Subcutaneous Injections

[TDM812]

I'm a 57 yr old male that has been injecting cypionate 100MG once a week IM for roughly three yrs now. This last Saturday (4 days ago) I tried SubQ for the first time. Same dose just in my stomach. It's Wednesday & I'm crashing hard. It's like I've completely missed my dose this week.

I also do HCG 500IU twice a week.

Do I need to give this more time since I'm going a different injection route?

J-

I wish I could help, but I would only be speculating. I’m sure there are others on here with solid information. I think the absorption rate is much slower due to less blood in fat tissue, so it takes longer to become useful. Personally, I gave it myself several weeks to adjust, and it only got worse. I am back to IM. What is your reason for switching? If what you’re doing works, I wouldn’t change. I feel for you, it sucks going through the lows.?

 

[JDieken]

I wish I could help, but I would only be speculating. I’m sure there are others on here with solid information. I think the absorption rate is much slower due to less blood in fat tissue, so it takes longer to become useful. Personally, I gave it myself several weeks to adjust, and it only got worse. I am back to IM. What is your reason for switching? If what you’re doing works, I wouldn’t change. I feel for you, it sucks going through the lows.?

Just wanted to switch for convenience. I thought doing SubQ in the stomach would be much easier than sticking myself in my ass. I tried my thigh a few times but that was extremely painful and I won't do that again.

J-

 

[Cataceous]

...This last Saturday (4 days ago) I tried SubQ for the first time. Same dose just in my stomach. It's Wednesday & I'm crashing hard. It's like I've completely missed my dose this week.
...
Do I need to give this more time since I'm going a different injection route?

Yes, you do. The half life with SQ may be 50% longer, according to some research. Therefore, when making the switch with the same dose a temporary dip in hormone levels is expected. The opposite effect would occur when going from SQ to IM, with a temporary rise in levels instead. It could take some weeks to stabilize, though probably less.

 

[TDM812]

Just wanted to switch for convenience. I thought doing SubQ in the stomach would be much easier than sticking myself in my ass. I tried my thigh a few times but that was extremely painful and I won't do that again.

J-

FWIW - if you’re dialed in on your current protocol, I’d stick with that. I just went through this, and went back to IM. I’m still recovering. Everyone is different, so maybe you’ll have a better experience.

 

[Cataceous]

I'd say just give it some time since you've already created the disruption. If you can make the transition then you won't need to keep putting holes in your muscles indefinitely. I've done about 1,500 SQ injections myself and very much prefer it.

 

[SkyWarn]

Is the stomach the only place to do Subq T injections with a 1/2 inch needle? I am switching this week from injecting I'm every 4 days to Subq once a week (double the dose). I too am tired of put 1.5 niche needles in my leg.

 

[Blackhawk]

If subQ works for you, you may be able to even go smaller. I use 5/16" 30g for T cyp in grapeseed oil. With cotton seed oil, you may do better with 28-27g. I rotate injection sites: around umbilicus, love handles, several locations over glutes. I have also injected subQ over quads, but I tend to hit more venules.

 

[Vince]

Just wanted to switch for convenience. I thought doing SubQ in the stomach would be much easier than sticking myself in my ass. I tried my thigh a few times but that was extremely painful and I won't do that again.

J-

You should consider trying shallow IM with a 27g 1/2" syringe and inject the shoulders or VG.

Best testosterone injection site, no aspiration needed, avoids all nerves

 

[James]

It always amazes me how this field of medicine evolves and it will be interesting to see where it goes in the next 10 years. When I started injecting 5 years ago, seemed most everyone was injecting weekly (or every other week), most were injecting deep into the muscle (shallow IM hadn't caught on yet), I don't recall anyone talking much about subQ, AI's were common (now the big mouths are aggressively pushing for guys to stop taking it), and nobody talked about backfilling pathways.

 

[SkyWarn]

When are you testing relative to the injections? Always the same? How many measurements? The only proven difference between SQ and IM that I'm aware of is a longer half life for SQ. But this shouldn't result in appreciably different serum levels with twice-weekly injections, except maybe if SHBG is very low. But in this case SQ should give higher results.

I am going to be switching to Subq this week. I am going to try weekly injections. Im thinking with the longer half life it might work out better. Im not sure what my SHBG is right now, but last time I checked a few years ago it was 19

 

[Blackhawk]

I am going to be switching to Subq this week. I am going to try weekly injections. Im thinking with the longer half life it might work out better. Im not sure what my SHBG is right now, but last time I checked a few years ago it was 19

It is quite likely that weekly with SHBG 19 is not going to work well for you. That is pretty low, and guys with low SHBG tend to do better with more frequent injections. Low SHBG means you use up the testosterone much faster as it does not become bound to the globulin and it is excreted rapidly as free testosterone in urine. So a large weekly size dose will spike free T level, then you lose it fast. At that SHBG level, I personally would do daily injections, but of course try things and see what works for you.

 

[SkyWarn]

It is quite likely that weekly with SHBG 19 is not going to work well for you. That is pretty low, and guys with low SHBG tend to do better with more frequent injections. Low SHBG means you use up the testosterone much faster as it does not become bound to the globulin and it is excreted rapidly as free testosterone in urine. So a large weekly size dose will spike free T level, then you lose it fast. At that SHBG level, I personally would do daily injections, but of course try things and see what works for you.

Does SHBG fluctuate? My 19 number is from about 5 years ago.

 

[Blackhawk]

The prevailing wisdom here is that dosing frequency should largely be based on SHBG level. Yes it can change over time. It is probably worth your while to know what it is now.

 

[SkyWarn]

The prevailing wisdom here is that dosing frequency should largely be based on SHBG level. Yes it can change over time. It is probably worth your while to know what it is now.

I go back in 4 weeks for labs. Started HCG and I will give the weekly subQ injections a chance. If it doesn't work I will go back to 2x weekly

 

[BillyJ03z]

For the past 3 months I had just experimented with SQ ed (CYP 15mg/day, using 27g 1/2" thigh, stomach rotation) and I have mixed feelings... I had initially been feeling good, better mood and motivated, I have been leaning out really well while seemingly maintaining my strength (although I stopped lifting heavy and focus on medium weight 10-15 reps.... IE.. I only focus on benching med weight 185 to 225 during my sets now... my heavy weight is usually 275 to 315... but there is no reason to lift that heavy anymore as I don't want to take any chances being injured)... Anyway, in the last week or two I have become less energetic and less motivated and my erections have taken a hit (libido still good). Today I went back to IM 3xWK (120mg/wk total using 27g 1-1/4" no deadspace needle syringe) and I will see how I feel in the next few weeks...

 

[SkyWarn]

For the past 3 months I had just experimented with SQ ed (CYP 15mg/day, using 27g 1/2" thigh, stomach rotation) and I have mixed feelings... I had initially been feeling good, better mood and motivated, I have been leaning out really well while seemingly maintaining my strength (although I stopped lifting heavy and focus on medium weight 10-15 reps.... IE.. I only focus on benching med weight 185 to 225 during my sets now... my heavy weight is usually 275 to 315... but there is no reason to lift that heavy anymore as I don't want to take any chances being injured)... Anyway, in the last week or two I have become less energetic and less motivated and my erections have taken a hit (libido still good). Today I went back to IM 3xWK (120mg/wk total using 27g 1-1/4" no deadspace needle syringe) and I will see how I feel in the next few weeks...

Please let us know how it works out for you