Art of Transliness

Testosterone: Injection versus Gel

Adrian has been on injections for a year and a half, Zak has been on androgel for 4 1/2 months. In our experience, whether you are on the gel or injections is far less important (when it comes to changes) than the dose you’re on and your genes. 

Practically speaking, there are pros and cons to each method. The injections are usually only once a week or once every other week (depending on your endo and dose), whereas the gel usually needs to be applied every single day. Which of these things would bother you more depends really heavily on how you feel about needles. Personally I (Zak) am terrified of needles which makes applying the gel every day worth if for me. Adrian tried the gel for about a week but was incredibly frustrated with it, so it really depends.

Once you learn how to give yourself the shot, you know for a fact you are getting the right amount of testosterone, whereas you have to apply the gel in a way that maximizes absorption every time you do it (using the entire packet, etc). However, I like the gel because I have consistent levels of hormones every single day, instead of the roller coaster ride of a once-weekly dose (guys report feeling down the day before their shot, and having mood swings if they’re late for it and stuff like that). 

When it comes to changes, like I said, it really depends on your genes and your dose. I’ve heard that the gel causes slower changes, but I really haven’t seen any actual evidence to back that up. My changes on the gel have actually gone a lot faster than a lot of the guys I know on injections (you can judge for yourself here).

Adrian really loves the injections, and I really love the gel, so there’s really no right or wrong answer. The gel is more expensive (although my insurance covers it so that’s not an issue for me), and the injections take a bit more work and involve needles. You really need to weigh the pros and cons depending on what is important to you.