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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Maintaining a used needle

MadamHatter

Greenlighter
Joined
Aug 4, 2016
Messages
32
Currently I only have one point and the plunger is starting to stick some. I'm not going to be able to get another any time soon.... supposedly they can be bought without a prescription, but not in the town I live in. Hoping someone has some advice on what I can do to keep this one in working order?
 
If the plunger is giving your problems then I can't imagine how dull the actual needle is. Even if you are still able to hit I promise you are absolutely destroying your veins, soon they will start collapsing and shooting up with a dull point causes scarring that you won't be able to hide.
 
It's really important to use fresh rigs. In some states, they allow you to buy at the pharmacy but in others, the practice is prohibited. We can't tell you where to buy them but if you check online, there are companies that can sell you boxes of syringes inexpensively. I wish I could find the post that showed what happens to the needle after just 3 or 4 uses. I will look for it later. Here's a thread to get you started:


http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...ould-happen-to-YOU)?highlight=reusing+needles
 
Yes please for the love of your veins buy needles online if nowhere else. You can't maintain these disposable needles, they are meant for one time use. Even if you were to somehow replace the plunger the rigging you are going to do is gonna cause the needle to be especially unsanitary.

I really wish we could provide better advice for your immediate situation, just try to buy from the pharmacist. The worst that happens is that they turn you away and you just never go back to that pharmacy again. You just have to say you have diabetes, need it for insulin, and if they ask for proof say you don't have any proof on you.
 
I've been reusing points for the duration of my 5yr habit and never collapsed any veins and have no permanent scarring, but thanks.

I've already tried every pharmacy in town.

Any practical advice pertaining to my original inquiry would be most appreciated.
 
No one is going to have "practical" advice for you because re-using disposable syringes for any length of time is in and of itself impractical. I get re-using it 3-5 times(although I don't advocate it), maybe even longer in a pinch, but once you are to the point the plunger is getting stuck in the barrel it is time to move on.
 
buy online Madame :) while you wait for the package, learn to plug your drug :)
 
Needles get dull so quickly because the sharp points degrade quite quickly; within a couple of uses.

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Re-using needles can do significant damage. It may not be obvious, or apparent to you at the moment - but there are a variety of reasons why needles are "single use". It's not only the damage blunt needles can do to veins over time, but also the potential for serious infection, because if you're not injecting with sterile works, you run the risk of introducing bacteria, viruses and other nasties into your bloodstream, bypassing the body's major defences.
Basically, re-using rigs increases the risk of serious harm as a result of IV administration of drugs.
We're not just giving you a hard time - the risks associated with reusing needles is one of the most avoidable types of drug/related harm.

Ideally you should use a clean syringe every time you puncture the skin - not just every hit.
You might have been fortunate enough to avoid harm related to IV drug use so far, but that's no guarantee your luck will continue. Using blunt points puts totally unnecessary stress on your veins, because it's not difficult to obtain needles online nowadays - they're cheap and can be bought anonymously, delivered to your door.

As for practical advice, i only have 2 suggestions.

1. As others have said, needles can be bought online cheaply.
It's your health we're talking about, but really - there is no reason to cut corners with something as (already) dangerous as IV drug use, when you can simply and cheaply obtain new, clean works.

2. If you can't buy clean needles online for some reason, you need to look at using a different ROA when you're in a pinch.
Plugging is the best option for a lot of people - it's a fast-acting, efficient way of taking most drugs, and can be done safely with a syringe that's been used hundreds of times - just remove the syringe.
You can get oral syringes - the sort most people recommend for plugging - from any pharmacy without any dramas.

Again, it's your choice and your health - but nobody here is going to give you tips on how to keep using a disposabe needle that has long passed its single use.
Not just because Bluelight is a harm reduction site, but because there is no practical advice to give on the matter besides "stop IVing until you get new rigs".

It's not because we want to lecture you, but because we want to give you the best possible information to stay safe.
 
Most pharmacies can sell you 10 to 30 insulin syringes without an Rx. When I had to reuse and the plunger would stick I would use near microscopic amounts of silicone grease at the friction points. It's not sterile and who knows what other chemicals are in it, but it works near new. I don't condone this but I've done it.
 
That picture of the needle after 6 uses makes me shudder thinking about what it looks like beyond that point.
 
Most pharmacies can sell you 10 to 30 insulin syringes without an Rx.
It depends on where you live. I had a friend when I lived in Florida (Broward County) who was diabetic and got his medicine at the pharmacy. He needed the syringes as well but they told him that he also needed a prescription for the needles. Sounds unbelievable doesn't it? But I was right there and the stupidity was very real.

I thought I would chime in because location makes a difference. What's allowable in New Jersey (I'm assuming that's where you are) may not be in another state or municipality.
 
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