My first testosterone shot was at the clinic on a Monday. I chose that day because my weight training days are Mon/Wed/Fri, so I figured a Monday shot would provide the greatest benefit as far as test levels throughout the week.
As I mentioned here, I wasn't feeling much difference a week after getting the first shot. Maybe a bit hungrier over the week, but no renewed and sustained energy, no clarity of thought or purpose.... From the reading I did, most of the effects began to be felt in 2 - 3 weeks. I wasn't disappointed. Not yet anyway.
My prescription wasn't stored at the clinic - I had it at home. This, of course, meant I had to remember to bring it to work with me. The clinic was much closer to my workplace than home, a slight detour on my end-of-day commute.
I didn't even notice I'd forgotten it until it was time for me to leave. I shut down my computer, and stood up to leave, thinking, Well, off to get my - DAMMIT! I forgot the vial of testosterone!
Yes, friends, only my second shot and I'd already forgotten to bring the vial to work. So I had two choices: 1) wait and do it the following day or 2) do it myself at home.
Now I'd already self administered two hCG shots myself, simple easy things done to the abdomen with an insulin needle. The testosterone was quite a bit different though. Where hCG was water-based, the testosterone was oil-based and thick. The hCG was subcutaneous, the testosterone was intra-muscular. The hCG was administered with a tiny 29 gauge needle, the testosterone with a 25 gauge 1.5-inch harpoon.
I was a bit nervous on the ride home thinking about jabbing that thing into my leg.
An aside: I'd faced up to the realization that sooner or later I'd want to be doing the shots myself, and I'd done plenty of research in that direction. I'd found plenty of information supporting the subcutaneous injection of testosterone, and the practitioners of this method attested to it's ease and effectiveness, proving proof in the form of blood test results.
I'd also read about shallow intra-muscular, done with a 1/2-inch 27 or 28 gauge insulin needles, most commonly into the thigh or deltoid.
So I'd sort of decided I'd be doing one of those myself, to free me from the shackles of going to the clinic once a month. I'd even ordered some half-inch, 28 gauge insulin needles online.
So I get home and lo and behold the needles I'd ordered had arrived! At least now I wasn't faced with sticking that javelin into my leg.
The syringes I'd ordered (100 of them for $16 from an insulin supply company) had fixed 28 gauge needles a half-inch in length. Because testosterone is thick due to being oil based, it was a common practice to draw the fluid out of the vial with a larger needle (like an 18 or 20 gauge), then swap that needle out for the injection needle (usually a 25 gauge, or even 23 if you were fearless).
You COULD draw with a smaller gauge, but it would take longer. And the underground lab testosterone used by many bodybuilders was often so thick it couldn't even be drawn with anything much smaller than a 22 gauge. Since the needles I'd ordered were fixed, I could swap; I had to draw with teh 28 gauge.
I wasn't drawing underground lab testosterone though, I had nice, pharmaceutical grade testosterone courtesy of my hormone replacement therapy doctor. And from everything I'd read, I'd be able to draw fine, albeit slowly, with the 28 gauge needles I'd ordered.
I grabbed my vial, two alcohol swabs, and a syringe. The fluid is much thicker than water - it took me about a minute or two to draw out 1ml, my weekly dose. I swabbed my right thigh, upper/outer part, and arrived at the moment of truth.
I was surprised at how easily the needle went in, with nothing more than the faintest sensation of a pinch. It took maybe about 20 seconds or so to complete the injection, and I pulled the needle out. That was it. No stinging, no pain, just a bit of pressure and a feeling somewhat akin to slight heat as I'd emptied the syringe into my leg.
I massaged the injection spot for about 30 seconds and BAM! I'd just completed my first testosterone shot, delivered as a shallow intra-muscular injection!
Overall, there was less discomfort than when I'd gotten the shot at the clinic. Smaller needles, shallow IM versus deep IM maybe. Maybe the clinic nurse pressed the plunger a lot faster where I'd taken my time.
All I know is I felt quite a bit of relief knowing I could, henceforth, do the injection myself.
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