testosterone

[newman29]

I have posted on forums before but seldom get an  answer.
My family doctor has me on the androderm patch.  It seems to be working ok, but it is somewhat of a pain to place the patch and keep it sticking.  The doctor doesnt like the injections because your testosterone fluctuates too much.  Why can't the injectable be made thinner and inject small amounts daily with an insulin syringe?.

[James186282]

I'm not sure what your looking for as far as a status update?  For what its worth the injections worked fine and the smaller needles were a big plus for me (23 or 25 gauge) also you need to be aware of where your injecting and avoid reusing the same (Exact) location over and over.   That said - I switched back to Androgel for a few months to give my legs a "rest" from the injections.  I think that gels and the patch do more closely mimic the normal 24 hour cycle and keep the levels from going too high or low but 7 to 10 days interval injections cycles work really well (for me) as well.

BTW how I judge how its working are mood, energy, sex drive, mental fog.  HRT is a huge plus for all these and really helps my "mental health" ;-) as well...

[rmprdl1964]

I do not understand the whole problem about injection oneself with testosterone.
I have been injecting myself monthly with 1 cc of Delatestryl. The reason while a larger gauge needle is used is the fact that the use Sesamy seed oil as a base for the testosterone. The oil is thick and if a small gauge needle is used it becomes to difficult to inject. I use a 22 G needle and inject it into my hip. I have tried my thigh, but that was little bit uncomfortable, nothing painfull however.
Placing the inejction in the hip myself has not caused me pain. I am aware of the needle going in and the sensation of injecting a liquid, but it has been no different that getting an injection in the arm. I have been doing this since 2003.
If injecting does hurt, I assume that it is not done right. I only had this once when the doctor used a smaller gauge needle. She was under the impression that the smaller needle would hurt less. All the other times that I was injected by the 3 different doctors who worked out of the same clinic it never hurt.
Since I live out of town and don't drive anymore, I aproached the urologist about doing this myself. He aproved off this and I have been doing so for the last 7 to 8 years now.

I do have several problems and even those have caused me no pain. One I'm visually impaired and the other is that I at times have an uncontroled tremble of my hands and arms. One would think that this would cause the injection to hurt. This is not the case.
Discuss the matter with your doctor or urologist. I'm glad that I did.

All the best.

Ron

[Brucergoldberg]

I love how these conversations just start and then just trail off.  No one ever posts follow ups....  how are you guys doing?

[RANDO88]

I start testosterone injections this week.I am abit apprehensive also.  I have read that running hot water over the syringe helps, as does massaging the injection site. Will soon find out.  Rando88

[James186282]

I do injections (Weekly) and have just started using a 25 Gauge 1 inch syringe.  Its pretty comfortable but is slow to draw the drug.  I started btw learning with a 16 gauge and THAT just hurt like hell.  For a long time I used 23 Gauge because everyone said it was the smallest you can use but the trick is to hold the bottle of Testosterone in your hand for a minute to let it warm up a bit.  This helps it flow both into the hypo and into your body when you inject.

Weekly shots avoid most of the levels swings.  I tried 3 weeks (HORRORS) and 2 week intervals.  The first part of 2 weeks was manic the last couple days was awful.  7 to 10 days works best I think for most men.

[newman29]

I switched from patch to gel, and it only takes about a week to get normal readings.  The gel is wonderful.  Let me know about your experience.

[david778]

How long Ione has to use these patch fto bring his testosteronr level normal ?

[newman29]

Thanks so much for the reply.  I do have minor skin  reaction.  I have about a 12 hour limit for the patch.  After that it can become blistered.  So I assume the other type of daily injection is out(insulin type) I'm not sure if the gels are covered by my insurance, I will pursue that. Again thanks.  

[Dr_Veena]

Hi, How are you? Testosterone has been used for many decades for the treatment of testosterone deficient males.Today options for treatment include topical testosterone gels and creams, short and long acting injections of testosterone esters, application of testosterone through skin patches, subcutaneous testosterone implants,  and oral testosterone capsules.
The injection is given deep intra-muscular and is quite often painful. The injection results in very high circulating concentrations of testosterone for several days after administration, with a progressive fall to normal or sub-normal concentrations over the succeeding 2-3 weeks. Due to excess and deficiency of testosterone in a fall and rise kind of pattern irreversible side-effects are very common. That is why they are usually not preferred.
Testosterone skin patches provide physiological testosterone replacement, with night-time applications leading to a pattern of circulating concentrations similar to that normally seen in healthy males. Side effects usually are skin reactions which can lead to discontinuation of therapy. Do you have any skin reactions?
Of all the above mentioned ways of treatment creams and gels are more patient friendly, with less side effects and more efficacy.Consult your doctor for further assistance.
Best.