There are two main types of steroids: oral and injectable. Some of them are produced as dietary supplements (such as Halodrol). But the most popular steroids are injectable drugs, as they are the most effective. The biggest disadvantage of these drugs is that they need to be used with the help of Injections, which is not a very pleasant procedure. In this article, we will tell you how often you need to do injections of steroid medications. Moreover, we’ll tell you not only about anabolics but also about corticosteroids.
How often can you get an anabolic steroid injection?
A lot of professional sportsmen use anabolic steroid injections along with other products, such as cortisol reducing supplements. What is recommended frequency of injection with anabolics? The answer for this questions depends on the type of the drug (long-acting or short-acting). Drugs with long-term action should be injected once or twice a week. It will be enough to achieve a good effect. Fast-acting drugs can be used at shorter intervals.
It should be noted that propionate is not very popular among people due to the need to frequently make injections, and also because these injections are very painful for many people. This soreness is due to (1) the presence of a short ether that irritates the injection site and (2) a high quantity of solvents, such as benzyl alcohol. Some athletes are very sensitive to such substances, so they avoid injections with propionate. Some people have even a slight fever against a background of severe soreness at the injection site. Potential irritation, soreness, and the need for injections are often the reasons why few people choose testosterone propionate as a steroid drug. Often they prefer testosterone drugs with a longer period of action. After all, injections once a week are better than injections every other day.
Tips on giving an anabolic steroid injection
Perhaps the main question that is asked by users of steroids is how to make the injection painless. To minimize the painful sensations when making intramuscular injection of the drug, you can use the following recommendations:
1) Use high-quality syringes with sharp needles.
2) Make injections only in prone position. The gluteus muscle should be completely relaxed, for a better relaxation of the muscles of the legs, place your feet on the bed (“toes in” position). Many people prefer to remove all clothing below the waist, so that nothing prevents the relaxation of the muscles of the buttocks and legs.
3) Before the injection, massage the muscle, into which the injection will be made, rub the place of shot with a cotton swab dipped in ethyl alcohol.
4) The drug should be injected slowly, smoothly, so as not to overload the muscle. In addition, pain with slow administration is significantly reduced. For slow administration of the drug, it is better to use a three-component syringe: the rubber seal on its piston allows the drug to be injected smoothly and at the required speed.
5) When administering the medicine and removing the needle, try to keep the syringe at the same angle so that the needle does not damage the muscle. And of course, follow all the other rules of the injection: use the correct length of the needle, disinfect the injection site, and so on.
If an air bubble (several small air bubbles) was present in the syringe prepared for intramuscular injection, such an injection will not cause health hazards. Getting a small amount of air into the muscle is not dangerous, because it dissolves in the tissues. As a rule, the body copes with this imperceptibly for a person. At the same time, do not abuse the regenerative possibilities of the body. It is necessary to follow the instructions for injectable drugs, and to get rid of the air bubbles in the syringe. After all, standard medical practice requires the doctor to make sure that there are no air bubbles in the syringe before taking an injection. Why? If air enters the vein, it can cause embolism, which can even lead to death.
Alternatives to anabolic steroid shots
If you don’t want to use steroid injections, you can buy some alternatives, such as steroids in the form of pills or herbal remedies (e.g. testosterone boosters, best HGH supplements, and best HGH pills). But the best alternatives to anabolic steroids are dedicated training, proper nutrition (you may include sports nutrition in your diet), and healthy lifestyle. Using these methods, you will improve your health significantly (although it is possible that you will not reach the peak of your sports career). But health is the main thing, is not it?
How often can you get a corticosteroid injection?
Another type of steroids is corticosteroids. They are typically used in medical purposes (not in sports ones). They may be systemic (with general action) and local (with local action). Systemic corticosteroids may be administered either via a vein (intravenously), inside a muscle (intramuscularly), or orally. Local corticosteroids may be administered as eye/ear drops, and skin cream products, or by direct shot into joints, bursae (a fluid-filled sac or sac-like cavity, especially one countering friction at a joint), or near tendons & other soft tissues.
The frequency of corticosteroid injections depends on the type of the medication and recommendations of your healthcare professional. For example, cortisol injection (with cortisone drug) should be done 3-4 times for a single joint per year. It should be repeated only when it provides substantial pain relieving that lasts several weeks or months.
