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Cocaine Strange pain and numbness in hand and arm after IV coke.

K

kamikazimoth

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
6
(backstory, prolly TLDC) ... Although I've been around other IV drug users for a long time, I'm new to doing it myself. I've been IV'ing cocaine occasionally. It's a once in a while kind of thing, and I'm always cautious about the amounts I do and about the common sense guidelines of IV drug use. Besides the occasional miss, because of unsteady hands (witch I have even when sober, unfortunately), things usually go pretty smoothly.

(the important part) Tonight, however, I used a vein on the underside of my right wrist, near the hand (I have very few visible veins, and I was giving the more common ones some time to heal) ... and suddenly I had a sharp pain in my hand and numbness in my fingers. This has never happened before. There's some lumpiness in about a half inch radius around the injection site. Though most of the feeling has returned to my hand, now my whole arm aches. I thought perhaps I injected in the vein in the opposite direction of the blood flow, witch seems like it should be harmless besides some temporary aching, if even that (I hope), or that perhaps I hit a nerve ... but, although I always inspect for debris or bubbles before I inject, I'm worried I might have set loose a clot or a bit of something or a bubble and that it could cause me some serious problems later. I'm 90% sure I didn't miss, so I don't think that could be the cause. I'm applying warmth to the arm to promote bloodflow and ease the aching a little, but other than that I don't know what to do. (the question) Does anybody know with more certainty what would have caused this, and whether or not I should get treatment or expect it to go away on its own ?

Also; Please don't tell me 'stop shooting coke', or that its a dumb thing to do, etc. Though I appreciate the sentiment, I'm well aware of the dangers and that it's a pretty reckless thing to be doing at all, so I don't need to be told.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some insight. And sorry for being so long-winded ... coke has that effect on me, lol.
 
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Also;

I know you get localized numbness and some bruising when you miss, and that's not what that was ... All the aching and numbness is gone now, but I'd still like to know what caused it so I can avoid having it happening again.
 
It honestly just sounds like you missed. You could of missed some of the shot, and not all of it. If it's not that, I'd guess maybe it has something to do with a nerve or something?
 
ATLien88 said:
It honestly just sounds like you missed. You could of missed some of the shot, and not all of it. If it's not that, I'd guess maybe it has something to do with a nerve or something?
Click to expand...


It was probably a nerve thing, seems most likely. ... whatever it was I appear to be fine now.

I've missed before and never had pain or numbness beyond the immediate area. This time I registered, injected a small amount ... got a searing pain in my thumb, and removed the needle. Then my fingers went numb and my arm started to ache. It wasn't that bad, really, it was just a little startling.
 
the same thing has happened to me back when I was using on a regular basis...figured I just missed a little because when I applied pressure the numbing spread to my fingers...another time it must have been nerve related going it because I dropped the needle and started over after the pain subsided...
 
Definite miss, I had the same thing happen to me 2 days ago. It sucks doesnt it? My whole hand was so numb, still kinda sore today from it. Don't use that spot again for a while.
 
defiantely miss, maybe hit the vein then a you were pumping itwent through the other side of the vein or popped out.
when u inject u should always draw back the pump a few units then draw back then pump few more units and then draw back and pump again, etc
i would guess if u raised your arm above your head you could feel the pain or numbness move up your arm.??
 
drawing back and pumping and drawing back helps u check that the pick is still in your vein
 
cocaine miss

defiantely miss, maybe hit the vein then a you were pumping itwent through the other side of the vein or popped out.
when u inject u should always draw back the pump a few units then draw back then pump few more units and then draw back and pump again, etc
i would guess if u raised your arm above your head you could feel the pain or numbness move up your arm.??
 
As far as the sharp pain goes, you probably did hit a nerve. The inside of the wrist has tons of nerve endings, which is why it's so sensitive & hurts pretty bad while putting the needle in. Also, I agree with the few people saying that you may have missed part of the shot. I'm a firm believer in the double-check method of shooting. Half way through the shot I always pull the plunger back just to make sure it's still in. Although, as of late, this has caused me to loose the vein a few times. But I'd rather get at least half the shot vs. shooting the whole thing while not in the vein. Anyway, these veins in the inside of your wrist are very delicate so I'd suggest not doing these as often if possible.
 
Always use a tourniquet or something to replace it and know when to let it go. Choose needles and syringes for i.v. injections. When you insert a needle, pull the plunger to see the blood and its color (never register into an artery). Insert a needle at the very small angle like 10 degrees (this lets you insert more of a needle into a vein and decreases risk of pushing through a vein).

"Strange pain and numbness" may appear after hitting a nerve but they may also appear when you register into an artery, then the pain is almost unbearable, your limb should go numb and swollen.
 
Pain and numbness? Sounds like a missed shot to me. And yes, the wrist, while plentiful in veins, is also full of nerves. So pricking a nerve and missing a shot would obviously cause pain, and the numbness is obviously caused by the 'caine. Avoid shooting wrist veins at all costs for this reason, and because the prominent radial artery is just too damn easy to accidentally hit.
This entire thread is somewhat speculative though and should probably be closed. If your condition worsens, bite the bullet and go to the ER and BE HONEST. Lying about what happened could cost you some fingers.
 
Most deffinately a miss, however IV'ing into an artery is for sure one of the dumbest things that you can do, you can fuck your body up so very much from shooting into an artery!
 
Damn i've never iv'd coke before, but done plenty of dope (H) and whenever you miss with dope your whole arm gets pins in needles for about 10 mins but it doesnt matter cause your completly numb and faded....

BUT one time i missed and my arm swelled up about 3-4x's its normal size for about 10 hrs.. that was no fun
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. Whatever it was, probably a combo of a part-miss and a nerve thing, there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage. I'm just gonna stay away from that part of my arm so it doesn't happen again.

Also, I always do the double (or sometimes even triple) check to make sure that I'm still getting the vein. I learned that one real quick on account of my unsteady hands ... a tingly lump full of coke sitting in your arm for god knows how long is not very pleasant. Lol.
 
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Sloo_Dc2 said:
Most deffinately a miss, however IV'ing into an artery is for sure one of the dumbest things that you can do, you can fuck your body up so very much from shooting into an artery!
Click to expand...

Good to know. I found the IV mega-thread and I'm learning some useful information there, hopefully that'll help me keep things as safe as they can be.
 
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Lots of Experience with this issue

I am known as the Doctor Master Blaster when it come to hitting other people... Unfortunately I have small sinking veins when it comes to myself. I cannot and will not allow others to hit me because of this issue.

The wrist is a very tricky and dangerous place to hit. There are a lot of nerves that run right next to veins and even can feel like veins and pop up like veins giving you a a false sense of direction. These nerves cross over and under the veins...

I am not a doctor but I have missed and hit many nerves in the hand and wrist... I have been an IV user for 18 years both cocaine and heroin. When you hit a nerve ANYWHERE you will feel a sharp pain. You should pull out immediately if you feel this pain. You will also experience some numbness in parts of the hand that you did not shoot in... why? Because nerves control areas that are not right under them. You can sever a nerve in your upper arm and lose feeling in your pinky and ring fingers. If you pushed any coke in after you hit the nerve you will feel the numbness around the nerve... again giving you a false "that is ok" feeling.

I know I am a bit late to this post but wanted to share my experience with this... You should be fine by now... Try to stay away from the hand, wrist and fingers as abscesses and nerves can be dangerous in these areas and you can loose fingers.

Do not worry as long as the fingers do not turn blue you will be fine. If the numbness persist see a doctor otherwise ... happy hunting!

My opinion is that you hit a nerve and missed some dope... Bummer!:\
 
I've been shooting 30's for a while and last night i did about 3-4 shots of coke plus some 30's. I've never felt it with the oxys but is it normal for your arm just to be sore after a night of hitting it hard. Theres no real pain just a soreness in the crook of my arm like how you feel the day after lifting wieghts. Cant be too sure, thanks!
 
Not only pain and numbness. But my entire wrist turn Black when I lift my arms up... What is thatttttt
 
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