Commonly prescribed injectable testosterone includes testosterone cypionate, enanthate, and propionate. All three are oil based injectables which have typically been administered by intramuscular injection (IM) using a 1” to 1.5” needle. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Click here for more information on the different injectable testosterone esters[/FONT]. For a long time it was thought that these oil based testosterone medications could only be administered intramuscularly, however a few physicians who specialized in prescribing testosterone therapies noticed that testosterone levels appeared to be the same, even more stable, when patients administered their testosterone subcutaneously using a much smaller needle versus an IM injection. Over the years there have been more observations and studies supporting the subq administration of injectable testosterone, including the pilot study below. Normally when testosterone is administered by IM injection the entire weekly dosage is taken at one time, sometimes causing a peak in serum testosterone levels followed by a trough as the hormone metabolizes. When injecting testosterone by subcutaneous injection the dosage can be split into half, administering two smaller injections typically every 3 days (or twice per week). For many patients this method reduces the “peak and trough” effect and can keep serum testosterone levels more stable throughout the week. If you would like more information or direction on how to administer your testosterone subcutaneously please do not hesitate to contact the Defy Medical team for assistance.
Subcutaneous administration of testosterone. A pilot study report. Al-Futaisi AM, Al-Zakwani IS, Almahrezi AM, Morris D. Source Department of Medicine, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. [email protected] Abstract OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of low doses of subcutaneous testosterone in hypogonadal men since the intramuscular route, which is the most widely used form of testosterone replacement therapy, is inconvenient to many patients. METHODS: All men with primary and secondary hypogonadism attending the reproductive endocrine clinic at Royal Victoria Hospital, Monteral, Quebec, Canada, were invited to participate in the study. Subjects were enrolled from January 2002 till December 2002. Patients were asked to self-administer weekly low doses of testosterone enanthate using 0.5 ml insulin syringe. RESULTS: A total of 22 patients were enrolled in the study. The mean trough was 14.48 +/- 3.14 nmol/L and peak total testosterone was 21.65 +/- 7.32 nmol/L. For the free testosterone the average trough was 59.94 +/- 20.60 pmol/L and the peak was 85.17 +/- 32.88 pmol/L. All of the patients delivered testosterone with ease and no local reactions were reported. CONCLUSION: Therapy with weekly subcutaneous testosterone produced serum levels that were within the normal range in 100% of patients for both peak and trough levels. This is the first report, which demonstrated the efficacy of delivering weekly testosterone using this cheap, safe, and less painful subcutaneous route.UPDATE: Self-Administered Testosterone Injection Meets Main Goal In Late-Stage Study. Reuters (2/26/2015, Grover) reports that an experimental once-weekly testosterone injection, testosterone enanthate that is to be marketed as QuickShot Testosterone, met its primary goal in the ongoing late-stage study. The study involves 150 patients with less than 300 nanograms of testosterone per deciliter of blood. QuickShot is the only self-administered, subcutaneous treatment currently in late-stage
