When people are considering doing their first cycle, proper injection technique is usually the last thing they consider. Usually, people have a goal, and then research various drugs and cycles which they think will help them achieve that goal. Usually itŽs not until someone has a bunch of vials sitting in front of them, and a bag of needles and syringes, that they start thinking about how theyŽre actually going to get the oil out of the bottle and into their body!
Hopefully this article will make that first injection- and all of your subsequent ones- a bit less confusing and a lot less painful.
First, youŽll need to draw the steroid out of the vial, with a syringe. The most common size for injecting anabolic steroids is a 22-23ga. X 1-1.5" needle. This size will work for all water based and oil based injectable steroids. The first thing you need to do is make sure you are using a clean, unused needle. Next, make sure the top of the vial is clean, and swab it with an alcohol pad.
To draw the liquid out of the vial, youŽll first want to pull some air into the syringe, usually as much as it will hold. Next, you want to hold the vial upside down and inject the air into the vial. This will increase pressure inside the vial and allow the liquid to be drawn into the syringe more easily. Once youŽve one this, and while youŽre still holding the vial upside down (you need to make sure the tip of the needle is below the level of the liquid), begin to slowly pull back on the plunger and draw the desired amount of liquid into the syringe.
Next you have the option of replacing the needle that breached the rubber stopper of the vial with a fresh needle. This is because even one pass through the rubber of a vial will blunt the tip of a needle- even if this is not visible to the naked eye, itŽs still got the potential to cause additional discomfort when you inject.
After you have replaced the needle, if youŽve chosen to do so, youŽll need to swab the area you are about to inject with a new, clean, alcohol pad. The most common injection site is the Dorsogluteal site (ass).
Another common site for injection is the Ventrogluteal part of the Gluteus (slightly higher and to the outside of the Dorsogluteal site).
Of course, other sites such as the deltoid (shoulder), Triceps and Biceps (arms), as well as even Pectorals (chest- a bit too "Pulp Fiction" for me, personally) and Calves are used as injection sites. But regardless of the site, the same procedure and sanitary protocol must be followed.
Anyway, after the site has been wiped with an alcohol pad, youŽll want to relax the area, and if possible, stretch the skin taught with your thumb and forefinger. This will make , the skin tight and provide an easier injection. Once you have the skin stretched, while holding the needle like a dart, insert it with one swift motion, all the way to the end of the needle. Do this at a 90 degree angle relative to the muscle you are injecting.
Next, pull back on the plunger, and check that no blood enters the syringe. As long as no blood has entered (signifying that youŽve his a blood vessel, and that this is not a good injection to continue), push down on the plunger slowly with a slow, steady pressure. Once the syringe is empty, pull out the needle with one swift motion, and put pressure on the area with a sterile alcohol pad. Next, simply apply a bandage, recap the needle, and dispose of everything in a safe manner.
For doing a subcutaneous shot, with an insulin needle (this is typically how Growth Hormone is administered), youŽll follow all of those steps, but instead of stretching your skin taught, youŽll be pulling the skin away from your body and inserting the needle at a 45 degree angle into the "pocket" of space between your skin and muscle.
Again, dispose of your needles safely, and remember to follow this same procedure for every injection, to avoid the possibility of infections and abscesses.
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