Moronic ketamine injection mistake

[Psumgui]

So me and my wife are in Central America and we got a 5gram vial of ketamine. During a Khole some guy knocked on our hotel and demanded money for a motorcycle we had rented but had not broken. In the scuffle the ketamine vial broke and spilled on the tile floor.

I sucked up all that I could and measured the amount of water. I then filtered it through cotton and boiled it shortly in a spoon and added back the amount of water that was missing. I then proceeded to do a bunch of intramuscular injections of this on me and my wife.

Absolutely moronic I know. Should have used a micron filter but we were in the jungle in the middle of a K binge and I guess I thought that would be okay.

Anyway, had a bad pain in the leg but not much worse than normal but after The K wore off I realized how stupid this was and took a preventative antibiotic I had on me. Ciprofloxacin. Took it for 4 days, and stopped as the pain went away. Now fast forward a week and a half and no problems, then we did a bunch of cocaine and alcohol. The next morning the pain was back bad In our legs, and hers had an infection line. We went to the equivalent of an emergency room on the carribian island we were on and tried to explain best we could in Spanish and they understood we injected "insulin" that fell on the floor. They gave us another antibiotic and after a day an a half the pain went away again. I am continuing taking this and not having any problem unless I really flex or stress that muscle.

Problem is I have literally no way to get to a hospital that speaks english for another two months, but all seems well. I have access to anything I need at the pharmacy.

What's the deal?

 

[phuckingnutz]

What's the deal?

You're a "moron"? Hey, just quoting!

Dude, if you have "anything" you want from the pharmacy then why not get more K or at the very least a filter?
IM injection done poorly or non-aseptically is much more dangerous than IV which is more dangerous still, than snorting it.
I can understand the junkie's mind (I have one), but shooting shit off the floor with water that is teaming with bacteria from a third world country is pushing it, even for a junkie.
Now that I'm here I realize I have no answer to your query except to say that if you two aren't amputees in a few weeks maybe the scare will teach you a lesson.

 

[Nicholai]

The deal is both of you could have lost a leg and had systematic infections.

 

[Psumgui]

You know you are really a prick and contributed absolutely nothing of value here. I understand it was stupid - and pharmacies don't sell K and wasn't near one at all at the time . It was stupid I understand. There is no infection thanks to antibiotics but I am wondering other than infection what are the other risks? (Also I used bottled water when adding more water)

 

[theMerovingian]

Hey at least in the future its something you most certainly will not repeat so like life we learn from our mistakes. Hope all is good mate.

 

[Solipsis]

As mentioned it could lead to sepsis / systemic infection, more locally things like an abscess or a worse version which it seems likely would also spread and overwhelm the immune system. Basically all forms of infection and reactions on something foreign introduced into your body past defense mechanisms. The main thing to worry about seems such virulent types of infections of the tissue or system, from pathogens or just particles you perhaps didn't properly filter with your K'ed out head. However I don't really know what kind of diseases - so also from pathogens - could really be in the air or on the floor there, and none of this is a substitute for medical advice, we can't offer it. If you notice something quite of of the ordinary that may be a symptom, respond accordingly. We can't and shouldn't really comfort you, nor cause you to panic. With such unknowns it is a matter of taking the chance that it will 'probably be okay', not sure what your options really are and what that hospital there could handle.

I know being under the influence can impair your judgement, I've been there... but there is no place here for justification or excuses, so you really said it yourself already.

When shooting up other people in particular you always ought to have an alarm in the back of your head that goes off from just being in dubio, IMO.

 

[Psumgui]

So what I am trying to understand is the abscesses or different types of muscle damage and how this could overwhelm the immune system and how this is treated? My leg hurts a bit today even though I am taking the antibiotics my wife is fine now.

It's not a bad pain at all barely noticeable but concerning considering it's been weeks. Trying to understand what is happening and if it is an emergency, because my only option to get medical care with my insurance is to fly back to the USA but I can't even afford to do that without credit card debt. So if it will heal or is even permenant and just remains this mild I don't care - but if over time it's going to deteriorate and i will loose my leg even though I could have saved it?

I know you are not doctors but this is the best I have.

As far as pathogens or diseases on the floor there is not likely anything there that wouldn't be anywhere else.

 

[Solipsis]

That's a really shitty deal and I understand what you're saying this is the best you have, but just be very clear about us not knowing. Would you like me to move this to the Other Drugs section for you? The reason would be that there is so much more experience there with injection and so-called 'moronic' decisions involving injection, at least that may give you good chances that someone chimes in with first-hand experience with complications other than sepsis or abscess. This doesn't really have anything to do with ketamine even though that is what you injected. The K experience is long gone and not at issue.

FWIW my limited knowledge of it tells me that it seems quite long to go without any swelling or fever etc for it to be an infection. I have gotten pretty sore muscles though again weeks would be quite long unless you hit a nerve or something. With normal soreness you massage, but problem is, if there is any infection going on you should probably never do that or it could release a whole bunch of shit into your bloodstream.
It's possible it's some sort of inflammation. You don't have any other symptoms like fever, you sure?
Is the area of tissue hard? Like including a bit below the skin surface?

You probably shouldn't stop with antibiotics.

I don't buy that things like bacterial or viral prevalence wouldn't differ across the world. Anyway let me look into it a little bit in the meanwhile, but I can promise nothing.

Pain during an IM injection generally is to be expected. Persistent pain, however, at the injection site is not an expected event. One series reports that persistent pain may occur in 23 percent of the patients who have complications.[3] The prolonged pain is usually due to irritation or chemical neuritis of a nerve; however, local muscle spasm due to the presence of the irritating medication has been faulted.[13] Continued pain at an IM injection site must be investigated to ensure it is not a symptom of an underlying abscess or other local problem. Many times this requires an MRI scan of the area as illustrated by Case 1 of this article. It is of interest that neither needle size nor needle length influence the degree of pain experienced at the time of the injection or the incidence of post-injection persistent pain.[4,6]

Nerves get hit surprisingly often, but considering your lack of sterile technique it would be quite a coincidence.

In any case, without treatment you should prepare for the worst, well likely worst after sepsis, though I guess it could still happen as long as the infection is not dealt with, in which case it could kill you relatively quickly. If there is necrotic / liquefied tissue I'd also expect that to hurt, any abscess should probably be drained / come out to avoid chronic complications from what it's doing to the surrounding tissue, if it can be contained.

That's probably the best I can do aside from moving this to consult OD. It's difficult that you can't afford to go home, but it's not a light gamble. If it is an abscess it seems insane not to get it treated. Not sure if you have any physical straining activities planned, but maybe you'll want to reconsider anything that might rupture an abscess.

 

[Psumgui]

Well I was able to actually get an X-ray and there is no Abcess. Still taking the antibiotic and there is still pain but only when I strain the muscle and it's not that bad just weird since it's been weeks :/

What's weird is if I just go walk around normally for the day there is no pain but if I crouch down all the way or lift up my leg while I am standing and bend my knee all the way like some weird yoga pose then I will have lingering pain for maybe two or more hours.

What concerns me is I have read of abscesses developing even months after IM administration gone wrong from foreign material in the leg. In my K'd out state I for some reason didn't recognize that there could be foreign particles that are small enough to pass through cotton.

So I know there is no abcess now, I am taking antibiotics, but even though I do have access to free healthcare here, I can't speak Spanish very well to explain all this and I am not sure they are as well versed in random drug abuse and the problems that come along with it as doctors in the US.

 

[sekio]

I don't think x-rays will show abscesses - don't they only show bone and any foreign metallic objects, and not soft tissue? I'd expect that either ultrasound, MRI or CT would be better diagnostic tools than plain X-rays.

You'll probably need to do some daily exercising to restore you muscle's functionality.

 

[Psumgui]

Ok good to know. How dangerous is an abcess I mean I specifically told them all that she even spoke English, told them I was worried of an abcess and was told they were doing an X-ray to check.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I don't think x-rays will show abscesses - don't they only show bone and any foreign metallic objects, and not soft tissue? I'd expect that either ultrasound, MRI or CT would be better diagnostic tools than plain X-rays.

You'll probably need to do some daily exercising to restore you muscle's functionality.

I know for a fact you can see pnemonia on an x-ray

 

[Solipsis]

Apparently x-ray should work because it shows really anomalous densities. Abscess as black holes possibly surrounded by whiter-than-normal outline.

Smart move with the x-ray.

With no abscess, physical activity / exercise and massaging indeed seem good to help with muscle degeneration. Not sure if it implies full-on necrosis, but that could make for more chronic issues? They didn't give you any other advice? If it persists, go to your doc when back home. Who knows they might suggest taking something out that might be buggering the rest of the area.