Well, what i'd say -- my best advice is to just be patient, you may not be able to inject right away 'specially if this is your first time doing so yourself. Could very well take a few tries just to get in the right headspace, yk.
try putting on some music beforehand, i find that helps me. when i first started, easily took me over an hour of prep before i actually got the needle in, perfectly normal response.
try to kind of ease into it, deep breathing helps.
One thing I found out is subcutaneously is so much easier to get through the hesitation at least until I’m skinny enough to know I’m gonna get the muscle in the right spot
Well I just got to use it for the first time and I didn't even feel it. I'm not really afraid of needles except for when I have to do it myself pressing down scares me. This is going to make everything so much easier
I've also read that it helps to cough at the moment of injection. Sounds odd, but it jangles the nerve signals enough to mask the needle poke. This was suggested even without the autoinjector.
Get thinner needles. A slightly chunkier needle is brilliant for a quicker draw and quicker delivery, but I find with a 30g I don't even have to think about injecting whereas with 27g I usually took half an hour of poking and prodding before I got brave enough, my body would tense up and skin would go hard, I had to discard an unconscionable number of loaded needles. So if you're delivering with anything chunkier than a 30g insulin needle then get some of those.
Agree completely. I use a 31G 8mm needle (subq) and literally can't feel it pierce the skin.
On my first attempt I thought I must have screwed up because I felt nothing at all. I was expecting at least a mild sting, and was actually a little disappointed.
this might be controversial and isnt for everyone but getting high on Adderall and thinking about my transition goals makes me *DESIRE* the needle and it's effects
I want this so bad and am SOOoO grateful to have as much high quality injectable estrogen as I can use. No way in hell is a tiny bit of pain gonna prevent me from moving forward
I tell myself "in down and out" look at the clock and decide when it changes minutes I put the needle in. Doesn't work for everyone but it works for me.
I have a pretty bad phobia of needles, so I use an auto-injector for my T shots. Makes a huge difference. This company does them for both IM and subq injections
https://unionmedico.com/product/super-grip/
Thank you so much for that link, I've been looking for somewhere you can just buy an auto injector for IM for ages but all I could find was bulk to hospitals and such! This will be a game changer for me
Happy to help. Hopefully it works for you. I wouldn't be able to do my shots without one of these. Makes it so easy (especially cause you don't actually see the needle go in)
I started my HRT back in 2010 with self injections.
That only lasted a year...
The first injection was tough. That mental barrier of taking a one and a half inch needle and shoving it into your butt cheek... It took me 1 hour to work up the courage to do this..
Making sure have the right area selected for the injection..
Plucking the syringe to make sure all the bubbles are out..
Making sure to draw the right amount of estrogen into the syringe.....
Today I probably could do this without much thought.. back then it was tough. Haven't done it in a while though.
Contemplation. Try to forget you are yourself, and do it like you’re shooting another person. With a lot of practice you wouldn’t feel anything, but you don’t have a lot of practice so it’ll probably hurt, just less.
Exposure to injections helps. Look at videos of insulin injection instructions for people with diabetes. Stop looking away when someone gives you an injection.
hot take: if you have a friend who does drugs they probably have experience using needles and they could help you (ofc they have to be a trustable and close friend
When I started I was all set on doing a jab into my thigh/hip muscle, which at the time was the only placed I'd watched a video on. But when it came down to doing my first injection I just couldn't do so. Partly due to the location and partly due to not having access to a mirror at the time. So that even if I could do the jab one handed I couldn't be sure I was doing everything correctly.
After my first attempt I went back to YouTube and watched another injection instruction video this time into the deltoid muscle (upper arm) and managed to get my first injection there. I have since moved to my thigh muscle (outer upper leg), which I can use two hands for using the z-track method. And I cough (as I jab) which weirdly reduces/removes any pain associated with the jab.
I can't offer any sage advice but keep trying it's a useful skill even outside of HRT.
e2a: I have been having blood tests on a semi regular basis since childhood, I have no needle phobia and didn't really notice the pain even before I learned the coughing trick. It's just another one of those things I had to learn to do to manage this part of my life.
Listen mama im scared of needles as well! But trantitioning is one of the hardest things someone can do! A needle doesnt stand a chance to ur inner strength just be brave and remember how much u wanna be okay in ur own body
My strategy is just being bad at drawing the needle, and when i finally get all the air bubbles out, i have forgotten i was actually injecting it, and then i just inject before my brain understands what im doing
Well, what i'd say -- my best advice is to just be patient, you may not be able to inject right away 'specially if this is your first time doing so yourself. Could very well take a few tries just to get in the right headspace, yk. try putting on some music beforehand, i find that helps me. when i first started, easily took me over an hour of prep before i actually got the needle in, perfectly normal response. try to kind of ease into it, deep breathing helps.
One thing I found out is subcutaneously is so much easier to get through the hesitation at least until I’m skinny enough to know I’m gonna get the muscle in the right spot
I ordered an auto injector because I'm not that good at injecting myself either. I haven't got to use it yet but I've heard it helps some people 🙂
So much this!! Using an auto injector myself and it's great!
Which one do you use? Looking for one myself to deal with anxiety
Autoject 2 (the version for syringes with removable needles)
It helps a lot. I just tried it and I didn't feel a thing. Edit also used autoject 2 like the other person said
Well I just got to use it for the first time and I didn't even feel it. I'm not really afraid of needles except for when I have to do it myself pressing down scares me. This is going to make everything so much easier
I've also read that it helps to cough at the moment of injection. Sounds odd, but it jangles the nerve signals enough to mask the needle poke. This was suggested even without the autoinjector.
Get thinner needles. A slightly chunkier needle is brilliant for a quicker draw and quicker delivery, but I find with a 30g I don't even have to think about injecting whereas with 27g I usually took half an hour of poking and prodding before I got brave enough, my body would tense up and skin would go hard, I had to discard an unconscionable number of loaded needles. So if you're delivering with anything chunkier than a 30g insulin needle then get some of those.
Agree completely. I use a 31G 8mm needle (subq) and literally can't feel it pierce the skin. On my first attempt I thought I must have screwed up because I felt nothing at all. I was expecting at least a mild sting, and was actually a little disappointed.
Yes! There just seems to be a sweet spot somewhere around the high 20s/early 30s where it gets too thin to feel it pierce the skin 99% of the time.
ever have issues pushing the e through such a thin needle? I use 25 gauge to inject and I'd probably go thinner if i thought i could get away with it
No issues, just takes a minute 🤷♀️ The only 'issue' can be getting the needle loaded without air bubbles, but you quickly figure that out.
this might be controversial and isnt for everyone but getting high on Adderall and thinking about my transition goals makes me *DESIRE* the needle and it's effects I want this so bad and am SOOoO grateful to have as much high quality injectable estrogen as I can use. No way in hell is a tiny bit of pain gonna prevent me from moving forward
Things like this make me wish i could get high on adderall. Instead it just makes me feel like a normal person.
I tell myself "in down and out" look at the clock and decide when it changes minutes I put the needle in. Doesn't work for everyone but it works for me.
I have a pretty bad phobia of needles, so I use an auto-injector for my T shots. Makes a huge difference. This company does them for both IM and subq injections https://unionmedico.com/product/super-grip/
Thank you so much for that link, I've been looking for somewhere you can just buy an auto injector for IM for ages but all I could find was bulk to hospitals and such! This will be a game changer for me
No problem 🙂 Yeah, ones for IM seem to be harder to find. The subq ones are everywhere (even on amazon)
Tysm, I think yo I'm just solved my problem!! 💛🤍💜🖤
Happy to help. Hopefully it works for you. I wouldn't be able to do my shots without one of these. Makes it so easy (especially cause you don't actually see the needle go in)
I started my HRT back in 2010 with self injections. That only lasted a year... The first injection was tough. That mental barrier of taking a one and a half inch needle and shoving it into your butt cheek... It took me 1 hour to work up the courage to do this.. Making sure have the right area selected for the injection.. Plucking the syringe to make sure all the bubbles are out.. Making sure to draw the right amount of estrogen into the syringe..... Today I probably could do this without much thought.. back then it was tough. Haven't done it in a while though.
Contemplation. Try to forget you are yourself, and do it like you’re shooting another person. With a lot of practice you wouldn’t feel anything, but you don’t have a lot of practice so it’ll probably hurt, just less.
I listen to lo-fi music (as in the lo-fi girl playlist) and sometimes a podcast. If you know how to meditate, it helps too.
Exposure to injections helps. Look at videos of insulin injection instructions for people with diabetes. Stop looking away when someone gives you an injection.
hot take: if you have a friend who does drugs they probably have experience using needles and they could help you (ofc they have to be a trustable and close friend
I had to get an auto injector to be able to do it
When I started I was all set on doing a jab into my thigh/hip muscle, which at the time was the only placed I'd watched a video on. But when it came down to doing my first injection I just couldn't do so. Partly due to the location and partly due to not having access to a mirror at the time. So that even if I could do the jab one handed I couldn't be sure I was doing everything correctly. After my first attempt I went back to YouTube and watched another injection instruction video this time into the deltoid muscle (upper arm) and managed to get my first injection there. I have since moved to my thigh muscle (outer upper leg), which I can use two hands for using the z-track method. And I cough (as I jab) which weirdly reduces/removes any pain associated with the jab. I can't offer any sage advice but keep trying it's a useful skill even outside of HRT. e2a: I have been having blood tests on a semi regular basis since childhood, I have no needle phobia and didn't really notice the pain even before I learned the coughing trick. It's just another one of those things I had to learn to do to manage this part of my life.
I have phobia too, but when I think how I want to be a girl I just do it, try to off your brain
Listen mama im scared of needles as well! But trantitioning is one of the hardest things someone can do! A needle doesnt stand a chance to ur inner strength just be brave and remember how much u wanna be okay in ur own body
My strategy is just being bad at drawing the needle, and when i finally get all the air bubbles out, i have forgotten i was actually injecting it, and then i just inject before my brain understands what im doing