Welcome to the Anxiety Forum - A Home for Those with Anxiety, Fear, or Panic Attacks.
Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    107

    Ativan under the tongue or swallow??

    I'm confused if I'm suppose to be putting the Ativan under my tongue and letting it dissolve or taking it like a normal pill? Im reading where it seems people do..both..? But is there an advantage to one over the other? Btw I have only taken it once and am not pro med but I have it just in case.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Georgia USA
    Posts
    293
    You can take it either way.

    I tend to do it under the tongue because it's easier, and it seems like it works a little quicker, but not much.
    Every lasting scar shows us what it's taken to be who we are.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    107
    I see...thanks.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    140
    Quick pharmacology intro:

    There are many possible routes of administration of a drug, here we are concerned with the sublingual vs. the oral. (others are IV, intramuscular, inhaled, etc.)

    Roughly, a drug acts faster if it reaches the point of action faster. In the case at hand, we may say that it acts faster the faster it enters the systemic circulation (essentially blood circulation).

    Now, if you take the pill sublingually it is immediately absorbed into the systemic circulation through the rich supply of capillaries found in the mouth. If you swallow, the pill will have to go through your digestive tract, being absorbed more slowly, throughout. It always implies a slower absorption than sublingual administration, but there are many drugs that are almost immediately absorbed if taken orally, most benzodiazepines such as the drug in question being like that. Hence what was said above that "there is a slight difference, but it's slight".

    A caveat: many drugs, including some benzos (such as my favourite: ethyl loflazepate) are what are called prodrugs. that means that what the pill contains is not so much the active drug itself, but something which, when metabolized by your body, yields substances that have the intended therapeutic effect. In this case, taking orally vs sublingually can really matter since part of the metabolization occurs in the GI tract ( and after absorption into the portal circulation the liver does the rest), and both the speed and efficacy of the drug may be compromised if taken sublingually. But this is NOT the case at hand.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    107
    Good to know. Thanks.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    2,655
    Swallow the pill unless otherwise directed. I'm just mentioning it for someone who needs it to work as quickly as possible. Alankay

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    107
    So which way works quicker? Under the tongue or swallowing? In your opinion Alan. Thanks

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Northampton, UK
    Posts
    1,006
    Under the Tongue I think

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    2,655
    Under the Tongue. Use it that way only when you really need it to start quicker. Klonopin is another that be taken that way if needed to work quicker. Alankay

  10. #10
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Missoula, Montana
    Posts
    27

    Under the Tongue

    It works best and faster for me to use it sublingually.

 

 

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •