It is important to decide which route you want to go with to administer the hCG:  either injecting [subcutaneous (SQ) or intramuscular (IM)] or sublingually (SL). While Dr. Simeons only speaks of IM, many people have had great results with both of the other methods.  Note that Dr. Grant Williams believes that "for best results and best compliance, subcutaneous is the way to go!"

Overview of the mixing process

Important Suggestion

Mixing Procedure

Daily Injections

Injection Tips

Intramuscular Tips

Subcutaneous Tips

Injecting Instructions:

Courtesy of David, owner of hCG Dieters

Here is an overview on the mixing process:

If you bought 5000 IU then that would give you 25 doses of 200 IU, 28 doses of 175 IU, or 40 doses of 125IU. The recommended dosage from Dr. Simeons is 125 IU; the recommended dosage mentioned in the other book is 175-200 IU . This is important!! You need to first decide want size dose you are going to take. More is not necessarily better. Your body could become immune to the HCG near the end of your treatment if the dosage is too high. You should read what Dr. Simeons has to say about it on page 7 of his manuscript. What you need to consider is "how toxic are you?" If you did some cleansing and/or have been eating organic foods etc., then you should consider using 125 IU-175IU. If you are going right into Phase 2 without doing any of Phase 1 and haven’t done any body cleansing you might be better off with 175IU-200 IU. That is the best general advice to offer.

The powder comes in concentrated form and there is an amount of liquid to mix it with. If the amount they have given you is 1 ml then that will give you 1 ml of 5000 IU. This is far too small to try to divide up into 25 doses. So, the site that discussed Pregnyl suggested that what you do is dilute it with your own Bacteriostatic water. That is sterile water that you get from a medical supply site like http://www.HCGSupplies.com that is safe for injecting.

IMPORTANT! DO NOT MIX TWO DIFFERENT LIQUIDS WITH THE HCG. The HCG probably comes with 1 ml of isotonic sodium chloride---Pregnyl does. You do not want to mix this with any of the above mentioned liquids. You only want to use "one" liquid to dissolve the powder, SO DISCARD THE LIQUID IT COMES WITH! Use your Bacteriostatic water for the entire mixing process. It will help keep the HCG potent for longer periods in the fridge too.


Now dilute your HCG in a very sterile environment. You want to make the doses easy to manage. So you can give yourself the same dosage each morning.

IMPORTANT SUGGESTION:
Courtesy of David

Here is what I learned when mixing my first batch of HCG: When I went to withdraw the HCG to place it in the B-water, I quickly realized that the needle was too short to reach the bottom of the ampoule. The ampoules are 2" deep and I have 1" needles. So I had to tilt the ampoule on its side to get the mixture close enough to withdraw and it took some time to get it all in the syringe. You don’t want to miss any because it will affect the dosage formula of the mixture.

You can invert the ampoule (turn it upside down) with the HCG in it and the mix will not come out. It is simple physics. The design of the ampoule creates a vacuum in the ampoule that prevents the mix from draining out. It sounds crazy and it is scary to do because you don’t want to lose the HCG. But it works.

Suggestion: Take the “liquid ampoule” that comes with your HCG and PRACTICE WITH IT until you are comfortable (you will be throwing it away anyway). This also helps as practice for breaking an ampoule for the first time. You have to use care not to let any glass fragments fall into the HCG. Hold it sideways so gravity will not allow any glass to fall into the ampoule.

Tips: NEVER insert AIR into the ampoule like you do when you withdraw from a vial. The inserted air breaks the vacuum and all the liquid will come out very fast. Secondly, just put the point of the needle in far enough to be in the liquid. Then draw back VERY SLOWLY. At the end, you may need to tilt the ampoule to get the very last drops.
Note: You should first set out all your mixing materials. Then wash your hands. Dry with a CLEAN towel or paper towel.

Important Tip: Regarding opening the glass ampoule of HCG: Sometimes glass ampoules are a little tricky to open. To open, cleanse the top with alcohol, use the wrapper the alcohol wipe comes in to cover the top of the ampoule (i.e. use the inside portion of the wrapper) and snap quickly away from you. You can also use the alcohol wipe itself to avoid potentially cutting yourself with the glass.

Mixing procedure: FOR 200 IU INJECTIONS WITH A 5000 IU AMPOULE OF HCG:
Courtesy of David

· Swab the top of the 30cc Bacteriostatic water vial with rubbing alcohol and the top of a new sterile GLASS vial with rubbing alcohol (using a new swab for the Glass vial).

· Using a 30cc syringe - draw out 25cc of Bac-water.

· Inject 1cc into HCG ampoule to mix HCG powder (slowly down the side) DO NOT let the needle touch anything, even the HCG ampoule. If it does, replace the needle before the next step.

· Inject the remaining 24cc of Bac-water into the new Glass vial.

· Swish the liquid slowly in the HCG ampoule until it is all dissolved (never shake it).

· Draw out the 1cc of liquid HCG.

Swab the Glass vial again and inject the HCG into the sterile Glass vial containing the 24 cc. of Bac-water.

Now you have 25 doses of 200 IU at 1 ml each. 1 ml. = 1 cc.

Of course, always remember to swab the top of the rubber on the vial each time for your daily injections. And do not touch the needle.

Variations:

FOR 175 IU INJECTIONS WITH A 5000 IU AMPOULE OF PREGNYL:

Follow the directions except draw out 28.5 cc. of Bac-water; this equals 28 doses of 175 IU at 1 mL

FOR 125 IU INJECTIONS WITH A 5000 IU AMPOULE OF PREGNYL:

Follow the directions except draw out 40.5 cc. of Bac-water; this equals 40 doses of 125 IU at 1 mL

FOR 200 IU INJECTIONS WITH A 1500 IU AMPOULE OF HCG:

Follow the directions except draw out 7.5 cc. of Bac-water; this equals 7 doses of 200 IU at 1 mL

FOR 175 IU INJECTIONS WITH A 1500 IU AMPOULE OF HCG:

Follow the directions except draw out 8.5 cc. of Bac-water; this equals 8 doses of 175 IU at 1 mL

Mixing procedure: FOR 125 IU INJECTIONS WITH A 1500 IU AMPOULE OF HCG:

Follow the directions except draw out 12.5 cc. of Bac-water; this equals 12 doses of 125 IU at 1 mL

For visual learners, watch a video on the mixing process (for a single use shot) here. 

Daily injections:
Courtesy of David

It is recommended that your HCG be at room temperature when you inject it (it stings more when it is cold). So, once you have filled your syringe put the needle cover back on, (remember, don’t touch the needle) then put the vial back into the fridge and let the syringe sit out until it warms up. Don’t let the vial stay out in room temperature for very long.

· Swab the top of the GLASS vial containing your HCG with a rubbing alcohol swab.

· Draw out the HCG.

· Replace the needle

· Swab your skin with a rubbing alcohol swab. Let it dry slightly. This helps it to sting less also.

Give yourself the injection.

NOTE: Make sure you carefully dispose of the needles. Many people take off the needle (enclosed inside the cap) and throw the syringe part (sans needle) in the trash, but use an empty plastic container (with screw on lid) to store the used needles only. When the program is completed or the container is full, the instructions to dispose of this container are to tape it shut and label it as "Medical waste - Do NOT Recycle", then put it in the regular trash.

For complete instructions on injecting SQ or IM, please visit here.

Injection Tips

1. Do not keep your mix of hCG in the syringes! It is stated that hCG can only exist in glass containers. Make sure you only use your needles for injections- not storage.  Draw every day.

2. Do NOT freeze the hCG; instead wrap the bottle in foil to keep light out and store in the refrigerator.  Some people choose to store the hCG wrapped in foil inside a Tupperware container inside the refrigerator for extra protection. 

3. The smaller the gauge, the thicker the needle, which basically means more pain!  We do not recommend anything below 27 and believe 29 is the best. 

4. If you are worried about injecting, you can always freeze your leg/butt/arm/tummy with an ice cube first.

5. After removing the needle, immediately apply pressure to the site with the cotton swab for a couple of minutes.  This is to help prevent the hCG from "leaking" back out into the fatty tissue.

6.  If cost is an issue, insulin needles are the cheapest hypodermic needles available, which come in 29-30 gauge 1/2" needles.

7.  Be sure to swab the area of the injection with an alcohol wipe, but you must let it dry before injecting.  If the alcohol does not dry, it will be more likely to sting. 

Tips for injecting IM:

1. You can look at pictures of the areas to inject. 

2. Rotate your injection sites and relax the muscle:

When administering HCG please rotate your injection sites: do not inject into the same spot 2 days in a row. Repeated injections into the same site can cause abscesses. Use your upper arms (deltoid muscle), front of thigh (quadriceps muscle), and upper, outer corner of buttocks. It is important to not inject into the center of the buttock as one could easily hit or damage the sciatic nerve. A good suggestion is to rotate your injections as follows: right quad (leg), left quad, right arm, left arm, right and then left gluteus (buttock).--David

3. The majority of the pain only occurs if the hCG solution is cold.  Make sure you let the solution sit for a few minutes after you withdraw it from the vial, or speed this process by holding the hCG under your armpit for a few minutes.

4. It is easiest to just jab the needle in quickly rather than to try to push it in slowly. You can slap your leg, alcohol the spot, grab a bunch of fat and muscle and jab it in after the alcohol is dry. Then release the hold on the muscle and slowly inject. You won't feel it, but make sure you inject, AFTER, you aspirate to check for blood.

5. For visual learners, watch a video on injecting IM.

6.  Do NOT pinch the skin while inserting the needle (without also grabbing the muscle).  This can be painful and produce knots, and even worse, you the solution doesn't reach the muscle since you have pulled the skin away from the muscle. 

Tips for injecting SQ:

1. Pinch a little roll of fat in your upper belly, between the center of your body and your side, but above the belly button.  Don't pinch too hard, because if the skin is tight injecting can be more difficult.

2. Avoid the lower abdomen; it is a little harder and more painful.

3. Do NOT inject SQ into the thigh, many people have seen knots in the area from this method. 

4. Inject slowly; if you push the mixture in too quickly, the solution might come back out of the injection spot around the needle. When all the liquid has gone, leave the needle in for a second or two, then take the syringe out.

5. Stick the needle in straight.

6. Try to stay within a one inch area of the belly button and rotate daily. This is where the injection is most quickly absorbed.

7. Hold the syringe like a pencil and quickly jab it into the skin.

8. Rub the area a bit to help with the stinging.  As an added bonus, rubbing also assists faster absorption!

9. It is less painful if you hold the skin taught (but not too tightly--see note above): use two fingers to pull the skin in opposite directions, making it firmer.

10. The majority of the pain only occurs if the hCG solution is cold.  Make sure you let the solution sit for a few minutes after you withdraw it from the vial, or speed this process by holding the hCG under your armpit for a few minutes.

11. Absorption is somewhat less by doing SC injections (though this is debated), so we recommend to increase the dosage to 150-200 IU.  Here is an article that talks about the different absorption rates to help you make your own informed decision.

12.  Nurses recommend the stomach area because there are no nerve endings in the stomach.  As an added bonus, it doesn't hurt as much when it is injected into the stomach. 

13.  For visual learners, here is a site that has great pictures for injecting SQ.