ligation which deeply affected my hormonal balance. As a DES daughter, I was especially worried about estrogen driven cancer of the vagina or cervix or uterus. On top of that I was at risk for ovarian cancer I was frustrated at the way I was practicing pharmacy—doling out tons of pills to mostly seniors and getting little satisfaction from my work.
At the same time, I did a 180 in my pharmacy profession from retail counter pharmacy to a compounding lab and began my study of the hormones of the adrenals, thyroid, and sex glands.
In 2007 I bought that pharmacy compounding lab, renamed it and moved to a bright new space of healing called Murray Avenue Apothecary. In 2015 I began studying CBD and its amazing impact on health and started LabNaturalsCBD.com in 2018. As a sister company to Murray Avenue Apothecary LabNaturals Inc. now incorporates CBD, Glutathione, Non-Toxic Skincare and now Vital Health Pharmacist a place for Hormones, Consultation, and Functional Health.
I have not stopped reading, researching, and teaching for the last 21 plus years. My brain is humming with knowledge and I am so excited to share it with everyone.
In the last year I lost 37 pounds and I love sharing my own journey with clients.
I am blessed and grateful to practice pharmacy this way…. I have met incredible people who have all touched my life is some way.
Let’s get healthy together!
Yours in Health,
Susan Merenstein, Pharmacist and Owner
