I'm Confused

[Nix]

I just read this on another forum about taking Armour sublingually.

"The principle behind sublingual administration is simple. When a chemical comes in contact with the mucous membrane beneath the tongue, or buccal mucosa, it diffuses through it. Because the connective tissue beneath the epithelium contains a profusion of capillaries, the substance then diffuses into them and enters the venous circulation. In contrast, substances absorbed in the intestines are subject to "first pass metabolism" in the liver before entering the general circulation."

And here's the reply

....."Sublingual meds are manufactured to be absorbed under the tongue-these are the drugs being talked about in your link. Armour is not a sublingual drug. When it is taken sublingually, it probably enters you system through your saliva that is swallowed."

So taking the Armour sublingually is of no benefit?
Any thoughts?

Nix

[AllieCat0817]

I have read about many patients preferring to take it sublingually-- they feel a difference. Pam has said she can't take hers sublingually because she getss TOO much of a hyper rush (I think). If you google 'armour sublingual' you can find some info.

Hoping to see what Pam has to say!

[AllieCat0817]

Stop The Thyroid Madness Sublingual

Yes, you can swallow desiccated thyroid and get excellent results. It works. But, doing your Armour SUBLINGUALLY has real biological benefits that swallowing does not.

First, it’s direct and immediate, absorbed into your bloodstream via the millions of tiny capillaries that line your mouth and mucous membrane.

Additionally, sublingual bypasses the acidic, destroying gastric action in your stomach where you can lose some of the thyroid ingredients, besides bypasses the metabolizing action of the liver. In other words, you get more of what you give yourself by doing the Armour sublingually rather than swallowing.

There are two glands that work well for sublingual methods of administration of Armour: the Sublingual Gland (for which this method is named after) and the Buccal Gland. The Sublingual Gland is under the tongue, and because there is more saliva, the pill liquifies and results in a faster administration of thyroid hormones to your blood via the tiny capillaries. The Buccal Gland is located in the “mucous membrane” which lines the cheeks, and because there is less saliva, it produces a slighly slower administration of your thyroid meds. The latter can be ideal to spread out the direct T3 over time in your body.

If your forget your morning dose of Armour, or simply want the effect of Armour more immediately, under the tongue is the ideal spot. I do it under the tongue. Or, if you want a much slower administration, between the cheek and lower gums is the target spot. Larger tablets can take at least 30-45 minutes to fully dissolve buccally if you are inactive.

This doesn’t mean you CAN’T swallow your Armour and get benefits. You will get benefits! But if you do swallow Armour, make sure to avoid swallowing calcium, iron and estrogen at the same time, since all will bind some of the thyroid hormones with they mix in your stomach. Swallowing Armour with food also slows the release of the thyroid hormones to your body–a plus since you might want to distribute the direct T3 more slowly throughout the day.

Will you feel the difference between swallowing your Armour and doing it sublingually? Some folks who used to swallow it, and then switched to sublingual, stated that yes, they definitely noticed a difference, and some even had to lower their Armour dose! Others may not notice a difference, but it doesn’t matter. The positive biological facts of sublingual still are in effect, whether you notice it or not.

[Nix]

Originally Posted by AllieCat0817

Stop The Thyroid Madness Sublingual

Allie, I read that also. (thanks for taking the time to post it.) In the reply it saids that the medication has to be manufactured to be taken sublingually and Armour isn't. There lies the confusion.

Nix

BTW.....I like your new avatar!!

[PalmTreeGal]

The medication does NOT have to be specially manufactured to be taken sublingually. My doctor gave me Ativan years ago and advised me to take it sublingually if I needed immediate anxiety relief, and to swallow a pill if I knew I was going into a stressful situation ahead of time. Ativan is NOT formulated to be taken sublingually. Nifedipine is another drug that has been given off-label, sublingually, although the practice has some bad effects and is now discouraged.

[nonstickpam107]

Armour can be taken sublingually. By some. I cannot take mine that way..it races my heart badly. But I know lots of people who take theirs subling. DH doesn't like to..he says it 'wears off' really quickly if he does and then he feels the 'slump' sooner. Up to the individual.

Pam

[lisabinil]

I have tried this for the past 2 days with no problems. I take cal supps and multis 3X a day and the timing was killing me. This makes things a lot easier now.

[Nix]

Originally Posted by lisabinil

I have tried this for the past 2 days with no problems. I take cal supps and multis 3X a day and the timing was killing me. This makes things a lot easier now.

It sure does. It was getting to be a real challenge with the timing.
Thanks for the responses.

Nix

[AllieCat0817]

Originally Posted by Nix

BTW.....I like your new avatar!!

HeeHEEEEE, me too hun, me too

[PalmTreeGal]

Originally Posted by lisabinil

I have tried this for the past 2 days with no problems. I take cal supps and multis 3X a day and the timing was killing me. This makes things a lot easier now.

I take it sublingually twice a day too but am STILL struggling with timing. I'm supposed to be taking iron 3x a day for low ferritin. Even if you take the Armour sublingually it's supposed to be an hour from iron, plus I have calcium and birth control pills to think about too. I can't be popping pills any old time at work, I work in the OR. And my stomach handles the iron better if I take it with food. Aaargh!

[lisabinil]

Can your doc give you shots for your iron problem? Maybe this would help with the Armour and your work hours. I know when I was severely anemic I had iron by iv treatments at my hematologist.

[PalmTreeGal]

I'm not anemic and my ferritin falls within the lab ranges (but as you know a ferritin of 30 is not ideal). So I don't think I could talk my doc into shots, or my insurance into paying for them. And to be honest I think I'd rather take pills! I'll just have to figure out a schedule.

[WendyOH]

I don't like sublingual for Armour b/c it feels too strong and wears off too quick. I LOVE bucal, though. It takes 1.5-2 hours for it to dissolve that way, nice and slow. I feel the full effects, but they are much more spread out. I take my Armour immediately after eating this way, in 4 small, daily doses. I feel nothing when I swallow it and don't want to be bothered with timing it with food, supps, etc. Also, I understand that swallowing allows the calcitonin to be destroyed by stomach acid.

Armour is designed to be taken sublingual or bucal if desired. It contains a small amount of dextrose in it to make it more palatable as well. When I took Synthroid/Cytomel, I was also able to take them bucally. Once when I took a generic T4 med, bucally was not possible. It foamed in my mouth and wouldn't dissolve. If it dissolves, you should be fine.

[inatic]

Hi wendy!

I take mine buccal as well but mine dissolves much faster than yours. The only time i notice it takes wayyyyyyyyyy longer is when i take a dose ,1gr, at night. i sometimes wake with a wee bit of it still there. It doesnot interfer with my sleep.

[AllieCat0817]

When you guys take buccal, you put it between your lower jaw gums and your cheek?

[inatic]

Originally Posted by AllieCat0817

When you guys take buccal, you put it between your lower jaw gums and your cheek?

yep

[AllieCat0817]

Kewl thx

[Nix]

Originally Posted by AllieCat0817

When you guys take buccal, you put it between your lower jaw gums and your cheek?

Thanks Inactic and Wendy for that info. I think it works much better than under the tongue.

Nix

[WendyOH]

I don't like it under my tongue b/c it's hard to talk with it there and is dissolves too quickly and feels too strong. I stick it in the very front, between my gum and the front of my lower lip, not really my cheek. I don't like it when it gets too far to the side, b/c it can get lost back there and accidentally swallowed. In the front, there's very little saliva, and it takes a long time to dissolve, but it's nice and slow, nice and smooth, and I can talk with it in