I guess I’m a walking ad now. Oh well…
I used to struggle with injections, like a lot.
Every week, I had a panic attack, tried to stab myself multiple times, blunted my needle in the process and then gave up and let my bf do it for me. And this was only once a week…
After a blood test, my doctor told me to up my dose. In my country, we use a drug called Neofollin. It’s estradiol valerate in sunflower seed oil at a 5mg/ml concentration. It comes in a small, glass, single-use ampule of 1ml, so 5mg of EV in a dose.
Neofollin
So, I started at 1 ampule a week. That didn’t work (later I found out my E level after 7 days was about 30pg/ml. Jesus).
I was instructed to switch to 2 ampules weekly. Knowing a bit about how EV works, I decided to alternate 3 and 4 days between a shot.
Now at this point, there was a lot of stabbing. I was struggling quite a bit. My fear of needles was now omnipresent in my day-to-day life, fearing my next shot. I knew I couldn’t go on like this.
So, I bought a new toy! A tool really. The Union Medico 90 auto-injector, made for intramuscular injections. I’ll admit, it was expensive. 120$ for the product plus shipping is a LOT of money. However, I couldn’t be happier…
Yes, I had to buy special BD 3ml syringes. Yes, I had to wait for the injector to arrive (took about a week). Yes, I struggled to push the button the first couple of times. I admit it.
But now? The longest part of my whole injection ritual is the drawing part. I don’t fear the button press anymore. It’s completely painless and every time, I’m surprised how quickly I get it over with.
4 days after a shot of EV, my E levels were at 110pg/ml, which was alright I guess, but I wanted just a bit more. So i switched to every 3 days.
I’m not lying when I say this: without this device, this schedule would have been impossible for me. A 1 1/2 inch needle into my thigh every 3 days? Nu-uh!
But now…I almost look forward to it…
The snap of the ampule, drawing up the oil (pink drawing needle to draw from a pink ampule, lol), switching the needle, readying the device, looking away briefly and just…pressing a button. I actually kinda enjoy it now.
Anyway, this post is already way too long. I just wanted to say, I get all of the benefits of injections (high and kinda stable levels) with almost the same comfort as taking pills. I’m glad I did it this way. If there’s anyone out there debating whether to get a device like this for themselves: do it. It will pay off.
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Yeah, I had an issue with doing the stabbing motion. My muscles often would just give out and not complete the motion with enough force. And that was after struggling to do it at all for several minutes each time. For me it’s probably partly that I’m on the Autism spectrum and have ADHD as well. But I just recently got this same autoinjector. Way too expensive for what it is, and the high US tariffs for importing it make it even worse. But as long as it lasts a while, it was well worth it.
When I had to do self-injections, I just slowly (over a minute or so) pushed the needle in, and then slowly pushed the plunger as well. Made it much easier, and didnt accidentally tense up.
Dunno if it works the same for your meds, but it did work for me.
This didn’t work for me unfortunately. I could never push the needle in, no matter how slowly.
So, I got a thing to do it for me 😆. Works extremely well.
What about DIY?
Is what I always recommend specially to people who live in a country like Czechia. Options there for transitioning are not the best…
Since I already got through the official bullshit, I have a stable supply of EV that I’d like to stick to.
DIY would be a dream tho. It’s even cheaper
My boyfriend is being an asshole about it. I’ll never understand why cis people consider DIY risky or dangerous. I see DIY producers as heroes. They’re the only hope for the majority of trans people…Prolly your bf did not experience what medical violence is, does not understand dysphoria so much or lack experience on any of this.
Interesting you had to increase your dose so much. I’m on 1 ampule of Neofollin and my test results are always 600+ pg/mL.
How? 😭
I’m so jealous of people with different metabolisms.
Also, forgive me for asking, but are you Czech by any chance? In your “Apple gore” post, I recognize the streamer Herdyn 😂
I’m from Slovakia 😂
Aha, even better 😂
Hello neighbor!
Do you take the test the day of the injection before the injection itself?
Most of the time it’s the day of injection. Sometimes I can only take the test 1 day before.
They dont allow you to choose the day?
You should always take it right before the injection, shouldn’t you? That should be the trough, the lowest point.
Yes :3
maybe i could switch back to injections with there idk
This is just my experience, but injecting manually, I was actually considering giving up HRT completely. Despite the great effects…
Did you switch away from injections?
Which method do you use now, if you don’t mind me asking?
I’m so happy you found a solution that works for you!
I also prefer injections now that I found a method that works for me. I started with sublingual then moved to estradiol cypionate 5mg/ml in cottonseed oil in 5ml vials. With injections I found that part of the problem was that I was prescribed 18G needles to draw and 23G needles to inject. With the 18G needles I was coring vials and with the 23G needles they hurt more than they needed to and left little red dots at the injection site that would last for months. I switched to 23G for drawing and 25G for injecting. The gauge of the needle made a huge difference for me. With the 23g needles I no longer core vials, but it does take longer to draw. The 25G needles are painless now. With the 23G I had to use a bandage where I injected, but now with 25G it can be hard to tell where the injection site was.
If I can obtain it I would like to switch to estradiol enanthate in MCT oil at 40mg/ml. The carrier oil is less thick which makes it easier to draw and inject. The much higher concentration means you have less volume to inject. I plan to use even smaller 30G insulin needles for drawing and injecting.
Huh, did 23G needles really hurt? I was prescribed 18G to draw and 20G to inject and that’s what I use still, even today.
Also, is the larger injection volume a problem for you, personally? I inject 1ml and I really don’t mind. It feels good in a strange way…
Highly recommend enanthate tho. All the people that I talk to that are on DIY recommend it. Exceptionally stable levels and pretty cheap too.
I never knew needle aversion was so common, I just did my injection. I have no problem with it but I’ll keep this in mind if I come across someone that hates needles.
I kinda knew it was common. It’s a really primal fear, I think.
What’s funny was, the first couple of times I was doing my injections at my doctor’s office to learn the process. I had no problem at all.
As soon as I was supposed to give myself one at home tho, I just could not do it to save my life 😂. My lovely bf saved me
Wow maybe I could switch back to injections
I kinda fucked up my shot and bled a couple times and started to get afraid of it so I switched back to pills. I was sorta hoping to do monotherapy at some point though so maybe this would be a good solution
Don’t get me wrong, I still bleed sometimes. But I don’t have to do the stabbing part, which is huge for me.
Also, this thing is painless. It’s really surprising, because it looks so violent. It’s one quick stab, but I barely feel it! 0 pain, and I use a 20G 4cm needle!
Can’t recommend it enough.
I’m still scared of needles but at least with undecylate my shot is only once a month, so it’s more bearable
Damn, jealous of your undecylate.
And here I am, injecting valerate, which is supposed to last a week, every 3 days 😭
Still wouldn’t trade it for anything thoWhich country is it? I bought mine DIY from America for like $100 for a vial that’s supposed to last around a year
It’s Central Europe-ish…
I’m fine with the official route for now. I don’t mind injections that often, as long as I have my auto-injector lol
