If you are ready to self inject testosterone for a cycle or for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) but you don’t know where to start – we’re here to help. If you are unsure what’s the best place to perform a self-injection or how exactly to do that – we would help. Check our step-by-step guide and we’re going to help you with everything you need to know about performing the shot.
Before you actually go for the shot, make sure you understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. You need to know what you’re injecting and how much of it. Before actually self performing a testosterone injection, make sure you ready your mind and your equipment.
If you’re anxious and fear the needles, remember that the first shot is the hardest. But the rest are going to be much easier and smoother.
Preparing Equipment
Before you actually start performing a shot, make sure you’re having everything ready and prepared.
You will need:
- Testosterone bottle
- Few alcohol pads
- Few cotton balls and/or band-aids
- A syringe (1-3 mL is enough, depending on the amount you want to use).
- Needles
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You need to have one drawing needle and one injecting needle. 2 needles for performing a single shot. You’re going to need a drawing needle (18-21 gauge) that is thicker and larger-bore needle to make it easier to draw medication out of the bottle. The second is an injection needle to use for the actual injection. That’s a thinner and smaller-bore needle (22-23 gauge). Thinner needles are less painful.
Also, make sure that the intramuscular injections should go directly into the muscles. Therefore, you need the injection needle to be at least 1 inch long. If you’re having more fat (for example, over 90 kg = 200 lbs) then you’re going to need a 1.5 inch needle.
As with any other injections, make sure all the accessories are sterile and sealed. Do not ever use them twice. As soon as you use them – throw them away. Make sure you throw away the needles in a special sharps container. The point is – to try to keep everything as sterile as possible. Never share needles or reuse them.
The same goes with your medication – never share it with other people and never follow someone else’s protocol. Moreover, make sure not to use expired testosterone. Keep it in proper storage conditions at the proper temperature. Keep away from children or animals’ reach.
Prepare Everything
After you gather everything you need, make sure to have them around when preparing to self inject testosterone. Firstly – wash your hands with antibacterial soap for at least 20 seconds and enough water. Disinfect objects and surfaces you’re about to use. Remember – cleanliness and disinfection are your best friends. You wish to reduce the risks of infections and contaminations as much as possible. That’s why, as with any injections, we can’t even talk about the possibility of reusing needles or syringes.
After that, clean the top of the medication bottle. Use an alcohol pad for that. Before using the bottle, let the alcohol completely dry. Then, carefully wipe the injection site you’re about to use as an injection spot with another clean alcohol pad. Let both of them dry completely. You wouldn’t want alcohol residue to enter the medication or in your body.
Proper Knowledge
Understanding Medication
Before you actually inject, make sure you understand the frequency of injection, the amount, and the dosage. Understanding what and why using it in the first place it’s essential.
If we’re talking about testosterone, remember there are many different forms and versions. You need to use them intramuscularly all of them, but they are still different. For example, they come with different esters (hence, different administration frequencies). Additionally, they come with different concentrations (hence, you need different amounts of solution). Based on the ester, you determine the frequency of injections, based on the concentration of testosterone and the dosage you require, you determine the amount of solution per injection.
Best Testosterone Injection Site
The best testosterone injection site is a matter of preference. Although there are many different spots for performing an intramuscular injection, I would recommend 3 of them. Those are easy to access spots for injection and the least painful. Moreover, they are having fewer blood vessels and nerves – reducing the risk of hitting the veins or nerves.
In the end, most people prefer self-injecting intramuscular shots in:
- Delts (deltoids muscles)
- Glutes (buttocks muscles)
- Thighs (quadriceps muscles)
Going for deltoids – go somewhere in the middle of the delts, approximately 2 inches above the armpit.
If you choose the glutes – imagine your butt cheek having 4 equal sections. You need to go for the upper top outer (left on left glute, right on right glute) section.
In case you’re injecting into thighs – inject into the upper outer thigh. Don’t ever inject in the inner thigh due to a lot of veins being there that you can hit when injecting.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter where exactly you go. But for intramuscular shots, the best places to inject are into your gluteal muscle (your butt), your shoulder muscle, or your thigh muscle. The point of injection is to avoid arteries or veins with the needle and reach the muscles. The upper outer thigh or upper outer glute are safest because the inner spots are too vascular.
Remember that it doesn’t matter the injection site because testosterone (and other steroids) work on all your muscles. On your entire body. They won’t affect only the muscles you inject. However, you still need to rotate the injection site frequently to avoid over injecting in a single muscle causing pain.
How to Reduce Pain from Injections?
There are various tips that can help you reduce PIPs (Post Injection Pains) or avoid it altogether. But you need to know that beginners are more likely to experience pain. That’s because of the virgin muscles that are yet to get used to injections and, commonly, because of improper injection techniques. Anyway, with time, the pains are likely to disappear.
Here’s what you can do:
- Warm the medication (heat up) before injecting.
- Keep muscles relaxed when injecting.
- Take a hot shower right before injecting.
- Don’t inject into sore muscles (from activity or previous injections).
- Change to longer esters as shorter testosterone esters are more painful.
- Reduce testosterone concentrations because high ones are likely to be painful.
- Inject slowly – 1 mL in approximately 30 seconds.
- Don’t inject too much – maximum 2 mL per shot.
- Massage the injection area before and after injection.
- Apply ice or lidocaine creams after injection.
How to Actually Inject Testosterone on Your Own?
Prepare the Syringe
- First, you have to prepare the syringe, obviously. Before you do that, follow the earlier mentioned recommendations. Remember to wash your hands and disinfect everything around you including everything else (massaging the spot, taking a hot shower, warming up the solution, etc.)
- Start by wiping the testosterone bottle cap with an alcohol swab. Let it dry.
- Take the syringe and attach the drawing needle (thicker).
- Draw air inside the syringe barrel to the exact same amount of medication you plan to use.
- Insert the needle into the bottle cap and push the air inside. It makes it easier to draw.
- Turn the bottle upside down and draw the liquid in your syringe to the exact mark you need.
- Remove the needle, let the bottle down, and switch to the smaller (injecting) needle.
- Flick the syringe while holding it pointing up to raise all the air bubbles from inside.
- After making sure there are no air bubbles left – depress the plunger.
- Push it slowly until a tiny drop at the tip of the needle comes out.
- After making sure there’s no air inside – your syringe is ready for injection.
Continue to Actual Injection
- So, you have everything ready for actually self-performing testosterone intramuscular injection. Again, start by disinfecting the skin. To kill bacteria and reduce the risks of infections – wipe the injection area and let it dry completely.
- Hold the syringe like a dart with your dominant hand (the one you’re writing with) at 90 degree angle above the spot. Don’t ever attempt injecting at any other angle. Do not press the plunger. Don’t even hold your fingers on it yet.
- At the same time, with your other hand, stretch the skin around the injection site. Using your index finger and thumb, spread the skin to make it tight. It allows the injection to penetrate the skin easier with less pain.
- While holding it like a dart, insert the needle all the way down into your skin. Do it with a single, continuous and quick move. You’ll need to reach the muscles. That’s why for IM (intramuscular injections) you need at least 1 inch long needles, but commonly 1.5 inches long ones.
- Before you inject the medication, you need to pull back the plunger a little bit. Assess if you’re drawing blood in the syringe. If you do – you’ve hit a vein. You need to withdraw the needle and insert it again into a different injection site. You’re ready to inject only if you don’t draw blood.
- Push down the plunger to inject the testosterone. But, do it slowly. As said – inject 1 mL in about 30 seconds or so. Fully inject the amount you have in the syringe.
Post Injection
- Remove the needle. It’s important to remove it at the exact same angle you inserted the needle to avoid pain.
- While removing it, press the injection site with an alcohol swab. This is going to prevent the needle from pulling out the skin when withdrawing it. This can cause more pain.
- If the needle entry point is bleeding – apply a sterile cotton ball or/and a band-aid. Leave it until the bleeding stops.
- Throw away the needles in a special container for sharp objects. Throw away all accessories you used during the injection.
- Massage the area for a few minutes. Might apply ice at the injection spot or some special creams for numbing the area.
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