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Hard Veins from Heroin IV Use?

unsui

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
582
not sure if this belongs here or drug culture, so feel free to move if you please...

i have been using opiates the past 2 1/2 years with a few week (some breaks more than a week) breaks. as of the last year i have been abusing heroin (black tar) IV, perhaps ignorantly. my IV use has not been smart and i have really noticed this as of late, although i'm pretty much shooting heroin 2-3 days/week as opposed to many addicts IVing everyday. i'm growing concerned...

for the past year i have been IVing and not using a brand new syringe everytime as directed. sometimes i would use a rig a good 20-30 pokes, if i had to. new rigs are hard to come by in my area (so cal), so i had resorted to not paying much attention to the vital info of not using needles more than once.

well now i notice that my 2 main veins (elbow area) on right and left arms are basically gone. sometimes a shot would result in leakage. now it just hurts to even put a new needle into my arm. my veins are starting to come back somewhat, but i have noticed that they feel very hard when i trace my fingers along them. the veins that feel hard are the ones that have seemed to dissapear (the elbow area) a little while ago.

i just noticed how hard it feels today after abstaining from shooting anything for 6 days. i was wondering what damage i possibly could've done to my arms/veins and if any of the damage is reversible? anyone know what the hardness of my veins is?

thank you!
 
it was actually common with my girlfriend as well, but hers seemed to soften out as time went on without shooting...

is this really that serious of a medical issue? i can't afford another medical issue being treated on top of insomnia, anxiety, and physical therapy...
 
They are going to feel hard from the scar tissue formed from using dull needles.

Isnt california famous for its needle exchanges? How can you not make it to one of those?

You really need to try getting new needles. Ill freely admit that Ive used some needles upwards of 20 times, but its so bad on your veins. You need a long break from IV use, and then if you come back to it, you need fresh needles.
 
I used to inject tar. After a while it would harden up, so I would stop (I hit the same vein 90% of the time). After a few weeks, the vein would be back to normal. Now I haven't IVed for 8 months or so, and its totally back to normal. I actually gave blood from the same exact spot I used to IV, and the nurse commented that I had great veins. ;)
I'll admit, I didn't read your whole post, but I really really really hope you are filtering. Tar is poison for your veins.
 
hmmm, yeah i'm not sure if they really are "hard" or solid, but that is the best way to describe it...

needle exchanges are up in nor cal. never seen/heard of one down here. anyone know of a good site to purchase in bulk that they can PM me? (not sure if this is allowed - sorry mods)

as much as i want to take this break, i don't see it happening especially with this insomnia and horrible lower back pains. will the damage repair itself if a long break is accomplished, or can one simply not tell?

edit: yes i am filtering, but only with a q-tip cotton...
 
thank god the shoppers drug mart sells them for 25 cents a piece around here. 20-30 times dude that hurts thinking about it.
 
unsui, so you're in southern california? PM me what city or county you are in. I might be able to help you. lets take this all to PM, so you don't have to post where you live publically. I could just PM this to you but i am lazy
 
Well I am from Australia and used for more than 8 years daily. The only thing I found was that you have to change sites regularly. I basically have major problems now to get even a blood test. We have creams here called hirudoid and lasonil which softens hard scars and helps with bruising. When you apply wrap your arm/leg/whatever in glad wrap overnight and helps a lot. Good Luck we are lucky to have many needle exchanges here in Aust.
 
yea i fucked up the two main veins in each arm, cause i didn't use to register.... D'OH... i also reuseed needles...
 
start lifting weights MAINLY start going bicep curls 2-3 times a week ,and buy a forearm/grip strengthener ,if you work out intensly within 3 weeks if the veins you used before havent came back then new ones will be there trust me

the veins expand from oxygen being forced into them this keeps them NICE and fluffy

i use my foream gripper every day ,multiple times a day ,your forearms dont really get sore ,so they can be worked everyday
 
hmm. thank you for the advice, i think i'll start doing the curls...
 
for something to strive for look at photos of bodybuilders ,i dont care if they have just been lifting for a year or two ill bet they still have at least a few veins that BULGE like hell ,and just because you cant see all of your veins doesnt mean they arent there and perfectly fine to hit

youll want to take it easy at first but eventually you want to lift very intense ,this is where the veins start bulging ,youll want to pick a number of reps to hit and pick a weight that you can just BARELY finish the set with,trust me your bi's will be pumped as hell and who knows you might grow to love weight lifting ;)
 
There are needle exchanges in pretty much every county in SoCal... I live in San Diego and theres a needle exchange every thursday and friday...
 
plus you can get RELI-ON brand needles for 13cent a piece and you can buy them in singles from wal-mart
 
bro i live in so cal and hit up needle exchanges alot... shoot me a PM with your area in it... i will point you in a good direction
 
It's fibrosis or deposition of fibrous/scar tissue where your veins used to be, AKA collapsed veins. Once they've scarred down, they don't come back. Collateral vessels will form to bypass the scarred veins, but they're usually small and hard to hit (usually part of the microvasculature).
 
my GF has had the same problem, but her veins return to normal. how can you be positive it's collapsed? if it is collapsed, is there anyway to take some sort of supplements for vein support or something along those lines?

i'll shoot you a PM smoketrails...thanks.
 
HYDRO_CHRONIC said:
i use my forearm gripper every day ,multiple times a day ,your forearms don't really get sore ,so they can be worked everyday

Oh trust me hydro... your forearms can get sore.. VERY sore. Try rock-climbing or 3 and 2 finger pull-ups/dead hangs, and you'll know what i mean, if you already haven't.
 
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