Vein locations for IV'ing heroin.

[Jabberwocky]

As far as the basillic someone mentioned earlier, I must warn you that the Ulnar nerve runs right next to the basillic and you DO NOT want to knick it, I've accidentally done it before and it will ruin your day, trust me, leave the basillic alone until you get more experience under your belt.

DariaAnne, I'm an EMT-P, a Paramedic.

i'd agree (never nicked the nerve thankfully) though it's the basallic i usually do hit when i'm rotating on my forearms as it's my most prominent though can cause a bit of an initial problem registering because of the vein rolling in my experience. old faithful bicep never fails though.

a nice place if you're using a tourniquet is around 6inches above the point of injection.

 

[Mr. Happy]

The vein I'm describing is on the anterior side of the hand. Its the one that runs along the back side of the thumb towards the top of your hand. As far as arteries go, they run deep inside the carpals of the wrist, you're not going to hit one in the top of your hand, those are all superficial veins.

This picture should help you out alot. Study it. Know it. Use it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Gray573.png

Thank you! For the explanation, and the picture, and I was following you, and had it right none the less haha. It is very interesting how the veins and arteries can "twist" around the arm, and be on both the anterior and posterior side of the arm depending on location. Also, I don't mean to be a pest but do you mean that literally when you say all the blue lines on the back of my hand are veins? I have sooo many fat, superficial veins back there so if your saying I don't have to worry at all about an artery there that is awesome news.

Also when you mentioned that the ulnar nerve was right next to the Basilic vein, did you mean along the entirety of it length, or just near the elbow? I ask because I can follow that vein from the elbow area, down to to the head of the ulna where it appears to come onto the anterior side of the wrist just above that prominent bump. Is this also, like the wrist cephalic, and good place to IV? Is there any nerves to worry about while using the cephalic near the elbow region?

And out of curiosity if one nicks a nerve, is it simply very painful or does it do permanent damage?

 

[rofl_227]

Yeah, so far so good with the veins around the thumb area. Doest seem to leave any nasty marks either. Good to have a alternative to the crook of the elbow area. Lol sorry for the post about the frustration......although I was pretty frustrated. I've seen people inject in the thigh area before....any tips on injecting anyhwere on the legs? I'm just tying to get a sort of rotation going here so that I dont screw up my veins TOO much. Btw, still waiting on a spot at detox..... I've missied a bed twice now becuase I called 15 and 20 minutes too late. When your waiting on a spot in rehab, it seems to be very easy to use for the time being....

 

[Jabberwocky]

any tips on injecting anyhwere on the legs?

keep away from that area. you've plenty of places to rotate on the upper body before you even need to worry about considering a femoral injection for example. lower blood flow to the extremities (feet, legs) can cause some nasty complications if not performed perfectly.

get to know the vein map of your arms/hands area.

 

[rofl_227]

is it possible for collapsed veins or bruises to leave small pockets of blood that one mighthit and mistake for a vein? It seems like only recently, after a few days of injecting into my elbow, that sometimes i will see the rush of blood in the syringe but oly for a little bit then it tops and i cant get it. I'm pretty sure i just missed a hit due to this and thankfully it doesnt seem that bad....slight burning in the area.

 

[rhythmtech]

is it possible for collapsed veins or bruises to leave small pockets of blood that one mighthit and mistake for a vein? It seems like only recently, after a few days of injecting into my elbow, that sometimes i will see the rush of blood in the syringe but oly for a little bit then it tops and i cant get it. I'm pretty sure i just missed a hit due to this and thankfully it doesnt seem that bad....slight burning in the area.

^^^om

Sounds like you've registered in the vein when you see the blood, but then slipped out of it. Perhaps you were at the very bottom of the vein and pierced through the underside? Used to happen to me when i was first learning injection technique. You want to be as still as possible once you register. Practice makes perfect!

 

[RunRunRun]

That used to happen to me all the time too when I was using heavy and I mean like injecting up to 10 times a day. I always thought I registered but then didn't seem to be in. It was weird. Maybe because I slipped out? But I can usually always hit myself or anyone else even without ever missing. Only when that false register happens.

 

[gomorrah]

Bicep and wrist. I prefer bicep, but if it connects with your elbow batting area you will have a long hideous track. I know.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Bicep and wrist. I prefer bicep, but if it connects with your elbow batting area you will have a long hideous track. I know.

really? i've always found them quite trendy after a bender

btw i don't condone the practice of following a single vein up during a plentiful IV period, rotate your veins as best as possible.

 

[crOOk]

Have any of you guys ever thought about some sort of veinous catheter instead of sticking it in a zillion times a day? I'm sure there would be reasons against this, but it seems so damn reasonable on some levels... I'm no iv user, just an idea. You could get any skilled nurse to introduce one and watch over it every now and then.

 

[Ayrios]

Have any of you guys ever thought about some sort of veinous catheter instead of sticking it in a zillion times a day? I'm sure there would be reasons against this, but it seems so damn reasonable on some levels... I'm no iv user, just an idea. You could get any skilled nurse to introduce one and watch over it every now and then.

Blood will clot in them if you're not dripping saline, clogging them up. They're also not very comfortable or stealthy There are 'ports' you can have installed, but are quite serious and usually used for chemo or other frequent (sterile and pure) infusions.

 

[Mr. Happy]

So, I found this nice very fat superficial vein that runs down the anterior (top) side of my forearm, right in the middle of my arm. I can follow it up towards, and past the elbow where it runs on the outside (flipping my arm back over so the underside is up) and then it goes up my bicep. I can really figure out which one it is on diagrams, but it worked nicely and was very easy to access as I just had to lay my arm on a table with the palm down, and rest my injecting hand on top of my arm.

Out of curiosity does anyone else use veins on the topside of their forearm?

 

[crOOk]

Blood will clot in them if you're not dripping saline, clogging them up. They're also not very comfortable or stealthy There are 'ports' you can have installed, but are quite serious and usually used for chemo or other frequent (sterile and pure) infusions.

OH I see. But the alternative to carrying a little saline solution bag stuck to your thighs sounds more appealing to me still than having to poke holes into your body in these heated last minute situations. Not meaning to sound like a wiseass or anything, but hospitals have their reasons for doing it as well. Eh well, maybe it just comes with the territory of self destruction. Whenever I iv'ed myself anything (happens exclusively in drunken state), I ended up with 2-4 gigantic bruises and only once were (high-pitchedly) singing angels lifting me up into heaven which I was very familiar with from bandage exchange on ICU. :D I know in those drunk situations, it really doesn't feel like I'm seeking the actual rush or any high for that matter, it comes from the same urge that had me break into a few houses (i never stole aside from this whorehouse - god that was a great pair of dildos), pure self destructive thrill seeking. Self destruction in a way that really just leaves no room for self preservation without the actual conscious goal to damage myself.

Has anyone ever even seen anyone using these for more than a few days? Btw some of those catheter things ca be pretty much clipped off. I've seen patients like that a lot, there might be some maximum interval for not being plugged in, but the ones I myself had in my veins actually felt very subtle (might've been the ridiculously high dose of oral opioids I was constantly on anyway). THey were on the hands though which doesn't really sound too practical either.

 

[DariaAnne]

i've spent a week in the hospital probably 5-6 times in the past year and a half or so and they always have to change it about half-way through the week. this past time i wised up and asked them to keep me on a saline drip consistantly and that kept it from hurting too bad until the 5-6th day. and you can use one of those things, i've shot up using an old saline iv that the nurses had left in my room and it actually works really well....but its a burn, you have to change it every couple days and it runs the risk of getting infected.

 

[Howdoesitfeel?]

My stepfather had a serious bacterial infection, and had a permanent needle in his arm for 3x per day IV antibiotics. He mentioned to me that back in his younger days, he had known people who would do the same thing in order to just attach DOC and go to town. He didn't use his for this purpose, but he just as well could have. It was in a vein on the top of his forearm too, I believe, which would be much easier to camouflage. I believe he had it in for close to a month, and I was never aware of any issues from it.

 

[rofl_227]

Wondering if anyone had any input on this. Lately it sems tha every time i shoot up, it end up with me missing a hit. I've had not much success shooting anywhere but the elbow area so I always seem to go back there. I try to move the place where I pierce the skin around, but it just seems to be the only place I ca hit a vein without piercing the sking like 20 times. Until now..... For about the ast week, I will seemingly hit a vein( dark blood draws up the syringe) but then when I inject I feel the sting and get a little bump which tells me I'm missing a hit. Worst of all, I barely get high. This has been going onconsistantly for the last week and its really starting to get to me. Is it possible to have veins all clotted up from too much use so that even when you hit them, the drugs just get stuck in the clotted up area? I dont know whts happening,I'm doing everything the same as I did a week ago and its just not working. I've tried numerous times onthe forearm and I cannot hit a vein there. In fact, my worst missed hit yet came on the forearm close to the wrist. Huge painful bump, lasted like 36 hours. At this point, I'm ready to resort to the legs or somethin cause this is just getting ridiculous at this point. I havent had a good hit in lke a week, just enough to keep me from getting dopesick.

 

[K88ABY]

Whoever posted that vein/artery map... I could kiss you. I'm not kidding when I tell you that in all my years of abusing H I have thrown away as much as I have taken, due to missed veins, pins filling with blood then losing them.. my god it's been an absolute nightmare. I tend to find a site then use it till I kill it and I thought I really had run out of areas. I've tried to find the basilic vein a few times, but nitto.. I think a decent bit of advice for anyone would be to alternate definately. I've just been so so unlucky, i've had no choice but to use whichever area I have found, period. My veins never had the chance to recover.

 

[rofl_227]

Yeah, I completely understand what you mean K88ABY, such a frustrating thing. Especially when you get that plume of blood in the syringe and just from the area being so blocked up you still miss most of the shot. However, I find that when you do miss your shot the bump that shows up works almost lke a heroin patch or something. I guess it slowly seeps into the body and wards off withdrawals for a while. Frustrating still though cause the whole reason for IVing in the first place is to obtain that rush. Heres a couple other links for finding veins all over the body. On the bodymaps one, make sure you pick male or female because it seems that male and female bodies have slightly different vein anatomy. Also, the red veins on the bodymaps one are arteries so it would be best to avoid those

http://www.bodymaps.com/

http://emprocedures.com/peripheraliv/anatomy.htm

 

[Mr. Happy]

I have a question and concern regarding accidentally shooting into an artery, in particular regarding the inside "pit" of ones elbow. As many of you probably know the inside of the wrist and elbow are very common areas to feel for a pulse, and regarding the elbow, it makes me nervous to use the veins in that area for IV, especially into what I believe to be the median cubital vein, because if I press down in that area I feel a pulse. I truly think it is the median cubital, it is very superficial and very blue, as are many of my other veins in that area, and pretty much in the center of the "pit". So my question is, is this pulse I can feel, which is obviously from an artery, hopefully located deeper inside my arm than the veins I can see from the surface? As in, am I safe shooting into any blue vein I can prominently see at the surface in this area? I already dislike shooting the elbow area, for some reason it just gives me the creeps, so I have been favoring the tops of my forearms and the back of the hand wrist area, but I understand that the elbow area arm veins are the most preferable. If anyone can help me out with this query it would be very appreciated.

 

[Ayrios]

I'm sure it's the median cubital you've got tagged. If you're looking at your left arm palm up, it looks like this on the far side of the elbow "pit": \

That's your brachial artery you're hearing in the median cubital. Arteries are generally pretty deep and people who hit them are usually diving at a steep angle for a deep vein as they've exhausted all other avenues. The median cubital is the easiest vein to hit for most people (we all have slightly varying layouts) and since it's so superficial, a large ridge in the inner elbow, you'll want to attack it at a very shallow angle, thus decreasing your chances of hitting an artery to virtually null. Since the elbow is a major joint and obviously a very busy place, it's important your needle-facing angle is accurate and your angle of insertion very flat--there's easier stuff around there to accidentally hit than an artery That's more of a concern with the other veins of the elbow, though.

While they still work, your median cubitals should definitely be a part of your rotation, and IMO they're the ones you should strive to save the most once you feel they're going downhill. They can take more abuse than your hands, and the greater number of safe top-tier sites in your rotation, the better for your tier-two sites down the road. You may find you have as many as two other veins in your elbow you can use, but that varies much more from person to person than the prominent median cubital, the only one I personally have good access to.