How to Perform a Testosterone Injection

Testosterone can be administered via intramuscular(IM) injection. This means the medication is delivered deep into the muscle, allowing the testosterone to enter the bloodstream slowly over the course of several days. Obsidian Men’s Health has a systematic method for delivery of IM testosterone described below.

Step 1: Preparing for the Injection

• Wash your hands with soap and water.
• Inspect your medication. Ensure that it is the correct drug (testosterone cypionate or enanthate), the correct concentration (200 mg/mL) and hasn’t expired. Make sure the drug is clear without contaminants by inspecting it in front of a light source. Testosterone crystals may be present and should dissolve into solution with slight agitation.
• Remove the vial cap (if it’s a new bottle) and clean off the vial diaphragm with alcohol in order to kill germs.
• Take your syringe and needle (3 mL syringe with 22G x 1″ needle) and pull back on the plunger in order to draw air into the syringe. The volume of air should be about 1/2 the volume of the syringe itself.
• Insert the needle through the rubber diaphragm and push the air into the bottle.
• Keeping the needle in the vial, turn the vial up side down. Position the needle tip so the liquid covers the tip of the needle.
• Pull back on the syringe plunger and allow the medication to drip into the syringe chamber.
• Once enough medication has been withdrawn from the bottle, remove the needle.
• Inspect your syringe for air bubbles. If detected, hold the syringe upright and push the air out of the syringe. Small bubbles do NOT require removal.

Step 2: Performing the Injection

• Choose the proper location for your IM injection. The upper outer quadrant of the thigh or gluteus maximus should be used.
• Clean the injection site with alcohol.
• Insert the needle into the muscle at a 90 degree angle with one quick, firm motion.
• Pull back on the plunger while holding the syringe in place to check for blood return.
• If you see blood, DO NOT inject. Remove the needle and hold pressure for 2 minutes. Move the injection site to another location and repeat the process.
• If no blood is detected, push the medication into the muscle. You may feel some burning or pain as the medication is injected.
• When finished, remove the needle and hold pressure on the site for two minutes. No Band-Aid is required.

Step 3: Disposal Process

• Place your needles and syringes in a hard plastic container such as a laundry detergent bottle.
• Once the container is full, secure the lid with duct tape.
• Dispose of the container in the regular trash.