I’m dosing 50mg test e EOD. I was using 1" needles in quads but each time I’d get muscle spasms and pain when it went in deep, with the feeling of bad brushing lasting days. I’m now dosing EOD and I’ve since changed to 5/8" to reduce spasms and pain (still a bit of pain but not as bad and doesn’t last as long), but it’s come to my attention that it might not be long enough? I thought it would be long enough for a shallow IM injection but would it be more of a sub q?
17% body fat.
Is it bad if some injections are deep IM (1.5" glute), some are shallow IM (5/8" delts) and possibly SQ 5/8" quads?
What gauge needles?
If you have little fat on quads even a 5/16 can be a shallow im injection. So either way you are either getting some muscle and fat. Unless you have a preference for IM. Then 1/2".
I’ve used 29 gauge 1/2 subq and it was great. Now I just switched to 30 gauge 5/16 even better.
25 gauge for the 5/8 and 1", 23 gauge for 1.5" glute injections. Reckon that’s long enough for shallow IM?
I use 25g 1" and don’t have any issues with quad injections (done 7 injections so far). Do you think that maybe your technique could use some tweaking? Are you accidentally tensing up the muscle while you’re injecting? I did a ton of reading before I did my first IM injection, and found that there are a lot of things that can cause PIP. I still get nervous, so if I notice my hands shaking too bad before I pin, I stop and take a couple deep breaths and calm down a little then proceed. also, are you pushing a good drop of test out of the needle and letting it roll down the needle shaft before injecting? That lubrication can make a huge difference too.
And of course the obvious stuff…make sure you are going in 90 degrees to the injection site, make sure you are actually IN the muscle and not nicking it. I always flex my quad and put my finger on the peak of the muscle (usually about half way down the upper leg and just on the outside before the side of the leg), and then mark that spot for injection before I even start filling the syringe.
All of this may be a broken record to you and may not help at all, but maybe it does?
1 Like
I used a 29 gauge insulin syringe on the quads. A lot of men tense up and aren’t even aware they are doing it and if you are getting nervous you are for sure tensing up.
Thanks for the ideas, will give them a try! The lubricating the needle especially is one I haven’t tried. What about speed of injection? I usually go in pretty slow.
I guess I can get a little nervous, nothing too much though. I actually look forward to it! I consciously try to relax my muscle. I’ve tried having my leg straight out along the couch, and also sitting on couch with leg stretched out down onto the floor with a little relaxed bend. Is there a position that might be more relaxed? Delts and glutes can spasm and hurt a little but not the same as quads. I’ve also tried different areas on my leg.
Anytime you straighten out your leg, you are flexing your quad.
Try just sitting in a normal position, your knee joint making a 90 degree angle with your lower leg and upper thigh. Then make a conscious effort to just relax.
I inject at what I would call a medium speed in one smooth motion. About a 1/2 to 3/4 of a second from full out to full in. Also, after aspirating, inject the test slow…a fast injection will make the test pool into a painful bubble before it absorbs into the muscle and force muscle fibers to separate. Go slow and it will absorb as you are injecting somewhat.
Hope this makes sense?
1 Like