29 gauge, 1/2 inch needle 0.25ml Test Cypionate (2x weekly, alternating quads).
3 years no problems or any pain. Injected Thursday afternoon (pushed in slow) - no pain as usual.
**Side Note: accidentally started filling syringe a day early by accident, so I left needle fully in bottle til next day, then withdrew it and injected. If this matters.
Friday afternoon I had very strong pain in vastus lateralis (24 hours after injection). Hurts to barely touch the muscle - causes me to limp from the pain. Pain has continued to tonight with no relief (now it’s Saturday night ~ 30 hours after pain was noticed and about 54 hours after injection) Very slight swelling (barely noticeable). It’s not warm or discolored - only symptom is pain like a torn muscle.
Anyone experienced this that can offer their experience? Any idea what happened and how long it lasted? I’m assuming IF it is infected I would have big swelling and hot to the touch. I don’t know why it took so long for the pain to occur if I struck something (IT band?)
It’s called a nodule and it happens when I inject in certain locations, it looks like a pointed/raised area and it does hurt, but several days later it disappears and may bruise a week later still hurting if I touch it. If it became infected, you would feel warmth and swelling.
You probably just irritated the tissue. If I get these nodules, it happens immediately after the injection even before the needle is retracted. I get these when injecting (29G 1/2") on the lower area of my deltoids and upper area on my quads.
I can tell you it screws up my workout depending on what muscle group I am working on that day because I have that natural instinct to protect the injury.
I’m officially giving up on quad and thigh injections. It seems like every other injection I hit an artery or nerve and blood squirting out all over the floor when I pull the needle out, lol. I haven’t had your issue yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did get it eventually. I’ve heard a lot of good things about delt injections, and am going to start that on my next dose.
Thank you for the replies, however, I don’t have a raised area. The slight swelling I referred to is that the injected leg is almost imperceptibly bigger than the non-injected. Can’t tell where it was injected.
Still in pain, but still no real swelling or heat. Pain is the entire muscle. Again, nothing raised (I’ve gotten a raised nodule in the past - this is not that)
When I first started thigh injections, I had the problem you are describing. The injection was painless, as were the first 24 hours. Then there was a deep pain that extended down from the injection site that felt like a bad bruise. Touching it caused terrible pain. This would last for another 24-48 hours.
The third time I injected, the pain was bad enough that it caused a limp and it lasted nearly three days. I was questioning whether I could do this every week for the rest of my life.
Based on your description of needle handling, it doesn’t sound like you dirtied the needle and got an infection.
Because you’ve done this for three years without incident, it’s hard to give you suggestions that will improve your method, but here’s what I did after my horrible shot and it made them painless:
-Sit the test ampule in very hot water before drawing, warming it up makes it easier to draw, and therefore to shoot, and apparently it is less irritating to the muscle,
-While sitting, extend the leg straight instead of at a 90° angle, this relaxes it more,
-Inject slowly, consider that you are forcing a fluid into dense fibers,
-Immediately after the injection take a hot shower and focus water on the injection area with light massage, as this should help loosen the fibers and spread the oil.
Thank you guys for your experiences. Maybe I should start warming the ampule. I’ve always done straight, relaxed leg, slow injection, and light massage after.
I see you guys had pain for up to 3 days - for me I am at 6 days and counting, can’t tell that the pain is any less. Slightly better after icing it for 20 minutes, but not a whole lot - makes me wonder if there is some inflammation deep. Still today there is no swelling, no discoloration, no fever - just a really, really sore muscle.
Honestly, maybe I got lazy and went to far to the side and struck the IT Band, or struck a nerve - 6 days seems like a lot for something that had no initial pain at all. Heck I can’t event be sure it’s related to the injection. I only speculate because otherwise it would be unrelated to anything.
Today is supposed to be my next injection in that leg and there is NO WAY it is going in the same quad, so I am going to start doubling up on my left quad (inject every 3.5 days).
Anyone strike nerves (with a 29 gauge) have sustained pain for a week or longer?
Thanks again for the replies guys - it is much appreciated!
Ok - just after checking for swelling for previous post - I find swelling I haven’t seen before - it has to have just occurred this morning. Just above the knee cap, very slightly to the outside of center. About a 3" diameter - very noticeable swelling. No pain. In fact now I have less than half the pain in my thigh. This has all occurred in the last hour.
Any thoughts? I happen to be seeing my first Urologist today (unrelated issue), so I will bring it up.
I’ve only injected in the quad twice and both times had terrible pain and swelling for days after. The last time was to the point that I almost went to urgent care thinking I had an infection. No issues with delts.
I don’t fuck around with the side. I think that might be your issue. Go straight down into the meaty part. I have four areas on each quad I rotate. All meaty. Shots are generally straight up and down. I push the needle in slow and I push the plunger slow.
First four months of injecting in the quads I would get different degrees of pain that often felt bruised. Once the muscles got used to it, I feel essentially nothing beyond the first pinch.
Rotate sites if you’re not already doing that. Each of my sites only gets hit once a month.
Just went to Urologist - he is not my prescribing doctor. Not his area of expertise (the leg) but recommended injecting into the glute - less vessels. He thinks I may have hit a vein that drained in behind/around the muscle, and now the fluid dropped to above the knee (if he had to guess). He figured I could wait it out to see if the pain subsides an swelling goes down on its own. He figures going to see a different doctor (i.e. Urgent care or emergency) will only have the option to drain it - which we both feel is unnecessary.
EDIT: just saw rwr410 - yeah - I’ve always gone at the meatiest part of the quad when relaxed, sitting, straight legged. When relaxed the muscle does fall to the outside. Not sure why the pain is in the side.
I flex my thigh, find the spot I want, then use the needle cap to press a circle into the skin. It’s nice to have a “target” so I don’t have to think about it.
Why do you guys put up with all these complications from going IM? I’ve been doing SubQ in the abdomen and can’t even tell that it’s happened five minutes later.
I wipe the alcohol pad on 6" of my leg, then close my eyes (kidding), and inject any where in the 10 square inches in the top outer quadrant of either thigh. Rarely a drop of blood. But it does happen. Tough shit.
That’s a fair question, and my answer is the same as to why I was taking an AI: it’s what the doctor said to do. But like @rwr410, I’ve mastered IM and have zero pain and so don’t give it a second thought.
I’m not very flexible so turning around to reach my glutes has given me a fair few problems.
I also managed to hit a vessel in my glute a few times now. Once with spurting blood, and a few times with a serious bruise resulting that stuck around for a week or so.
The first time I tried my thigh it hurt- hence sticking with the glutes, but after the last bruise I went back to my thigh.
I found by squeezing the muscle I had no real pain. Maybe I’m just used to it. So far so good, although my last injection hit something as I have a bruise there now too
I’ve not tried the delts option. Is there enough meat there?
My (probably irrational) fear with glutes is not only the difficulty of the angle, but the non-zero chance of catching the sciatic nerve which is something you will never forget as long as you live.
