The T-MALE Presents:
SELF INJECTING: THE THIGH
HOW TO: THE DO'S & DON'TS
From 2002
READ THIS: This article is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical doctor or a recommendation to do other than your doctor determines is best for you. You should present this information to your doctor for their analysis because appropriate medical therapy and the use of pharmaceutical compounds like Testosterone should be tailored by a knowledgeable doctor for the individual as no two individuals are alike. I do not recommend self-medicating with any pharmaceutical drug as you should consult with a qualified medical doctor who can determine your individual situation. If you use the information I present without the approval of your doctor, you do so strictly at your own risk and no responsibility is implied or intended on my part
For many [at this writing in 2002 almost 5 years] I found the task frightening. There was
just something creepy and scary about sticking a 1.5 inch, 21 gauge needle into my muscle.
Back then I was on 300 mg every 3 weeks and using Schein brand, which was too thick for a
smaller gauge needle. Yet the thought of plunging that needle into my muscle was too much.
No, that was not going to happen.
So, I had friends inject me.
In the summer of 1999 I switched to a
compounded testosterone by necessity when the generic T market dried up (long story).
Because I was allergic to the Cotton Seed Oil (used in Cypionate/Depot-T) I switched
to the compounded Enanthate (suspended in Sesame Seed Oil). As it turned out, sesame
seed oil is considerably thinner than cotton seed oil and because of this, a smaller gauge
needle (25 gauge, same size as they use for flu shots) could be used and I went from Glute
injections to deltoid (upper arm muscle) injections.
I washed my hands, mustered up all my courage, loaded the syringe with 1/2cc of Enanthate,
dropped my pants, put some ice on the area where I was going to inject, swabbed it with a
alcohol wipe, pinched up a wad of outer thigh muscle and slowly pushed the needle in all
the way. I let go of the muscle slowly, stabilized the syringe and drew back the plunger
checking for blood return, I just got a little bubble of air, so I pushed the solution in.
After I withdrew the needle no blood oozed so I applied the alcohol swab to the area and
massaged it for a while. It wasn't as hard as I had imagined and I was very pleased.
ADDENDUM: After a while, it became no big deal to self-inject my thigh
This brings me to helping you guys ready to start self-injecting by showing you the best
place on the thigh to inject. Some still inject themselves in the butt, but I cannot twist
my back anymore to get into the proper position, so my experience is with the thigh.
Below I have 2 examples of the leg; a slice of what the upper leg looks like if you cut a leg in half mid-thigh and a frontal view.
The graphics:
Fig 1. is from The Visible Human Project: a transverse slice of the left
& right leg showing the interior musculature. Visualizing the drawing to the right,
stand, look down your right leg or left leg, and imagine looking into a slice (cross
section) of your right thigh.
Fig 2. is an illustration submitted by my buddy, Angel, of the full musculature of
the front of the right leg.
FIG 1:
Above: The C shaped (left side) and Comma shaped (right side) muscle in the above photo is the VL muscle.
FIG. 2:
COMMON INJECTING QUESTIONS
WHERE'S THE BEST PLACE TO INJECT MY THIGH?
The M. VASTUS LATERALIS MUSCLE IS THE SWEET AREA: It goes all the way up the outer
thigh and tucks at the top between the m. tensor fasciae latae and the m. rectus femoris
muscles.
The VL, Vastus Lateralis muscle. It is on the outer edge of the thigh. The best place to
inject is right in the center between the hip bone and knee. This is the SWEET SPOT, slang
term meaning for the prime area.
If you use a 5/8 inch or 1 inch needle to inject in the thigh, you should not have any
worries about hitting bone.
HOW DO I PUT THE NEEDLE IN:
I don't recommend jamming the needle in with force especially if you are still using a 21 or 22 gauge needle for thigh injections. You could go in too far and depending on how much leg muscle you do have, could nick the femur/leg bone. If you have very large, muscular legs, a 1.5 inch needle can be used in the thigh but be sure you do have enough muscle, be real.
WHAT IF THE NEEDLE BREAKS?
Some say it's easy to break a needle off in your muscle. That's highly unlikely. This happens more often with bodybuilders who reuse the same needle over and over weakening the integrity of the metal. Couple that with pushing a weakened needle into rock hard muscle and you have breakage.
Some then argue that if you jerk when the
needle goes in, you can break it off. Again, highly unlikely. You might risk a break if
you dart your needle into your muscle causing the muscle to recoil from the shock, maybe
then depending on how hard the muscle jerks and if the person's hand causes stress to the
needle as it went in. That's why I suggest a slow easy push when sticking the needle into
muscle, as I will later describe.
TIPS:
Always inject towards the outside area of the thigh. It is less vascular (not as many veins) than the inner thigh. The inner thigh tends to be more fatty, fleshy, and more vascular; the veins are very visible, not a good spot.
Always insert the needle all the way deep into the muscle.
If you ice the area it will numb it enough to enable a slow, controlled push into the VL muscle. It also causes less trauma to the muscle because when you dart or jam the needle in, the muscle reacts and jerks involuntarily (these are fast twitch muscles) whereas a slow, controlled push is easier on the muscle. ADDENDUM: Recently I heard from a guy who said he has great success injecting right after a hot shower. he said the muscle is more relaxed from the heat and there is less pain.
Do not pull back too hard or too fast to
check for blood return. That suction, if too hard, can cause bruising and soreness. A
gentle, easy pull is all that is needed to check for blood. If you use
compounded testosterone in dark sesame oil, blood will still be visible in the darker solution, just
be sure to inject in a well lit area.
Ask your doc or nurse if you can have some 21 gauge 'Drawing Needles'. These are
separate capped needles that you can use to draw up the solution then replace with the
fresh, untouched needle that came with the syringe. A very sharp needle goes in
easier. The stopper on the T vial dulls the needle. Now, let's be very clear about the
difference between a 'Drawing Needle' and an 'Injecting Needle'. A Drawing Needle is
specifically used to draw, pull, or suction your T into your new syringe. An Injecting
Needle is specifically used for placing, pushing, or injecting the testosterone
solution into the muscle. Never use your drawing needles for injecting EVER,
EVER, EVER! And NEVER REUSE NEEDLES YOU PUT INTO YOUR MUSCLE.
Go to your local drug store and buy a box of Alcohol Swabs. The brand name is B&D but there are less expensive generic brands available. Each box can have 100, 120, or 200 individual wrapped alcohol swabs in them and can range from $1.99 to over $3.00 per box, because.....
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SWAB THE SKIN WITH EITHER AN ALCOHOL SWAB OR A COTTON BALL SOAKED WITH ALCOHOL BEFORE YOU INJECT--ALWAYS. Too many guys don't do this. They think it's not necessary but it is. The skin has bacteria on it that isn't always good. Not swabbing the area where you plan to inject could introduce organisms into the skin when the needle pierces it and then into the muscle where infection is a real threat, even with those who are 'healthy as a horse'.
WARNINGS:
ALWAYS CHECK FOR BLOOD RETURN!
IF YOU GET BLOOD return into the solution, DO NOT
INJECT!!! Your needle is IN a vein and you will be injecting into the blood
stream which is very dangerous. This is not an IV drug, it is an IM drug. Too many guys
never check for blood because they were never told to or they didn't listen. Withdraw the
needle IMMEDIATELY.
You now have two choices. You can still use the same syringe with the blood in it, put on
a new needle and try again or you can discard the syringe by injecting the solution down
the drain (water running, please) or put the whole thing into your Sharps container for
later, proper disposal. (you can buy these at any drug store)
I am not a big fan of using a contaminated product, even if it is your own blood. I would
rather you squirt the T down the drain, flushing it with a copious (that means large)
amounts of warm water (Protect your environment) and get a fresh syringe and start over.
WHAT NOT TO DO: Some guys say to just pull back on the
needle a little to pull out of the vein instead of withdrawing the needle completely. That
is no guarantee that you have successfully cleared the vessel and because you have pierced
the vein to begin with, injecting anyway after pulling back a little is going to squirt
the T into that opened vein and put you at risk.
COMMON FEARS (some with good reason)
ARE YOU SURE IT WILL HURT ME IF I INJECT INTO A VEIN????
Not only yes, but hell yes. First, the T isn't what hurts you, it's the oil the T is
suspended in, that's the culprit. WHY? On the way to the heart, the oil can cause a blood
clot and if it doesn't it probably will when it gets into the heart chambers. If you
develop a clot in the leg, you could lose the leg. If a clot forms in the heart muscle,
you could have a heart attack. If a clot were to form and get to the brain, stroke is a
real threat. You could die, no kidding.
WHAT IF I GET NO BLOOD RETURN IN THE SYRINGE BUT I GET A BEAD OR SQUIRT OF BLOOD
WHEN I TAKE THE NEEDLE OUT?
This means you passed through a vessel/vein on the way into the muscle. There is no real
way to tell that you have done this until you pull out the needle BUT DON'T PANIC!
If you don't get blood return but see blood when the needle is removed, apply pressure on
the site, massage it, for about 3-5 minutes. After that, apply ice. If you don't have an
ice pack, wrap a couple ice cubes in a paper towel or wash rag and massage the area with
the ice. I would leave the ice on for no more than 1/2 hour. Remove the ice for about 15
minutes allowing the area to come back to body temp then re-apply ice for another 15
minutes or so. If you think you might be sore, you can then apply heat. A heating pad set to low or medium will work great, just wait for the
area to warm back up after the ice before you apply heat. This will also help keep
bruising to a minimum. Bruising is common when you pass through a vein.
Last, please be careful. If you have any doubts, ask your docs
office if you can come in and be supervised by a nurse your first time.
READ THIS:
This article is provided for
educational purposes only, and is in no way a substitute for the advice of a qualified
medical doctor or a recommendation to do other than your doctor determines is best for
you. You should present this information to your doctor for their analysis because
appropriate medical therapy and the use of pharmaceutical compounds like Testosterone
should be tailored by a knowledgeable doctor for the individual as no two individuals are
alike. I do not recommend self-medicating with any pharmaceutical drug as you should
consult with a qualified medical doctor who can determine your individual situation. If
you use the information I present without the approval of your doctor, you do so strictly
at your own risk and no responsibility is implied or intended on my part
THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, IT IS SHARING
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE! I take no responsibility for injections gone wrong nor am I posting
this medical information as a physician. I am not a doctor nor do I portray myself as
such. The information is solely to help people who legally self inject hormones prescribed
from a legitimate doctor, who have followed the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care and who
have taken the proper steps to begin hormones.
I do not advocate, condone, nor endorse illegal use or improper use of Testosterone.
Nick
FOOTNOTES:
None
Injection Conundrum 2007
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