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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

needle broke off in arm

Is it in the vein, or in the muscle or fat in the region? As you know, especially since you can feel it there, it has to come out forthwith and I cannot come up with a home or otherwise unsupervised method for removing it . . . if it is the vein, then migration is a possibility, at any location in the body the needle fragment could become the locus of development of an abscess .

I saw an x-ray on the internet once and am having trouble finding it now . . . it was of needles in Howard Hughes' arm from years of shooting codeine and other things, most assuredly something people should not try -- some react differently than others, and lots of people like the itching right after a shot, but shooting codeine IV has anaphylaxis as a real possibility.
 
OMG! I was hoping you had found help by now and this was out!

You have the most trusted and knowledgeable people on this board helping you helpmegod .
Hang in there Sweetheart.
 
@helpmegod for IM injections i didnt get a chance to view your picture since my guerrila email changes every hour, but NEVER use a higher gauge than 25 or you're looking for trouble.
 
Nicomorphinist said:
Is it in the vein, or in the muscle or fat in the region? As you know, especially since you can feel it there, it has to come out forthwith and I cannot come up with a home or otherwise unsupervised method for removing it . . . if it is the vein, then migration is a possibility, at any location in the body the needle fragment could become the locus of development of an abscess .

I saw an x-ray on the internet once and am having trouble finding it now . . . it was of needles in Howard Hughes' arm from years of shooting codeine and other things, most assuredly something people should not try -- some react differently than others, and lots of people like the itching right after a shot, but shooting codeine IV has anaphylaxis as a real possibility.
Click to expand...
yeha no .... i mean even someone as skilled with a knife as i am would not consider more than itty bitty digging to get it out further than that and.... i mean the needle can cause bacteria to travel and euk.

a good doctor is required appearently not the shits you went to see.
 
Seems like even an Instacare or emergency clinic would help with this more than the Emergency Room has! WTF??!!

I don’t think you should try to get it yourself unless you try using the high power magnet to pull it out.
That sounded like a good idea to me.

I am SO frustrated that a doctor has not helped you! Let you leave in major distress too!
 
helpmegod, I do not live in NYC, but I am wondering if they have a walk-in “Urgent Care” center near you? They are basically walk-in clinics and can take x-rays, take lab tests, prescribe antibiotics, etc.

I am wondering if you can go to one of those. And they will take a look and if they think you need the ER, ask them to pre-admit you. Maybe even a different hospital. Tell them that you are worried they didn’t remove it at the ER and you are there to get a second opinion.

My SO took me to an Urgent Care center one night as one of my pupils was dilated much larger than the other and apparently I was incoherent - the doctor at Urgent Care called the ER and they took me in right away, as it is a sign of having a stroke. You might have to wait a bit in the ER, but if they call ahead then maybe that will help.

PS: Looks like Painful One already suggested this, sorry if this is a duplicate post. Thinking of you.
 
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i didnt even think about it... i hope they gave you a tetanus shot
 
Another example is my ex broke his ankle in a soccer game and went immediately to an Urgent Care clinic. They X-rayed his ankle and it was a pretty severe break...they said he might need surgery and referred him to go see a specialist on the following Monday (it was a weekend), but they put a cast on his ankle and set him up with crutches meanwhile. Hope this helps.
 
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KS78 said:
I really think that you could consider using a strong neodymium magnet to slowly pull it out if you can't find any doctor to help you. I think that it's less risky than operating on yourself especially if you don't know what you are doing.
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What percentage of needles these days are made of what? -- There is surgical 304 stainless steel which is de facto weakly paramagnetic, enough so that a needle stuck into one's body is listed as an absolute contraindication for MRI scans -- the problem being, I guess, the needle flying from inside the body to the MRI machine and making a mess of everything betwixt. There are other types of steel used for this with varying degrees of magnetic response, and there is aluminium, and some old school needles are made of brass, probably partially for hardness, partially for the anti-microbial properties of the copper in the alloy. A small number of jewelers, metallurgists, inventors, and other folks have made silver, platinum, and gold needles as sort of a one-off thing, and I have heard of titanium hypodermic needles though I forget which company makes them. People may know these folks:

foreverspin.com

ForeverSpin™ World Famous Metal Spinning Tops

Precise, Durable and Elegant is what sets foreverspin apart form other spinning tops. A Spinning Top that is built to last and spin forever.
foreverspin.com foreverspin.com

A ha -- that gives me an idea for collectors, museum curators, historians, doctors (like as a premium or door prize at medical conferences, not for office use) nurses, patients, and others --- I think there would be a big market out there for an antique doctor's bag with wooden or metal carrying cases containing glass, crystal, and pyrex syringes with the metal parts made of everything from various steels to platinum, gold, silver, palladium, to titanium, niobium, some lead for the sake of completeness, maybe a uranium needle as well . . . as I think I pointed out in another thread which I cannot find now for some reason, there are jewelers and clockmakers who make coke spoons and make them from every metal under the sun including tungsten, the four precious metals and others from the platinum group, also hafnium, tantalum, titanium, zirconium and more by themselves or in alloys.

I've got to get that uranium zing
-- "Zero Point" by the Kashmere Stage Band, 1972
 
Zonxx said:
i didnt even think about it... i hope they gave you a tetanus shot
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This reminds me that it is recommended that injecting drug users of all routes of administration get tetanus boosters every 3 to 5 years rather than 10 as there are new puncture wounds, albeit usually tiny ones, present continually on the body. The relative difficulty of cleaning out a deep puncture 100 per cent is one of the reasons that tetanus boosters are given quite frequently for any kind of puncture, as well as complicated wounds like jagged lacerations, compound fractures, some holes from a draining abscess &c.
 
this happened to me once for reusing the same needle over and over blasting coke one night. Thank God I was able to pull it out with my fingers, I was shitting my pants if it stayed in there. Since then I don't reuse needles anymore fuck, it's cringe worthy just thinking about this.... ughh
 
You know this really pisses me off!
like, what kind of people do we have now being Doctors?
Any human being would help with this situation.

Problem now is that not all of us are Human anymore eh?
 
Really one if the surgeons said it would work it's way out. How? Through what hole? How long did it take?
 
@helpmegod you're in the right place for support. I was reading this hoping that one older/old school user would pipe up and say 'ah don't worry it's happened to me plenty of times and I've always been fine' and whaddaya know, along comes @Johnbil09 at the last minute and saves the day!
Best of luck my friend.
Don't dig around in your body too much trying to get it out. You could create a way bigger problem. And don't stress (easier said I know) but Maybe the surgeons have just seen it happen multiple times and know it'll just work its way out, like Johns saying?
I too am interested in knowing how long it would take/has taken, John?

Don't feel bad about the situation.
We all know it's not right, but I expect at least over 50% of IV users have re used needles. Alot of the time just having/being left with more gear/hits than new needles, or being able to score earlier than the exchange is open. I know I shamefully have re used 1mls and orange heads for 2 or 3mls plenty of times. Even once breaking open a sin bin that had both mine and a friends useds in. To this day I still don't know whether I used his or mine! That was a pretty low point. He was a very good friend and we had shared barrels before but never the tips. I've been fully tested and I'm clean though, luckily.

I hope what John's said has made you feel better. I know it would if it was me.
I was really hoping someone would pipe up and say that they'd have a similar abscess to what I had a few months ago when I made a thread, and that it would all be fine, and sure enough, after about 3 or 4 pages of people without experience worrying/worrying me, there they were. Made me feel so much better.
Peace out ✌️
 
Yes that did make me feel a little better I called over the weekend the lower East Side harm reduction center which was the 1st needle exchange in America it's in the east village for us junkies in New York and they seem so surprised that the hospitals wouldn't help me and told me to go back to a different hospital and I'm thinking why just to sit through another 13-14 hours in a waiting Room just to leave upset and more angry a doctor at the last place said you know you have yourself to blame for this like thank you of course I know I have myself to blame for this that's not the issue as if I didnt feel bad enough. I have had many abscesses and they make a little cut and drain it I dont understand why not do the same here only pull it out. I know now I need an ultra sound in order to do that cut because I don't even know where it is or what I'm feeling anymore if it's scar tissue or if it s the needle it's hard to tell now. And when I call a surgeon's office they don't act like they've seen that a 1000 times before they tell me we've never got a call like this before you could hear that they sound freaked out thank you @Johnbil09 please tell me though how does it come out through what hole does it make it's own hole and please tell me how long it took thank you
 
I, honest to jeebus, know someone that died after a needle broke off in their arm because it travelled. It’s probably not super common and I’m not trying to scare you- but seriously keep looking for help. It is some serious bullshit that those surgeons wouldn’t help you. I don’t know about reporting them, you are definitely in the right to do so. But worry about that after you can get it removed. Those assholes...
 
I am here reading because I just had a needle break off in my neck. I'm not going to lie, I am panicking. But I read some good information. Ugh. I'll keep you guys updated, and if I don't... well....
 
Hey I started this thread people keep telling me it will work it's way out. I'm counting on that. My panic subsided a little but still. ......im not comforted
 
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