PIP (Post Injection Pain)

[01dragonslayer]

What Causes (Non-Infectious) Injection Pain?​

• The Shorter The Ester, The Higher The Melting Point
• The Concentration Of The Gear
• The Solvents Used
• Injecting Too Quickly
• Virgin Muscle

The Shorter The Ester, The Higher The Melting Point
One thing that can cause pain is when the oil/solvents are absorbed by the body and crystals are left behind. Short esters (Propionate, Acetate, etc.) are harder, more painful crystals with melting points in the 100c range. A hormone with a longer ester (excluding Cypionate - Cyp is a long ester, but also has a high melting point) can have a melting point in the 20c-40c range; not far off from human body temp.

The Concentration Of The Gear
Pain can also be caused by concentration of your gear. Building off of point 1: Hypothetically, let's say it takes the body 24 hours to absorb 1mL of a certain oil/solvent blend and 24 hours to absorb 50mg of Testosterone Propionate. If 50mg (or less) of Testosterone Propionate is in 1mL of that oil, this injection should be painless. On the other hand, if 100mg of Testosterone Propionate is in that same 1mL of solution, then after 24 hours the body will have absorbed 50mg and 1mL, leaving 50mg behind in the injection area, crystalized and painful.

It's better to shoot 3mL of 50mg/mL low concentration Testosterone Propionate than 1mL of 150mg/mL high concentration Testosterone Propionate: the high concentration is more likely to cause pip.

This is also why water based suspensions (Testosterone base/no ester, Winstrol, etc.) hurt the most; water is very easily absorbed in the body.

The Solvents Used

The solvents used can cause pain in two ways. Benzyl alcohol (BA) is used at 1-2% as a preservative and antiseptic. If the alcohol content is too high the gear will burn. Pain in the first 24 hours is usually caused by heavy solvents, pain in the next few hours is usually cause by crystallization. Another way is a bad recipe. If someone used 2% BA, and the rest of the solution oil, the mg/mL would have to be low due to oil's weak ability to hold crystals. On the other hand, a recipe like 2% BA, 5% Guaiacol (super solvent), 10% Benzyl Salicylate (liquid aspirin) with the filler split 50:50 between Ethyl Oleate (oil/solvent hybrid) and normal oil should be far less painful.

Injecting Too Quickly

If you inject too quickly, it can potentially tear tissue.

Virgin Muscle

If your muscle is new to the hormone, it will absorb the hormone slowly, but absorb the oil/solvent quicker. This will cause more crystallization and pain. As your muscles recognize the hormones, they will be absorbed more quickly, thus less pain. The deeper you inject into the center of a muscle group, the better.

How do I prevent pain before I inject?​

• Cutting The Oil With Sterile Oil
• Warming Up The Oil
• Inject Slowly
• What If None Of Those Help?

Cutting The Oil With Sterile Oil
Cut your shots 50:50 with sterile filtered oil. If you want to use 50mg of Testosterone Propionate and you have 100mg/mL Testosterone Propionate - pull 0.5mL of your Test Prop and 0.5mL of sterile filtered oil to shoot 1mL of 50mg/mL Testosterone Propionate. This is the #1 best way. Don't bother with B-12, as it’s water based and absorbed so quickly it will have little to no impact.

Warming Up The Oil
Before you shoot, it can help to warm your gear (especially suspensions). Carefully making sure the vial stopper (top) doesn't touch the water, you can put the vial in the bathroom sink and let hot water run over the vial for ~2 minutes and shake well. This will lower the oils viscosity also making it easier it pull into the syringe. One way some will make sure the vial doesn't touch the water, is to put the vial inside a zip lock bag. If you don't want to constantly be reheating the entire vial each time, alternatively you can do the same once you've drawn the oil into the syringe. If you heat the syringe it is recommended to use a zip lock bag or the likes to protect the syringe from being exposed to the water.

Injecting Slowly
Inject slowly; take 30 seconds per mL. Use a 25g pin to inject so it forces you to move slower.

What If None Of Those Help?

If none of these work, you could have dirty gear. It’s possible there could be particles (although bacteriostatic) in the gear that made it through the filter and is causing infection, although mild. Alternatively, if using higher concentration gear, your gear is just too high concentration to be tolerable for you.

How do I deal with pain once I have it?​

The worst thing you can do is ice it. Cold will help the crystals fall out of solution/suspension. It’s okay to take some ibuprofen to decrease the swelling and help with pain. Also being in a hot tub, jacuzzi, or warm bubble bath will help melt the crystals down. Using a heating pad can help as well.