Like many on here, I started with harpoon needles from my general physician and then graduated (mercifully) to 29 gauge x 1/2 fixed insulin needles for shallow IM thanks to the advice of this forum. A year ago I moved on to low dose daily SUBQ and began using 31 gauge x 5/16.
For insulin needles, I had always used the Easy Touch brand. A syringe is a syringe, right? That’s what I thought until I tried BD (Becton Dickinson) brand 31 g x 5/16 x .3cc needle. BD claims on their website that “BD Insulin Syringes with BD Ultra-FineTM needle are the #1 selling brand in the United States.”
I have found that the BD needles make daily SUBQ of small amounts a much more convenient, faster and dare I say, pleasant experience. I highly recommend them if you haven’t already tried them.
The following Pro/Con list is based on numerous daily comparisons (very unscientific!) drawing small amounts (up to 5 units) of Propionate or Enanthate.
PROS
TIPS
This may be nothing new to many of you, but here’s my daily low dose draw routine based on tips from other members along with my own trial and error:
I’ve had good experience with this online source although I’m sure there are others:
BD Insulin Syringes Ultra-Fine Needle 31g | BD Needles | Total Diabetes Supply
For insulin needles, I had always used the Easy Touch brand. A syringe is a syringe, right? That’s what I thought until I tried BD (Becton Dickinson) brand 31 g x 5/16 x .3cc needle. BD claims on their website that “BD Insulin Syringes with BD Ultra-FineTM needle are the #1 selling brand in the United States.”
I have found that the BD needles make daily SUBQ of small amounts a much more convenient, faster and dare I say, pleasant experience. I highly recommend them if you haven’t already tried them.
The following Pro/Con list is based on numerous daily comparisons (very unscientific!) drawing small amounts (up to 5 units) of Propionate or Enanthate.
PROS
- BD appears to have a much better seal on the gasket than EasyTouch. This leads to a number of benefits.
- BD loads significantly faster than Easy Touch.
- BD’s plunger holds its position when pulled back to desired dose. You can just let the syringe hang upside down from the vial without having to hold onto the plunger.
- Drawing T with the BD seems to generate less air bubbles than Easy Touch. I only get a single small air bubble, which is easily expelled back into vial. By contrast, I would sometimes struggle with EasyTouch trying to wrangle multiple air bubbles. (Not a huge deal, but when you’re drawing every day, bleary-eyed first thing in the morning…)
- BD dose is easier to read because there are no half marks on the .3cc barrel (although lack of half marks could be a con for some).
- BD’s screw top is more secure which is good for pre-loading multiple syringes.
- BD’s needle head appears to be shaped differently from the EasyTouch. This might explain why I get less droplets on the end of the needle with BD.
- Even with small SUQQ 5/16 needle, I get the occasional pain zinger when injecting. I seem to get less of those with BD. Not sure if this is because of the different shape of the needle head or not.
- BD brand is usually $5-6 more per box than EasyTouch (a relatively small incremental cost in the world of TRT). That said, BD only has 90 per box whereas Easy Touch has standard 100.
- I have occasionally found a slightly bent needle in the packets.
TIPS
This may be nothing new to many of you, but here’s my daily low dose draw routine based on tips from other members along with my own trial and error:
- Assume you want to inject 5 units.
- Wipe down vial top with alcohol as per usual and inject 5 units of air into vial
- Flip vial upside down for the draw.
- As you draw, pull an extra unit into the syringe – in this case, draw 6 units instead of the desired 5 units.
- Allow syringe to completely fill. A single air bubble will settle at top.
- Flip vial & syringe to dislodge the air bubble.
- Now flip vial & syringe upside down again and expel the air bubble along with the extra 1 unit back into the vial, giving you the desired 5 unit dose.
- Before pulling needle out of vial, wait couple of seconds to avoid droplets forming on the needle end.
I’ve had good experience with this online source although I’m sure there are others:
BD Insulin Syringes Ultra-Fine Needle 31g | BD Needles | Total Diabetes Supply
