Quick question about needles (drawing and pinning).

[Supertotal]

Is it absolutely paramount to draw with one needle and pin with another? At the moment, I have a limited supply of needles. I plan to get more in a hurry, but the way things work around here I have to realize the possibility it might not happen on time. I have enough for one per injection right now, plus a couple spares. I've heard many people will just draw and pin with the same needle, and others have done it in a pinch. One guy I talked to draws and pins with an 18ga just to get in and out quickly. What I have are 25ga BD 3ml syringes, with one needle per. Aside from a little extra pain from a slightly duller needle, would it be a bad idea to skip the two needles per injection for the first few shots?

I'll be shooting test prop at 100ml every second day.

Thanks.

[kelkel]

You'll be just fine.

[DanB]

I often do it, its fine, never had any problems what so ever

[austinite]

I never replace the pin. If you have the patience to draw with a 25g, no problem.

[Capebuffalo]

It is ok . But to draw with the 18 ga and soot wit a 23ga is a nice way to go.

[JDBeretta]

Or you can set up one pin and one barrell and reuse it to draw. Take appropriate steps to wipe everything with alcohol swabs and such.

[gearbox]

I would not be cheap about needles going into my body or my vials

[Noles12]

An 18 may be fast but thats like stiking yourself with a harpoon. The scar tissue of constantly shooting with those would get pretty bad

[Supertotal]

I'm not being cheap, I'm just waiting for my extra needles to arrive and want to know if my temporary fix will work, which it sounds like it will.

Is drawing with a 25ga that bad really? or are you guys just in that much of a hurry? lol

Thanks, I'll stop worrying now.

[garryjohn89]

About the worse i know of is the coating will wear off the needle making you feel it that little bit more when you inject it... But yeah as said above just make sure you keep everything sterile and clean you'll be fine

"lift eat sleep & repeat..."

[Mr Tick]

They have a great shot on a needle from a microscope I will find and link to here but it shows what a new one looks like. Then it showed after 3 uses and so on. It's amazing how it looks. I always draw with an 18 and pin with a 23g 1 inch.

I will take the syringe and run some warm/hot faucet water over it after I have drawn up the test in it before I inject. It just makes the injection go easier and faster.


here it is

[Supertotal]

Two things I noticed from the first injection today.

One, if the needle dulls after 1, 2, 3 or even 4 pokes into the vial I sure didn't notice anything. Went in like butter, felt nothing. But, like an idiot, after all this fuss, countless instruction videos - many watched repeatedly, one running while I was pinning, checking out how-to sites and generally learning more about pinning than I'll ever need to know, what did I do? I forgot to aspirate. LOL Luckily I guess, nothing happened and it didn't even bleed. Hours later I cant even see where it poked.

Two, I know this because I have also learned just why people draw with a bigger pin. Wow. *Now* I understand. You do have to be patient to draw with a 25ga. LOL I thought there was something wrong with the stick, even pulled it out and inspected it more than once. Took my sweet time putting it in though, and again, felt nothing during or after.

Really, not the harrowing experience others describe for a first time. I get to practice this again in two days now, in the other quad. I'm going to cycle sites in this order: top outer right quad, top outer left quad, middle outer right quad, middle outer left quad, repeat. The glutes won't happen without a cramp and the delts are too visible a spot for a paranoid guy that wears tank tops often. LOL