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If you are new to steroids, this FAQ should answer your injection questions. We will start with a few definitions.......
1) 1cc = 1ml , 100units = 1cc (insulin syringe, but 1iu DOES NOT EQUAL 1unit!!!
2) Gauge: The thickness of the needle. The smaller the gauge, the thicker the needle. An 18g is much thicker than a 22g. You will typically use a 25g or a 23g for injecting, and a 22g or larger for drawing.
3) Drawing: the act of sucking up the steroid from the bottle into the syringe. A "drawing needle" is a needle tip that is used to draw the oil up faster, but you will take off and replace with a smaller guage needle for the actual injecting.
4) Length: Generally 1.5" or 1" for our purposes. 5/8" is sometimes used for intramuscular "spot shots". Spot shots are designed to bring up lagging body parts by injecting into smaller muscles. Growth hormone, IGF-1, and other things injected subcutaneously are done with insulin syringes that have a 1/2 inch length.
5) YES, you can mix water and oil-based steroids in the same syringe.
6) intramuscular (IM) injection: A technique to deliver a medication into muscle tissue for it's eventual absorption into the systemic circulation. Steroids, both oil and water-based, are administered this way.
7) subcutaneous (sub-q) injection: A technique to deliver a medication into the soft tissue (fat) immediately underlying the skin. Insulin, HCG, and HGH are typically administered this way.
8) aspiration: To aspirate is to withdraw fluid with a syringe. More specifically, after inserting the needle, pulling back on the plunger of the syringe for a few seconds to see if the needle is in a blood vessel. Rarely, this will be the case and a bit of blood will fill the syringe. If this happens the needle should be removed, replaced with a new one, and another injection site should be used. And yes, if there is a little blood in your syringe, it is ok to inject it along with your steroid once you have found a different spot..........it's your own blood isn't it?
Q&A Section:
1) Do I really need to aspirate?
Those who inject without aspirating are taking unnecessary chances. Sweating, nausea, dizziness, severe coughing, breathing difficulties, anaphylactic shock, coma or death can all result from not aspirating. Most of the time, steroid users experience dizziness and coughing fits when they inject into a blood vessel. But you need to be aware of the dangers of neglecting this simple technique that should take about 3-5 seconds of your time.
2) What exactly is an abscess?
Abscesses occur when an area of tissue becomes infected and the body is able to "wall off" the infection and keep it from spreading. White blood cells migrate through the walls of the blood vessels into the area of the infection and collect within the damaged tissue. During this process, pus forms (an accumulation of fluid, living and dead white blood cells, dead tissue, and bacteria or other foreign invaders or materials). Abscesses can form in almost every part of the body and may be caused by bacteria, parasites, or foreign materials. Most of the time, it is caused by unsanitary injection techniques. On very rare occasions, it can be caused by foreign particles your gear (a greater chance of this occurs when using/making a homebrew). The abscesses that we are concerned about are usually reddish, raised, and painful.
3) How do they treat an abscess?
Antibiotics are often given to aid the cure of an abscess but the real cure is generally surgical. A doctor would open the thing up and allow the pus to drain, then the body would take care of the infection. Some have even gone so far as to "drain" their own abscesses by inserting a needle/syringe into the abscessed area and drawing out the accumulated pus, although this is not recommended.
4) Can I reuse the same needle?
Yes, but only if you are an idiot or cannot obtain anymore needles. There really is no need to explain why you shouldn't re-use a needle. Common sense should kick in here, but the bottom line of re-using needles is an INCREASED CHANCE OF INFECTION. If you have trouble obtaining needles in your area, try finding a different way of getting them. The hassle of finding a source is negligible compared to the hassle of the abscess in your ass that would most-likely require a doctor and a scalpel. There are methods to "sterilize" a needle for re-use, but I will not delve into them. If you are still considering re-using a needle, re-read the above two questions.
5) Can I inject with the same needle I draw with?
Yes, but it is preferable to switch the needle out with a new one. The needle dulls significantly when pushed into the rubber stopper of your vial or scraped along the bottom of your amp. You may not notice the difference if you inject into your glute, but try injecting into an area that has more nerve endings such as a delt or bicep and you will notice immediately.
6) Does it matter if I push the needle in fast or slow?
I would recommend slowly, but this is personal preference. A lot of people will tell you to jab the needle in quickly. These people usually stop that practice after the first time they hit a nerve going in at full speed (usually quad shots). By going in slowly, you'll have more time to react if you hit a nerve.
7) How many ccs can I shoot in one place?
It depends on how big you are. A general guideline is 1cc for delts, 2cc for quads, and up to 3ccs for glutes. Some do more, some do less......it all depends. After a cycle or two, you will know what your body can handle. If you are injecting into other muscles such as biceps, triceps, or calves, it's best to start off with a small volume and work your way up.
8) Can I pre-load my syringes?
If at all possible, leave it in the vial or amp. If you need to pre-load, just keep in mind that the syringe must be stored safely. Preloading a syringe a long time before you will shoot it gives the chance for bacteria to get in the syringe and sometimes the solvents in the steroid will eat away at the plastic in the syringe, causing the plunger to "stick". I would not preload a syringe unless I was going to use it within the same day, or within the next 12 hours.
9) Which is the best brand of needle?
Terumo, B-D, and Monoject are the primary manufacturers of needles/syringes. Both Terumo and B-D have an ultra-thin wall design (the wall of the needle is thinner, so more fluid can pass through the same gauge of needle). From personal experience as well as opinions from many other steroid users, BD seems to be the highest quality. I've found Terumo plungers to "stick" from time to time.
1) 1cc = 1ml , 100units = 1cc (insulin syringe, but 1iu DOES NOT EQUAL 1unit!!!
2) Gauge: The thickness of the needle. The smaller the gauge, the thicker the needle. An 18g is much thicker than a 22g. You will typically use a 25g or a 23g for injecting, and a 22g or larger for drawing.
3) Drawing: the act of sucking up the steroid from the bottle into the syringe. A "drawing needle" is a needle tip that is used to draw the oil up faster, but you will take off and replace with a smaller guage needle for the actual injecting.
4) Length: Generally 1.5" or 1" for our purposes. 5/8" is sometimes used for intramuscular "spot shots". Spot shots are designed to bring up lagging body parts by injecting into smaller muscles. Growth hormone, IGF-1, and other things injected subcutaneously are done with insulin syringes that have a 1/2 inch length.
5) YES, you can mix water and oil-based steroids in the same syringe.
6) intramuscular (IM) injection: A technique to deliver a medication into muscle tissue for it's eventual absorption into the systemic circulation. Steroids, both oil and water-based, are administered this way.
7) subcutaneous (sub-q) injection: A technique to deliver a medication into the soft tissue (fat) immediately underlying the skin. Insulin, HCG, and HGH are typically administered this way.
8) aspiration: To aspirate is to withdraw fluid with a syringe. More specifically, after inserting the needle, pulling back on the plunger of the syringe for a few seconds to see if the needle is in a blood vessel. Rarely, this will be the case and a bit of blood will fill the syringe. If this happens the needle should be removed, replaced with a new one, and another injection site should be used. And yes, if there is a little blood in your syringe, it is ok to inject it along with your steroid once you have found a different spot..........it's your own blood isn't it?
Q&A Section:
1) Do I really need to aspirate?
Those who inject without aspirating are taking unnecessary chances. Sweating, nausea, dizziness, severe coughing, breathing difficulties, anaphylactic shock, coma or death can all result from not aspirating. Most of the time, steroid users experience dizziness and coughing fits when they inject into a blood vessel. But you need to be aware of the dangers of neglecting this simple technique that should take about 3-5 seconds of your time.
2) What exactly is an abscess?
Abscesses occur when an area of tissue becomes infected and the body is able to "wall off" the infection and keep it from spreading. White blood cells migrate through the walls of the blood vessels into the area of the infection and collect within the damaged tissue. During this process, pus forms (an accumulation of fluid, living and dead white blood cells, dead tissue, and bacteria or other foreign invaders or materials). Abscesses can form in almost every part of the body and may be caused by bacteria, parasites, or foreign materials. Most of the time, it is caused by unsanitary injection techniques. On very rare occasions, it can be caused by foreign particles your gear (a greater chance of this occurs when using/making a homebrew). The abscesses that we are concerned about are usually reddish, raised, and painful.
3) How do they treat an abscess?
Antibiotics are often given to aid the cure of an abscess but the real cure is generally surgical. A doctor would open the thing up and allow the pus to drain, then the body would take care of the infection. Some have even gone so far as to "drain" their own abscesses by inserting a needle/syringe into the abscessed area and drawing out the accumulated pus, although this is not recommended.
4) Can I reuse the same needle?
Yes, but only if you are an idiot or cannot obtain anymore needles. There really is no need to explain why you shouldn't re-use a needle. Common sense should kick in here, but the bottom line of re-using needles is an INCREASED CHANCE OF INFECTION. If you have trouble obtaining needles in your area, try finding a different way of getting them. The hassle of finding a source is negligible compared to the hassle of the abscess in your ass that would most-likely require a doctor and a scalpel. There are methods to "sterilize" a needle for re-use, but I will not delve into them. If you are still considering re-using a needle, re-read the above two questions.
5) Can I inject with the same needle I draw with?
Yes, but it is preferable to switch the needle out with a new one. The needle dulls significantly when pushed into the rubber stopper of your vial or scraped along the bottom of your amp. You may not notice the difference if you inject into your glute, but try injecting into an area that has more nerve endings such as a delt or bicep and you will notice immediately.
6) Does it matter if I push the needle in fast or slow?
I would recommend slowly, but this is personal preference. A lot of people will tell you to jab the needle in quickly. These people usually stop that practice after the first time they hit a nerve going in at full speed (usually quad shots). By going in slowly, you'll have more time to react if you hit a nerve.
7) How many ccs can I shoot in one place?
It depends on how big you are. A general guideline is 1cc for delts, 2cc for quads, and up to 3ccs for glutes. Some do more, some do less......it all depends. After a cycle or two, you will know what your body can handle. If you are injecting into other muscles such as biceps, triceps, or calves, it's best to start off with a small volume and work your way up.
8) Can I pre-load my syringes?
If at all possible, leave it in the vial or amp. If you need to pre-load, just keep in mind that the syringe must be stored safely. Preloading a syringe a long time before you will shoot it gives the chance for bacteria to get in the syringe and sometimes the solvents in the steroid will eat away at the plastic in the syringe, causing the plunger to "stick". I would not preload a syringe unless I was going to use it within the same day, or within the next 12 hours.
9) Which is the best brand of needle?
Terumo, B-D, and Monoject are the primary manufacturers of needles/syringes. Both Terumo and B-D have an ultra-thin wall design (the wall of the needle is thinner, so more fluid can pass through the same gauge of needle). From personal experience as well as opinions from many other steroid users, BD seems to be the highest quality. I've found Terumo plungers to "stick" from time to time.
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