injection sites

[alm1698]

Hey there! thank you all for the help. I got the arimidex and learned something about them damn prohormones. my test cyp cycle is going well. Not to many results but only a few weeks so far. I do find that there are lumps underneath where I am injecting myself. any advice

[bigjessetd]

lumps are normal especially for virgin muscle as long as they are not really painful or hot to the touch (means you may have infection). Either heat the oil or massage the injection area to reduce lumps. Personally I shoot upwards of 4 cc's into my glutes, v glutes, or quads with no lumps any more, so it will get better with time.

[access]

I know you can get relief from massaging the area after a shot but IMO this is not something you should be doing.

If you massage the area immediately after a shot you run a chance of allowing the oil to seep back into the subcutaneous layers. This then can lead to a sterile or nonsterile abcess. There is also a risk of cellulitis or just general irritation of the area.

You would be surprised at how long the needle track takes to close after an injection and if you begin to massage the area you could foreseeably force the oil back up this track and into the subcutaneous region. Further you can cause more scar tissue damage if you force the oil along the muslce fascia and through the fibers.

Also you don't mention what gauge needle your injecting with as this could be part of the problem. Try a 25 gauge 1.5 inch if your not doing so now for glutes. Some soreness is defintely normal on virgin muscle as big noted but make sure your going deep enough too. Get it all the way via 90 degrees into the muscle and inject slowly. You can heat the oil to improve viscosity and this does help with pain from a lot of steroids.

As long as the lump does not get bigger or any more painful then you should have nothing to be concerend about. Typically it should subside in a day or two.

[zachsdad]

I agree with Access on this one. I used to have the same problems during my first couple of weeks of injections, then I was given the following advice ....."It is true that injections should be slow. As well as the reason of the needle causing less damage, this is another reason to prefer 25 gauge for a 3 mL syringe, as it naturally makes injections slower, though it's still possible to inject faster than optimal with a 25 gauge. But you have to try, so to speak.)

Slower and better yet is using a 1 mL insulin syringe, 1/2 inch, 29 gauge.

Just imagining the situation, is there magically a 3 mL (or whatever) cavity in the muscle ready to take in the oil? Are there big conduits built in that are ready to take it away? We know that's not so.

Rather the oil either can only seep between the fibers, which occurs only slowly, or the muscle is getting kind of brutalized and temporarily forced apart at the injection site. Not really the best.

Besides, including 1 mL insulin-needle injections opens up far more sites for injection, and thus build up of scar tissue can be minimized or actually zero.

That isn't to say it isn't sometimes convenient to do a 3 mL glute injection because it can be. But as the sole means of delivery, that's not best, IMO.

It's also probably not a bad idea to have on hand good antibiotics, which these days are pretty easily available via the Internet, just in case. Infections are rare overall, I've never had one, but I've almost always had some Cipro, cephalexin, and doxycycline on hand just in case. (Just as one combination that is unlikely to fail. If using only two, it would be the doxycycline that was best dropped. Using "only" the first two is already better than most MD's do for you.)

However, so far your case does sound more like having injected too fast, fortunately the better alternative. Best wishes on it!

Might be an interesting experiment, I've never done it, to take a thick hunk of raw beef, a pot roast or something, try injecting 3 mL of vegetable oil rapidly, and then dissect it to see if there's visible damage. Could be very illuminating. I've never done it, as it's already clear that local injury is caused by too-rapid injection."......

...anyway I hope this helps.

[the man in black]

Slower and better yet is using a 1 mL insulin syringe, 1/2 inch, 29 gauge.

if you used .5 pin wouldn't you have to push it all the way in for IM and run the risk of maybe breaking it off with nothing to pull it out with?

[access]

This might help also:

The COMPLETE 25 steps to injecting (it is easy!!)

[josh1095]

ive taken under 30 injexts ever, but i can say that the massaging deals no good. it actually hurts if i try to rub it out right after an inject.

[HashMan]

Originally Posted by josh1095

ive taken under 30 injexts ever, but i can say that the massaging deals no good. it actually hurts if i try to rub it out right after an inject.

The massage works great for me, I do it with every injection, i have little to no scar tissue and my sites are only sore for 1-2 days, I think a lot of this has to do with how hard you massage it, a very light 30 second massage with an alcohol soaked cotton ball does wonders for me...

[advanced-stealth-rep]

Very good.

Originally Posted by access

This might help also:

The COMPLETE 25 steps to injecting (it is easy!!)

[dashizzle]

Originally Posted by HashMan

The massage works great for me, I do it with every injection, i have little to no scar tissue and my sites are only sore for 1-2 days, I think a lot of this has to do with how hard you massage it, a very light 30 second massage with an alcohol soaked cotton ball does wonders for me...

Me too. I massage gently with a swab for about 30 seconds. 2 days(3 at the most) of site soreness. The word "gently" being the key word. My first few injections, I massaged too hard, and the site was hard and sore for about 4 days.
injecting SLOWLY helps too.
once or twice, I pushed the gear in too quickly, and that made it hard, and hurt like hell for a while too.

Patience, and gentle massage.