Using an air lock to cut down on wasted product

[390120]

I normally reach for 3mL syringes since they cost me nothing, but after trying a 1mL syringe not long ago I noticed just how much liquid stays behind in the barrel and needle once the shot is done. This stands out most when I'm mixing things like 100mg of GHK-Cu into 3mL bac and then drawing 0.1mL per dose.

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DrWillPowers/comments/yv37fy/comment/iweyuva/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

1. place draw needle on syringe
   
2. draw air into syringe of equal volume to your injectable volume
   
3. insert needle into vial
   
4. inject air into vial
   
5. draw dose to measured amount
   
6. ** draw additional air into syringe of about 0.2 - 0.3 mL
   
7. ** use the markings on the barrel of the syringe to measure the volume of injectable with air still in syringe and the syringe vertical with the needle upwards. for example, plunger may be at 0.5mL, top edge of injectable where it meets the air may be at 0.3mL, which equates to 0.2mL of injectable. this gets tricky with a low dead space syringe because the low dead space portion of the plunger changes the measurement; you have use the neck of the syringe where the plunger stops at full close as the line you bring the injectable back up to in order to double check your measurement.
   
8. ** if using low dead space needles, draw your 0.2 - 0.3 mL of air back into syringe
   
9. ** change needle (should have zero injectable in it since you last drew air into syringe)
   
10. ** leave air in syringe, but flip needle facing down and make sure injectable is on the needle side and air is at the plunger side. you may need to flick the syringe while holding it farthest from the needle, in order to get all the injectable to move down towards the needle away from the plunger; you want the air going through the needle last.
    
11. insert needle into body
    
12. inject injectable and air. all of it.
    
13. remove needle and dispose of everything

Click to expand...

Is anyone else doing this?

I may test it out tonight when I inject

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

“ 0.2 - 0.3 mL of air back into syringe”

Just from that line, you can tell they don’t know what they’re talking about. What they likely intend is 2-3 units, yet what they wrote is 20-30 units.

Keep your distance from that one.

 

[390120]

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

 

[390120]

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

That isn’t right. Your figure is off by a factor of 100.

100 units make up 1 mL. In 330 units, you’ve got 100 mg suspended.

Likely about 0.5 units remain stuck, which comes to 0.15mg.

Injecting air is a very bad idea, so don’t do it.

You can find plenty of calculators online.

 

[BNLFL]

A lot of deliberation goes into this. Here's how I handle it. I first pull the plunger back to the target amount with nothing in it, then inject that air, after which I draw up the liquid along with an extra mg, flick out any bubbles, and press the plunger until it sits at the target amount before injecting. This is 100% just my own take and my own routine.

 

[390120]

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

That isn’t right. Your figure is off by a factor of 100.

100 units make up 1 mL. In 330 units, you’ve got 100 mg suspended.

Likely about 0.5 units remain stuck, which comes to 0.15mg.

Injecting air is a very bad idea, so don’t do it.

You can find plenty of calculators online.

From what I've found across various online sources, injecting a small volume of air under the skin is considered safe.

It also appears that the air lock approach is widely practiced, though it's typically described for intramuscular shots.

 

[tendency]

The dead space in the needle and syringe can really accumulate, particularly when you're not diluting much. For instance, with a 1ml syringe (or 100 units), each injection often leaves behind about 5-6 units of that 'slop'.

So, if your dilution is such that 10 units equals 1mg, then every injection wastes roughly 1/2 mg, which can amount to notable loss.

To keep the mg loss down, I usually dilute quite generously.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

That isn’t right. Your figure is off by a factor of 100.

100 units make up 1 mL. In 330 units, you’ve got 100 mg suspended.

Likely about 0.5 units remain stuck, which comes to 0.15mg.

Injecting air is a very bad idea, so don’t do it.

You can find plenty of calculators online.

From what I've found across various online sources, injecting a small volume of air under the skin is considered safe.

It also appears that the air lock approach is widely practiced, though it's typically described for intramuscular shots.

Adding 2-3u of air isn't needed. Sure, a random small bubble won't hurt. That link pointed to a post recommending 20-30units.

At best, adding no extra air is pointless.

 

[390120]

tendency said:

The dead space in the needle and syringe can really accumulate, particularly when you're not diluting much. For instance, with a 1ml syringe (or 100 units), each injection often leaves behind about 5-6 units of that 'slop'.

So, if your dilution is such that 10 units equals 1mg, then every injection wastes roughly 1/2 mg, which can amount to notable loss.

To keep the mg loss down, I usually dilute quite generously.

That's exactly what sent me down this rabbit hole earlier today. I'd add more Bac water to stretch it, but my supplier won't have any in stock for several weeks.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

tendency said:

The dead space in the needle and syringe can really accumulate, particularly when you're not diluting much. For instance, with a 1ml syringe (or 100 units), each injection often leaves behind about 5-6 units of that 'slop'.

So, if your dilution is such that 10 units equals 1mg, then every injection wastes roughly 1/2 mg, which can amount to notable loss.

To keep the mg loss down, I usually dilute quite generously.

That makes me want to know more.

Do you mean 5-6 units of residue end up in a 100 unit BAC injection?

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

390120 said:

tendency said:

The dead space in the needle and syringe can really accumulate, particularly when you're not diluting much. For instance, with a 1ml syringe (or 100 units), each injection often leaves behind about 5-6 units of that 'slop'.

So, if your dilution is such that 10 units equals 1mg, then every injection wastes roughly 1/2 mg, which can amount to notable loss.

To keep the mg loss down, I usually dilute quite generously.

That's exactly what sent me down this rabbit hole earlier today. I'd add more Bac water to stretch it, but my supplier won't have any in stock for several weeks.

A 330-unit BAC volume would likely fill the peptide vial completely; standard vials hold 3mL, though a 5mL one is possible.

If site irritation is a concern, draw your dose first and then add some BAC — the two will combine inside the syringe.

 

[390120]

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

That isn’t right. Your figure is off by a factor of 100.

100 units make up 1 mL. In 330 units, you’ve got 100 mg suspended.

Likely about 0.5 units remain stuck, which comes to 0.15mg.

Injecting air is a very bad idea, so don’t do it.

You can find plenty of calculators online.

From what I've found across various online sources, injecting a small volume of air under the skin is considered safe.

It also appears that the air lock approach is widely practiced, though it's typically described for intramuscular shots.

Adding 2-3u of air isn't needed. Sure, a random small bubble won't hurt. That link pointed to a post recommending 20-30units.

At best, adding no extra air is pointless.

yeah that link isn't great, I suppose I just wanted a source that laid out general technique advice

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

tendency said:

The dead space in the needle and syringe can really accumulate, particularly when you're not diluting much. For instance, with a 1ml syringe (or 100 units), each injection often leaves behind about 5-6 units of that 'slop'.

So, if your dilution is such that 10 units equals 1mg, then every injection wastes roughly 1/2 mg, which can amount to notable loss.

To keep the mg loss down, I usually dilute quite generously.

That's exactly what sent me down this rabbit hole earlier today. I'd add more Bac water to stretch it, but my supplier won't have any in stock for several weeks.

A 330-unit BAC volume would likely fill the peptide vial completely; standard vials hold 3mL, though a 5mL one is possible.

If site irritation is a concern, draw your dose first and then add some BAC — the two will combine inside the syringe.

I run it through a filter into a 10mL vial,

Good thinking on drawing extra BAC — that would lower the concentration even more and mean less peptide gets left behind

Problem is I'm low on BAC, it'll be a few weeks before more arrives, so I'm rationing what I have. There is some NaCl or sterile water for injection I could source, and that might do the job

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

That isn’t right. Your figure is off by a factor of 100.

100 units make up 1 mL. In 330 units, you’ve got 100 mg suspended.

Likely about 0.5 units remain stuck, which comes to 0.15mg.

Injecting air is a very bad idea, so don’t do it.

You can find plenty of calculators online.

From what I've found across various online sources, injecting a small volume of air under the skin is considered safe.

It also appears that the air lock approach is widely practiced, though it's typically described for intramuscular shots.

Across multiple sources, I keep running into the figure of 0.2 to 0.3mL.

It appears the person on Reddit simply repeated something they read elsewhere online.

Should anyone have a trustworthy, reputable source, I would really like to take a look.

If an air lock turns out to be legitimate, I have no problem being wrong. It goes against just about everything else I have come across, though. While I continue looking into it, I will keep searching.

 

[tendency]

390120 said:

I normally reach for 3mL syringes since they cost me nothing, but after trying a 1mL syringe not long ago I noticed just how much liquid stays behind in the barrel and needle once the shot is done. This stands out most when I'm mixing things like 100mg of GHK-Cu into 3mL bac and then drawing 0.1mL per dose.

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DrWillPowers/comments/yv37fy/comment/iweyuva/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

1. place draw needle on syringe
   
2. draw air into syringe of equal volume to your injectable volume
   
3. insert needle into vial
   
4. inject air into vial
   
5. draw dose to measured amount
   
6. ** draw additional air into syringe of about 0.2 - 0.3 mL
   
7. ** use the markings on the barrel of the syringe to measure the volume of injectable with air still in syringe and the syringe vertical with the needle upwards. for example, plunger may be at 0.5mL, top edge of injectable where it meets the air may be at 0.3mL, which equates to 0.2mL of injectable. this gets tricky with a low dead space syringe because the low dead space portion of the plunger changes the measurement; you have use the neck of the syringe where the plunger stops at full close as the line you bring the injectable back up to in order to double check your measurement.
   
8. ** if using low dead space needles, draw your 0.2 - 0.3 mL of air back into syringe
   
9. ** change needle (should have zero injectable in it since you last drew air into syringe)
   
10. ** leave air in syringe, but flip needle facing down and make sure injectable is on the needle side and air is at the plunger side. you may need to flick the syringe while holding it farthest from the needle, in order to get all the injectable to move down towards the needle away from the plunger; you want the air going through the needle last.
    
11. insert needle into body
    
12. inject injectable and air. all of it.
    
13. remove needle and dispose of everything

Click to expand...

Is anyone else doing this?

I may test it out tonight when I inject

On the subject of this approach, I'm not convinced. For my part, putting in an air bubble that big isn't something I'd do. My own preference is to dilute heavily so there's less leftover loss — that's just my .02 cents.

 

[390120]

tendency said:

390120 said:

I normally reach for 3mL syringes since they cost me nothing, but after trying a 1mL syringe not long ago I noticed just how much liquid stays behind in the barrel and needle once the shot is done. This stands out most when I'm mixing things like 100mg of GHK-Cu into 3mL bac and then drawing 0.1mL per dose.

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DrWillPowers/comments/yv37fy/comment/iweyuva/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

1. place draw needle on syringe
   
2. draw air into syringe of equal volume to your injectable volume
   
3. insert needle into vial
   
4. inject air into vial
   
5. draw dose to measured amount
   
6. ** draw additional air into syringe of about 0.2 - 0.3 mL
   
7. ** use the markings on the barrel of the syringe to measure the volume of injectable with air still in syringe and the syringe vertical with the needle upwards. for example, plunger may be at 0.5mL, top edge of injectable where it meets the air may be at 0.3mL, which equates to 0.2mL of injectable. this gets tricky with a low dead space syringe because the low dead space portion of the plunger changes the measurement; you have use the neck of the syringe where the plunger stops at full close as the line you bring the injectable back up to in order to double check your measurement.
   
8. ** if using low dead space needles, draw your 0.2 - 0.3 mL of air back into syringe
   
9. ** change needle (should have zero injectable in it since you last drew air into syringe)
   
10. ** leave air in syringe, but flip needle facing down and make sure injectable is on the needle side and air is at the plunger side. you may need to flick the syringe while holding it farthest from the needle, in order to get all the injectable to move down towards the needle away from the plunger; you want the air going through the needle last.
    
11. insert needle into body
    
12. inject injectable and air. all of it.
    
13. remove needle and dispose of everything

Click to expand...

Is anyone else doing this?

I may test it out tonight when I inject

On the subject of this approach, I'm not convinced. For my part, putting in an air bubble that big isn't something I'd do. My own preference is to dilute heavily so there's less leftover loss — that's just my .02 cents.

I'd likely just push the plunger in very gradually and halt as soon as the barrel looks clear of the peptide, rather than pressing it all the way down

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

That isn’t right. Your figure is off by a factor of 100.

100 units make up 1 mL. In 330 units, you’ve got 100 mg suspended.

Likely about 0.5 units remain stuck, which comes to 0.15mg.

Injecting air is a very bad idea, so don’t do it.

You can find plenty of calculators online.

From what I've found across various online sources, injecting a small volume of air under the skin is considered safe.

It also appears that the air lock approach is widely practiced, though it's typically described for intramuscular shots.

Adding 2-3u of air isn't needed. Sure, a random small bubble won't hurt. That link pointed to a post recommending 20-30units.

At best, adding no extra air is pointless.

yeah that link isn't great, I suppose I just wanted a source that laid out general technique advice

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

tendency said:

The dead space in the needle and syringe can really accumulate, particularly when you're not diluting much. For instance, with a 1ml syringe (or 100 units), each injection often leaves behind about 5-6 units of that 'slop'.

So, if your dilution is such that 10 units equals 1mg, then every injection wastes roughly 1/2 mg, which can amount to notable loss.

To keep the mg loss down, I usually dilute quite generously.

That's exactly what sent me down this rabbit hole earlier today. I'd add more Bac water to stretch it, but my supplier won't have any in stock for several weeks.

A 330-unit BAC volume would likely fill the peptide vial completely; standard vials hold 3mL, though a 5mL one is possible.

If site irritation is a concern, draw your dose first and then add some BAC — the two will combine inside the syringe.

I run it through a filter into a 10mL vial,

Good thinking on drawing extra BAC — that would lower the concentration even more and mean less peptide gets left behind

Problem is I'm low on BAC, it'll be a few weeks before more arrives, so I'm rationing what I have. There is some NaCl or sterile water for injection I could source, and that might do the job

Following up: rather than tracking down a Harvard Medical article (which I won't do), I consulted my sister, who has a BSN.

According to her, 2-3 units of air is the amount. It's a small quantity, but sufficient to flush out whatever might be stuck.

The studies I found indicate it also reduces the burning sensation. So the practice is documented, though oddly the air volume doesn't match. TIL.

 

[390120]

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

Foggy-Hollow said:

What kind of loss are you actually talking about?

A 25 gauge needle’s inner diameter measures 0.01025”.

At 1” in length, that works out to 1.6 units left behind. That’s on a HUGE needle — the sort most people would use to draw oil, not to go sc with water based peps.

Plenty of people use 31 gauge, 1/2” length, which comes to roughly 0.42u lost.

Pushing units of air in order to dodge a fraction of a unit of loss is … baffling.

I’ve hit blood vessels a few times, yesterday in fact, no way I’m signing up to push anything more than an incidental bubble on purpose.

TLDR:

This person has zero interest in your health. Proceed with caution.

Last night, after my injection, I drew back on the syringe and saw roughly .5mL sitting in the barrel. That wasn’t with the needle I normally use, so maybe the syringe type is the reason?

My idea was to prime the needle until the medication just begins to appear, so no air goes in first, then inject the GHK-Cu slowly while watching the air as it moves into the barrel ahead of the needle, and pull out at that point, making sure no air gets injected.

Double-check how the syringe is being calculated. A factor of ten is being left out, and that kind of error can be risky. Milliliters and units are not the same thing. If 50 units are still remaining, then something else is going on.

This is my routine

For a 100mg vial of GHK-Cu, I add 3.3mL of Bac water, so 0.1mL equals 3mg

My daily dose is 3mg right now

Using a 1mL syringe, I pull to 0.1mL, then push that air into the vial and draw until the 0.1mL mark. I tap the syringe so bubbles rise to the top, push them back into the vial, and draw again to 0.1mL. After that, I detach the needle from the syringe

I do a subq shot in my belly and press the plunger fully down. I saw blue remaining in the leur lock connector's barrel, so I pulled back to check the amount

Once the needle was out of my body, I drew back the plunger and from the graduated marks on the barrel, it showed 0.05mL of GHK-Cu left in the barrel

edit, i meant 0.05mL , not 0.5mL after i was reading what i wrote

That isn’t right. Your figure is off by a factor of 100.

100 units make up 1 mL. In 330 units, you’ve got 100 mg suspended.

Likely about 0.5 units remain stuck, which comes to 0.15mg.

Injecting air is a very bad idea, so don’t do it.

You can find plenty of calculators online.

From what I've found across various online sources, injecting a small volume of air under the skin is considered safe.

It also appears that the air lock approach is widely practiced, though it's typically described for intramuscular shots.

Adding 2-3u of air isn't needed. Sure, a random small bubble won't hurt. That link pointed to a post recommending 20-30units.

At best, adding no extra air is pointless.

yeah that link isn't great, I suppose I just wanted a source that laid out general technique advice

Foggy-Hollow said:

390120 said:

tendency said:

The dead space in the needle and syringe can really accumulate, particularly when you're not diluting much. For instance, with a 1ml syringe (or 100 units), each injection often leaves behind about 5-6 units of that 'slop'.

So, if your dilution is such that 10 units equals 1mg, then every injection wastes roughly 1/2 mg, which can amount to notable loss.

To keep the mg loss down, I usually dilute quite generously.

That's exactly what sent me down this rabbit hole earlier today. I'd add more Bac water to stretch it, but my supplier won't have any in stock for several weeks.

A 330-unit BAC volume would likely fill the peptide vial completely; standard vials hold 3mL, though a 5mL one is possible.

If site irritation is a concern, draw your dose first and then add some BAC — the two will combine inside the syringe.

I run it through a filter into a 10mL vial,

Good thinking on drawing extra BAC — that would lower the concentration even more and mean less peptide gets left behind

Problem is I'm low on BAC, it'll be a few weeks before more arrives, so I'm rationing what I have. There is some NaCl or sterile water for injection I could source, and that might do the job

Following up: rather than tracking down a Harvard Medical article (which I won't do), I consulted my sister, who has a BSN.

According to her, 2-3 units of air is the amount. It's a small quantity, but sufficient to flush out whatever might be stuck.

The studies I found indicate it also reduces the burning sensation. So the practice is documented, though oddly the air volume doesn't match. TIL.

Thanks for checking on that, good to know