Did I hit a nerve?

[stickersteve]

I just started injecting a couple weeks ago. The first two went great. I did my third on saturday and thought that one also went great but yesterday, two days after the injection I have terrible pain in my thigh. Kept me up most of the night, so I guess I hit a nerve and had a delayed reaction? Hopefully this wont last long, but now I am a little gunshy. I thought I injected roughly around the same place as the others, just in the opposite thigh on the latest shot. I have been doing intermuscular. I have seen some discussing about intermuscular vs subQ. Is there really that much of a difference? Do I lose effectiveness by doing subQ and can I use my same needles for it and inject in my stomach instead?

 

[Melody68]

I just started injecting a couple weeks ago. The first two went great. I did my third on saturday and thought that one also went great but yesterday, two days after the injection I have terrible pain in my thigh. Kept me up most of the night, so I guess I hit a nerve and had a delayed reaction? Hopefully this wont last long, but now I am a little gunshy. I thought I injected roughly around the same place as the others, just in the opposite thigh on the latest shot. I have been doing intermuscular. I have seen some discussing about intermuscular vs subQ. Is there really that much of a difference? Do I lose effectiveness by doing subQ and can I use my same needles for it and inject in my stomach instead?

What size needle are you using? I use a fixed insulin 1/2" 27g which works quite well for IM.

I'm not super experienced, but I suspect that if you hit a nerve you would feel it right away. I've been injecting IM into the thigh for over a year now and once in a blue moon I will hit a nerve, which hurts right away. I usually pull out and re-inject near by and it's fine.

Maybe you got an infection in your leg, which showed up 2 days later? Are you swabbing with alcohol and washing your hands before injection?

 

[stickersteve]

What size needle are you using? I use a fixed insulin 1/2" 27g which works quite well for IM.

I'm not super experienced, but I suspect that if you hit a nerve you would feel it right away. I've been injecting IM into the thigh for over a year now and once in a blue moon I will hit a nerve, which hurts right away. I usually pull out and re-inject near by and it's fine.

Maybe you got an infection in your leg, which showed up 2 days later? Are you swabbing with alcohol and washing your hands before injection?

I did swab but did not wash my hands. For some reason I did not think that was so important but maybe it was. I might try in the shoulder next time. and I will wash my hands just in case

 

[FunkOdyssey]

I thought I injected roughly around the same place as the others, just in the opposite thigh on the latest shot. I have been doing intermuscular. I have seen some discussing about intermuscular vs subQ. Is there really that much of a difference? Do I lose effectiveness by doing subQ and can I use my same needles for it and inject in my stomach instead?

Many of us do notice a difference in effectiveness, which has not been well documented in the few studies that exist on the topic. Maybe 30-40% of men have worse results with subq if I had to put a number on it. By worse results, I mean any combination of the following: lower serum T for a given dose, higher serum E2 for a given dose, or feeling worse even when serum levels appear similar.

The vast majority of IM injectors do not use quads. There is a higher risk of hitting a nerve than other popular locations and often more PIP. Delts and ventroglutes are the best sites in most people's opinion. I even prefer pinning my lats over quads, which should tell you how far down quads are on the list.

 

[Melody68]

I did swab but did not wash my hands. For some reason I did not think that was so important but maybe it was. I might try in the shoulder next time. and I will wash my hands just in case

I've never tried the shoulder, but I hear it works OK. Really the thigh for me is pretty good; I might hit a nerve once every few months or so. Feels a little like an electric current, but not super bad. Yes, you do get a bit gun shy after it, just get back on the horse.

Make sure you're injecting NOT into the top of the thigh, but a little bit to the outside of the thigh, maybe 1 1/2" from top dead center towards the right if doing the right leg.

 

[Vince]

I just started injecting a couple weeks ago. The first two went great. I did my third on saturday and thought that one also went great but yesterday, two days after the injection I have terrible pain in my thigh. Kept me up most of the night, so I guess I hit a nerve and had a delayed reaction? Hopefully this wont last long, but now I am a little gunshy. I thought I injected roughly around the same place as the others, just in the opposite thigh on the latest shot. I have been doing intermuscular. I have seen some discussing about intermuscular vs subQ. Is there really that much of a difference? Do I lose effectiveness by doing subQ and can I use my same needles for it and inject in my stomach instead?

I would switch to a different location. Too many nerves in the thighs. What about shoulders?

 

[stickersteve]

I would switch to a different location. Too many nerves in the thighs. What about shoulders?

I may give the shoulder a shot tomorrow (literally)