Hesitating on TRT, Does Anyone Have Regrets?

[madman]

UPDATE: Took the plunge this morning.

The doctor initially prescribed 0.4 mL (80 mg), IM, once a week. My insurance will pay for the cypionate but not for the gel (or at least not without prior authorization). Okay by me, as I saw research on this forum indicating injections are better for muscle growth in middle-aged guys. As a bonus, the pharmacy considers a 1 mL vial a single-dose container, even though I can easily get two doses out of it. So I got double the amount of medicine for a single copay.

Disappointed myself by being needle shy, ha. I'm actually a phlebotomist and have good veins, so I've been stuck hundreds of times by newbs learning that skill (some of whom, alas, are not cut out for the craft).

But there's something different (in my mind, at least) between a capillary stick or venipuncture versus driving a 1" long needle directly into muscle tissue. I chose a 22 gauge, as that seemed a good balance between something that would draw up the thick solution relatively easily and not be too brutal during the injection. I know you can switch needles for drawing/injecting, but I just want to keep it simple, cheap, and not excessively wasteful.

For those having trouble self-administering shots, there's a great video on YouTube by a guy who calls himself Nurse Scott (who takes T himself) that promises to teach a pain-free technique for an intermuscular injection. His advice: Use the outer 3rd of the upper thigh; stretch the skin with your support hand in opposite directions; use a quick, dark-like jab; and cough during the insertion. It worked like a charm for me. Not only didn't the shot hurt, I didn't have any lingering pain in the muscle. And I had worked out legs yesterday and took a 5 mile hike today.

I did feel a little euphoric after the shot. But I suppose that was just the placebo effect of finally having made a decision and gone through with it.

I'll get bloodwork in 3 weeks to determine where the LH/FSH are, and then we'll adjust accordingly.

But there's something different (in my mind, at least) between a capillary stick or venipuncture versus driving a 1" long needle directly into muscle tissue. I chose a 22 gauge, as that seemed a good balance between something that would draw up the thick solution relatively easily and not be too brutal during the injection. I know you can switch needles for drawing/injecting, but I just want to keep it simple, cheap, and not excessively wasteful.


Your way off here!

No one on TTh is wasting their time using a 22G harpoon to inject.

You are wasting your medication by not using a low dead space insulin syringe let alone you are going to cause more trauma/scar tissue at the injection site.

Most on TTh are using LDS insulin syringes 27-31G fixed needle (variuos lengths) to draw/inject the oily solution whether following a strictly IM/shallow IM or a sub-q protocol.

Numerous advantages here!

You can easily go shallow IM using a 27-29G 1/2" needle length if you are lean.

Even then you can still settle on a 27G x 1" needle as you can still easily draw/inject the oily soliution.

Post in thread 'Flow Back after injecting'

Dec 27, 2024

I use 25g ( 0.5x25mm) with an insulin needle. My protocol is 20mg test cyp daily. Ive taken your advice and today the flow back was less than other time but there was some.

A luer-lock 25G x 1" is not an insulin needle!

1"needle length would be strictly for injecting IM.

Yes it could be used when injecting sub-q as long as you do not push it in too far but a 1/2" (12.7MM) needle length would be the longest needle one would want to use when injecting strictly sub-q!

You need to switch over to an LDS insulin syringe (fixed needle) 27-31G.

Trust me when I tell you if you follow...

• madman

I'll get bloodwork in 3 weeks to determine where the LH/FSH are, and then we'll adjust accordingly.

You need to wait 4-6 weeks before getting blood work done as it will take that long to reach steady-state due to the PKs (pharmacokinetics) of medium acting esterified T (TC or TE).

Post in thread 'Struggling with bloodwork consistency. TRT bloodwork included.'

Apr 7, 2025

When I change my protocol, I like to wait at least 12 weeks before I get labs. That's how long it takes me to actually feel my results.

Good advice but labs should still be done at the 6 week mark after starting TTh or tweaking a protocol (increasing/decreasing dose of T or manipulating injection frequency) so we can see where said protocol (dose of T/injection frequency) has your trough TT and more importantly FT, estradiol and SHBG.

Even then the first 6 weeks means nothing when looking at the big picture here as we very well know when starting TTh or tweaking a protocol (dose...

• madman

 

[Systemlord]

I chose a 22 gauge, as that seemed a good balance between something that would draw up the thick solution relatively easily and not be too brutal during the injection.

Something tells me you don't speak from experience, rather it seems like you've created a theory. I never had problems drawing cypionate using 32 gauge insulin syringes.

 

[ClashCityRocker]

Well, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't like the big needles and that there are alternatives. It's another example of how the medical defaults don't necessarily serve us well in this arena.