Self Inject on Thursday

[Guest guest]

Ok, I am taking my first test injection of 100mg on Thursday.

Any tips? I am planning on injecting into my thigh, but I am not

exactly sure which muscle. The spotinjections site show the

injection site as to the right of the big muscle in the middle of the

thigh. So, do you inject to the side? Or the top? Or it doesn't

really matter?

Also, do you guys numb the site with ice? I will be using a 23 gauge

1 " needle. Quick dart? Easy does it?

[Guest guest]

> Ok, I am taking my first test injection of 100mg on Thursday.

>

> Any tips? I am planning on injecting into my thigh, but I am not

> exactly sure which muscle. The spotinjections site show the

> injection site as to the right of the big muscle in the middle of the

> thigh. So, do you inject to the side? Or the top? Or it doesn't

> really matter?

>

> Also, do you guys numb the site with ice? I will be using a 23 gauge

> 1 " needle. Quick dart? Easy does it?

Here is how to do it.

For the thigh. Use a 25 gauge 1 inch. Use a 25 gauge or larger to draw the oil

out of the

bottle. Pull off that needle and put on a new 25 gauge 1 inch.

Use a alcohol prep pad, place at the point of injection and make a ever larger

circle out

from that spot. Let dry before you inject.

The best spot in the thigh is where your index finger nuckle rests on your leg

standing up

with you arms hanging down. this is around a inch to the outside of the top of

the leg.

You should be able with a new 25 gauge needle to just press it in and drive it

all the way

to the hilt. Be sure to make it steady and pull back on the plunger to check for

blood.

If you pull blood, remove and put on a new needle and move over a 1/4 inch.

I have done my thighs many times, never hit blood, never hit a nerve, never had

any real

pain or discomfort. It is kinda cool to push the needle in real slow and feel it

go through

all the layers.

The first time i did my thigh i used a 23 gauge 1 1/2 inch needle and hit bone.

It did not

hurt at all. I also have stuck it in all the way and moved me leg to see the

syringe move

with the muscle, it was real funny.

It does seem that i need to inject more oil in the thigh then in the glute to

get the same

result. It may have to do with blood supply or that the thigh muscle is used

more then the

glute and the oil gets into circulation faster and out of the system faster.

There is the z-track method. but the air bubble is supposed to be the way to do

depot

injections. I have not tried these yet.

Here is a pdf on injections.

http://www.breastcancerprofessional.com/contents/public/onc/nursing.pdf

[Guest guest]

I receommend a 25 guage needle.

Personally, I find injecting in the glutius maximus (butt) to be a

better site for the big needles. There are also studies that show

the T gets distributed better when injected there.

> Ok, I am taking my first test injection of 100mg on Thursday.

>

> Any tips? I am planning on injecting into my thigh, but I am not

> exactly sure which muscle. The spotinjections site show the

> injection site as to the right of the big muscle in the middle of

the

> thigh. So, do you inject to the side? Or the top? Or it doesn't

> really matter?

>

> Also, do you guys numb the site with ice? I will be using a 23

gauge

> 1 " needle. Quick dart? Easy does it?

[Guest guest]

tallen2_34,

It's been two years since I was injecting weekly with 0.5 cc depo (100 mg).

I never injected in my thigh....always my gluteus maximus; my PCP's nurse

taught me and she did the change needle thingy. I was picking up some depo

from pharmacy once and pharmacist mentioned that one could withdraw and

inject with same needle. (I no longer have any needle/syringe combos but

it seems like it was a 23 G needle on a 3 cc syringe.

Dart? I think that would be difficult to do as moderate pressure is

necessary; once my spot was identified I put needle there, bevel up and

applied slow, constant pressure until I broke skin...went in further, to

hilt...this pulled out on plunger to make sure I was no in a blood vessel.

Then began slowly depressing plunger until syringe barrel was emptied, with

draw needle and massage the area to work depo in. I had a band-aid opened

to apply if there was blood back flow, which there rarely was. I'm nudist

at home so I was not putting clothes on immediately, in case there was back

flow.

When I turned 65 last year, and would loose my high risk BCBS insurance with

drug coverage, I would have been unable to afford to boxes AndroGel/month, I

was planning on going back to injections. I wanted to inject into thigh and

during PCP visit asked him to show me where I would inject...lateral surface

of thigh.

As it turns out, I qualified for Solvay's patient's assistance program and

FedEX delivers me two boxes AndroGel each month.

When I was injecting....I had T levels done twice

Blood collected 8th day after last injection of 100 mg Depo-Testosterone

on...

June 4th '01

Testosterone

Total . . . . . . . . 989 (241 - 827)

Free. . . . . . . . .42.0 (6.6 - 18.1)

July 9th '01

Total . . . . . . . . 774

Free. . . . . . .. ..38.8

Respectable T levels...Free T were way too high and those values were eight

days after last injection.

Corresponding E values

Estradiol (<54) Estrogen (40-115)

6-04-01.........82............134

7-9-01..........55............200

8-2-01..........87............196

August 2nd '01 I began 1 mg/dy Arimidex to bring my Es down. I've

considered going back to injections and use Arimidex, which I get for $15/mo

with Together Rx Card.

I've finally put my total T levels on 10 g AndroGel/dy in posting format

.. . . . . . All tests performed by LabCorps

.. . . . . . . . . . .Ref range 241 -827

Date. . . . . . . . .Total serum Testosterone

2002

3-11. . . . . . . . . . . . . .704

4-29. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..791

7-3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .781

9-12. . . . .. . . . . . . . . .831

12-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . .489

2003

2-25. . . . . . . . . . . . . .922

6-20. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..656

8-15. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..809

10-27. . . . . . . . . . . . . .533

2004

1-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .678

4-5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .814

The above values serve as base line for " rubbing AndroGel " in vs. spreading.

I intended to respond to that post...after I read it, I began spreading

AndroroGel on my shaved inner thighs 2x/dy.

For each above date I also have FWBT and %FWBT...values for last date:

April 5th '04

Testosterone. . . . .814 (241 - 827)

%FWBT. . . . . . . .27.7 (18.3 - 62.3)

FWBT. . . . . . . .225.4 (66.6 - 276.2)

Estradiol. . . . . . .29 (<54)

Estrogen. . . . . . .140 (40 - 115)

I was surprised estradiol was so low as my last Arimidex dose had been Jan

19th. Estrogen is slightly elevated but I will wait until next bleed ~June

5th before considering resuming Arimidex....

OR eon

GayMan

Self Inject on Thursday

Ok, I am taking my first test injection of 100mg on Thursday.

Any tips? I am planning on injecting into my thigh, but I am not exactly

sure which muscle. The spotinjections site show the injection site as to

the right of the big muscle in the middle of the thigh. So, do you inject

to the side? Or the top? Or it doesn't really matter?

Also, do you guys numb the site with ice? I will be using a 23 gauge 1 "

needle. Quick dart? Easy does it?