What do you do when you can't hit a vein?

disposition said:

terrible idea, especially with street drugs or even pills that haven't been micron filtered. terrible idea all around unless you've got sterile ampules designed for injection. you're asking for an abscess at the very least.

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You're asking for a abscess if you keep digging around for veins and possibly a blood infection. Ok...don't muscle it. Try the sticking it up your bum trick. Heard about it, never did it though.

Heat does work

I am having same problem. I can not hit a vein for the life of me, i got one 2 days AGO, but not since. I drink plenty of water, i try the 45 degree angle and then the parralle with your arm angle since I have read that both are right, still not sure which is true. Lately I get it in but then as i am pushing i feel a hige burning/sharp pain, is that me going through the vein? I am not even at the 45 degree angle when this happens. I blame some of it on nerves, its like ever since i missed a shot when I go to do another one I anticipate missing again and start shaking before i even get a stick. bicep ones have been good but they need rest other ones you recommend? elbow crook is resting and top forarm is where i missed. man, i sound bad

i wish ( and that sounds bad) that the friends that did meth, did it the way i like Iv i would have them, but nooooope LAME

I freak the fuck out. Some serious anxiety man, knowing that relief is right there but you can't get it in. That being said, I usually hit first time every time. I have awesome veins. It's just that once in a blue moon you gotta use one of your throw aways, thats duller than a toothpick, cause your outta new ones. That's the only time it tends to get sketchy.

BluffBoy said:

I freak the fuck out. Some serious anxiety man, knowing that relief is right there but you can't get it in. That being said, I usually hit first time every time. I have awesome veins. It's just that once in a blue moon you gotta use one of your throw aways, thats duller than a toothpick, cause your outta new ones. That's the only time it tends to get sketchy.

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I agree 100% %)

comatoserct said:

I would never IM a shot with blood in it.

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I'm pretty sure I've done this before but I rarely do this, I normally either intend to IM, or I intend to IV and actually do so. *shrugs*

I was told there's a good reason not to...I don't exactly remember why.

Carl Landrover said:

I can't pull back the plunger and push down with my left hand

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LOLOLOLOLOL

i am sorry but unless you have some seriously debilitating condition in your hand i dont see what the problem is. im left handed but i can shoot both ways, in fact the veins in my left arm are often more prominent because its my stronger arm. i just had surgery on my left hand and i can still switch it up shot to shot to keep my arms lookin good

i have never been unsuccessful in finding a vein but i have seen people, girls especially completely lose their shit when they cant get one. it makes me feel bad because im feelin no care in the world. staying warm definately helps. i just learned about staying hydrated

there have been times where I couldn't hit anything in my right arm, but every time I tried with my left arm, my right hand would cramp up really bad. good thing I have my girlfriend around to help me with such things, but she doesn't know how to shoot well

Carl Landrover said:

I can't pull back the plunger and push down with my left hand

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This may sound weird, but I am right handed and usually IV in my right arm.....

for some reason I've always used my left hand with the rig. I can do work on my left arm with my right hand but it is a lot harder for me. Sounds strange I know but I guess my left hand is just trained to do it better lol.

when Im really trying to make a shot, I just get into a fucked up mindset, and keep trying to hit the same place over and over. All you really have to do is set it down for a minute or two, wash your arms, then check both arms for teh best vein, relax and be patient as you try to register in that vein. You will hit it. I know how hysterical you can get poking yourself when you REALLY need that hit. Just relaxing for a minute or two, and looking at all your veins really helps. And you should be able to hit the same with either arm, its not very hard to learn at all.

what do i do when i cant hit a vein?


get mad. and eventually hit the vein.

hit up the hospital with my dope ready in a rig, and after i get all checkd in and they start an IV, i jus pop the cap off of my rig and squeeze the dope in the IV line.

I send an SOS to a friend or rail whatever is left

im not on it anymore, but when i was all strung out, if i couldnt hit a vein i would get really frustrated (usually bc id be all sick and shit) and sometimes just brutalize my arm lol. Id try for a few times on the same spot before id switch to another spot. one of my last shots i can remember was buying my shit and shooting it in a mcdonalds bathroom, i couldnt get on so i shot it anyways, pretty much IM'd the shot and the area blew up like a baseball form the strong ass histamine release. had it been the last of the dope i would have literally kept trying until i got on or my rig was filled with congealed blood. this instance i had plenty more so i said fuck it. The worst is when your skin is all sweaty and your shaking and cant get on, but the best is when you do finally get on and see that big flash of crimson.

Despite having the formal education here to know what to do, I have hit this problem many times. I had a friend with none of said training who could hit me better than anyone. Anyway, use an alcohol prep and rub it on the area to make the vein pop. Another thing is to make sure you drink lots of fluids, keeps the veins big. I knew a co worker who would encounter a chick who would actually get pregnant just because it made the veins in her breasts big. I guess later she would get an abortion, I don't really know, but that whole thing just illustrates how frustrating not having vein can be. I don't shoot up really anymore (every now and then, I am on sub) but I discovered that the (gross I know) varicose veins that standing for a living have given me, also serve very well for iv drug use. I am sure if I did it all the time, they would collapse, but that would be like some good side effect, if u ask me. Good luck

I never give up. I've literally spent more than 2 hours on more than one occassion. I refuse the skin pop/muscle on purpose. Completely covered in blood, needles strewn about everywhere. It's quite a sight...
Eventually I learned to keep a smokeless cigarette vaporizer filled with a heroin solution near me and would take a hit or two from that to take a little sick off.(Good for smoking cocaine without turning it into crack too!) I mostly used that only when I woke up sick and needed a quick fix in middle of nite.

This may sound weird, but I am right handed and usually IV in my right arm....

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I'm right handed and do about 75% of my shots in the right arm too. Just feels more natural.

I def. don't go throwing my prepped rig. I usually get frustrated as fuck, poking myself for however long it takes. Shit, sometimes it has been longer than an hour. And by that time, after I inject whatever it is, after the rush, the high doesn't even seem as good because I feel so bad for poking myself so many times. It is all mental, but you guys probably know what I'm talking about.

Things I do to try and find/hit a vein: take a shot or two because alcohol seems to warm you up and make veins stick/come out. Apply heat and lots of it. Tying off as tight as I can, which I don't usually ever have to do. And going in places like on top of my feet or hands(I know it's not good to do that and I hate doing it anyway).

It didn't happen but a few times but if I registered and then couldn't find the vein again or if i got too much blood in it to tell if i was registering anymore or whatever happened. I would stick in up my ass. If I couldn't register at all I would lay on my back and snort it very slowly then snort a lil more water later. it worked both ways but I much prefer hitting a vein. lol.

8L4YN3 said:

^ Just get used to it bro by practicing with empty rigs.

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I practiced with sterilised water until I could do it. But the problem now is I am increasingly having difficulty registering a vein. The more conscious I am about it, the more I shake, the worse it gets. I found myself running to my mate this morning to get him to stick it in me.

From experience, and from being on the other side and seeing it personally, I know that when someone is sick or really anticipating a shot of heroin, they get anxious and shaky as hell. I've had people come over to shoot up, repeatedly shooting themselves in the same spot, shaking like mad, and still refusing my help. Then, 20 minutes later, when their arm looks like a bloodbath and their rig is almost clogged, they come to me. I make them tie off, cautiously look around for a better vein, and always end up hitting them in one try. Given, most of these people were rookies, but still, the crook of your arm definitely isn't the only place you can shoot, and it is also a place where your track marks are going to be more noticeable and harder to go away. I know people that would rather tear the crook of their arm up to shreds than use their wrist/arm because they don't want mommy/daddy seeing a little dot on them. What happens when it's hot as fuck outside and your parents keep asking why you are wearing a damn sweater? Some people man, some people


As for me, mine were all blown to shreds for a while and I ended up getting some pretty bad marks on my hand, but things are coming back and I keep finding new spots that are working again. Thank bejesus for fresh rigs!