this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2025
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33
Advice for DIY self injections (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by mossy_@lemmy.world to c/mtf@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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Hi, I took my first estradiol cypionate injection this Sunday after staring at the bottle for about a month and I've been experiencing some muscle soreness since. I just want to make sure I haven't fucked up something beyond repair, and it would be nice to talk to some humans about this rather than just following directions off the internet. I'll include my process at the bottom but if someone can tell me "no that happens to everyone, you're good" it would really help me. I understand there's a lot more that goes into DIY HRT and I'm working towards that too.

Injection process I followed for scientific rigor:

SpoilerI followed the directions as well as I understood it: using a luer lock syringe, I drew 0.1 mL from my vial using, I think it was a 22 gauge needle, after wiping it down with an alcohol pad, then realized I wasn't going to get that amount out of the syringe due to drawing it incorrectly or some other mishap, so I drew more of the solution, about 1.5 mL. I swapped the needle out for a 25 gauge, 1.5 inch needle which was recommended for intramuscular injections, then I stared at the needle for about ten minutes trying to keep my hands from shaking due to a currently very inconvenient phobia of them, then injected the solution into basically the meatiest part of my glute. I'm underweight, so I assume my options for injections are fairly limited. No bleeding occurred, and the injection site looks like a small red pock currently

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[–] 0x2640@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 2 days ago (3 children)

spoilermuscle soreness is pretty normal with IM injections (seeing as ur injecting into well... muscle).

i recommend using a smaller needle (25g or higher) to draw as it minimizes coring risk, you could just use the needle youre using to inject to do it. swapping needles isnt really necessary, see insulin syringes (but theres also not really a reason to not do it).

it is verrrrrry recommended to inject into your thigh, injecting into your glute carries a high risk of accidentally hitting your sciatic nerve (bad time) and its also just less visibility. no being underweight doesnt mean you cant inject to your thigh.

other than that, you could always switch to subq rather than IM, as levels between the two are functionally identical on cypionate, which may help with the soreness.

[–] LadyMeow@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I draw with 18 and inject with… currently 25, but have used 22, 23, 27 as well.

If you have the needles to switch, I would. Even one use like poking the rubber will cause some wear on the needle, and thus a slightly worse insertion.

[–] 0x2640@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago

well drawing with 18 is reallllly not recommended with vials you are planning to use more than a few times but like, you do you :p the risk of coring is demonstrably, factually higher (and thats a bad thing)

[–] Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

it is verrrrrry recommended to inject into your thigh, injecting into your glute carries a high risk of accidentally hitting your sciatic nerve

Is this true for subq as well as IM? Because if so that might explain why some of my shots went so badly 😅

[–] WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com 2 points 2 days ago

You could also use your stomach for subQ. There's also a spot on your arm that could be used if you have someone else injecting for you. I alternate which thigh I use each week for E and use my stomach rotating which quadrant I inject into for an unrelated injection (that uses an autoinjector).

[–] mossy_@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

that's really good to know 😬 I'll stick to the frontside then. Means I have less improvised yoga to do anyway.

I'm underweight but I have legs like a, uh, someone who does a lot of walking. So I've got enough muscle to inject in the front of the thigh, but probably not enough for subcutaneous.

[–] 0x2640@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago

im extremely underweight, i can still do subq :p itll be fine (and even if you end up doing IM accidentally, itd be with a smaller and shorter needle, so less owie anyway)