HCG (Sub-q) gun shy...

[Sonny]

Hi All:

I had an injection go bad with HCG a few weeks ago. The injection itself hurt like hell, it bled, and it left a nasty bruise that took several weeks to heal. Since then, I've been a little (a lot?) paranoid about my sub-q injections.

I guess I have a lot of veins that are close to the surface of my skin? I'm relatively lean...about 12-13% bf.

I have some fatty skin to the left and right of my belly button, but I have fattier (is that a word?) skin further up my abs. Can I inject up there? My assumption is that the fattier the skin, the less likely I'll hit a vein? I'm using a 29g x 1/2" needle and I'm going straight in (not at an angle).

Thanks,
Sonny

 

[DavidZ]

There's no reason to use a 29 gauge needle for HCG injections. The newest needles are 31 gauge. Before that I used only 30 gauge.

I've been injecting HCG for 5 years. I noticed that sometimes there's a little sting and sometimes there isn't. So, this is what I do now. First, I fill the syringe. Then I take the tip of needle and tap around at different spots on my upper thigh (while sitting). When I find the spot that's least sensitive, I inject there. Works every time. I feel nothing.

To eliminate bleeding, pull the needle out slowly until it's almost out. Then quickly pull the last little bit of the needle out and quickly put your finger on the spot for a couple of seconds. No bleeding. Ever. Unless you're not quick enough.

 

[cpeil2]

You could also use a shorter needle. I used a 30g insulin syringe w/ a 3/16" needle. It was virtually painless. Less than 24 hrs. later, I couldn't find the injection site.

 

[mranak]

I've never had this happen. I use 29G .5" .5mL insulin syringes. I'm guessing that this has something to do either with your technique or the place you selected for injection.

Are you softly pinching the skin between your fingers? Are you injecting into the fat, but not too close to the skin? What angle do you inject at?

 

[Stez]

I use 27g slin pins!!!! Time to get smaller i think! sick of all these red dots on my stomach hehe1

 

[Sonny]

I'm using 29g x 1/2" needles, going in at a 90 deg angle.

I'm pinching the skin between my fingers, but I'm not really pulling it away from my body. Does that make a difference?

Can I also inject in the fatty area on the side of my hip? I don't see any veins there, it's fatty, and the skin there is less sensitive.

Sonny

 

[earthdog]

Don't know about the hip. Swale says do it within 6" of the navel. Well it just so happens that I store fat around the navel area, so I do it there. Aside from the bubble-under-the-skin incident yesterday, which was of my own doing, I have not had one single issue with the hcg shots. I'm using 30ga 5/16" insulin syringes and sometimes I can't even feel the needle go in. I mean that. Other times I feel a pinch. But overall, it's much easier than the cyp shot, IMO.

There is a demo here: http://www.bddiabetes.com/us/demos/injecting.asp

 

[mranak]

Good luck with your next injection. Maybe go just a bit higher a a little closer to the navel. Insert the needle at 45 degrees if you like.

 

[SWALE]

You guys figured this one out. Well done.