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Does injecting into the flank change absorption enough to matter?

Asked 28 May 2026Modified 31 days agoViewed 4.2k times
9

I keep a written log of every draw with date, volume and syringe type.

I suspect the usual explanation for this is wrong, or at least incomplete.

I am aware this may have a boring answer. I would still like the boring answer stated clearly.

So what is the mechanism, and how well established is it?

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KM
askedkofi_mensah18k2728 May 2026
What syringe are you using? The answer is different for a 0.3 mL barrel and a 1 mL one. – esben_lykke 10 months ago
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1 Answer

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Answer first: subcutaneous means into the fat layer beneath the dermis, and at the volumes discussed here the technique is forgiving as long as the needle is short and the site is pinched appropriately.

A 4 mm needle inserted at ninety degrees reaches subcutaneous tissue in essentially all adults without a skin fold. A 6 or 8 mm needle in a lean person may benefit from a lifted skin fold, or from a forty-five-degree angle.

Concentration and unit conversion at a glance

VialDiluentConcentration0.25 mg0.5 mg1 mg2.5 mg
5 mg1 mL5 mg/mL5 u10 u20 u50 u
5 mg2 mL2.5 mg/mL10 u20 u40 u100 u
10 mg1 mL10 mg/mL2.5 u5 u10 u25 u
10 mg2 mL5 mg/mL5 u10 u20 u50 u
10 mg3 mL3.33 mg/mL7.5 u15 u30 u75 u

Units are U-100 insulin units, where 1 unit = 0.01 mL. Divide dose by concentration for millilitres, then multiply by 100.

Lipohypertrophy — a firm thickened area from repeated injection into the same spot — is the reason rotation matters. Injecting into it produces erratic and generally reduced absorption.

The caveat is that this describes technique, and research-use compounds are not approved for human use in any jurisdiction.

Abdomen, thigh or upper outer arm. Rotate within the region, two centimetres apart.

edited 28 Jun 2026 by rota_site — clarified the distinction between purity and content

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answeredrota_site36k2711 Jun 2026
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Not medical advice. Research-use-only compounds are not approved for human use.