That's good advice. However I still don't think a tourniquet is entirely necessary. If you have deep veins, sure, use one. If you have prominent veins though why bother?
So you can rotate which veins you use, instead of what most IV users do, which is use the easy ones till they are destroyed, then the ones requiring a tourniquet, then places like the tops of hands, topside of arms, and wrists, none of which last long. And finally settling on the only remaining spot, the groin, which if looked after won't heal between shots, but also won't dissappear, so will remain that wound you can continue shooting into until old age or serious leg infection forces you to choose between really giving up this time, or getting familiar with shooting into your jugular vein. All sounds really sexy, right? (Sarcasm).
What I can say from my experience, probably 25 years on and off IV use, maybe 10-15 of that pretty consistent/full time. I still have at least 4 useable veins in each elbow crook. And can only think of one other person I know/use with, or whatever, who also has elbow crook veins still.
Guess what we both do that no one else really does. We've always used torniquets. Even on the "easy to get" veins. Because it turns easy into easier, makes mistakes and misses far less common, and allows them to continue doing their job instead of quickly surrendering and becoming unusable. And because once you start down the I V road, you could be here a loooooong time. So it's worth considering the future instead of just adding to the overuse and eventual destruction of your veins.
My suggestions on this:
- elastic/stretchy material is definitely the best. --; Ask around at needle exchanges or services for proper pathology nurse torniquets (cotton covered elastic, with plastic quick tight, quick-loose and quick release clips). I only got one about 3 months ago. While I've always had some sort of torniquets, these are superior in every single way. Get one.
- ignore whomever said to remove torniquets after your shot. If you have a steady enough hand (which you will develop quickly), loosen torniquets after you have registered a vein (eg, got the needle into one, and pulled plunger back a tiny bit to check that you're in - blood easily flowing into syringe means you are in). At this point you release the torniquets, and *then* have the shot after confirming you are still in. Why loose and shoot instead of shoot and loose? At some point your veins will be weaker than they once were. If you shoot with torniquets on, you increase the pressure in the vein more than even the torniquets do. Which can lead to a kind of blowout that you really don't want!!
Your idea to occasionally dabble after your first IV use might turn out just fine. But only for limited time. A guy and girl I know tried IV. Said they'd never go back to other using (which they didn't), and continued just using at occasional dance parties, raves and doors. And it didn't turn them into addicts.....until it turned them into addicts. But I'm pretty sure they got 2 or 3 good years out of their dabbling. Until the day they realised there was nothing, Nada, absolutely zilch, good about life anymore. They got out of it. But it always takes work to do.
While I can totally understand your wanting to try it, just understand what consequences there WILL be, which will be a lot. Have an escape plan. And also realise that addiction is a tricky bugger, so your escape plan is likely to fail. Then, if with eyes wide open, you do it anyway, more power to you. And luck when you need it. Which you will. And also honesty for when you need it, for when you eventually realise just how ridiculous and insane using "I'm different, it won't happen to me", when it seems no-one here is putting their hands up saying they stayed in control. Although to be fair, those people are junkies. You're not like them. But then again, neither we're they, back when they also made the mistake of somehow thinking they were special and it wouldn't happen to them.
Hopefully that's all adequate info and fair warning. I IV both meth and H. And at times make a complete meas of my life. And other times I am a complete meas myself. And other times it's both. And at times neither. It's a repeating struggle I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life. But damn, when I'm able to be blind enough to the consequences, it's awesome. The rush is so worth it. You see, addicts aren't evil, they just use selective blindness in ways that doesn't work well for them.... and they then make those same mistakes over and over and over again
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
