WillStealYourUsername

I have a syringe with a needle you can't remove, so no separate drawing and injection needle. It's 29G insulin needle. Works very well for me actually.

Higher gauge is less hard on the rubber stopper, so that's part of why I use this syringe, it also is a minimal dead space syringe so not much is wasted per injection. I also find it more convenient to not change needle, but it has some minor drawbacks. If something happens to the needle the entire dose you drew is wasted f.ex, and of course when you inject it won't be as sharp because you used it on the rubber stopper.

I do subcutaneous injections into my thigh, alternating which one I inject into, but sometimes I kinda forget which side I'm at and just pick one at random :P

I use alcohol wipes on the vial first and then injection site. After injecting I wipe the vial again because I often see a drop at the top of the rubber stopper.

I have moomin bandaids in case I need them :3

Can I ask why you are wondering about this? Are you attempting to get a bigger dose or stretch out your supply or something? If so there are other things that can be done that we know work. I've not heard about rectal E in the DIY community at any point.

If for whatever reason you wish to stretch out your pills/tablets consider this instead: https://stickies.neocities.org/stickies (experimental)

I would recommend just continuing with taking them sublingually without modification unless you have a good reason not to, such as your country making it harder to access hrt.

Oral prog is metabolized into non-prog hormones and you get less prog overall that way. Rectal and especially transdermal (through the skin) is way more effective.

If there are effects you miss or that you felt made a big diff it was likely the other hormones the prog turns into when you metabolize it. I've heard a lot about those effects, it's very intriguing. It's very pleasant for some, but can be bad for others.

Yep. With a thin enough needle that technique is not required to spare the rubber stopper, and as you say the 45 degree thing tends to bend the needle (when it's a high gauge)

Some friends have had 21G eventually core their vials, but I doubt it's assured that it will happen. There's also techniques to mitigate the coring risk a bit, like the penetrating the rubber stopper at 45 degree thing and such.

I prefer a thinner needle for drawing as it's less harsh on the rubber stopper. Since DIY vials are used for a long time I figured it would be a good thing to prioritize. But yeah you're right about switching needles being better.

You don't really need cypro with injections. For most people 5mg een weekly is enough to lower T to below 50. I only need 4mg personally, but everyone is different. Also, it's just healthier to avoid blockers if possible.

My goal is to land within the range of about 150-200 ng/ml for E ... I am aiming at these levels due to these levels, at least according to the introduction for transfem HRT, having the best feminizing ... effects and at the same time minimizing other risk factors like liver toxicity or blood clots.

Blockers introduce a number of other risks that will be higher than any risk from higher E. Sometimes the same risk (higher risk of blood clots). The usual goal is >100 pg/mL E and <50 ng/dL T. Whatever the lowest amount of E you can get that adequately suppresses T and is over 100 is fine. My avg is 230 pg/mL (some need closer to 300). Be aware that your E levels will vary a lot between each of your tests. My lowest was 174 and my highest was 324, all on the same dose. Those were outliers however and the variance is on average not as large as those numbers suggest. T has not varied nearly as much and has remained at around 20-30 for all of my tests. Keeping it suppressed and E above 100 is the only important thing here. There is no research that suggests that certain ranges of E are better for feminization.

You should test free T, testosterone, estradiol, FSH, LH, and SHBG. This is at least what my sexologist and GP recommended. We also did some liver tests early on. If you decide to use blockers you should absolutely get a liver test.

Here's a good link about blood tests: https://transharmreduction.org/blood-tests Probably more reliable than my doctors who had very limited experience with HRT. It should have a page on injections also. Good resource.

I personally just use a 29G insulin syringe + needle. Can't be switched. Works very well.

• We have a matrix if you want a rather active live chat about HRT: https://chat.blahaj.zone/c/genderverse/
• Here's a list of DIY resources I've made: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/19393848 It also has links on performing injections, including videos. I prefer sub-cutaneous.

Is 4 weeks a good enough interval to get blood work done after adjusting intake?

That's about how long I would wait after adjusting, however keep in mind what I said about variance. One test might not be as representative as you think.

Edit: Oh, the videos were not linked on the resource page. They are linked here: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/22251406

I received some good feedback on that post that I never implemented, but it's still okay. Lots of links to wiser people than me.

Just another cis guy speaking confidently over minorities

https://piefed.blahaj.zone/post/236212#comment_1057480

Edit: Besides, it's nuanced. Disclose if necessary. Don't disclose otherwise. It can cause us a lot of harm as others have gone into detail on to always disclose that we are trans. You don't know what you are talking about.

Edit: What I have to do in one of those countries you blindly assume is a-okay with trans people is I have to specifically look for doctors and medical professionals that are known for not mistreating queer or trans people. This is stuff we talk about and share with each other all the time. I'm not an isolated case.

Do you understand this is a global problem?

The moment I told my psychiatrist I am trans I was denied further care. Your advice is wrong and dangerous. See Ada's comment for more detail on why.

Edit: For more context I live in Norway where this is highly illegal. I've complained to both the hospital and to higher authorities, but to no ones surprise there's no response yet :)

I hope not