Since the price of gel has gone up, I'm switching to injections. My doctor is only available today (going on vacation for the rest of the month), so I took her last available appointment today to get in and get all that sorted out before I run out of T on Thursday. I've already applied my T for the day, so I'm assuming we probably won't be injecting me with anything.

They specifically requested that the person injecting me be present, but I'm not sure he will be able to make it. He's another FTM and has been self injecting for about 2 years.

- What was the meeting with the nurse like? What did she have you do, etc.
- I do want to learn to self inject, so if my boyfriend can't make it, is that probably fine? He's injected himself and other people before, so I'm personally not concerned.

I was never shown by any medical person.  I don't see why you can't learn for yourself. This way you can do it yourself if your friend isn't available for some reason. I think you will be fine since he is already experienced.

My nurse was super friendly about it. She told me to squeeze the area with the hand the syringe wasn't in and to hold it like a dart to avoid losing any oil. She described it in steps as well. Here's what she told me:
1. Draw air into the syringe, about a little more than your dosage
2. Clean the top of the vial with alcohol, puncture it with the needle and push the air into the open space as your vial should now be upside down
3. Move the needle into the oil and begin to draw back your testosterone to your designated dosage
4. Make sure all the air is out. You can flick the needle to move the bubbles to the top.
5. Take the needle out of the vial and hold it like a dart and squeeze the area you want to inject (make sure you've cleaned it with alcohol!)
6. You can either push in gently or jab yourself quickly. Then release the hand that is squeezing the area gently.
7. Make sure you ALWAYS draw back on the syringe. This is called Aspirating. You're looking for blood if you've hit a vessel or a vein.
8. If everything checks out go ahead and push the oil into your muscle slowly.
9. Band aid it up and you're all done!

We practiced with water first and I believe she gave me my first shot to see how it was done. Self injecting isn't too bad and you'll get the hang of it! I would think the nurse would show you if you asked. But, If you want your boyfriend to do it and he already knows how then go for it! You could also have him teach you.

My practice is pretty much the same as Rengar's, except after my third shot I decided to learn the z-track method for IM injections, and it seems to have reduced the creation of a sterile abscess and soreness significantly, regardless of the leg I use.

Tip: if you're having a nurse demonstrate shot procedure, be sure they don't try to do it in your buttocks, as my nurse did. The outer thigh is best for people self-injecting, since it's fairly difficult to properly give yourself a shot in your behind. Luckily, I'd done enough research to interject with "Well, they can also be done in the thigh, and I'd prefer that." After checking with other staff she came back and taught me how to do it in my thigh, but she let me do the shot at her instructions, rather than just showing me how and pricking me herself.

Good luck!

My first endocrinologist did the first injection and then had me come in for the second to teach me how to do it. Its really not that bad unless needles make you woozy. I chose to use my thigh because there is more muscle mass there. The first shot was in my arm and my arm was sore for quite a while. That didn't happen in my thigh.

After a while you get a feel for where you can inject with the least amount of discomfort. I don't know if they still use seasame oil as a carrying agent, but they did back then and the medication was thick. Sometimes once you get the needle in, pushing the medicine in slowly is more comfortable than blasting it in as fast as you can to get it over with. That is individual though.

sam1234

I was shown how to inject during my second visit to the clinic (the first was getting my history and blood drawn), which was about five weeks later.

The nurse was really sweet and chill, and made the process so easy for me and my partner. She brought in a test piece so we could get used to placement before we initially injected. I didn't administer my own shot out of nervousness, which was in my love handle region (I have bad perhiperal vision so it would have been hard enough for me to do anyway). There are tutorials online about how to self-inject (I want to learn too personally). If you have a 24/7 nurse hotline, they should be able to walk you through it. My clinic said if I ever wanted to learn how to self inject, I could go in and they could show me further.

Dearest friends,

I successfully injected myself. 

Yay!

Quote from: ftmax on March 16, 2015, 07:29:51 PM
Dearest friends,

I successfully injected myself. 

Congrats! How'd it feel?

Quote from: AndrewB on March 16, 2015, 09:12:20 PM
Congrats! How'd it feel?

It actually didn't hurt at all. I took my roommate with me as moral support/in case I chickened out. The nurse showed us everything, had me mime everything without handling the needle, and then had me actually do it. It took me about two minutes of staring at my leg to get over the mental hurdle and stick it in. The worst part was probably the little jiggles from pushing the plunger down, but even that wasn't terribly uncomfortable (apparently I just needed to stick it in a little further to avoid that). No bruising, which I was surprised about (I bruise really easily). A little sore today, but apparently I was supposed to massage it after the injection and didn't do that.

My roommate was actually more nervous than I was? It was funny. We were walking out and he was like, "Thank god you did it, dude. I really don't think I could've done it, I was shaking so bad."

Quote from: Rengar on March 16, 2015, 08:51:49 AM
My nurse was super friendly about it. She told me to squeeze the area with the hand the syringe wasn't in and to hold it like a dart to avoid losing any oil. She described it in steps as well. Here's what she told me:
1. Draw air into the syringe, about a little more than your dosage
2. Clean the top of the vial with alcohol, puncture it with the needle and push the air into the open space as your vial should now be upside down
3. Move the needle into the oil and begin to draw back your testosterone to your designated dosage
4. Make sure all the air is out. You can flick the needle to move the bubbles to the top.
5. Take the needle out of the vial and hold it like a dart and squeeze the area you want to inject (make sure you've cleaned it with alcohol!)
6. You can either push in gently or jab yourself quickly. Then release the hand that is squeezing the area gently.
7. Make sure you ALWAYS draw back on the syringe. This is called Aspirating. You're looking for blood if you've hit a vessel or a vein.
8. If everything checks out go ahead and push the oil into your muscle slowly.
9. Band aid it up and you're all done!

We practiced with water first and I believe she gave me my first shot to see how it was done. Self injecting isn't too bad and you'll get the hang of it! I would think the nurse would show you if you asked. But, If you want your boyfriend to do it and he already knows how then go for it! You could also have him teach you.

Love your instructions. It was about exactly what my nurse said but it is good to have it in front of you when doing the shot. Mines just birth control and not T but it beats having to go in to get it done and get charged $60 a shot every 3 months because they do not know how to bill the insurance.

If I can remember tomorrow, I'll take a picture of the handout they gave me when they taught me how to do injections. Very thorough, and I use the gist of it every time I do my shots (even though I'm 3 months in) just to make sure I don't mess up procedure and keep my brain fresh. It basically goes over Rengar's procedure, but it might be handy for some people to have it written out as a medical professional would.