this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2025
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Advice for DIY self injections (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 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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[–] mossy_@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I used a calculator on the internet to see how much solution I would need to inject to get the desired dose and I believe it was 0.1 mL. Due to the size of my syringe, when I drew that amount the first time I wasn't able to get any of the solution out of it, I depressed the plunger to the end just getting the air out. So I drew a bit more and some of it stayed in the syringe. I probably ended up with a little more than I had planned but not 60% more

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

I've been doing this shit for years. Here is my process

  1. Wash your hands thoroughly
  2. Clean vial and skin with iso
  3. Fill syringe with air (I'd say about double your dose)
  4. Stab into vial and inject air into vial
  5. Flip upside down and draw dose
  6. Take out, draw air into the syringe
  7. Swap out your needles
  8. Push out air until a bead forms at the tip
  9. Stabby stab and push
  10. Treat with alcohol pad and bandaid
  • I know some people purposefully use an air bubble to push out the full amount but that's riskier so I don't recommend it
  • Soreness is normal. Sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't.
  • Don't EVER reuse needles and dispose of them in a hard plastic container (get a sharps container if you don't have one)
  • Disclaimer: I'm not medically trained, I just work with needles a lot
[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

I thought it was more typical to fill the syringe with air to match the volume you are drawing, so if you are drawing 0.1 mL, you fill the syringe to 0.1 mL air first. If you double it, you are pushing double the volume into the vial than you are taking out 🤔

Also, thought it might be worth mentioning how you press the needle into the vial can make a difference in terms of whether you are likely to core the vial - there is a technique to placing the needle with the hole facing up and then pressing it in at 45 degrees and then turning it straight to avoid the needle from coring the rubber.

And the alcohol pad should be cleaning the skin before the injection, not after - and you want the skin to dry before injecting.

Compare to this instructional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TP0rTlQVao

And if injecting subq it's not necessary to press air out of the needle and to form a bead at the tip first - tbh I've never heard this advice for IM injections either. Injecting small amounts of air should be avoided when injecting into veins, but into muscle and fat it's a risk AFAIK.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)
  • Good point about coring, forgot to mention that
  • I (re)use an iso pad at the end with a bit of pressure to absorb any blood that comes out, but that's mostly so I can use liquid bandaid. I did mention to clean the skin beforehand too.
  • Air compresses more easily than oil, so I find that with a 1:1 ratio, it's harder to pull the medication out. Having positive pressure inside might help keep unwanted particles out anyways
  • Step 7 removes any air so I'm a bit confused by the end of your statement