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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Vein problems in new iv user

Austinjmaurer94

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 7, 2016
Messages
8
I have just recently started iving tar heroin. About 3-4 months. And already i am nearly out of usable veins. The veins on my arms have all gone very quickly. Once ive hit a vein once or twice its unusable. The veins now have bluish green lines along them and are unusable, some are hard as well. I do not believe that they are collapsed because ive only hit most of them once or twice. But they are all gone already and i am trying so hard to figure out why and how i can heal them and prevent this problem in the future.
 
I know absolutely nothing about tar other than I heard it wrecks your veins quicker than powder.

My only advice to you is;
-Read the IV threads here at BL
- Find the proper needle size
- Use fresh needles. I can't stress this enough!
- Keep everything sterile
- Make sure you're mixing/filtering properly.
- Rotate, rotate, rotate.

I could sit here and tell you to quit while you're ahead, but it's your body/choice.

I used to miss my shots, which meant swelling, pain, knots....then an old school ex IV user (60 yrs old) gave me an hr lession on how to find a vein and do it properly. I wish I didn't use but until I stop, need to care for those veins.

Be well xo
 
I use 31 gauge needles. I buy them by the case (500) at a time so using fresh ones is never a problem. Besides those im not sure what else could be the problem. I get one or two shots in a vein and i cant use it anymore. Its really frusterating because ive done so much research and checks every vein complication thread on here and cant find anything similar to whats going on. Thank you for your reply too! Im just trying everything to try to figure this out before i give up.
 
Sounds to me like your veins actually are collapsed. This happens when the lining of the vein is damaged by the needle if you puncture too far or if you inject too quickly. To prevent this problem - the obvious answer would be don't IV, it's bad enough as it is and if you have as many collapsed veins as you say you do, its eventually going to happen again and cause infections and health problems, but it's up to you. Best of luck man. Also, it doesn't matter how many times you've injected, if you do it wrong and especially with tar, they will collapse. Also this will not heal, that is why i would stop now
 
I agree with OxyNeo about quitting. Surely now you are addicted, right?

If you can't quit, can you at least change product? Your post sparked my curiousity about BTH , and what I read didn't sound too good ... from BTH being alot of crap instead of H, collapsed veins, abcesses, etc.
 
Yea. Im addicted. I have only been iving for 4 months. But ive used tar for almost 4 years. I know tar isnt the best on veins. But i know some friends that have been shooting for years with no problems. And we even get our tar from the same person. If they arent going to heal. Then i guess i dont have much choice but to change my roa. Cant shoot if i cant hit a vein. I swore to never go for the jugular or femoral. And im sticking to that. I will not risk my life in that way. I know using needles anywhere is risk. But those places are the worst. I just hope to be able to fix whatever im doing wrong so i can preserve the few veins i have left in my legs. Thanks for all the replies I really appreciate it. Im going to see if theres a nurse at the needle exchange or even my doctor to see if they can give me advice or suggestions. I know its hard to know what the problem is without actually seeing it. So thank you guys!
 
do you use a new rig every time?
shooting w/ old worn out rigs will fuck up your veins FAST.

also, I have no experience w/ BTH...but I've found when IVing certain things especially that it is FAR preferable to use .9% NaCl saline solution as opposed to straight water, because water will fuck up your veins lickity split if there's not enough salts in it.
 
I can help you with that. I've been IV for 4 years BTH also now I'm low on veins but that's cause I had bad access to new needles. So basically it's 2 things you mainly need to watch, new rigs as much as possible and rotate always. And also when you cook it up do you have 100 units in your syringe? Or is it a 30 unit syringe ? Cause tar is acidic you need to add a lot of water to the ph balance so I always use 31 gauge 100 unite needles and fill up 100 units even passed 102 units when I draw it out but that dilutes the acidity in your veins ya the rush won't be as gnarly but I had a friend who him and I did the same amount same time every day for months living on the streets and he lost all his veins cause he wanted to make sure it was the least water darkest thick tar 50 units from .2 mine would be orange brown his would be black and it burned for him when he shot up I never lost veins he lost all quickly you need to balance ph , maybe I'm crazy idk
 
I do use 100 unit syringes. 31 gauge also. I do about .5 in 100 units. I have easy access to needles so i never use the same one twice. It may be the tar i use. It probably isnt very pure. And for >edited cost< i didnt really expect it to be. But mayb for iv use i might need to go for a little more quality than quantity. Im going to the exchange or doctor on monday. To see if they can help me figure this out too. So we'll see what happens. the bluish green lines along my veins are starting to fade away a little bit. Im gonna give them more time and then maybe they will be usable again.
 
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we can say cuts in tar blow veins fast but not in 4 months, man. esp. to a new IV user. whats blowing veins is him not hitting the veins but still pumping, which is why you are catching a rock like feeling behind the skin. I've shot tar enough to know - even tho I am a East Coaster I've been to Cali enough to know. BUT, everyone is different when it come to veins; sometimes you dont have to "see" the vein to hit the vein. thats one thing. the other is careful when shooting; I am assuming you are drawing back multiple times since you've been using so long and probably know the game by now. are you getting an instarush or just a EH type feel?

arms usually turn that color from missed shots; going in a vein, then through a vein, etc. might be shooting and get half of what youre expecting. also, seems like your not shooting much; shooting a 20? you've been smoking for 4 years? shoot .4 if anything, not .2. and tar is not even as good as what we get around here, so may want to up that, but I dont know your tolerance, so you make those calls, I dont want to go around killing you.
 
Folks who are new to Bluelight, please refrain from going out of your way to tell people they should stop using drugs. I know you guys think you're doing the "right" thing by doing so, but you're doing more harm than good. The concept of drugs, Opioids especially, being addictive is well-understood by every man woman and child who has ever shot up, unless maybe you live under a rock in Bangladesh and you think you are quite literally injecting special "Brown Sugar" and don't own shoes.

If someone is asking a question directly about their health and wellbeing, in this instance about the health of their veins, when you choose to criticize and advise instead of providing meaningful help and information, you aren't improving the OP's situation. You are causing them to have to sift through the warnings to find the information they were originally after. It also inviteds more people to do the same.

The Just Say No approach to recreational drug use isn't welcome on Bluelight. Nancy Reagan thought she was helping folks too. How to fix a drug problem? Simple! Don't do them!That ain't how it works. So guys, enough of the disclaimers please, we get it. This attitude is part of what has made the past century so totally fucked for us drug users. Just stopping is often not (at least immediately) a viable option. Hence, the entire fucking purpose of Harm Reduction.

As far as your veins go OP, it doesn't take long to destroy them. I destroyed the cubital vein on my right arm from 2 injections of liquid Methadone and I had been using the vein for 5 years previously for repeated Heroin injections. It's all a matter of what's in your dope and how unhealthy it is for your veins and that's something which we can only speculate upon. Although Black Tar Heroin is in fact a less refined and thusly, more dangerous product to inject than powdered Heroin.
 
I used to shoot tar a lot, also ECP/powder heroin of all kinds, we have all different colors and kinds of H where I live in FL.. The tar I got was excellent quality, and didn't really fuck up my veins.. the only things that have fucked up some of my best veins are coke and pharms.. Especially subutex, which I currently inject on a daily basis. I have "blown out" quite a few really good veins shooting tex, and using the same spot too many times over and over, when I was less experienced with IV drug use.. now I always make sure to rotate sites every time.. The worst thing I ever had happen, was when I stupidly shot crack using a solution of lemon juice(I know it is horrible for you, and can cause blindness!) and water to break it down into a shootable solution.. I one time missed like half the shot, by injecting into my vein, registering, pushing the plunger a bit too hard and fast, and then puncturing through the vein to the other side, missing the last part of my shot! IT burned so bad, my whole arm turned red and purple and swelled up, and I was so scared of what would happen to my arm! It looked gnarly as fuck! I thought I was going to have to get it amputated at first, but thankfully after about an hour the red/purple coloration vanished, and the swelling went down.. never again did I shoot crack! Coke causes vasoconstriction of your veins too, meaning they start to shrink, and become less pronounced and more thin and hard to find..

I think maybe either your veins just aren't the best for IV, which some people just naturally have.. I know people that even when they just began to IV dope, would sit there for over an hour trying to hit a vein just because they didn't really have any good ones on them.. and those people usually would become so overwhelmed and desperate, they would either have someone hit their jugular vein for them, or just began to do it themselves in the mirror.. Maybe your veins just aren't right for IV or maybe your veins are just normal, but the dope you are getting and using is cut really bad, with something terrible for your veins, which is most likely the case... I would try and find yourself a new connect if at all possible, and possibly get some better dope.. sounds like the tar you are getting is not to great.. or for IVing at least... All I know is IME I never had any problems with BTH I got, because it was some of the best quality shit you could find..>removed price discussion< Definitely better to have less of some good quality shit, esp if your an IV user, than to get more of some garbage, cut shit..
 
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I'm not a moderator, so this isn't my job to do anything bout it. But Austinjmaurer94 just as a courtesy id like to let you know that it's my understanding that you're not allowed to specify prices you pay for drugs on blue light according to the blue light user agreement (blua). For this reason you may wish to edit the reference from your post. But like I said, I'm just a regular user here, in charge of nothing and with no responsibility to do anything, I'm just trying to keep you out of trouble and make everyone lives a little easier.

I've always assumed it was against the rules to prevent someone going "oh look how cheap they get it, and they live near me, I gotta get to know them", which would lead to sourcing which is against the rules for self evident reasons.

Anyhow,having already read it. Granted I don't know where you live but yea I'd be surprised if it were particularly good at that price. Unfortunately some people use some boneheaded stuff to cut heroin with.

I have a couple questions that I couldn't find the answer too having skimmed the thread a couple times now.

1. Are you male or female? I ask this question because generally females have harder to find veins and you gotta rely more on touch than sight. Unlike men who often have noticibly bulging veins, women rarely do, I find using my sight for anything other than to remember where ive found a vein already by touch for when im about to shoot to be a total waste of time almost everywhere. Feel is far more reliable. I've also often found with my veins they will seem to have disappeared at first when in fact they've just rolled a little or seem slightly deeper after repeated use. And that after not using it for several weeks to a month it's back to normal. If you're male you can disregard all of this.

2. Do you filter your shot and how? With anything less than the best you should filter your shot with something at the very least, I assume you know this but I couldn't find you mentioning it.

3. Have you tried bigger needles. Note that with this question I am NOT suggesting that you do this. But the smaller the needle the easier it can get clogged, yes even new ones, and that has more than once lead me to stabbing all over my arms needlessly because I mistakingly thought I wasn't getting a vein when in fact I was getting them all over the place, but not showing flashback. This is less of an issue the bigger the needle. That doesn't mean you should use a bigger one, personally I use the 29g 1ml bd needles.. It's just something in wondering because apart from smaller ones clogging easier. I've also found smaller ones sometimes are harder to hit with. This might just be with me for some reason, but ive noticed that 27g often works easier than 29g does with those two types being the most popular at exchanges where i live. I said above why I suspect the might be the case, but I don't actually know for sure. It might even be in my imagination.

4. Do you rotate often? Or if not, do you at least use different areas of the same vein at different places so you're not hitting the same place over and over. This is again a very beginner question so I know you probably know this already, but without being able to see how you do it, noone here who knows how to do it correctly can evaluate how you do it if we're not specifically told. By all means ask the doctor or a nurse or something. I think that's a perfectly find idea. But something to keep in mind is they're coming at this from a different perspective, and often doctors aren't the ones doing much of the needle work themselves, nurses are, or blood techs.

All I'm saying is, by all means listen to what they have to say. But I for one would love it if you told us how it goes.

I don't practice perfect injecting, ive reused needles way too many times, not rotated nearly enough, and done this for a long time mutippe times a day. I have yet to lose a single vein. What this says to me is not that I'm doing it some significantly better way thay you're not. I think ultimately the answer more likely is either 1. They aren't collapsing when you think they are. 2. They are collapsing and it's more the kind of cuts in your heroin than anything else.

We don't have BTH where I live, but I do know you shouldn't he out of veins THIS soon unless something is amiss. Not even with BTH. I think either your observations are wrong, or your heroin is cut with something very bad, or you're doing something very wrong in your technique that hasn't been noticed yet. Personally I would bet on option number 2, followed closely by 1, then very far by 3.

Some people do have crappy veins. And if you're female like me I strongly believe you're even more prone to veins failing. But I just don't see you losing this many veins through bad technique alone. Either something is bad with the dope, or your veins are naturally very very fragile, or you're not actually collapsing as many as you think. Veins can become temporarily nonfunctional or apparently nonfunctional but not be collapsed. And return to functioning with time. I hope that's all this is. Since being wrong about them being collapsed is the best outcome you can get, cause once they're really gone, they're really gone.

Good luck, keep up updated if you can. :) wish you well.
 
Ilove2nod. The reason i get my tar so cheap is because i buy in bulk. >no prices< But anyways. Thank you for that advise. Im looking into trying some out from a different source. Although. I seem to have fixed my problem. I think my veins are very sensitive to the acidity of the tar. And i found some tips on using a tiny tiny tiny amount of baking soda to lower the ph. Also i have stopped cooking my shots so that no sugars or other cuts will go into the solution from the heat since heroin is easily soluble in cold water. And since i have made those two changes. I have not lost a single vein. I only wish i discovered this sooner so i would have more veins to use. But. I am just waiting to see if any of them will heal and come back. I cant imagine that they would be permanently damaged from such little use in them. But only time will tell. Thank you everyone!!
 
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OMG, 100G's at a time? I'd be dead in 15 minutes. I am the type of user where I cant stop till its all gone!
 
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JessFR. Hello! Thank you for your reply. I also do not believe that my veins are collapsed. Especially with how little ive used them. Just unusable for some reason at the moment. Also. Im not completely out of veins. Ive been using up my leg veins for a while now. Just most of the ones on my arms are damaged for whatever reason. I have no idea. It looks like i have thin line bruises running right along all the veins. I am a male. And my veins used to stick out alot. Not anymore though. But i think they just need time to heal. I have never had any problem with syringes clogging or anything like that. Ive never even had blood coagulate in the syringe. I just like the smallest needles since they are most comfortable. I use cotton from a cotton ball to filter. I would use micron filters but because of there price i havent. I do believe i have fixed my problem though. I havent lost one vein since i started lowering the acidity and not heating it and dissolving unwanted cuts into solution.
 
Yea. I buy 100 grams at a time to save money. If i bought it gram at a time id be broke all the time. I get it once every two months or so. I have a good job with lots of hours but anything to help save a little bit helps. And its nice to not have to go pick up every few days. I try to limit myself as much as i can. But i still need to cut down on my usage a little bit
 
Another contributing factor to my veins being damaged is also because when i started i was very inexperienced. I did alot of research to be safe. But alot of it was kind of a learn as you go kind of thing. And my technique now is far better than when i started with help and lots of advise. And im still learning of course. But for now im not losing veins and things seem to be going as they should. So now its just waiting to see if those veins come back and become usable again.
 
Can someone who KNOWS what they are doing PLEASE help me!!! I am literally sitting here crying b/c I just wasted 4 bags of coke. I know how to shoot up, but everytime I do it I end up missing! Wasted hundreds of dollars! I pull back, see dark blood go in but I miss!!! WTF! HELP!!!!

I have gotten it right b4 , but I usually don't. I love the high and am so angry and upset that I cant get it!!!!!!!!!!
 
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