I picked Androgel over injections.

Well damn. I spent 20 minutes typing my first post only to have it rejected because i mentioned a blue pill my doctor prescribed me. Well short version now I'm on my first day of TRT and chose Androgel over injections from doctor or self injections. Now I'm freaking out about accidental contact with my children(hugging, playing or missing a spot that leaked on counter). I don't really have a problem with shots but have never had muscle injection and was wondering how much pain or discomfort that option is. Any advice is really appreciated.

Injection don't hurt but I do understand you being slightly put of them. You would probably get some kind of muscle soreness at the injection site but thats common for a virgin muscle and you also get use to it pretty quick. IMHO injection are far better than gel and if I was you I would reconsider but saying that if it cures your issues then stick with that therapy.

I remember the first time I self injected, it was very scary and I had to psyche myself up for it. But it turned out to be painless and very very convenient. Can't imagine doing it any other way now. Maybe have your doctor do it the first couple of times to put you at ease, and there's some great videos on youtube about it

PS I have a real problem philosophically with androgel because of the cost

Never tried the gel, but would hate to have to worry about contaminating anyone. Injections are quite simple.

Agree with above; if you have children you may be better off with injections.

And injections are so much more convenient; only one or two a week and you're done with it. With transdermals, it's an everyday chore.

It's an easy transition just talk to your Doctor about your concerns and make the move my friend.

You can also do SQ injections, very easy, no aspirations, no pain, no soreness, no bleeding and no big needles!

I Thought about gel too, but my kids are young and don't want to screw them up for life,.. So I went with injections,.. I'm the biggest ***** in the world when it comes to needles,.. I had the doc do it a few times,.. Then my wife did them, now I do them,. I actually look forward to it now cause they make me feel great!

Virtually everyone here is biased toward injecting. I think that is a function of the main intent of the larger site, which is about bodybuilding. I've done it all...injections, gel and implanted pellets. All will work, just some will work better than others depending on the person.

There is very little pain associated with injecting, but it is pretty "freaky" sticking yourself at first. Eventually you get used to doing it.

Each method of supplementing testosterone has advantages and disadvantages. You just need to decide which fits you best. I will say that injecting is the least expensive option for getting this done.

Oh...the contamination risk of the gels is way overblown, unless you have shirt off skin-on-skin contact with your kids.

I did not really mind the gels. They just did not get me to a level I was happy with considering the amount I was using. Also be cognizant of your DHT level as gels tend to raise it. After switching to injections I would never return to the daily chore of gels, IMO. Agree with sirrupate on the contamination risk being over-blown.

Edit to say welcome to the forum. Take some time and read all the sticky threads at the top of this forum. Loads of info there that will answer many of your basic questions and give you some guidance as to what to expect with therapy. We were all in your shoes once and this site can and will save you much time and effort and enhance your knowledge greatly! Stick around and learn!

kel

My first injection produced some anxiety. Turned out to be unfounded. It really is no big deal. Especially if you go the subq method. I do two injections each injection day. I split my dose into two injections because when I inject the whole 50 mgs at one site I tend to get a sore spot there. By splitting it I have no issues. Also, by splitting, you might get by with less t cyp because you have exposed the testosterone to more surface area. I think that may be the reason my test was so high on my last labs. Just did new labs today so will find out if this is true or not. After you inject the first time you will realize it really is no big deal.

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Originally Posted by Kalani9976

Well damn. I spent 20 minutes typing my first post only to have it rejected because i mentioned a blue pill my doctor prescribed me. Well short version now I'm on my first day of TRT and chose Androgel over injections from doctor or self injections. Now I'm freaking out about accidental contact with my children(hugging, playing or missing a spot that leaked on counter). I don't really have a problem with shots but have never had muscle injection and was wondering how much pain or discomfort that option is. Any advice is really appreciated.

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I chose to start with gels as well. There are some real benefits as well.

With regard to the transfer issue, for me I felt like I could deal with it fine. But ultimately, it became a nuisance and more and more of a pain in the ass. If you really want to see if gels can work, then just give it a trial run. Nothing says you have to commit to a year of gels.

With that said, when I switched to injects I felt really good about losing all the "baggage" that came with transdermals. It wasnt all pro's in the switch, but at least I tried what I wanted.

I think it's more peace of mind for the OP than anything else...I've never used gels but I can tell you it'd be on my mind a lot regardless of the exposure risk as I have two young boys.

I also started with Androgel, then i switched to injections, don't know if the feeling would of lasted, but I felt better on Androgel. Good luck on your journey! :)

Thanks so much for the responses folks. I believe i am going to switch over to injections after this months supply of androgel is completed. Don't want to waste the money i spent on it so ill just finish it out. Quick question what are SQ injections. Also my doctor said that the injections would be taken every other week but have been reading about people splitting the dose in half and taking the half dose weekly. I'm gonna have him prescribe the self injection and was wondering if the weekly dose is going to be a better plan for me.

SQ = Subcutaneous shots into the fat pads surrounding the stomach and no need for intramuscular injections.

Your Doctor needs to understand the half life of Testosterone C or E; once injected it peaks in about 72 hours and reaches half life in 5 to 8 days (depending upon how a man metabolizes).

What this means is the on day 10 to 16 your serum levels will have reached baseline and you will feel like crap again.

You must educate your Doctor about the Drugs half life or he will put you on a nasty hormonal roller coaster!

Twice weekly injections are the best to keep serum levels stable and E2 under control.

^^^ what GD said! and you can do SQ in any fat pad like thighs and but.

Sounds like that doctor is a dud. If you want someone to simply write you an Rx ok, maybe he will work. But he is definitely not an expert (or even close) in male TRT. Injecting Testosterone cypionate or enanthate once every 2 weeks is antiquated and simply dumb.

My husband has used gel for close to two years now. We have five children in the house, transfer has never been an issue since most days he applies in the morning, puts his shirt on then leaves to work. When when he comes home 8-10 hours later residue is not a problem. I can understand the concern if one had an infant in the house and had lots of skin to skin contact however application sites are usually upper shoulders, chest etc which are normally covered by atleast a T shirt so safe.

I worried for a while about the cross contamination to my wife and baby. its been just about 3 months and as long as you make a conscious effort you will be fine. But i would prefer injections if i could get them, better safe then sorry.

No pain os discomfort. Much better results than andro. When I took andro the results from bw were T levels around 1000 but felt like crap. Tired, lethargic, no umf...The shots are a whole nother ballgame. Hugh difference.

the gel i had made me smell like i was wearing leather old man after shave it was a weird smell that some liked others didnt

I was wondering about when i workout. Do i do it before i put the gel on or can i put the gel on then workout. I ask because after working out i want to shower but seems like i would be wasting the gel because i would be washing it off

You want to wait before you shower. On the package insert it will tell you how long and explain absorptions, etc. For 1.62% they state to wait at least 2 hrs.

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Originally Posted by Kalani9976

I was wondering about when i workout. Do i do it before i put the gel on or can i put the gel on then workout. I ask because after working out i want to shower but seems like i would be wasting the gel because i would be washing it off

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I would wait until after I shower. Not to mention, if you workout in a public area it would be wrong to potentially contaminate the equipment with T gel. That's my personal opinion on that...

makes sense to me thanks for the info guys

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Originally Posted by HRTstudent

I would wait until after I shower. Not to mention, if you workout in a public area it would be wrong to potentially contaminate the equipment with T gel. That's my personal opinion on that...

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I am still new to this game. I started with Testim. It literally had no effect on my symptoms. But it did make my clothes smelly, to the extent that I had to throw out a whack of shirts that wouldn't lose the smell, even after laundering multiple times! I lasted only a couple of weeks on gels, and got sick of it, and switched to injections.

I have been doing self injections for 2 months, and they still make me nervous! The first 3 gave me anxiety like doing an oral presentation in College. And since then I have hit a plateau of looking forward to how I feel afterward, but not being completely comfortable with the actual 5 minutes or so that it takes to make it happen.

My shots have always been SubQ in my thighs, based on what my doctor intially showed me. You can read some horror stories online about people hitting nerves and veins, blood filling the barrel, or eupting like a geiser on withdrawl, and people feeling like they are going to die during bad injection. But these anecdotes are based on IM injections, not SubQ.

Recently based on advice here I have decided not to worry about aspiration, so I think they will be much easier now.

That's some impressive selective reading to psyche yourself out junkyard :D

Just playing with you!

Look here junkyard and learn to rotate sites:

spotinjections.com

kel

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Originally Posted by HRTstudent

That's some impressive selective reading to psyche yourself out junkyard :D

Just playing with you!

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It's true, I have read too many horror stories. But as I say those are IM injections, and the stories are probably served with a dash of extra drama, too.

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Originally Posted by kelkel

Look here junkyard and learn to rotate sites:
spotinjections.com

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Thanks for the link. :)

Definitely.

The plus side is, is that subQ seems to be ok. Some docs have been doing it over a year or two now regularly.

I'll probably switch over too once it's been around a little longer. I'm stil figuring out anastrozole though!

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Originally Posted by fit2bOld

Never tried the gel, but would hate to have to worry about contaminating anyone. Injections are quite simple.

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Yep I rec the shots.
for now be carful not to touch them with clothing off and be careful with wife/gf give it a few hrs and take a shower before sex.