Testosterone Injections

I am a patient here in the UK and I was on testosterone injections (Nebido) for about 10 years.  I have read and listened to a lot of feedback with regard to the use of testosterone in the form of gel & injections. 

I was on the injections three monthly for around 10 years. 

My advice for receiving the injection we have here in the UK, which is called Nebido is listed below however please note I’m in the UK and our systems may differ to yours, so this is intended as a guide only and you should…

1) Read the patient information leaflet particularly with regard to administration of the drug and side-effects. 

2) Whenever I had my jab, I lie face down on the bed in the surgery

3) I would hold the container of drug in the palm of my hand before I go in to the room to make the oily solution more liquid and easier to apply. 

4) Our drug Nebido should take around 1 – 2 minutes to inject! 

5) I attended our annual conference and  the speaking endocrinologist reminded us that the nurse should use a different needle to draw the drug out of the container, and then a new needle to inject.  This is because puncturing the container to draw the drug into the syringe blunts the needle. 

6) in my experience the jab should not be uncomfortable during or after application. In 10 years I have experienced only one occasion when it was not good and it was so painful that even getting out of bed and moving for a sitting to standing position was extremely painful. This lasted for about four days and during that time I did contact my doctor and they called me in for a check up. They seemed concerned with my descriptions. On that occasion the injection had been given too low and there was nothing that could or needed to be done about the pain.

Our drug is an intramuscular drug which needs to be applied slowly to ensure that a reservoir exists in between the muscles.

The vast majority of nurses very kind and compassionate people, they always want the best for the patient. However there are some that are not particularly aware of some of the items I have raised above. Therefore when I see a nurse, even if it is one I know, as well as having a social chitchat, I politely and constructively raise some of the above points. To me the most important one is the slow and long injection so I just simply say “oh yes, it needs to be injected slowly for about 2 minutes”

Once the injection is in, you can’t get it back out again! So it has to be done properly every time of course. My point is you can’t just go to the doctor afterwards and it be easily fixed if it’s been done wrong. 

Other than one occasion my injections were never particularly painful and the discomfort usually feels like a bruise for just a couple of days afterwards. 

At my previous Dr before I moved house, I got on very well with my nurse and over several years we became friends, I even had a few drinks with her however she pushed the injection in, I now realise too quickly and I never lay down, rather just leant over the bed.

Both my nurse and I didn’t know what we didn’t know!! 

My new surgery did know and now I have my jab properly. 

I wrote this to improve the comfort of patients both during and after application of the T. 

The jab is important for our health and wellbeing, we should  all prioritise getting it administered properly.