ive been trying to figure this one out i finally have what i need to do these injections but im freaking out whenever i try to put a fucking sharp fucking needle inside of my body. yesterday, i managed to make it as far as halfway through a layer of fat covering my deltoid before i freaked the fuck out and yanked it back out (and i was attempting IM.... however im thinking because SQ would be easier to access i should at least start with that)
who else here even has this problem with needles, and how the fuck are you dealing with it? or do you maybe just straight up have someone else inject you, maybe? i just dont understand why this has to be so hard
at this point im thinking i should just rail a shit load of ketamine adn do it then (i mean it is an anesthetic, so), as it shouldnt fuck up the bioavailability of the injection, or mess with absorption rates
Edit : ya so i sucked it the fuck up, did what i mentioned (the thing above) because i realized that was probably my best chance at reducing any nervousness, i took an ice cube and held it to my hip for 10 or 20 sec and just stuck it in and i was shocked by first of all how easily the needle went in (i am using 27gauge however, which i kind of regret buying cuz even though its very thin, its that thinness that makes the solution very hard to pull into the syringe and equally hard to inject. dont make this mistake, get a thicker gauge.) and secondly how painless it was. i legit didnt feel anything, not even when pushing down the plunger. but yeah , i just wanted to add this, so that anyone else who may come across this post in the future should have a reference for how they can do an injection even if they have a weird phobia of needles
I really am glad my trans people can ask this stuff openly here without some chud coming in to talk shit. I'm not trans myself but I was a heroin addict with a phobia of needles and trust me, once you've jabbed yourself enough times, the phobia slips away/
yes, thank you it is helpful. its also nice hearing a timeline for how someone else has progressed in their anxiety over this stuff! having someone to distract you (talking to them) is a good idea, ill try this in the future.
I do subq testosterone in my belly fat. I'm not super proud of this, but I also use substances. In my case, I have a beer before I do it and then a "celebration" beer afterwards. It definitely gets easier with time in my experience, but even 2 years later there's always the moment when the needle is up to my skin where I'm like, ok, gotta do this shit now, and sometimes it's a little hard to actually do the stabby stabby.
Also, a 27 gauge?! That's super thin! I have a hard time getting stuff through a 25 gauge, but for the actual stab, I like the 25 rather better than the 22 my doctor suggested, which is just far too large.
it sounds like needles are hurting you more because you tense up before using them so as you get more comfortable they'll hurt less. they have a new anastetic for needles which is just compressed cold air cools the skin down before you inject into it making it less sensitive.
Move to subq if possible - it hurts way less than IM because you don’t have to go as deep.
disclaimer this advice is for T only, I have no idea about estrogen but it’s probably the same
I was told to administer estrogen subq as well, and I was shown where to locate the middle of my vastus lateralis to do so.
Not trans, but on the topic of disliking needles, I do have to get shots regularly. I still freak out about IV, but for all others, I'll just play the good ol' imagination game. It's how I deal with a lot of shit in life.
So like, I'll tell myself I'm a superhero getting super powers, or I'll try to pretend it's a kinky sex thing, or I'll pretend I'm some tough adventurer--the kind who takes an arrow in the arm and just pulls the arrow right out, unfazed...
I get really skeeved out by needles, but I always find that if I don't look at what's happening then I can stay calm through it. Maybe you've got a cool friend or family member who can inject you while you look straight ahead and talk about bullshit to distract yourself?
I managed to always self-administer properly, but the anxiety caused me to procrastinate too often in doing it at all, so I moved to pills.
edit: I should say that, if you are on T, you don't have an alternative to injections
