How to inject testosterone Intramuscular (IM) Injection: 9 ways to make it less painful
When a medication is provided deep into the muscle tissue, it is done via intramuscular injection. The main aim of delivering any medicines to the muscle tissues is to let the bloodstream absorb such medication quickly. The ideal needle used for IM injection has 1-1.5 inches of length and 22-23 Gauge. Such a dose is given at a 90-degree angle.
Here is the 4-step guide on how to inject testosterone (IM) injection
Set up an injection
- Find a well-lit working place which is clean to inject the medication every day
- Take the medication out of the fridge and let it achieve the room temperature
- Check the expiration date
- Get the required supplies – disposable syringe and needles, medicine in the vial, alcohol swabs and puncture-proof disposal container
Fix the injection site
- Divide the thigh into three parts equally and fix for the administering in the outer middle third, which is considered as the right place for self-administering the IM injection.
- Form a V using your fingers and aim at injecting at the center of the thigh. Vastus lateralis muscle in the thigh is the best place for self-administering.
- Gluteus Maximus muscle in the buttocks is only feasible when a doctor or caregiver is giving you the injection. Divide your buttock area into four equal parts and choose the upper quarter towards the hip bone.
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Prepare the injection dose
- Take off the vial cap and clean the rubber stopper using an alcohol swab
- Ensure that the package should not be damaged
- Pull out the cover of the syringe and draw air into the syringe by pulling off the plunger.
- Keep the vial on the flat surface and insert the needle into it carefully
- Push out the air and turn the vial upside down
- Slowly pull back the plunger to fill in the medication to match the dosage as prescribed by the doctor.
- Keep a check that no air bubble should be present in the syringe. Tap the syringe with fingers, if you find any air bubble.
- Gently remove the vial, but do not lay it down.
Administer the injection
- Clean the injection site with an alcohol swab
- Insert the IM needle at a 90-degree angle with a firm motion
- Take the hand off the skin, once you insert the needle
- Pull back the plunger gently and check for the blood on the needle. Remove the syringe immediately if you notice any bloodstain on the needle
- If there is no blood, insert the medication gently
- Remove the needle, once the whole medicine is injected and press the spot with the alcohol swab.
What precautions should one take to make testosterone injection less painful?
Here are the nine ways which help in reducing the pain from testosterone IM injection:
- Find the sweet spots: Pick the injection sites which work for you. A Simple dorsogluteal injection site is not a good idea anymore. Ventrogluteal (hip/butt) muscles and vastus lateralis (thigh) are the recommended IM injections
- Reduce your cycle: Instead of injecting every 14 days, choose to inject every seven days with the smaller volumes. It helps in minimizing the pain.
- Pick the right gear: An ideal needle is the one that has a considerable length to penetrate the muscle quickly. You can pick up the larger needle for drawing and after that smaller gauge for injecting purposes.
- Reconsider your injecting technique: Factors like injecting straight or shifting the needle trajectory during injection, Z-tract, or Air-lock, slow or fast, also needs to be evaluated in detail to minimize the post-injection pains. You can tweak with these techniques a bit to mark a significant change.
- Manual pressure to the injection site: Before injecting the mediation, apply the manual pressure for 10 seconds at the injection site. Maintain sterility for better results.
- Massage: After injecting the medication, massage it gently as it may also help in reducing the pain to an extent.
- Warm up the injection site: Take a hot shower before injecting the medicine. At the time of inserting the drug, keep the muscles relaxed.
- Vial to be at room temperature: Take out the vial sometime before the injecting time to let it reach to the normal temperatures. If possible, prefer to get it warm than been cold, as the warm oil in the warm muscle does not hurt as much as the cold vial in the stiff tissue.
- Topical application: Apply topical cream like Arnica gel and ice afterward to reduce the pain at the injection site.
These quick tips will help to reduce the pain after injection considerably.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you inject testosterone?
Testosterone is generally injected in the gluteal muscles in the buttocks. The doctor usually gives it. A medical practitioner can allow self-administering it as well. In this case, you can inject it into your thigh muscles.
How much testosterone should I inject?
A dosage varying between 50-400 mg, depending on your health conditions, can be administered every 15 days to 1 month. Based on the testosterone blood levels, the shot of testosterone varies. So, a maximum of 400 mg of dosage can be injected within two weeks. However, the side effects and the response of your body to the treatment play a vital role in deciding the shot you require.
How quickly do testosterone injections work?
Testosterone injections are usually administered to the men with low T for every 7 to 22 days. After each injection, the testosterone levels reach their peak for the next two to three days. It starts dropping off after that slowly till the next dosage is administered.
Does testosterone make you hornier?
Testosterone is responsible for making men hornier. They are primarily responsible for driving the sex drive of men. A man with normal to higher testosterone levels is horny. These are required to make sperm in men. So a man with lower testosterone levels will experience a decline in the number and quality of sperm.
What time of day should I inject testosterone?
The men experiencing erectile dysfunction should get their testosterone measured between 8 AM to 11 AM. At this time, the levels of testosterone are considered highest and vary over the 24-hours. However, the considerable variation only causes in younger men.
Does testosterone make you gain weight?
When the testosterone levels are low, it induces the body fat. Especially at the midsection, men tend to gain weight. Men suffering from a low testosterone level are exposed to the obesity risk factor. Even the reverse of this also holds.