starting dose and needle questions

[zzzthrowawayzzz]

Hi! I ordered reta and ghk-cu finally. I've done a ton of research and after just struggling for years with the same binging and cycles, it was time.

I've seen and read a ton of threads on here about needle gauge and size, but i'd like to more formally ask - 4mm or 8mm. or even 6mm for these peps. I've seen people say that 4 gives a spicier feeling with ghk. Really im just worried about pinning intramuscular. I'm not the best when it comes to needles but I figure just get through it and it'll be fine. I mostly just wanted to see what people recommend and what techniques help?

i.e. people say 8mm feels more comfortable. I'm not lean by any means but I might be more lean than others here (im 6 foot, 210lbs and 27% bodyfat). I have about 50ish lbs i'd like to lose which i've done before naturally (80lbs). I'd basically want to know do you eyeball and just not stick the needle all the way in? etc as compared to 4mm and 6. as for gauge size, I think im going with 30 or 31. Most people here say 29 and some have reported using 31-32. I'd like to not take my chances with it snapping, but also have it not hurt lol. any advice is welcomed here.

And for starting doses I wanna work really slow, however some resources say you should start at 1mg or 2mg. I kind of planned on being on minimum dose throughout and starting at .25 and seeing what my body does. maybe .25 once a week or .25 twice a week depending upon what happens. Just wanted any advice on this. For ghkcu, i'm really only using because my friends said I should to avoid stretch marks and loose skin. I see 1mg-2mg doses on this forum. Is this about right?

any advice is welcome, I'm a super newbie when it comes to actually pinning and I like to be overly cautious.

 

[BLASIUS]

Hi,
my experience is:
GHK-Cu 30G-8mm injecting in the low gluteus (in any other site it was stinging for hours)
Other peptides 30G-4mm

The size between 29G and 32G give the same feeling, in my opinion 32G could be to much thin and there is a risk that it can twist, and maybe with some peptide that is more dense than other can give difficulty in getting out.

 

[ostrichsak]

I can tell you that you likely wouldn't even feel 27G so I wouldn't worry too much about that aspect. The bending/breaking concern is real, especially if you're talking longer length in the 30-31G range. I would recommend 30G or larger (all the way up to 27G although this isn't as necessary w/water based peptides, more so w/oil suspension injections which we're not talking about here) as the needle is less likely to bend/break, although you'll still want to take care, obv.

As for length, I think you'll be fine w/either of those lengths you mentioned. Both are rigid at their respective lengths and the bending/breaking risk is much lower. Stay away from anything longer as the needles start to get a little flimsy. 31G @ 1/2" (13mm) length sketchy to PIN with.

I was trying to pin around my side to the back of my love handle (this is the best location in my testing for anything w/GHK-Cu in it) and it felt like it broke through and was in properly. I injected and when I withdrew the needle was bent 90deg. I turned to look and had a big blue bump just under the 1st or 2nd layer or skin. I had to use a larger needle to create a hole all the way into the adipose to make sure that it drained properly into the sub-q level where it should have gone. Did some massaging and things worked out eventually, fortunately. Point is, there's a big risk with something like a 31G @ 1/2" (13mm) so I'd stay away from that.

The length you're talking about (4mm vs. 8mm) will make no difference in feeling. You also run basically zero risk of hitting muscle tissue w/those lengths. Especially if you're injecting in your stomach or love handle area and using proper sub-q technique by pinching away a section of fat to target.

TBH I wouldn't stress the difference between the sizes & lengths you've mentioned. If you're doing peptides just make sure to get insulin needles rather then something with a luer lock removable needle. You don't want the dead space that you get from a luer lock for something like a daily use peptide. I'd also recommend looking into something like Glow or Klow as opposed to just straight up GHK-Cu. Those have other peptides that were added (BPC-157 & T-500 to both and then Klow also adds KPV to the mix) to help w/the histamine response to the site to reduce the sting/burn/itch sensation and also add benefits that come with those stacks.

I'd like to circle back to ask a few questions on some of the statements you made that didn't have questions though. You said you were 6ft tall and 210lbs and were looking to drop another 50lbs? Unless I misunderstood, that's an awful lot of weight to lose on that frame. What is your resistance training looking like? It's super important to make sure we're taking steps to add lean muscle, especially as we age. That's going to be a primary indicator to long term health so the earlier you can start building it, the better since it's a lengthy process. How old are you?

Try not to live & die by what the scale says. It's an important metric for monitoring trends but I think that a lot of people tend to look at it as the only sign of success; more, good. less, bad. Your body composition is the important metric to track. This is a little bit more difficult than looking at a number on a scale but it's imperative to overall health. If you plan to use peptides more than GHK-Cu based peps for the weight loss (Reta for instance) it's going to be critical to make strength training using resistance a non-negotiable. If you're adding good lean muscle it's going to be difficult to hit 160lbs @ 6ft tall though. That's why I say that.

It's hard to get a good picture of overall status & goals from a short post on an internet forum though so I'm just going off of the currently available info.

 

[YoYoFat]

Disagree with the guy above me. For IM, a 4-8mm needle is not likely to reach the muscle if you’ve got a lot of fat. And you’re not even wanting to use the entire length of the needle and “eyeballing it”? (Not sure why you’d even want to do that.)

6-8mm are generally meant for subQ. 4mm are meant for Botox. If high body fat people are using 4-8mm for peps intended to be IM, you’re not getting IM.

 

[YoYoFat]

This is one of those rare times when ChatGPT is helpful. OP, I put in your height, weight, and body fat for IM needles. You’d probably prefer the 25g, but these can also be found at 27g.

 

[YoYoFat]

Really im just worried about pinning intramuscular.

Also, you don’t need to pin many peps, like Reta, IM. I use a 31g 8mm (5/16”) for GLP1s.