question from a user

Are compounding pharmacy’s that provide testosterone generally the same as the regular pharmacy’s? Also, what differences from Subq vs IM when starting TRT?

AlphaMD's Answer


They're similar it terms of oversight, standards, & quality but compounding pharmacies must always change a commercially available product ever so slightly to be considered compounding. For Testosterone that typically means using grapeseed oil over cottonseed or adding very small amounts of DHEA or things like B-12. They offer a lot more options in case you have adverse reactions to some of the items in commercial items that may not have an alternative.

For IM vs Subq, it's now generally preferred to start with Subq. Since Estrogen transfer is mostly caused from the highest spikes in Testosterone & Subq absorbs Testosterone slower, it tends to allow men to have more stable hormones across the board. It also requires less knowledge of injectable areas due to using smaller/shorter needles into areas that don't have tendons/nerves. IM can be useful if your skin is sensitive & you are prone to local area irritations or if you need to inject large volumes at a single time.

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