Sublingual administration problems

[Rena-san]

I have been taking my estradiol pill sublingually like my doctor recommended. Its a little purple pill. But when I place it under my tongue it dissolves and becomes a purple liquid basically, mixing with my saliva. I try to hold that liquid under my tongue for as long as I can but eventually it begins to seep out through the cracks in between my front teeth, or eventually I get that urge to swallow and I do. Am I not doing the whole sublingual thing correctly? Is there a better way to do it?

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

No you are doing it right.  The estradiol is absorbed thru the saliva.  The amount that you swallow will pass thru the liver, while the amount that has passed into the blood stream will not.

[Alainaluvsu]

Try your best not to suck any. When you do you open up small spaces between your tongue and gums. You just have to let it sit there for about 7 minutes or so. Keeping your tongue locked in a sort of water tight position for a few minutes is actually a little more uncomfortable than you may think... and I imagine you're moving your tongue around and letting the hormone slip out through the spaces.

[Beth Andrea]

My doc says there's no difference with the pill I take (little bluish oval)...but I started dissolving it under my tongue, got the same gooey effect you've had.

Tried as hard as I could, but there's always some that sloshes out...but after about 10 mins it's gone (probably mostly swallowed?).  But I "felt" better afterwards, like it was more effective...to the point where I would do the sublingual method if time permitted.

[luna nyan]

What you're doing is fine.  Sublingual administration has its issues in being inconsistent in dosage that actually goes sublingually vs the amount that is swallowed.  If you just tuck the pill closer to where the tongue meets the floor of the mouth, it should absorb a little more efficiently as the blood supply is richer there.
I take my little blue smartie sublingually first thing in the morning when my mouth is relatively dry.  It can take up to 10 minutes to disappear.

My blood tests have me on a higher E level than could be expected off my low dose from sublingual administration - but it has to be noted that it reaches a peak faster and drops quicker as well.

[Beth Andrea]

What you're doing is fine.  Sublingual administration has its issues in being inconsistent in dosage that actually goes sublingually vs the amount that is swallowed.  If you just tuck the pill closer to where the tongue meets the floor of the mouth, it should absorb a little more efficiently as the blood supply is richer there.
I take my little blue smartie sublingually first thing in the morning when my mouth is relatively dry.  It can take up to 10 minutes to disappear.

My blood tests have me on a higher E level than could be expected off my low dose from sublingual administration - but it has to be noted that it reaches a peak faster and drops quicker as well.

Well, that would explain why I "feel" better when I did UTT...and why I always felt the need to take another E several hours before the next one (Oh well, it helped me with getting the doc to increase my dose...LOL (all bloodwork is great, btw)) I would say "it feels like my E levels are dropping..."