Try to avoid using Syringes and needles you find in the local park.
this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2025
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(I'll start off by saying no expert here - began this year myself)
I do Subcutaneous injections and I can get a stiff sore spot - that looks red and can be felt. it goes away around after a week.
I might be misreading but how much did you inject? 1.6ml? was there any air or bubbles inside the syringe when you injected?
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
I've been doing this shit for years. Here is my process
- Wash your hands thoroughly
- Clean vial and skin with iso
- Fill syringe with air (I'd say about double your dose)
- Stab into vial and inject air into vial
- Flip upside down and draw dose
- Take out, draw air into the syringe
- Swap out your needles
- Push out air until a bead forms at the tip
- Stabby stab and push
- 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'm just a trans kinkster and sideshow performer
I switched to subq from IM because of the soreness. It's normal, though.
It just took switching to shorter needles and injecting into pinched fat on my abdomen.
spoiler
muscle 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.
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.
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)
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 😅
yes
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).
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.
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)
You don't need a 1.5in needle for an IM injection if you're underweight. I use a 1in 23g for my testosterone without any issue. Injection site muscle soreness is a common side effect of IM injections, so you're fine.
Do it in your outer thigh next time, and don't insert the needle completely perpendicular to your leg. You want it like 15° off vertical with the flat portion of the needle tip facing your leg. Make sure to rub the spot well after the injection too.
You want it like 15° off vertical with the flat portion of the needle tip facing your leg.
this goes against... how any intramuscular injection is done, and does not sound like sound medical advice to me. any medical textbook, government website, or internet source will tell you its a 90 degree angle (vertical).
Going in at a slight angle helps with the pain from the needle breaking the skin, especially if you need to use a larger gauge needle for thick liquids like testosterone.
I'm not talking about a SQ angle, just barely not a 90° angle. It's not going to change the depth a meaningful amount, especially if you're using a 1.5" tip.
This sounds like subcutaneous injection instructions.
Hi, here from /all. What part is DIY? Did you make your own medicine, do you not have a prescription, or is it common to need a doctor to inject you?
TLDR; obtaining and administering all necessary medications and blood tests yourself. Not everyone is willing or able to go through medical professionals for any number of reasons, mainly costs and medical gatekeeping. When done right the risks are minimal, though never nonexistent ofc.
Makes sense! If you're aware of the risks (I have no idea what they might be) then I think it's your business. I was imagining OP in the kitchen with a Bunsen burner and a smoking Erlenmeyer flask!
Now I’m imagining Breaking Bad but making E instead of Meth.
Some people do start with raws and do sterilization while missing with the oils for doing the injection, which involves some extra equipment (although some people may already have it lying around in their kitchen). Self-injection is the norm AFAIK.
Thank you for the detail.
dude I wish. amateur alchemy might be in the future for me but for now I'm taking whatever help I can get