Disadvantages of Injections

[Ryan]

I know heroin addicts run out of veins and end up injecting in their eyeballs and ->-bleeped-<- like that. This lead to wondering if the same kind of thing happens with T.

What are the disadvantages of having to inject (weekly to fortnightly) for the rest of your life?

[Carson]

It IS possible that scar tissue will build up wherever you inject... not everyone says they experience that though.

[Adio]

I'm hoping you aren't trying to inject the T into your veins, but I do understand what you're saying.

As long as you rotate sites, you should be fine.  For example, one week use your right thigh and the next use your left.  Now, the thigh is a large area for most.  So you should have a good amount of room along the muscle to inject.  So even on a single thigh, you can rotate sites (I would still suggest go back and forth between each leg if you're able).

If your favorite sites build up scar tissue, there are other places on your body that can be used.  It just might take another person giving you the shot to get to site properly.

[Ryan]

Hahah, nah. Alternating between left and right buttocks.
My trans specialist doctor told me NEVER to inject in the thighs. I'm not sure why this is. He just said that people who inject in the thighs always come across problems. He's quite the douchebag though.

[Adio]

I haven't heard that, but since the vastus lateralis (the muscle on the outside part of the thigh) is a safe place for IM injections I'm not sure why he said that. 

If anything, the dorsogluteal (the buttocks) site would be the most dangerous to use.  The sciatic nerve runs back there and can get easily hit and damaged if proper landmarks aren't used.  At the hospitals I've been to, that site is no longer used.

[Ryan]

Weird. My GP and local nurse have had no problems with injecting my ass and have never mentioned the thighs.

[Adio]

It's probably because it's one of the easiest sites (besides the deltoid) if you've been doing it a long time.  If they don't have any problems with it and you don't mind having someone else inject, then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

That was another thing I was going to mention.  The novelty of injecting will probably wear off after a while.  I have a feeling that 20 years from now, using a patch that can stay on for 7 days will start looking more and more attractive than the chore of remembering to inject every week or two weeks.

[LordKAT]

I alternate shots between sides and between areas. My sis gives me shots when she can and uses the back side. I use thighs. I have heard no bad things of either if you watch what you are doing. Yes the nerve and artery that run through your butt would be bad to hit. the instructions tell you how to avoid it and having a RN for a sis helps loads. Even better that she is only family that totally accepts and aids me.

[jmaxley]

I'm a huge needlephobe and dread the thought of having to do injections.  The patch/gel/cream already sound good.  Doubt my insurance will spring for it though.

[LordKAT]

The first one seemed really scary with that big needle. Now it is nothing. The needle seems to have gotten weak tho. Last time it started to bend when I inserted it. I will have to watch that.

[Ryan]

I don't find the injections painful at all, so I'm fine with them.
Only thing is that about a day or two after, I get an ache around my buttock/leg. Nothing major though.

[LordKAT]

I get nothing , no pain, stiffness, soreness, just nothing. It feels no different than before the shot. At one time I wondered if anything was injected or what. The mirror tells me something is happening tho so it must be going in.

[TheOtherSide]

I get nothing , no pain, stiffness, soreness, just nothing. It feels no different than before the shot. At one time I wondered if anything was injected or what. The mirror tells me something is happening tho so it must be going in.

I am the exact same way. I feel no pain whatsoever.

[LordKAT]

Well otherside, I think we 2 are a rare breed from reading other guys accounts.

[Arch]

The novelty of injecting will probably wear off after a while.  I have a feeling that 20 years from now, using a patch that can stay on for 7 days will start looking more and more attractive than the chore of remembering to inject every week or two weeks.

I was thinking that most of us will be on implants by then and will only have to get new ones every six months or so. Or maybe some of us can have our egg factories relocated and our genes manipulated so that we have functioning testes instead.

Personally, I can't see using the patch unless they eliminate all of those problems with skin irritation. And I wouldn't want to wear one 24/7.

[Devin87]

My college roommate's a type I diabetic and she injected herself with insulin 5-6 times a day since she was 11 until she got her pump last year.  That was about 10 years of 5-6 shots a day and she never had a problem with running out of places to give herself a shot, although her stomach does have a good amount of scar tissue.  One shot every other week for the rest of your life should be fine.

[kyril]

Having been on patches for other stuff, they're horrible. A weekly shot is nothing compared to the constant 24-hour misery that is a patch.

[Adio]

Personally, I can't see using the patch unless they eliminate all of those problems with skin irritation. And I wouldn't want to wear one 24/7.

Having been on patches for other stuff, they're horrible. A weekly shot is nothing compared to the constant 24-hour misery that is a patch.

I admit I don't know much about the patches.  Is it just the skin irritation?  Or is there more to it?

[kyril]

It is "just" skin irritation, but I'd leave out the "just." Basically in my case, the glue in the patches causes my skin to turn bright red and itchy underneath within moments of applying it. By the end of a week wearing it, it's purplish-red, blistering, and peeling. So I have these red itchy rash-like square marks on my body, and each one takes weeks to fade. And I have a constant itch that can't be scratched properly under wherever the patch is at the time.

[LordKAT]

Once I break the skin, I slide the needle in moderate speed, no hurry and also inject it slowly. Maybe that is the secret then.