Injection site getting angry halfway through a TB-500 run, normal or am I doing something wrong?

Posted by runner_aaron in Safety & Side Effects - 1 points, 3 comments.

Howzit. I am about 5 weeks into a TB-500 cycle for a stubborn patellar tendon and the last two injections have left the site red, raised and itchy for almost two days after. First three weeks were totally fine, barely felt it, so this is new for me.

I am pinning subq around the belly button area, rotating left and right, swapping vials each week. Same recon, same bacteriostatic water, same fridge routine. Nothing changed on my end that I can point to.

The bump is warm but not hot, no pus, no fever, no red streaks. Just looks angry and feels like a mozzie bite that got manhandled. It does settle by day 2 or 3 and then the next pin on the other side behaves normally again.

Could just be a localised reaction building up over time, or maybe I am sitting too shallow with the needle. Anyone else had a site get more reactive the further into a run you go? Did you change anything or just push through? Curious what actually worked for people before I assume it is fine and carry on.

Comments

• grinder265: Classic for me honestly, usually shows up around week 4 or 5 if it is going to. A few things I would check before I just kept pushing through. What concentration are you reconstituting to, because if the volume is on the smaller side and you are pinning a fairly concentrated shot, the osmotic load alone can make the tissue grumpy over time. Also ngl, subq depth matters more than people think, if you are catching the dermis instead of the fatty layer it will flare every time. Pinning after a war
• runner_aaron: Yeah that lines up with what I am seeing, week 5 is exactly when it kicked off for me. I reconstituted with 1.5ml bac water so the concentration is on the higher side tbh, probably sitting around 6.7mg per ml if my maths is right. That could easily be the osmotic thing you are talking about. Subq depth is probably my issue as well, I am using 29g 12.7mm pins and going in at maybe a 30 degree angle. Might be catching the dermis half the time without realising it. Will try the warm shower trick
• tiredmira: Yeah the concentration thing tracks with me too. When I was on TB-500 I did 2mg per ml and the sites were basically nothing, a buddy was doing 5mg per ml and kept getting the same itchy welt you described 😅 Subq depth is huge honestly, I angle too steep sometimes and pay for it later. Pinning after a shower is a solid call, I do that too now.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.