Subq vs im

Josh Randall said:

Why not do both IM and sub q ? I rotate from right side of my belly to right shoulder, over to left side of belly to left shoulder and repeat. Both with 27 gauge 1/2 needle and both methods painless , no issues.

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Yes it sure seems nice to not have to care about IM or Sub Q. It makes sense to experiment first and determine if one or the other makes a difference, but if not, then you get to eliminate some complexity. just pin it somewhere and go.

Leesto said:

If anyone here has loading secrets for small Ga needles please share!

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I get the Luer lock 1ml low dead space syringes. 21g needle to draw, easy peazy. Load it up, draw back a little, switch to whatever gauge needle you want to inject with, squeeze plunger until a drop comes out the needle, pin it. Needles aren't expensive and it's quicker to do it than tell it. You can get down to 31g Luer lock needles I believe.

I, personally, hated how I felt on subQ. I did it for 6 weeks, and in those six weeks I started to get cold spells, then hot flashes. I experienced anxiety. Very very hard nipples throughout the day also.

After labs, I found my total test levels dropped by a little over 200 points when going subQ, and my estradiol slightly increased. This all happened while maintains the same dose i was doing IM.

I’ve gone back to IM and I won’t even consider subQ again.

pistolero said:

I get the Luer lock 1ml low dead space syringes. 21g needle to draw, easy peazy. Load it up, draw back a little, switch to whatever gauge needle you want to inject with, squeeze plunger until a drop comes out the needle, pin it. Needles aren't expensive and it's quicker to do it than tell it. You can get down to 31g Luer lock needles I believe.

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I do similar. I use the 1ml low dead space syringe as well and use an 18g to draw. Then I twist that off and switch to a 30g x 1/2" needle to shoot SQ. Loads fast and I never feel a thing. Injects a tad slow but thats the price you pay.

Leesto said:

If anyone here has loading secrets for small Ga needles please share!

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I use 5.16" 30g. Drawing is nor problem just takes a minute.

-Warm the vial gently. set it in warm tap water or keep it in a pocket or on your skin till it warms a little... less viscous warmed
-Clean the vial top with alcohol
-Pull air into the syringe equal to the dose you are going to pull. Inject the air into the vial. this prevents a vacuum from forming in the vial over time which can make drawing that much harder.
-Pull the plunger back much farther than the intended dose to increase suction. I pull a 1cc insulin syringe back to 100 units. (My current dose is 21 units. Through trial and error, I have found if I let it fill until the solution on the plunger looks like about 16 units, there is still more running down the side that when the plunger is pushed back, it will be more than my dose)
-Push the plunger slowly back up to dislodge air bubbles and expel excess oil back into the vial

You're filled.

I agree (29 G/ .5 inch).....I use in side of thigh muscle, and is painless and effective.

Yes just stay in mid muscle bellies and you’ll be fine

I haven’t used a regular 3cc-1or 1 1/2inch set up since November. Been doing 29g 1/2” in shoulders and my numbers are solid. I’d say it’s a preference. Draw time is a little longer but easier to inject for sure.

Agreed jcusn. I tried again Monday after 2 pins im. Mid day Tuesday I was dragging like before. Just wanted to try again and make sure. No more sub q for me. I’ll stay with 3 25 Gauge pins weekly

Pumpiniron13 said:

Agreed jcusn. I tried again Monday after 2 pins im. Mid day Tuesday I was dragging like before. Just wanted to try again and make sure. No more sub q for me. I’ll stay with 3 25 Gauge pins weekly

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I like sub Q, having injecting for yrs. Scar tissue makes IM harder. Rsults wise same for me.

I have only done IM. On 3rd month. This week (Monday), I did IM in left thigh. It's been real sore the past 2 days. Anyone else have soreness after IM?

Yes, be careful of injecting spots you either worked day before or will the next day. I normally go center of quads where when flexed pops up. Just massage it some should help

Did 100mg subQ for first year of trt. 3 inj/wk. Got levels from 330 to 600ish. It took 2-3 weeks to stabilize and start to feel the benefits. I felt so much better than before but even when I increased dosage I couldn't get levels up. Switched to IM via shoulder 2+ years ago. 2 weekly injections w 27 G 1/2" - rotating shoulders. 100mg total. Instantly got levels to 850+ and I felt the difference. Haven't gone back and was able to go to 80mg weekly to maintain 800+

blackebob said:

You inject in your biceps and tri's? I don't think I've heard of that.

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http://spotinjections.com/index3.htm

BLT85085 said:

I have only done IM. On 3rd month. This week (Monday), I did IM in left thigh. It's been real sore the past 2 days. Anyone else have soreness after IM?

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Yes. It's why I do subQ

dawatts22 said:

I d. I use the 1ml low dead space syringe as well and use an 18g to draw. Then I twist that off and switch to a 30g x 1/2" needle to shoot SQ. Loads fast and I never feel a thing. Injects a tad slow but thats the price you pay.

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I do something similar also. Use 25ga 5/8 for IM ventro. I opt for a faster injection than a smaller pin because, even after a year, I start sweating every time I have to inject myself. I had trouble finding 1ml llock syringes though. The ones I bought were expensive and are heavy like a glass syringe.

I did IM for months and dreaded it every time, pain in upper leg, bleeding, was using 23g needle. So I decided that sucked and bought some 29g insulin syringes online and started subQ, every 3.5 days, so much better. I noticed on IM my levels came up faster, then went down faster. On subQ they come up slower and levels go down slower so I stay at pretty much same level all the time.

AlexM said:

I do something similar also. Use 25ga 5/8 for IM ventro. I opt for a faster injection than a smaller pin because, even after a year, I start sweating every time I have to inject myself. I had trouble finding 1ml llock syringes though. The ones I bought were expensive and are heavy like a glass syringe.

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Are you not able to get syringe through pharmacy when getting test refilled? They always have the , in my experience

rotwiler said:

I did IM for months and dreaded it every time, pain in upper leg, bleeding, was using 23g needle. So I decided that sucked and bought some 29g insulin syringes online and started subQ, every 3.5 days, so much better. I noticed on IM my levels came up faster, then went down faster. On subQ they come up slower and levels go down slower so I stay at pretty much same level all the time.

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I never bleed in delts and no pain at all. Using a 23 Gauge 1.5 inch.

Leg IM sucked for me, every other injection seemed to cause pain in area for days and sometimes a lump. Plus lots of bleeding(could be because I was prescribed 23g needles) . SubQ, zero blood(with 29g) (I use stomach area) if I feel any pain at all, I just move it over slightly. Now I don't dread the injection every 3.5 days.