Injection question: Needle size and length

[SPEEDY]

I'm currently injecting my T with a 25 guage 1" needle in the glutes. I would like to use a smaller needle and have the 29 guage 1/2 inch insulin pins. If I use this in the same injection site I don't know if that will hit the muscle due to the needle length. If it doesn't, does it matter? Would that just be a sub q injection?

 

[cleverusername]

Depending on where you inject, it may be subQ or a Shallow IM. I use a 27 gauge 1/2 inch Insulin syringe to inject Shallow IM into the delts, and the same syringe for HCG as subq in stomach fat. depending on your body fat, it may be a shallow IM in the glutes for you. With shallow IM any place is fair game, if you can reach it you can hit it (DISCLAIMER...use logic to eliminate places like the eyeball or testicle, LOL).

 

[Vince]

I'm currently injecting my T with a 25 guage 1" needle in the glutes. I would like to use a smaller needle and have the 29 guage 1/2 inch insulin pins. If I use this in the same injection site I don't know if that will hit the muscle due to the needle length. If it doesn't, does it matter? Would that just be a sub q injection?

That's the same syringe I use 29g 1/2 inch, should work fine in your thigh area.

 

[Deleted member 16042]

Re: smaller needle and needle length: I think this depends on whether you have a significant layer of body fat or are quite lean: In my own case, I am the latter. I tried IM, and had pain for @3 days after every injection regardless of what muscle. If I use a 1/2" needle straight in to the hilt I am going IM. I am that lean. I switched to Sub Q using a 5/16" 30g insulin syringe and still have to pull skin up off muscle to not inject partially into muscle fascia. This method works beautifully for me. I suspect that most reports of lumps from SubQ in belly fat are because a thick fat layer is not as well perfused with capillaries i.e. has poorer blood circulation to distribute the oil. I have had no lumps and my T levels went very high indicating absorption is excellent. Obviously this doesn;t work for everyone. YMMV

 

[FeelingLost]

Hi Speedy, I have experimented with 3 different syringes. For my T cyp and HCG.
EasyTouch 31ga 5/16"
EasyTouch 27ga 1/2"
Covidien Monoject 28ga 1/2" (expensive)

I found the 27ga 1/2" the best all round. The smaller needles just took too long to load and inject.
This also caused a lot of needle movement while in my skin because I had to push so hard my hand would shake.

I only inject around my navel (2,4,8,10) like blackhawk, muscle injects would acke for days.
I also put my HCG in the syringe first this allows the needle to be flushed so no T is wasted.
I do inject slowly and have never had any lumps, blood or pain post injection.

 

[Sean Mosher]

Never had any issues injecting in shoulders or quads with a 27g-1/2" needle (draw with a 21g).

 

[Vince Carter]

I'm currently injecting my T with a 25 guage 1" needle in the glutes. I would like to use a smaller needle and have the 29 guage 1/2 inch insulin pins. If I use this in the same injection site I don't know if that will hit the muscle due to the needle length. If it doesn't, does it matter? Would that just be a sub q injection?

There's nothing with IM and SQ beyond the fact that SQ let's you use a smaller/shorter needle, there's really no other solid benefit of one or the other and those that do claim any kind of difference its purely anecdotal. There's little right or wrong there, personal trial and preference will be key.

 

[Saul]

You are probably picking up a trend . . . everyone is different. You will discover what works best for you. Like others, I have found that 27G or 28G to be a good size. The needle length depends on your body fat levels and where you inject. Certainly this size is geared toward SubQ since these are mostly used for insulin but if you have low body fat and/or depending on where you inject you can get into the muscle. I get into the muscle in the thigh with 1/2"
.
Some people have pain when injecting IM while others have pain when injecting SubQ.
.
There are studies that indicate subQ provides the same effect on blood T levels, but there are threads that suggest that for some subq does not work as well for T levels. Again, you can find what works best for you. For me, I don't have or rarely have pain with subQ or IM. And, my latest blood work yielded about the same T levels with either IM or SubQ.

 

[Milad Zadeh]

I’d like to say to everyone who complains about slow load times with 27,28,29,30 or even 31 gauge needles. The easiest way to get around that is by using 50 unit barrels rather then 100. Load times are quick and so are injection times. It’s something about the smaller barrel that creates a higher pressure difffence. As a bonus most of us that inject twice a week hence smaller amounts such as 40 or in my case 35 units every 3.5 days have a easier time reading the units with the .5cc barrels.

 

[FeelingLost]

Never had any issues injecting in shoulders or quads with a 27g-1/2" needle (draw with a 21g).

None of the syringes I have tried have removable needles. So drawing must be with the injecting needle.

I'd like to say to everyone who complains about slow load times with 27,28,29,30 or even 31 gauge needles. The easiest way to get around that is by using 50 unit barrels rather then 100. Load times are quick and so are injection times. It's something about the smaller barrel that creates a higher pressure difffence. As a bonus most of us that inject twice a week hence smaller amounts such as 40 or in my case 35 units every 3.5 days have a easier time reading the units with the .5cc barrels.

The Covidien Monoject 28ga 1/2" (expensive) were .5cc and the EasyTouch were 1cc. I noticed no improvement in draw time or injection time with the smaller barrel.

 

[Deleted member 17030]

I have been using 18 Gauge 1.5" needles to draw, then switch the needle to a 25G 1" needle to inject IM deep into deltoids. However I have my wife do it as the Test C is difficult to push thru the 25G needle even if warmed up, so I let my wife do it. I don't even feel the needle go in, I do feel the effort she is applying to the plunger to force the thick oil thru the needle however. No post injection pain ever yet.

I buy the syringes at CVS.

I have been sick lately and went to the doctor. They gave me 2 shots in the upper glutes, a steroid shot and antibiotic shot. Both needles looked as big as my 18G 1.5 drawing needles lol and hurt like hell when the nurse injected both sides. They looked like harpoons. I had to turn my head and not look at them as they made me sick at my stomach to think I was about to get it with 2 of them.

 

[Milad Zadeh]

I’m currently using .5cc 29g 1/2” insulin syringes and it’s quick and easy to load/read.
I purchased the box of 100 at Walmart for like $14-$15

 

[blitzen]

First used 29g but that was way too slow for T now I'm using Easy Touch 27g 0.5ml 1/2 ones and like that size way more (just 10 weeks into TRT). The 29 were so fragile and required so much patience pressure.

 

[madman]

Re: smaller needle and needle length: I think this depends on whether you have a significant layer of body fat or are quite lean: In my own case, I am the latter. I tried IM, and had pain for @3 days after every injection regardless of what muscle. If I use a 1/2" needle straight in to the hilt I am going IM. I am that lean. I switched to Sub Q using a 5/16" 30g insulin syringe and still have to pull skin up off muscle to not inject partially into muscle fascia. This method works beautifully for me. I suspect that most reports of lumps from SubQ in belly fat are because a thick fat layer is not as well perfused with capillaries i.e. has poorer blood circulation to distribute the oil. I have had no lumps and my T levels went very high indicating absorption is excellent. Obviously this doesn;t work for everyone. YMMV

Regarding sub-q if one is really lean pulling up skin/fat and injecting at a 45 degree angle is effective for avoiding the muscle as oppose to straight in at 90 degrees.

 

[madman]

I'd like to say to everyone who complains about slow load times with 27,28,29,30 or even 31 gauge needles. The easiest way to get around that is by using 50 unit barrels rather then 100. Load times are quick and so are injection times. It's something about the smaller barrel that creates a higher pressure difffence. As a bonus most of us that inject twice a week hence smaller amounts such as 40 or in my case 35 units every 3.5 days have a easier time reading the units with the .5cc barrels.

Injecting air into the vial before loading the syringe also speeds up the process!

 

[madman]

I have been using 18 Gauge 1.5" needles to draw, then switch the needle to a 25G 1" needle to inject IM deep into deltoids. However I have my wife do it as the Test C is difficult to push thru the 25G needle even if warmed up, so I let my wife do it. I don't even feel the needle go in, I do feel the effort she is applying to the plunger to force the thick oil thru the needle however. No post injection pain ever yet.

I buy the syringes at CVS.

I have been sick lately and went to the doctor. They gave me 2 shots in the upper glutes, a steroid shot and antibiotic shot. Both needles looked as big as my 18G 1.5 drawing needles lol and hurt like hell when the nurse injected both sides. They looked like harpoons. I had to turn my head and not look at them as they made me sick at my stomach to think I was about to get it with 2 of them.

Waste to draw/inject using 2 separate needles..................low dead space insulin syringe does the job (draw/inject)-easy/quick/painless and less waste of your testosterone.

 

[HealthMan]

Currently using 30G 5/16 0.3ml SUBQ at 45 degree angle. Always avoiding abdominal fat (gives me bad lumps)

 

[Milad Zadeh]

Injecting air into the vial before loading the syringe also speeds up the process!

Yes 100% this

 

[Pringle]

I like 26g 5/8 needle in delts. Filling needle is fast, 5/8 is great for shallow IM.