# the how to of sublingual absorption



## imstuckinmyhead (Apr 14, 2007)

i was recently prescribed klonopin 1mg prn. ive heard many rave reviews of sublingual absorption; however, i am unclear on how to carry it out.

1. hold it under my tongue for how long?
2. do i first crush the pill?
3. and when do i swallow?
4. won't some of the pill just get stuck to my tongue and mouth and never absorb?

thanx[/b]


----------



## joethelion (Mar 4, 2005)

I break it down first by nibbling it with my front teeth for several seconds. Then I move it under my tongue and slowly move my tongue over it and it's absorbed in 10 to 20 seconds.


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I don't do it because one just ends up with a mouthful of chalky filler that they end up swallowing anyhow.

Also, I take Xanax which has a distinct taste -- bad.


----------



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

apparently your not supposed to swallow after you let it dissolve?


----------



## joethelion (Mar 4, 2005)

*Re: re: the how to of sublingual absorption*



UltraShy said:


> I don't do it because one just ends up with a mouthful of chalky filler that they end up swallowing anyhow.


I've never experienced this with my brand of clonazepam(Rivotril by Roche). Maybe some generic brands don't dissolve as well as the non-generic.


----------



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

my generic klonopin dissolves perfectly


----------



## Speak Easy (Jun 27, 2006)

1. Hold it under your tongue until you don't feel it as much anymore. You will feel some grains of the pill, but the actual pill itself should be mostly disintigrated. 
2. You don't have to crush the pill; simply put it under your tongue and leave it there. 
3. I swallow whatever is left in my mouth after it has been mostly dissolved.
4. Not likely. The way sublingual ingestion works is that your tongue has lots of blood vessels in it, so when the chemical (clonazepam) comes into contact with your tongue and gets absorbed into the numerous blood vessels, it will be distributed through your body much quicker


----------



## arthur56 (Jul 31, 2005)

some severe anxiety sufferers can have a dry mouth with little or no saliva, but under the tingue is normally quickest


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I guess the sublingual method doesn't much matter to me, since my Xanax is already faster than Klonopin, leaving less need to speed up the process.


----------



## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Why would you want to absorb Klonopin sublingually?


----------



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

*Re: re: the how to of sublingual absorption*



Caedmon said:


> Why would you want to absorb Klonopin sublingually?


to speed up the process of it working. Also if your puking your guts out you can take it sublingually instead of swallowing it and puking it right back up.


----------



## Speak Easy (Jun 27, 2006)

and cause it's so delicious


----------



## joethelion (Mar 4, 2005)

*Re: re: the how to of sublingual absorption*



Caedmon said:


> Why would you want to absorb Klonopin sublingually?


When you need very fast onset of action, eg emergency situations out of the blue, when you know you'll be in an anxiety-inducing situation shortly after waking, shortly before a high-anxiety event when you still feel anxious even though you swallowed a high dose a couple of hours before, when you've got a bad hangover.

I normally swallow Klonopin and usually only take it sublingually in the above situations.

I reckon sublingual Klonopin works a lot faster than swallowing Xanax.


----------



## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

How fast does it work?
I've tried sublingual clonazepam and it didn't seem any faster than oral dosing. 
Seems to me that, if you feel the need to have sublingual clonazepam handy, maybe the daily dosing is too low. But then again, that could be because the prescribing physician hasn't gotten the dose right.


----------



## Jean (Jan 18, 2007)

*Re: re: the how to of sublingual absorption*



Caedmon said:


> How fast does it work?
> I've tried sublingual clonazepam and it didn't seem any faster than oral dosing.
> Seems to me that, if you feel the need to have sublingual clonazepam handy, maybe the daily dosing is too low. But then again, that could be because the prescribing physician hasn't gotten the dose right.


personally, i don't find that the sublingual method makes the drug work much faster, but it is nice to be able to take it this way when i don't have any water around. i often find myself in situations (like a class) where it is much easier to pop a tab in my mouth and let it dissolve, rather than running to get a drink of water. i keep a little pill box in my pocket at all times for such emergencies. now, if only inderal could be taken as such. i would be willing to pay a bit more for a new reformulation in that case... :yes


----------



## arthur56 (Jul 31, 2005)

just type "sublingually" into a search engine and read up all about it

its the fastest way for help with an unexpected' out of the blue' panic attack although many docs and some psychs never mention it


----------

