Let's Settle This: Subcutaneous vs. Intramuscular Testosterone Injections

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binkskii

New Member
Hello Everyone,

For the past three months, l've been doing subcutaneous testosterone cypionate injections every two days as recommended by my urologist to minimize side effects. However, I've been dealing with some acne on my back and face.

Today, I had a consultation with one of the top hormone doctors in Canada. He's much more hands-on, and I wanted his help to dial in my dosage. Initially, I had planned to start my testosterone treatment under his care, but the wait time was 4-6 months, and my testosterone levels were alarmingly low, so I couldn't wait.

During today's appointment, the doctor explained that when we begin treatment together, he will recommend intramuscular injections every five days. He mentioned that they experimented with subcutaneous injections 25 years ago but found intramuscular injections to be superior.

I understand that each doctor has their preferred methods, but I've often seen subcutaneous injections praised on Reddit and other forums.

Additionally, hCG will be increased to 400 ius EOD, from 250 ius x 3 per week. He said anything under 400 ius EOD does not maintain fertility and natural testosterone production.

I'd like to start a discussion here for anyone debating between subcutaneous and intramuscular injections. Let's share experiences and insights!
 
Defy Medical TRT clinic doctor
There is nothing to settle in the IM vs SubQ debate. From all the threads I've read it seems like there are two groups of people: Those who have better results on IM and those who handle IM and SubQ the same. So technically IM is the "safer" option, in terms of results, but many still prefer SubQ. I tried both methods and got more or less the same blood test results as well as symptom relief. Overall I prefer SubQ as there is less pain (especially PIP), less blood and no scar tissue. There seems to be an invididual factor to this, maybe it's just genetics or whatever, or maybe it's related to how much body fat % you have or in which oil your Test is suspended in, or it's something different entirely. The only conclusions that you can make is that SubQ is a viable alternative to IM, but that IM is still the better proven way. If you're interested in the differences you should try out both methods for yourself, get tested and see the results for yourself and then make a decision.
 
binkskii said:
I'd like to start a discussion here for anyone debating between subcutaneous and intramuscular injections. Let's share experiences and insights!
Click to expand...
There is no settling it, because people have unique and unpredictable reactions to IM vs SC injection, in terms of absorption, aromatization, and symptoms. Every individual will need to try both methods to determine which is preferable for them. There is no other way.

Like MegaTurd above (lol), I also had lower T levels and a lower T/E2 ratio with subcutaneous injections at the same dosage, frequency, and trough measurement. Next, ten more guys could respond to this thread and say they had the opposite experience. This could go on for 200 pages, and at the end, you will still need to do exactly the same thing: try both yourself.
 
I do daily injections so I combine both shallow IM and Sub-Q in my love handles. I'll show you my levels.

www.excelmale.com

Vince's Labs from October 14, 2024

Same protocol, 16 mg of testosterone cypionate daily, 500 iu of hcg every third day and no AI. Pregnenolone 10 mg and 10 mg of DHEA. My last injection before labs, about 27 1/2 hrs. Labs are from LabCorp. I did "not" get the Equilibrium Ultrafiltration for testing free testosterone. I...
www.excelmale.com www.excelmale.com
 
Please use the search function. There are many many threads on this question.

As the others have said, experiment with both. It ain't going to kill you. Frequency of injection is a far bigger variable (2x per week versus 3x versus EOD versus daily, etc).
 
MegaTurd said:
n of 1 but… on subq my E2 was higher, T lower, I retained more water, and I experienced less symptomatic improvement compared to the same dose injecting shallow IM with a 27 G 1/2”

My HCT was 1 point lower on subq 49 vs 50 with shallow IM
Click to expand...
Where did you inject with the 27G 1/2”? This is what I’m taking of trying.
 
Vince said:
I do daily injections so I combine both shallow IM and Sub-Q in my love handles. I'll show you my levels.

www.excelmale.com

Vince's Labs from October 14, 2024

Same protocol, 16 mg of testosterone cypionate daily, 500 iu of hcg every third day and no AI. Pregnenolone 10 mg and 10 mg of DHEA. My last injection before labs, about 27 1/2 hrs. Labs are from LabCorp. I did "not" get the Equilibrium Ultrafiltration for testing free testosterone. I...
www.excelmale.com www.excelmale.com
Click to expand...
I sent you a PM!
 
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this happening to them on the forum, but subq gave me an allergic reaction. Tried it once out of curiosity, had bad pip pain and redness in the area. Went away after an hour with some Benadryl. Never had that issue with IM. I’ll stick with IM
 
Pnw0031 said:
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this happening to them on the forum, but subq gave me an allergic reaction. Tried it once out of curiosity, had bad pip pain and redness in the area. Went away after an hour with some Benadryl. Never had that issue with IM. I’ll stick with IM
Click to expand...
I think that's pretty common with a "virgin" spot. I had redness and pain upon touching where I injected, but eventually this stopped happening. Occasionally I had a "flare up" at a certain spot, but it seemed to me like I either injected too much liquid for that spot, as I was quite lean and didn't have much fat on me, or the oil didn't sit with me. With shorter esters this didn't seem to happen, but then again the amount injected was lower and the oil might've been different.
 
Vince said:
I do daily injections so I combine both shallow IM and Sub-Q in my love handles. I'll show you my levels.

www.excelmale.com

Vince's Labs from October 14, 2024

Same protocol, 16 mg of testosterone cypionate daily, 500 iu of hcg every third day and no AI. Pregnenolone 10 mg and 10 mg of DHEA. My last injection before labs, about 27 1/2 hrs. Labs are from LabCorp. I did "not" get the Equilibrium Ultrafiltration for testing free testosterone. I...
www.excelmale.com www.excelmale.com
Click to expand...
I'm a very skinny guy and I'm running out of muscle places to inject after 7 years my glutes are all scarred.. and I have very little fat on my legs and no lean muscle.... Started Sub-Q around my belly but it really burns .. HCG is fine there tho ...

,How is the shallow IM WORKING? And would the shoulder be a shallow IM ? Curious.

Past 2 weeks I've been doing subq and I noticed I don't feel as energized... Kind of want to go back to my two IM shots a week .. curious if injecting into the shoulder could work ? . Glutes scarred both sides it hurts to sit.
Appreciate any insist

Thanks man
 
littlecub85 said:
I'm a very skinny guy and I'm running out of muscle places to inject after 7 years my glutes are all scarred.. and I have very little fat on my legs and no lean muscle.... Started Sub-Q around my belly but it really burns .. HCG is fine there tho ...

,How is the shallow IM WORKING? And would the shoulder be a shallow IM ? Curious.

Past 2 weeks I've been doing subq and I noticed I don't feel as energized... Kind of want to go back to my two IM shots a week .. curious if injecting into the shoulder could work ? . Glutes scarred both sides it hurts to sit.
Appreciate any insist

Thanks man
Click to expand...
Yes, injecting in the shoulders would be shallow IM. Also use a insulin syringe to prevent scaring.
 
littlecub85 said:
I'm a very skinny guy and I'm running out of muscle places to inject after 7 years my glutes are all scarred.. and I have very little fat on my legs and no lean muscle.... Started Sub-Q around my belly but it really burns .. HCG is fine there tho ...

,How is the shallow IM WORKING? And would the shoulder be a shallow IM ? Curious.

Past 2 weeks I've been doing subq and I noticed I don't feel as energized... Kind of want to go back to my two IM shots a week .. curious if injecting into the shoulder could work ? . Glutes scarred both sides it hurts to sit.
Appreciate any insist

Thanks man
Click to expand...
What size needle are you using? I tried 5/16 on shoulders and quads just for the hell of it. Subjectively felt more like subq which makes sense since too shallow for IM.

I've read about some guys doing subq on their calves (with pinch of skin). Not sure why you would do that
 
I use 33g 1/2 BD for HCG ..
Then I tried back loading them with testosterone bc there so thin n was doing subq t in my abdomen.. it it leaves like painful marks for days .
Then I have 25g. 1inch that I always have used for t .. IM in my glutes. But I've scared to much now
The shoulder sounds like an easy spot . I have heard of others doing it there ..

How does the shoulder feel level wise vs a deeper muscle?
 
Vince said:
Yes, injecting in the shoulders would be shallow IM. Also use a insulin syringe to prevent scaring.
Click to expand...
Ok cool. I have 33g 1/2 inch I use for HCG .
And 25g 1 inch which is Kinda big I used those for IM and subq on my upper thigh (which was very ineffective)
 
Pnw0031 said:
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this happening to them on the forum, but subq gave me an allergic reaction. Tried it once out of curiosity, had bad pip pain and redness in the area. Went away after an hour with some Benadryl. Never had that issue with IM. I’ll stick with IM
Click to expand...
Been doing subq for years now... want to try IM but I am a little chicken... lol Only time this happened to me is if I did not inject deep enough.... that is I was injecting sideways and not straight down ... If you inject too close to the skin you will get this red itchy bumps...
 
littlecub85 said:
Ok cool. I have 33g 1/2 inch I use for HCG .
And 25g 1 inch which is Kinda big I used those for IM and subq on my upper thigh (which was very ineffective)
Click to expand...
If you do twice a week injections, I would use a 27 g 1/2" syringe. Because I do daily injections. I use a 29 g 1/2" syringe. You could also combine HCG and T in the same syringe.
 
Thanks man I appreciate ur feedback.. just one last question ..since I'm very thin and running out of injection sites , is the shoulder a viable injection site with a 1/2 tip??
I have very thin arms . I'm 5'5ft 125lbs
 
Beyond Testosterone Book by Nelson Vergel
Sergel said:
Been doing subq for years now... want to try IM but I am a little chicken... lol Only time this happened to me is if I did not inject deep enough.... that is I was injecting sideways and not straight down ... If you inject too close to the skin you will get this red itchy bumps...
Click to expand...
Ah maybe that’s why… not enough angle. I use a 1inch syringe so it had to be deep enough, right? I bet I put it in way too flat then, makes sense. That was a while back but I guarantee that’s what I did wrong. I think I’ll still stick with IM, but if I ever try subq again I’ll watch for that. The fun and pain of TRT is that it’s not one size fits all; everyone has their ester, dosing schedule and delivery of choice.
 
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