For the majority of men taking advantage of the benefits of testosterone replacement therapy injecting one of the many testosterone esters on the market today will end up being the delivery method they use. Testosterone injections are the best way to deliver a measured dose of testosterone to your body. While I understand that the prospect of weekly injections may turn off some men considering this treatment I can tell you that they are not very painful, not more than a quick pinch and it’s over. Considering the many benefits associated with using testosterone hormone to correct your current deficiency and especially considering the alternative of not treating it at all this is hardly a bad trade off.
What to Expect From From Testosterone Injections
The positive effects of testosterone begin to kick in over a period of weeks to months. Many patients report improved mood, higher energy levels, and a boost in libido in the first week or two. Other benefits take a little longer to start showing. Usually within1-3 months patients will start notice improved body composition, lowered levels of body fat, and increased muscle mass. All these benefits can be increased by combining your testosterone replacement therapy regimen with a healthy diet and exercise routine.
Types of Testosterone Injections
There are multiples brands and options when picking a type of testosterone for your hormone replacement therapy regimen. Here are the following brands we have to choose from:
If you are not interested in injecting testosterone you can also choose from the alternative methods listed here.
Where to inject testosterone
Testosterone must be injected intramuscularly. There are 34 different sites on your body where you can safely inject testosterone:
- Glutes: 1 site per glute
- Deltoids: 3 sites per deltoid
- Biceps: 2 sites per bicep
- Triceps: 3 sites per tricep
- Lats: 1 site per lat
- Pectorals: 3 sites per pec
- Quadriceps: 2 sites per quad
- Traps: 1 site per trap
- Calves: 2 sites per calf
There are a few reasons to use intramuscular injections sites when taking testosterone. The first is that a large muscle facilitates the slow absorption of the testosterone into the blood stream, allowing you to use weekly or even biweekly injections to maintain your testosterone levels. Another reason is that injections in large muscle groups are not painful, beyond the slight prick of breaking the skin. It is important to vary your injection sites as repeated injection in one spot can lead to soreness and irritation. Luckily this is easily accomplished as there are a large number of spots to choose from you can cycle these allowing each spot plenty of time to heal before you come back to that point in your cycle.
The most common spots used are the glutes and delts due to the ease associated with injecting there. Next most popular is the thigh muscle as it’s very large and right there in front of you, allowing you to avoid the flexibility testing behind the back maneuvers that come with injecting in your glutes.
Needle Gauge and Length
Different types of testosterone require different gauge needles while the needle length required is dependent on the size of the muscle your injecting into as well as the amount of body fat around the muscle. For most men you’ll never need a needle longer than 1.5″ as this should be more than enough to get past fat layers and into the bulk of any muscle mass on your body. For injections in the delts, triceps, and biceps a shorter needle may be sufficient and help prevent you from inserting the needle too far.
As stated above needle gauge requirements vary based on the type of testosterone being used. Water based testosterone injections require smaller gauges while oil based ones need the larger gauge to allow them to pass easily from the syringe and into the muscle. It is important to remember that a smaller gauge means a larger diameter needle. A 15 gauge needle is larger than a 22 gauge needle (though you shouldn’t ever find yourself using a 15 gauge needle as it’s huge!). For most oil based injections a 22-23 gauge needle will work fine. For water based 25 gauge is fine. For HCG injections insulin syringes are best. These are usually 27-28 gauge needles and are essentially painless to use.
Testosterone Injection Routine
The best way to safely inject your testosterone treatments is to follow this simple routine every time. By following a routine you’ll never miss a step and this will lead to forming good habits that will benefit you throughout your treatment.
Prep:
- Wash your hands. This may seem like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised how many people forget.
- Sterilize the injection site. You should be doing this right after getting out of the shower but even then Irish Springs soap doesn’t have the same sterilizing power that rubbing alcohol does.
Filling the syringe:
- Use a syringe with twice the volume as your planning on injecting. If your injection is 50cc then use a 100cc syrine.
- Pull air into the syringe equal to the volume of your injection
- Insert the needle into the vial and turn them upside down together. Don’t plunge the needle in more than once as this will dull the tip.
- Inject the air into the vial to create a positive pressure (to compensate for the fluid you’ll be pulling out)
- Pull the required dosage of testosterone into the syringe without pulling in any air
- Pull the needle out of the vial and let any air bubble float up, pushing them out without losing any fluid.
Injecting the testosterone:
- Locate the muscle your going to inject
- Relax the muscle (deep breathing helps with this)
- Inject the muscle at a 90 degree angle (straight in) about halfway
- Aspirate the needle to make sure you’re not in a vein (do this by pulling the plunger slightly, if there’s blood coming in you’re in a vein)
- Inject the testosterone by depressing the plunger slowly. If it hurts you’re going to fast.
- Slowly remove the syringe and cover the injection site with a sterile cotton ball or pad.
- Look out for irritation of bleeding. This will happen immediately if it’s going to happen at all.
How to get a Prescription for Testosterone
To get started on your own self directed testosterone hormone replacement therapy treatment program simple fill out the contact form to the right or give us a call at 1-800-397-1288.
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