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Harm Reduction Injection; IV Complications and Info MEGATHREAD & FAQ III Vs I Want Blood

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Yeah it's a lot easier to have the needle all the way down. Trying to depress the plunger while also holding the needle perfectly steady if it's halfway out of your skin is pretty annoying and leads to a lot of missed shots. That's why for smaller veins/closer the surface like hands, I use short tip 8mm. The perfect length to enter a vein and be able to be all the way in with the tip. If I have it to where I went in and couldn't register unless the needle was half out of my skin, I would take it out and go in at a shallower angle so that the edge plastic was resting comfortably against my skin and I was registering.
 
I have to agree with swimming 100%. I've heard too many horror stories about the point breaking off and it's just not worth the risk imo. I use long tips and have never slipped out during a shot. I go in at a very shallow angle and can steady my hand against the arm I'm injecting into if need be.
 
Mr.M.301 said:
FUCKING missed again... this time it was a shot of heroin, about 80 units. Same arm, too (different vein though)... Hopefully shouldn't be an issue, people seem to miss H shots all the time (I have missed a number of them before will no ill effects), but of course the massaging and compress is hard at work, fml.

I really need to improve my technique... anyone haveany references to videos or something very visual that discusses technique, specifically how to enter various veins?
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Try to visualize the needle going into the vein, like how you visualize where you are going when you are driving. Try to visualize where the vein runs. This advice really helped me , if it makes sense. I feel for the vein with my finger so I know where to go in, and I try to make a mental map of where the vein runs and how deep. You can try using a tourniquet as well but try to use one that you can release with your mouth. Leaving the tourniquet on during the shot isn't terrible and I had to leave it on when I was a noob. But eventually I got to the point where I don't need a tourniquet.

Also, use new needles each time, using a fresh one will help you register easier. Also, what type of needles are you using? The shorts are really really hard to pull back to see if you registered, so I moved onto longs (12.7 mm or cm, can't remember which one but it is 12.7 the number is legit) these are a lot easier to use so I always buy them. Try to use the 1cc 12.7cm 30 gauge needles. I use the BD brand, and the smallest gauge they come in is 30.

Make sure to stay hydrated as drinking lots of water will help your veins stand out and make your envioroment warm so bloodglow won't be restricted by vasocontriction due to cold weather

I always make sure I am in vein by registering mid shot like Scag said. Also, try using less water, I only use 30-50umits of water per shot, using less water makes it easier to pull back. Try switching your grip up too. I grab my syringe in my palm with all four fingers and use my thumb and index finger to pull back. I go into my skin, pull back, see a little blood, then pull back more to really make sure I'm in the vein, push down 10-20 units, then pull back again to make sure I'm still in the veim and I didn't slip out.

I hope I helped but I really advise to quit while it is difficult because once I got my technique down I was shooting up 4-6 times daily. It was bad lol
 
^it's 12.7mm aka 1/2 inch.

To the poster laC responded to: you need to be registering several times throughout the shot should not be possible to miss 80 units. It will burn and you can often see the skin bubble up. Until you have technique down register every 10 or 20 units so there's no way you can miss it all. Also you don't need 80 units of water for a shot of dope so try using less water.
 
Lol oops, 12.7cm would be one long ass needle hahaha

I like swimmings post too, I usually push the needle in half way, pull back, if no blood, then push deeper and blood will enter the barrel without pulling back, the vacuum method lol. Then I pull back again and the precious blood fills the syringe.

Also I like to add after I push all the way down and there is nothin left, I usually draw back 1 or 2 units to make sure that I didn't miss. If blood comes back I know I was in the vein, if it doesn't I know I missed and I should go run hot water on it
 
thesameoldfears said:
I have to agree with swimming 100%. I've heard too many horror stories about the point breaking off and it's just not worth the risk imo. I use long tips and have never slipped out during a shot. I go in at a very shallow angle and can steady my hand against the arm I'm injecting into if need be.
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I've been IV'ing for over 10 years and not once have I ever had a tip break off in my arm, hah. That sounds like a junkie myth/horror story to me. I've maybe only known 2 people that's ever happened to and it was because they were using old ass dull needles.
 
Morphling said:
It's because if you put it all the way in, whilst you apply pressure to the plunger, you are less likely to push it in further and then pierce through the vein, resulting in a missed shot. In my experience.
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I see. I guess it's hard for me to understand because I don't think I've had a missed shot from pushing too hard on the plunger. Maybe I just have a steady hand ;). On the other hand when I've put the needle all the way in I have missed shots and I've managed to hit an artery that was below the vein.

BlueHues said:
If you go on an angle so that the needle is completely in the vein instead of partially in, you don't run the risk of the needle coming out mid-shot....It's actually a very simple concept...If the needle is in the vein, but only partially in, slight movements can cause it to go too far or to come out. Having the needle in all the way to the end, provided that it's in a vein, is the best way....
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That part makes sense to me, it's just that in practice always pushing the needle 100% the way in and having it work out would be difficult for me - I think maybe the problem here is that you guys that are in favour of putting the needle 100% in have different vein anatomy to me and/or access to shorter needles. Most of my veins are so small that it would be extremely difficult to manage to push a needle all the way in, keep it in the vein and at a shallow angle while doing so, and not puncture through the vein. It also doesn't give you room to adjust the needle if you're not registering blood. If you have fat straight easy-to-hit veins maybe pushing the needle all the way in (making sure to keep it at a shallow angle) can work well. (*I think it's important that people reading and planning on attempting this technique don't misinterpret it as putting the needle in deep at a 90 degree angle or something).

I think I mainly just have an inherent distrust of this idea of inserting 100% of the needle because it's not done in a medical setting and because I recall a long time ago some HR workers telling me that it was a bad idea. BUT now I am interested to know if that is true, if there is actually valid reason to not do it other than for those of us like me who just find it doesn't work well with their physiology (and actually makes hitting/IVing properly more difficult, not less difficult)...

Of course, in my 16+ plus years of IVing heroin, maybe I'm wrong....maybe going straight down with the needle awkwardly halfway out is the way to go!
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Do we really need dick-sizing about how long people have been shooting up? I have as much experience as you. And I never suggested "going straight down with the needle awkwardly halfway out", no need to be rude.

Mr.Scagnattie said:
I've maybe only known 2 people that's ever happened to and it was because they were using old ass dull needles.
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I do think the person I saw this happen to may have been using a dull needle and/or pushing too hard on the needle.
 
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yeah tips breaking of, thankfully, is a bit of a rare freak occurance.

i think it generally happens with extremely overused bent and blunt 1/2'' (or longer) tips from an extremely poor and unhygenic IDU. this is just my observations of stories and tales which ive mostly read throughout my near 10 years on this site.

youd have to be EXTREMELY unlucky to have a brand new tip snap off inside you and crawl its way up your ventrical system, finally lodging in your <3 ;-) im kidding of course about this last bit.
 
@Swimming Dancer, I'm not gonna quote your whole post....but I wasn't "dicksizing", I was just making a statement about how long I've been using needles, not something I'm proud of, believe me! But shooting up is definitely something I feel qualified to speak on, and I really wouldn't have any motivation for giving people bad info. I know you definitely IVed drugs for long enough to understand the fundamentals of how to do it too, but maybe you just have a different opinion on the best way to go about it.

It is easy to break a needle. If you bend one all the way to the side and then straighten it out again it will usually snap right off, I'm sure we've all done it on purpose at one point for whatever reason. But breaking one off in your arm isn't easy. I could see it possibly happening if you pushed the needle all the way in and applied a lot of pressure to it and pulled the barrel hard in one direction causing it to bend in your arm..but I don't see why you would do that....maybe if someone startles you while your shooting up? I've met a few people that had a needle lodg3ed under their skin, but it's never happened to me and I've never actually witnessed it....And the days when I used to here people talk about the points breaking in their arms were the days before syringes were OTC and we were using needles that actually resembled corkscrews sometimes! Having to actually twist the needle into your arm!

If you have very small veins, it takes a lot finer technique, and getting the tip to sit right inside the vein is very difficult....You can definitely adapt to having the needle partially in, and it happens all the time...but I think for a beginner, it's easier to just have it all the way to the plastic and registered.
 
I realize the tip breaking off would be a total freak accident, I've been iving for 6 years and it's never happened it me, only to friends who reused rigs too much. But frankly even the tiniest of remotest possibility is too much risk for me (ironic I suppose from someone who regularly shoots drugs into their veins).

Also: as a child whenever I got vaccinated the nurse would tell me to hold still or else the needle would break off in my arm so perhaps I'm still dealing with some childhood trauma :p
 
thesameoldfears said:
Also: as a child whenever I got vaccinated the nurse would tell me to hold still or else the needle would break off in my arm so perhaps I'm still dealing with some childhood trauma :p
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Hah really? Sounds like a shitty nurse scaring kids like that. As if getting a shot isn't traumatic enough for a child too. Hah. What a bitch.
 
unable to find veins, both junkies and professional nurses. how bad (lucky!?!) am I?

have any of you IDU's given up IV'ing because You're veins we're just absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to find (not even a 10 year veteran could do it w/out a tourniquet and then he also missed because my veins keep running and moving and shit).
It's so bad that when I go to to give blood for tests or something, the nurse sometimes misses 8!!! times. ok thats a record, but 4-5 times is NORMAL. wtf is wrong with my veins? why cant i big pulsing veins as soon as i show another junkie the inside of my hand :(
 
blues said:
A lot of the time, I have to adjust the depth of the needle....I don't mean to give SD a hard time about this either.....It's just, if you can visualize where the end of the needle will be in the vein and put the needle in all the way, it really has no chance of going anywhere...Especially if you're trying to go into a very narrow vein, a slight movement can screw it up....A lot of the time though, you have to push it or pull it out a little....I always at least try to get it the whole way in while in a vein though...
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I actually prefer doing this - the tip right in - when using the veins on the top of my hand. Much the same as a nurse or phlebotomist do when theyre drawing or injecting into you.

With the veins being so delicate close to the surface a narrow it eliminates most the chances of poking through and missing and tearing up the area with possible movements from shaking or whatever.

I use kong tips as well so theres a good bit of steel in there and is quite visible seeing it in there because of how shallow the vein is and length of the tip. Could be frightening for some who dont have such a needle fetish as myself.
 
so the last time i did an ish i missed a tiny bit, now at least like two weeks later i still have a bump on my arm, it doest hurt and theres now redness like with a normal infection . is this an abcess which i should take to an er or will it just goi away eventualy?
 
I originally posted this in another thread which I can't find so I will give an update in this one, which is better suited for my question. It's been almost 24hrs since a partially missed suboxone shot in my inner left elbow and the whole right side of my left arm is numb. I've never been numb this long before. No swelling or redness, and it only hurts if I squeeze the numb area, which it feels like a slight burning pain. Does this sound like a nerve issue? And will it go away most likely?
 
tentram said:
I actually prefer doing this - the tip right in - when using the veins on the top of my hand. Much the same as a nurse or phlebotomist do when theyre drawing or injecting into you.

With the veins being so delicate close to the surface a narrow it eliminates most the chances of poking through and missing and tearing up the area with possible movements from shaking or whatever.

I use kong tips as well so theres a good bit of steel in there and is quite visible seeing it in there because of how shallow the vein is and length of the tip. Could be frightening for some who dont have such a needle fetish as myself.
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If you are using half inches you have to do it real shallow and memorize how much of the needle is in when you register. If you put too much in or pull it out, you'll miss and it will suck.
 
the crooks in my arms are starting to get to scared,but i cant stand hitting in my hands it just feels weird ,it seems like the viens of my underarms hurt like a MOTHER FUCKER. so i end up just going back to my crooks....i cant find anything on my legs
 
DrinksWithEvil said:
the crooks in my arms are starting to get to scared,but i cant stand hitting in my hands it just feels weird ,it seems like the viens of my underarms hurt like a MOTHER FUCKER. so i end up just going back to my crooks....i cant find anything on my legs
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What about your lower forearm and wrists? Also, I've had great success hitting my hands after being forced to when the rest of my arm veins went.
 
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