My doc prescribed 18g needles to draw and then told me to swap the 18g for a 22g to inject. His reasoning was that the Test Cyp is thicker and needs to be drawn with something bigger than I am going to inject with.
I got lazy the last injection this afternoon and just drew the Test with the 22g and injected it without swapping. The 22g didn’t seem to be any harder to load than the 18g was so I’m wondering if I can just start drawing with the 22g, poke myself, check for blood and then inject all with the same needle.
Maybe I’m lazy. Just seems like a hassle having to order 2 different kinds of needles, swapping out etc etc.
It can be done, yes. If you wipe the top of the vial with alcohol before puncturing it, you should be fine. I load with 16 gauge needles and then change to 25 gauge needles to inject. I like swapping to a new needle because then I know the needle going into my body is sterile. Once you pop it through the rubber into the vial, I wonder if it dulls the needle at all and whether it is still truly sterile. Swapping is just my preference. However, I have tried the subcutaneous route and then filled the insulin syringe directly through a 31 gauge needle. The oil is thick and it takes a long time to fill but again, it can be done.
Ive spent a few hours reading about Subcutaneous injections with plain jane insulin pins. I would very much like to do this ( if it’s advisable ) because it would make everything so much easier in that I could get the needles easier.
Yay or nay? I know it mentions this in the sticky but the advice is old so I just want to clarify.
Plenty of guys here inject SQ with insulin pins.
If I were to do SQ injections with a regular insulin pin would I still inject in the glutes or would I need to move to the abdomen or arm? Sorry if this has been covered ( sure it has ) somewhere else.
You can subQ into the thighs, love handles, stomach fat of abdomen (if you have any), upper arm (deltoids). I suppose you could subQ into the glutes but it’s always hard for me to turn to see what I’m doing. I prefer subQ above my quads and in my stomach fat 1/2 way between my belly button and love handle.
I have about 300 1ml 28g 1/2 inch monoject insulin needles laying here I could use unless there is a reason not to.
I know they would load slow but I can’t imagine it taking longer than swapping needles or back filling the same insulin pin…
Then I could just alternate from site to site ( the ones you mentioned ) easy peasy?
They do take a bit longer to load, but they are worth it. I inject in my stomach/belly. Just don’t get too close to the navel.
I started out using a 21g to fill and then injecting with the same. For me it was super obvious that the needle was dull after pushing it through the rubber. I had to push very hard until it would finally puncture the skin and it even made a loud pop. Was glad I spent a few dollars for some 23g tips and started swapping for the injection.