I have used needles and syringes from several of the top companies. The four most readily availible compaines are:
Becton Dickinson
Excel
Ryvmed
Terumo
I have used syringes and needles from all four. Here are the things I have learned.
Needle:
BD has bad batchess from time to time that are as dull as a wooden spoon.
Terumo is consistantly the sharpest of the bunch, with some reports of needle breakage.
Exel has the largest selection of sizes, but they don't seem to cut as sharply as the Terumo pins.
The jury is still out on the Ryvmed needles. Mine was slow going in, but it didn't feel like it was tearing anything. I think Terumo is still the champion in needles.
Syringe:
BD syringes are narrower and longer than the other two. this works great for hard to reach injections. However, their plunger is a little harder to depress than the Terumo. Their ears (flanges) are fairly long as compared with others. This give you the ability to actully hold onto the syringe.
Terumo syrniges are fatter and shorter, making them easier to handle for Bi's and tri's. They are also the smoothest in operation of all three. The only problem I have with the Terumo syringes would be the flanges. They are so short that I can't get a good hold on the thing.
The Exel syringe is junk. It is shaped much like the Terumo, but the the rubber plunger to the plastic plunger depresser contact is not very tight. The plunger does not slide along the barrel, instead is scrapes, hangs, and causes trouble. Exel syringes also have a short flange, making them difficult to handle.
The Ryvmed syringe is a good syringe. The stopper slides smoothly along the barrel. It is air tight, unlke the exel junk. The packaging is rather sharp...it is in a clear plastic sleeve that you simply tear open...not like the bandaid wrapper on other syringes. The Ryvmed has nice long flanges, just like the BD syringe. In fact, the Ryvmed is feels and handles just like the BD syringe.
I prefer to have some Terumo and some BD (or Ryvmed) syringes with all Terumo needles. You can tailor your syringe and needle combination to fit your specific injection. While this will certainly seem like overkill on an insignificant subject to many of you, those of you who inject ED or even more frequently can gain from this (assuming you don't already know). For those newbies who don't know what to buy, this can help you.
I know it has been posted many times, but this is another fine place for the info to be added.
Before I get started,YES you can combine different hormones in one syringe for one injection. This even works if one is oil based and one is water based.
Needle size
I prefer to draw with a 20-22g pin. If you are using a 20ml vial or larger, you will notice that a larger pin will tear the top of the vial. You will then begin to wonder where the rest of that rubber stopper has been deposited.
For glute injections, most prefer a 1.5" 23g pin.
For most other injections, a 25g 1" pin will work fine.
Yes, your 5/8" pin will also work.
I have found that with a 1/2" pin, the oil is deposited so close to the surface that almost every injection results in a knot. So unless you like knots everywhere, skip that one. There are exceptions, but why risk it?
It should be noted that most feel it is better to inject the hormone deep in the muscle tissue. Having said that, I think only the forearm and the calf are too small to stand a 1.5" pin.
A caveat to this would be a non-micronized aqueous esterless hormone. These usually require much larger diameter needles in order to allow the hormone to flow freely.
No matter what size needle you use, heating the loaded syringe will allow the compound to flow much easier through the pin. Care should be taken not to expose the injectable fluid or the injection needle to the water or any foreign substance. If you choose to warm the fluid by running warm water over the loaded barrel, do so with the drawing pin secured. Then you can switch to your injection needle.
Hope this helps some of you!
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Originally Posted by GetinBig
