Harm Reduction IV pactice

[Intrapsychcular]

Hello guys and gals,

If there is a thread regarding this subject please feel free to delete it but I could not find one on this particular subject.

I have a somewhat broad background in drug use from psychedelics, dissociatives, stimulants, benzos etc.

Recently I got into cocaine and was thinking of IVing it however after reasing the IV Megathread and all the risks associated with IV I gave it a second thought.

So far up untill now I have only done IV twice with a ketamine analogue (Mxipr) and both times were performed by a friend of mine who's in med school atm studying to become a nurse.

I no longer keep in touch with said friend and have nobody to teach me irl how to do it so my question is would it be a good idea to practice for a couple of months by doing no more than one IV shot per arm every two weeks by self administering sterile saline solution from the pharmacy using insulin needles on myself in order to learn how to IV properly and minimize the risks while doing it (and after when applying it) ? Besides recently cocaine I've been wanting to indulge more in the psilocybin analogues via IV as well for a long time.

Any feedback from more experienced people (which I'm pretty sure are plenty) is greatly appreciated!

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

Disinfect the site beforehand, apply pressure after. Always shoot towards the direction of the heart, not away. The bevelled side of the needle has to face upwards. Make sure you're in the vein by pulling back a little on the plunger, there should be an influx of dark red blood. If it's bright red and the injection painful you've hit an artery. A vein you can feel is a surer bet than one you can merely see.

 

[Intrapsychcular]

Disinfect the site beforehand, apply pressure after. Always shoot towards the direction of the heart, not away. The bevelled side of the needle has to face upwards. Make sure you're in the vein by pulling back a little on the plunger, there should be an influx of dark red blood. If it's bright red and the injection painful you've hit an artery. A vein you can feel is a surer bet than one you can merely see.

Thanks for the advice!
What do you think the consequenses of missing a shot or going through the vein would be better by using NaCl solution for injections from the pharmacy for practice?

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

Thanks for the advice!
What do you think the consequenses of missing a shot or going through the vein would be better by using NaCl solution for injections from the pharmacy for practice?

Well if you miss a shot it can be very painful and also cause an abscess if the stuff, or the needle, is contaminated. Going right through a vein you'll get bruising and depending on location and how much damage you did, bleeding. You could practice with the sodium chloride solution or simply distilled sterile water. You clearly are very health - conscious, I can honestly say I never met any would-be injector who considered doing practice runs minus the drug first!

'Exchange Supplies' , a harm reduction company from Dorchester, England publish a 'Safer Injecting' booklet (which I think you can also read online on their website) that has all the basic do's and don'ts. (like how to not hit a valve, the correct angle of injection, how to tie off etc etc). I highly recommend that.

 

[Eligiu]

There's a lot to learn about IV use before you get into it. I had a friend teach me the basics before I went and looked up a lot of harm reduction information and watched loads of videos online about how to correctly do it. And even now, I have weeks (I use once a week) where I just cannot for the life of me hit a vein to save my life.

Cocaine is an extremely moreish drug for IV use by the way. Many people find that it completely consumes them and that they are entirely unable to control their redosing because they feel the need to compulsively redo it once every couple of minutes. It is a sure fire way to turn yourself into a human pin cushion and I really don't entirely recommend doing it, although I'm one to talk as an IV meth user. I find that I redose after hours rather than minutes.

To each their own though.

As has been stated above, and I'll add my own routine, which I feel is quite safe.

1. Wash hands with soapy water and dry with paper towel.
2. Use alcohol swabs on hands liberally.
3. Use alcohol swabs on whatever container you are keeping the water in or mixing your solution in.
4. Open needle packet, add drugs into water or water into drugs (depending on whether you're using a container/sterile spoon to mix or the bag).
5. Mix drugs, using the tip of the plunger to stir.
6. Using a wheel filter (preferably) or a piece of cotton ball, draw up the solution with the needle facing at a diagonal angle and the bevel edge facing upwards. Just have a look at it when you do it, this is only relevant with cotton wool.
7. Re-apply cap of syringe while you swab injection site with alcohol swabs. Don't just get lazy and leave it lying around.
8. (Optional) apply tourniquet.
9. Alcohol swab both hands again so that they are sterile for when you are touching the injection site with them.
10. Alcohol swab needle after removing the cap of syringe.
11. Draw back slightly on syringe, leaving a small gap of air in the tube (this is not dangerous - it will fill with blood once you register, you're not going to inject any air into your arms doing this. It just makes registering easier, from experience).
12. After finding your injection site (lower on your arm if possible is better, so that if you miss you can move upwards), inject at an angle with the bevel facing up ALWAYS. It will hurt far more if you don't do this and leave more marks.
13. Continue to push needle in, while applying 'negative pressure' (i.e. slightly pulling back on the plunger so that once you hit the vein and register, it will occur rapidly. Make sure you readjust your hand position just after you push the needle in initially to a position where you can better inject, otherwise you very much risk slipping out or going through when you try to readjust in the vein. Doing it before is always better.
14. When you register, start to inject and keep your hand as still as you can. If you were wearing a tourniquet, you should have loosened it prior to injecting. That creates issues for newer users as they have to let go of the needle, then grab it again and it may jostle significantly during those two movements, trust me.
15. Inject ALL the solution, and leave the needle in there for a moment after doing so, but do NOT backjack (pull more blood back into the needle to inject it again). That is completely unnecessary, bad for your veins, and dangerous. Just finish up and leave it in there for a second so that you don't have any burning while you remove it if there's a little extra still needing to come out.
16. Apply pressure to the injection site with a cotton swab or tissue or something similar, and hold it above your head. Do NOT lick it, or anything such as that, that is grimy, grotty, and disgusting and unsanitary.
17. Once the injection site is healed, apply vitamin E solution or Hirudoid cream liberally to assist with healing any bruises or trackmarks. The healing should take around 24 hours.

Best of luck. If you aren't doing well, I do encourage trying a different ROA. IV is not for everyone and it's better to be bad at it and give up than be bad at it and keep at it.

 

[simstim]

Practice is the only way to get the hang of it. It's been so long for me I have a real hard time hitting a vein now.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Fast forward to 14:40 then reconsider.
Crack better than IV cocain anyways I think. Faster onset via the lungs than IV.

 

[nznity]

Fast forward to 14:40 then reconsider.
Crack better than IV cocain anyways I think. Faster onset via the lungs than IV.

This 100%
Too many risks associated with iv coke plus it destroys ur veins.
Crack is hardcore too but much safer than iv cocaine. If there is one drug nobody should ever try, that is IV coke.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

This 100%
Too many risks associated with iv coke plus it destroys ur veins.
Crack is hardcore too but much safer than iv cocaine. If there is one drug nobody should ever try, that is IV coke.

Shooting Coke is probably the most disgusting of all drug use types. You have to shoot every 15 minutes while shaking and in a panic to get more into you. Your arm gets beat up.real fast.

Probably better off creating an IV port and leaving it in for a few days amd shooting into.that rather than repeatedly into the arm

 

[nznity]

Shooting Coke is probably the most disgusting of all drug use types. You have to shoot every 15 minutes while shaking and in a panic to get more into you. Your arm gets beat up.real fast.

Probably better off creating an IV port and leaving it in for a few days amd shooting into.that rather than repeatedly into the arm

I've had multiple seizures, 2 ODs, 1 mini stroke and countless visits to the ER that my medical record is fucked up. + all of my veins are gone.
TBH you said it bro, one of the most/if not the most detrimental thing you can do to ur body.
The "not even once" tv AD should be for this, instead of meth. Utter shit, even smoking crack isn't as bad. Not saying smoking crack is good but this garbage beats everything.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I've had multiple seizures, 2 ODs, 1 mini stroke and countless visits to the ER that my medical record is fucked up. + all of my veins are gone.
TBH you said it bro, one of the most/if not the most detrimental thing you can do to ur body.
The "not even once" tv AD should be for this, instead of meth. Utter shit, even smoking crack isn't as bad. Not saying smoking crack is good but this garbage beats everything.

Damn dude. Do you want to stop or do you still want to live the addict lifestyle...i know you mentioned pain is an issue in the past.

I've spent over a decade with hard drug addiction and pain and i can say that going from full-blown junkie to a person that uses pills properly minimally without abusing them...it's possible (only with my wife that controls all drug dispensing)...sure I could go buy my own drugs but i don't. Ive suffered to much and cling to some hope of retaining elements of a normal life.

I just went through so much health damage from drugs that I decided I couldn't do it anymore...too much suffering. But the damage to my body from drugs (ketamine bladder damage) was already done and the pain pretty lasting....trapping me on opioids even though I wanted nothing more than to be free and had been clean off them for almost 2 years.

But I'm back on the shittiest opioid for recreation (methadone pills)...to treat my pain and I try to keep it strictly to that amd very low doses (1 to 5 mg per day), skipping days if I'm not in pain.

I still love the rush of opipids who doesn't but I hate drug life so fucking much and have been fortunate enough to experience a really privileged life and experiences that I fear losing and I have already lost the ability to do some of those positive things in life.

The pain and suffering addiction causes to our physical body just gets worse and worse until one day you will never feel without pain again drugs or not.

This is an aspect of addiction not talked about as much as people becoming arrested, destitute and degenerate and imprisoned...these things usually happen first and get a person to change but for me I avoided all that and my health was the thing that did me in finally.

 

[nznity]

Damn dude. Do you want to stop or do you still want to live the addict lifestyle...i know you mentioned pain is an issue in the past.

I've spent over a decade with hard drug addiction and pain and i can say that going from full-blown junkie to a person that uses pills properly minimally without abusing them...it's possible (only with my wife that controls all drug dispensing)...sure I could go buy my own drugs but i don't. Ive suffered to much and cling to some hope of retaining elements of a normal life.

I just went through so much health damage from drugs that I decided I couldn't do it anymore...too much suffering. But the damage to my body from drugs (ketamine bladder damage) was already done and the pain pretty lasting....trapping me on opioids even though I wanted nothing more than to be free and had been clean off them for almost 2 years.

But I'm back on the shittiest opioid for recreation (methadone pills)...to treat my pain and I try to keep it strictly to that amd very low doses (1 to 5 mg per day), skipping days if I'm not in pain.

I still love the rush of opipids who doesn't but I hate drug life so fucking much and have been fortunate enough to experience a really privileged life and experiences that I fear losing and I have already lost the ability to do some of those positive things in life.

The pain and suffering addiction causes to our physical body just gets worse and worse until one day you will never feel without pain again drugs or not.

This is an aspect of addiction not talked about as much as people becoming arrested, destitute and degenerate and imprisoned...these things usually happen first and get a person to change but for me I avoided all that and my health was the thing that did me in finally.

I stopped doing cocaine 2 years ago along with other recreational and party drugs altogether, I only do pain pills and benzos now but I use em legitimately for anxiety and pain. I don't chase a high anymore. The damage is done here aswell, I used to do drugs 4 fun but now I need them to get by.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I stopped doing cocaine 2 years ago along with other recreational and party drugs altogether, I only do pain pills and benzos now but I use em legitimately for anxiety and pain. I don't chase a high anymore. The damage is done here aswell, I used to do drugs 4 fun but now I need them to get by.

Same. I ended all stimulants, alcohol, dissociatives and psychedelics like 4 or 5 years ago when my health went to shit. Opioids remained though.

I want to get by without them so bad though and i stress alot about being dependemt on even such a small methadone dose. I've tapered off opioid so many times the past few years only to have to start up again.

It's like being trapped. I'm really trying to get the health situation under control trying alot of different trearments so hopefully one day no more pills.

I do still want to chase the high though. I just balance that urge with all the hell I've lived by chasing highs

 

[nznity]

Same. I ended all stimulants, alcohol, dissociatives and psychedelics like 4 or 5 years ago when my health went to shit. Opioids remained though.

I want to get by without them so bad though and i stress alot about being dependemt on even such a small methadone dose. I've tapered off opioid so many times the past few years only to have to start up again.

It's like being trapped. I'm really trying to get the health situation under control trying alot of different trearments so hopefully one day no more pills.

I do still want to chase the high though. I just balance that urge with all the hell I've lived by chasing highs

I'm kinda the same but I destroyed my health irreversibly in the process and much faster than you so all I got now is morphine, clonazepam and nicotine for quality of life. I'm never gonna walk again plus my hip is utterly fucked so all I got are those meds for pain management and morphines antidepressant effects. Fuck Prozac or zoloft, I'd rather take morphine, I'm taking it till I die.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I'm kinda the same but I destroyed my health irreversibly in the process and much faster than you so all I got now is morphine, clonazepam and nicotine for quality of life. I'm never gonna walk again plus my hip is utterly fucked so all I got are those meds for pain management and morphines antidepressant effects. Fuck Prozac or zoloft, I'd rather take morphine, I'm taking it till I die.

That's rough. What happened to your hip was it drug related accident?

That's cool you've accepted being on opioids. I can't accept it...but I think part of thr fear of being on them is that in the US it is so highly stigmatized and impossible to get prescriptions that there is a lot of fear around having to return to the black market.for me.

....if I knew that opioids would always be accessible to me I wouldn't fear being dependemt on them so much.

 

[kongoman]

Damn dude. Do you want to stop or do you still want to live the addict lifestyle...i know you mentioned pain is an issue in the past.

I've spent over a decade with hard drug addiction and pain and i can say that going from full-blown junkie to a person that uses pills properly minimally without abusing them...it's possible (only with my wife that controls all drug dispensing)...sure I could go buy my own drugs but i don't. Ive suffered to much and cling to some hope of retaining elements of a normal life.

I just went through so much health damage from drugs that I decided I couldn't do it anymore...too much suffering. But the damage to my body from drugs (ketamine bladder damage) was already done and the pain pretty lasting....trapping me on opioids even though I wanted nothing more than to be free and had been clean off them for almost 2 years.

But I'm back on the shittiest opioid for recreation (methadone pills)...to treat my pain and I try to keep it strictly to that amd very low doses (1 to 5 mg per day), skipping days if I'm not in pain.

I still love the rush of opipids who doesn't but I hate drug life so fucking much and have been fortunate enough to experience a really privileged life and experiences that I fear losing and I have already lost the ability to do some of those positive things in life.

The pain and suffering addiction causes to our physical body just gets worse and worse until one day you will never feel without pain again drugs or not.

This is an aspect of addiction not talked about as much as people becoming arrested, destitute and degenerate and imprisoned...these things usually happen first and get a person to change but for me I avoided all that and my health was the thing that did me in finally.

Hi mate, do you IV METHADONE? COULD YOU EXPLAIN ME HOW DO YOU DO?
IT MAKES YOU A RUSH?

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Hi mate, do you IV METHADONE? COULD YOU EXPLAIN ME HOW DO YOU DO?
IT MAKES YOU A RUSH?

No I do not IV methadone.

I don't IV anything anymore because I saw two close friends die of blood/heart infections from IV usage

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

No I do not IV methadone.

I don't IV anything anymore because I saw two close friends die of blood/heart infections from IV usage

.... my best friend died of complications from endocarditis last year. So yeah.

It really is vital to always disinfect and to not share or re-use needles (obviously, much easier said than done in some circumstances.)

 

[kongoman]

There's a lot to learn about IV use before you get into it. I had a friend teach me the basics before I went and looked up a lot of harm reduction information and watched loads of videos online about how to correctly do it. And even now, I have weeks (I use once a week) where I just cannot for the life of me hit a vein to save my life.

Cocaine is an extremely moreish drug for IV use by the way. Many people find that it completely consumes them and that they are entirely unable to control their redosing because they feel the need to compulsively redo it once every couple of minutes. It is a sure fire way to turn yourself into a human pin cushion and I really don't entirely recommend doing it, although I'm one to talk as an IV meth user. I find that I redose after hours rather than minutes.

To each their own though.

As has been stated above, and I'll add my own routine, which I feel is quite safe.

1. Wash hands with soapy water and dry with paper towel.
2. Use alcohol swabs on hands liberally.
3. Use alcohol swabs on whatever container you are keeping the water in or mixing your solution in.
4. Open needle packet, add drugs into water or water into drugs (depending on whether you're using a container/sterile spoon to mix or the bag).
5. Mix drugs, using the tip of the plunger to stir.
6. Using a wheel filter (preferably) or a piece of cotton ball, draw up the solution with the needle facing at a diagonal angle and the bevel edge facing upwards. Just have a look at it when you do it, this is only relevant with cotton wool.
7. Re-apply cap of syringe while you swab injection site with alcohol swabs. Don't just get lazy and leave it lying around.
8. (Optional) apply tourniquet.
9. Alcohol swab both hands again so that they are sterile for when you are touching the injection site with them.
10. Alcohol swab needle after removing the cap of syringe.
11. Draw back slightly on syringe, leaving a small gap of air in the tube (this is not dangerous - it will fill with blood once you register, you're not going to inject any air into your arms doing this. It just makes registering easier, from experience).
12. After finding your injection site (lower on your arm if possible is better, so that if you miss you can move upwards), inject at an angle with the bevel facing up ALWAYS. It will hurt far more if you don't do this and leave more marks.
13. Continue to push needle in, while applying 'negative pressure' (i.e. slightly pulling back on the plunger so that once you hit the vein and register, it will occur rapidly. Make sure you readjust your hand position just after you push the needle in initially to a position where you can better inject, otherwise you very much risk slipping out or going through when you try to readjust in the vein. Doing it before is always better.
14. When you register, start to inject and keep your hand as still as you can. If you were wearing a tourniquet, you should have loosened it prior to injecting. That creates issues for newer users as they have to let go of the needle, then grab it again and it may jostle significantly during those two movements, trust me.
15. Inject ALL the solution, and leave the needle in there for a moment after doing so, but do NOT backjack (pull more blood back into the needle to inject it again). That is completely unnecessary, bad for your veins, and dangerous. Just finish up and leave it in there for a second so that you don't have any burning while you remove it if there's a little extra still needing to come out.
16. Apply pressure to the injection site with a cotton swab or tissue or something similar, and hold it above your head. Do NOT lick it, or anything such as that, that is grimy, grotty, and disgusting and unsanitary.
17. Once the injection site is healed, apply vitamin E solution or Hirudoid cream liberally to assist with healing any bruises or trackmarks. The healing should take around 24 hours.

Best of luck. If you aren't doing well, I do encourage trying a different ROA. IV is not for everyone and it's better to be bad at it and give up than be bad at it and keep at it.

Hi buddy!
You explained very well just one thing that everybody should know I think. Try always a little dose cause ODing with cocaine It's easy.
The think is when you try it for the firts time yo go with a little dose and you feel the rush, but when you have a little more experience you try every shoot to go with a higher rush and your doses goes bigger and one day you say I want a higher rush a you go and OD. That's my own experience. I don't know if you thing the same.

Thanks for the advice!
What do you think the consequenses of missing a shot or going through the vein would be better by using NaCl solution for injections from the pharmacy for practice?

I think NaCl solution is not need it. Only sterelized water. That's what they give us in Spain.

If you miss a vein with coke it's more dangerous than an opiate injection. I missed a couple of times and only had pain in the part where you missed the shoot. I have to say that I'm a lucky man cause I never had complications because of shooting, I ODed 3-4times, well I don't know if I ODed but I had to call an ambulance each time cause I thought that my heart couldn't hold on, It's different to opioids that when you OD you stop breathing and after that your heart stop
beating then you need naloxone or you die well IT depend on the dose you shooted. But with coke you shoot and probably fall down and begin to feel bad, scared and you think you're dying. Each OD I feel it differently.
It's difficult to explain how were my feelings but in all of cases I felt that my heart was going to stop.

Well that's my own experience and what I think about and all I can say is better stay away of needles, they are so much addictives.

I hope this info be helpful as much as possible. Thanks to people to take the time to read my post.

Too much to the community.

 

[Intrapsychcular]

Hello guys thank you all for the replies and advice.
Since I made this thread I have IVed DMXE, 2-FMA, MXiPr, 4-HO-MIPT , 3-MEO-PCE , Cocaine, Morphine , Heroin and some other compounds I might be missing with great success (physically) only a couple of missed shots or the last couple units missed due to moving while on pain killers and not feeling it etc. Mentally it's another story but in terms of harm reduced IV +1000 , no collapsed veins, no abscesses etc. Thank you to all who chimed in and blessed me with your knowledge, previous experiences and stories.