Congratulations on beginning Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy! Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) is dedicated to ensuring you have the support and resources you need during your transition.
If you are on this webpage, you have been prescribed a medication that is administered through self-injection. There are several different medications administered through self-injection, including testosterone cypionate, estradiol cypionate, testosterone valerate, and estradiol valerate. Your clinician should have spoken with you in depth about your options to select the right one for you, but be sure to contact them if you have any unanswered questions.
Types of Self-Injections
There are two types of self-injections: intramuscular (IM) injections and subcutaneous (SubQ) injections.
An intramuscular injection is a way of injecting medication deep into the muscle tissue. This allows the medication to be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Intramuscular shots are given at a 90° angle with the needle going straight through the skin into the muscle.
A subcutaneous injection is a way of injecting medication into the subcutaneous tissue that is directly under the skin. Medication given this way absorbs into the bloodstream more slowly than medication injected directly into the muscle. Subcutaneous injections can be given at a 45° or 90° angle.