Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I've been getting injections for a few weeks now and recently did my own for the first time. I understand it will get easier with time, but I've been obsessing over the drops of estradiol I lost from prepping the shot. It looks like a lot is coming out, and my boyfriend tells me it's going to be okay (he's trans and felt similarly when he started his transition many years ago).

I'm wondering if any others have felt the same. I'm obsessing about not getting enough estradiol in me. I'm very new to transition and things like this make me feel that I'm truly on the right path since obsessing over droplets, but my goodness, I'm like, how can I avoid leaving any behind in the syringe and/or losing drops! lol

Not sure if this type of convo is allowed, but please feel free to delete if it isn't. I just don't have any trans lady friends to share this with.

Kisses.


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It's long term exposure to estradiol that works the magic. I'm sure the amount you're losing is negligible.

You're supposed to enjoy the roller coaster ride, not worry about the change in your pocket.  ;D

Hugs, Devlyn

Please only use the following as a guide for medically prescribed Injectable Estradiol Valerate or Estradiol Cypionate. And always, make sure your doctor approves of any techniques.

First pull some air into the syringe to the line you need. Put the needle through the top of the vial. Turn the syringe so the the vial is up and plunger is down.
Push the air into the vial to increase the pressure.
Pull the EV in to the syringe to the line you're aiming for.
When you hit that line move the needle to the part of the vial that has an air bubble in it.
Pull back the bottom of the air bubble to the next largest deviation from the zero line.
You want to increment your actual dosage by the largest deviation. (Dosage + 1 largest deviation)
So all your EV is suspended by the plunger and the top air bubble.
You'll likely have too much EV at first (the stuff that was in the needle part).
Squirt the few drops back into the vial (the needle should still be in there).
Pull the air bubble down again and see if your EV fits between the lines as they should.
If not, reapeat the last couple steps until it does to your satisfaction.
Write down the measurement for the line the where you pushed the plunger to get to the perfect amount. (You'll save time next time by hitting that number right away).
Push the air bubble line back up to the zero line.
Replace the empty, air filled drawing syringe with your injection syringe.
Now here's the important part.
Turn your syringe up side down so the air bubble you left starts floating upward towards the plunger.
Sometimes you will have to tap the side of the syringe if there agree multiple air bubbles combined. It flows best as one big bubble.
When the bubble sits comfortably next to the plunger, set your syringe (with the needle cap still on) plunger up cap down to keep your air bubble where you want it (next to the plunger).
Prep your spot on your butt, and when you are ready say to yourself....
"don't forget to asperate!"
Then hit your mark.
You want to keep this swift if you're standing up our lie down on your chest if you want more time to do it.
Now asperate! (Pull back gently on the plunger and make sure no blood gets pulled into the syringe, I assume your doctor or nurse explained it to you).
The trick is to keep the air bubble going in last.
Small air bubbles injected into your muscle are perfectly harmless and get absorbed by your body.

But remember, you should only be doing this under explicit medical supervision.
I actually had some left over utilizing this technique, with my (medically prescribed) EV.


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Hi Antia;

You really shouldn't worry about this small loss.  the reason that HRT on Oestrogen (Estradiol)takes time to get real effects on your overall is that once you start a regime it is really important that you keep taking it by whoever means has been prescribed (moral, patch or injection) because it will build up over time in your endocrine system, and eventually your Testosterone level will drop to virtually nothing (mine now is just 0.9) and effectively the female hormones will be the dominant hormones in your body. At that stage the pace of change for you will slowly accelerate. I have now been on a HRT regime for coming up to 5 years and realistically whilst there were changes in Year 1 and 2, it is really only this year that changes have been pretty dramatic in that except for my MPB I look very female with well rounded curves in all the right places and very smooth and soft skin etc

The important thing is that your HRT regime should be regular and consistent. Over time you will get the benefits of this approach. Of course if you and when you have GCS , BA or BBL, it will be necessary to call a temporary halt in your HRT, but don't worry because if you have been on the regime consistently there will be enough in your system to smooth out this period.

So I agree totally with Evelyn in this regard - consistent and regularly - thats the secret - and of course the changes take time. So don't worry

PS Obviously if you are in your teens or early twenties, that pace of change may be more rapid than us oldies!
JudithLynn

I do my best to get all the delestrogen with my IM and do not sweat it. Like it was said before, long term exposure to E and getting your T down is what counts.

Quote from: Rachel on December 16, 2017, 07:58:55 PM
I do my best to get all the delestrogen with my IM and do not sweat it. Like it was said before, long term exposure to E and getting your T down is what counts.

I agree with you ladies.
But some of us have obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and "don't sweat it", just isn't an answer for us.

We're a very diverse community. ;)

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To be more specific, if you are injecting 1ml of x mg/ml and you get 5 complete shots per bottle ( which containes extra for needle volumes and voiding the syringes of air) then the tiny amount of extra e in the bottle or the drop per syringe waisted has no effect on the dosage you receive.

Any excess e that I can not absorb ( there is a maximum) is excreated. Injecting extra e above what you can absorb is excreated.

It is understood the e is super valuable and any loss is a large loss. I do not mean to trivialize anyone's feelings on the subject.

When I draw my e into the syringe I make sure after I pull the needle out of the bottle to make a suction and draw all the e out of the needle.

I understand about obsessive behavior and the feeling of not being able to move past a stuck point and focusing on all the factors about the issue. I do not mean to downplay the feelings.

Quote from: Rachel on December 16, 2017, 09:44:13 PM
To be more specific, if you are injecting 1ml of x mg/ml and you get 5 complete shots per bottle ( which containes extra for needle volumes and voiding the syringes of air) then the tiny amount of extra e in the bottle or the drop per syringe waisted has no effect on the dosage you receive.

Any excess e that I can not absorb ( there is a maximum) is excreated. Injecting extra e above what you can absorb is excreated.

It is understood the e is super valuable and any loss is a large loss. I do not mean to trivialize anyone's feelings on the subject.

When I draw my e into the syringe I make sure after I pull the needle out of the bottle to make a suction and draw all the e out of the needle.

I understand about obsessive behavior and the feeling of not being able to move past a stuck point and focusing on all the factors about the issue. I do not mean to downplay the feelings.

No worries. I didn't think you had intended anything but helpfulness. :)

I just sensed the OP might have a bit of OC in her (as I often do too), and wanted to bring it to light.

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Thanks, ladies!  All of your responses were what I needed and still need to hear during these early days. I do have some OCD, but I also realize that I just really want it, every drop of it. I don't want to miss out anymore. I turned 31 today and feel grateful to be alive and able to do this, finally.

Wishing all a restful holiday season!


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Quote from: LexiDreamer on December 16, 2017, 06:35:37 PM
The trick is to keep the air bubble going in last.
Small air bubbles injected into your muscle are perfectly harmless and get absorbed by your body.

Nope, no bubbles. There should be no air bubbles at all, nor should you be injecting air bubbles in to your body..

Quote from: kelly_aus on December 19, 2017, 04:56:02 PM
Nope, no bubbles. There should be no air bubbles at all, nor should you be injecting air bubbles in to your body..

It's called the airlock technique, and it's very commonly used with IM injection.
It's perfectly harmless.
Feel free to Google it.

Air bubbles injected into a vein is dangerous, but small amount of air injected into a muscle is just absorbed by the body.

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