Quote from: Dena on September 02, 2016, 01:44:31 AM
If I have this right, pills like estrace are estradiol and can be taken sublingually. The advantage of doing this is it avoids the liver getting into the blood stream so it remains at a higher level in the blood stream. Estradiol valerate has a few extra atoms tacked on it so the liver doesn't act on it but latter in the body it's converted to estradiol. As such there is no advantage to taking it sublingually. One issue is that estrace is manufactured by several companies and is really cheap. Estradiol valerate is manufactured by only one company and is more expensive.

   I have to agree with Dena on this one. Research I have done online pretty much says when she has stated here.

   Estradiol valerate is made as a step before being broken down to Estradiol which is what happens as it is metabolized by the liver and intestines. In other words it is designed for that "First Pass" event.
   Estradiol pills (which is what I was prescribed) are already at that end result state.

   My take on that is Estradiol valerate probably better taken orally because it is manufactured for that. And Estradiol maybe be better if taken sublingually as doing so cuts the loss of going through the digestive tract.

   Again this is MY take on the research I've done online. I am not a doctor or a chemist. Ask your doctor or do your own research. The data is out there if you look for it.

  Hugs,
    Jeanette

This is interesting. My GiC clinic have advised me the same re. taking EV sublingually i.e. don't because there's no advantage to it.

The issue is whether it's disadvantageous to do so?

Estradiol valerate gets quickly hydrolised and broken down into estradiol, at the moment of passage in the intestines. The same applies when it enters blood, the ester is quickly cleaved so that essentially, estradiol valerate is the same as estradiol, their pharmacokinetics are similar. This has been confirmed in studies. If that was not the case, we would expect the same dose of estradiol valerate to yield far higher levels of estradiol as compared to estradiol which is not the case. Sometimes, levels end up being even lower on estradiol valerate.

According to Bayer, the estradiol valerate in Progynova is micronized so can readily pass through mucous membranes when taken sublingually because particles are very tiny (i.e. micronized). The only way to really know is take them sublingually, with doctor's approval and then measure levels 1 hour later, compare to taking them orally and 1 hour later.

I personally had similar results (physically and psychologically) on Estrace (micronized estradiol) taken sublingually vs. orally.