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Harm Reduction Injection Complications FAQ and Mega Thread

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wud u pretty much KNOW if u hit an artery? i used my other arm insted of the one i always use a couple minutes ago and around the injection site and up my arm/over the vein on the skin is a bunch of redness that popped up after injecting...

a. the blood was dark red, definitely not totally noticable bright or anything
b. i def wasnt in the skin too deep at all, the 1cc long tip needle was a little bit above half way sticking out as iwas pulling it up tryin to get that wonderful splash of blood spill in
c. no pain (the one i think is the most important when hittin anerve/artyery id imagine?)

So what do u think is goin on? Just a histamine reaction? Please some reassure me and enlighten me...fuck man I'm going back on suboxone tommorrow (now all i gotta do is DO THAT WHEN IM FUKING SICK AS SHIT MTOMMORROW AND I HVAE PLENTY OF MONEY FOR ONCE......SIGH)
 
Georgie25 said:
wud u pretty much KNOW if u hit an artery? i used my other arm insted of the one i always use a couple minutes ago and around the injection site and up my arm/over the vein on the skin is a bunch of redness that popped up after injecting...

a. the blood was dark red, definitely not totally noticable bright or anything
b. i def wasnt in the skin too deep at all, the 1cc long tip needle was a little bit above half way sticking out as iwas pulling it up tryin to get that wonderful splash of blood spill in
c. no pain (the one i think is the most important when hittin anerve/artyery id imagine?)

So what do u think is goin on? Just a histamine reaction? Please some reassure me and enlighten me...fuck man I'm going back on suboxone tommorrow (now all i gotta do is DO THAT WHEN IM FUKING SICK AS SHIT MTOMMORROW AND I HVAE PLENTY OF MONEY FOR ONCE......SIGH)
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Not only am I an RN, but I was a heroin addict in the past who IV's. YOU KNOW WHEN YOU HIT AN ARTERY TRUST ME! First off you expect a rush of ecstasy and what you get is instant pain and burning. It hurts bad. Followed by tremendous swelling. My hand was 3 time's as large as it should be if not more. It looked like Mickey Mouses hand, no joke. Scary as shit. Everything on your arm and hand swells up really bad. The injection should of really hurt as well. When you registered the blood would of been a lighter red and frothy. I was shooting black tar at the time so it was hard to tell until it was too late.

I ran to the ER but by the time I got done waiting my swelling had gone down tremendously so I left and went home. Nothing bad ever came of it thank god but hitting an artery is something you will know right away. There's no if's, ands, or buts about it. You would know. If it didn't hurt like all hell and cause crazy swelling you didn't hit an artery. I mean it was PAINFUL. Plus it was like a wasted shot I didn't feel the Heroin at all.

i.am.mookie said:
OK I REALLY NEED A QUICK RESPONSE BECAUSE I THINK I COULD HAVE FUCKED MYSELF UP...

I WAS IVng some dope, i thought i was in the vein, i had dark blood registered in the syringe, but upon injecting it, i got a sharp shooting pain that started to burn sorta got the pins & needles feeling. my arm started to feel kinda hot and then it got a tingly feeling. next my arm and hand got really swollen and part of my hand and arm turned red. my arm/hand never got numb or anything, just swollen and red.

i have no clue what i did but im worried like shit. i have never had a feeling like this before...

i have done the dope 100's of times so i know its not a reaction from that, pr at;east i believe that.

ANYONE WITH ANY EXPERIENCE WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS, OR ANYONE WHO IS IN MEDICAL FIELD CAN HELP ME OR GIVE ADVICE, WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED...AND A QUICK RESPONSE WOULD BE BETTER, SINCE I DONT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON.. POST IN THE THREAD OR PM ME, EMAIL ME, OR EVEN INSTANT MESSAGE ME. THANK YOU SO MUCH...

***this all happened around 8:10-8:15pm EST. its now 8:30pm EST and the swelling is going down a little, the redness is going away a little too, buts it still feels weird and is still swollen/red. i can feel the effects of the dope, if that means anything...i didnt get a rush really, but the effects of the high are still there...
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100% Artery shot, read my above post. Same thing happened and I went straight to the ER knowing what could happen but after waiting forever and it going down immensely I chose it was best to just leave and not pay a huge bill. I was lucky and consider yourself lucky as well.
 
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Something weird happened to my vein..

Well I just shot up some heroin and I did it in the vein in the crease of my arm, like on the opposite side of my elbow, where most people do it. When I was pushing it in it was kind of hurting my vein like down my arm going to my hand. I didn't miss any of the shot or anything, smelled it, got high, etc. But now the inside of my forearm (where it was hurting) is red. Does anyone know why? Sorry if it's hard to unserstand where on my arm I'm talking about, I wish I could just point to it and you could see where I mean, but you aren't in my living room with me.
 
If you got high it all didn't get in the artery, but it is possible "some" got in the artery.

Perhaps you slid in and out of the vein and into the artery? Did you keep the needle steady? Was it moving in and out?

This'll get merged into IV complications mega thread...but leftwing will probably do it as I have a headache and need to lie down right now.

Hope you're OK buddy.
 
tag - i'm in

you shot into the crook of your arm, right?

is the forearm a blotchy red and white colour with a little inflammation? that would be a histamine reaction in most cases. otherwise you've more than likely hit the artery or maybe even a nerve which is causing the pain.

merged
 
RE: First time IVing... fail

Yeah, they were injectable valium ampoules, and yes, I did register. I was shaking, though, so I think I must have pushed through the vein or something. My hand swoll up like a MFer Saturday and was warm to the touch. It was also tender but not necessarily painful. I kept an eye out for discouloration but by Sunday the oedema was settling down and there was little pain at the injection site. It's pretty much back to normal now, though.

Thanks for the relatively civil tone and quality advice, folks. And yeah, I'm not gonna be fucking around with needles for a long time to come.
 
thanks for the update OLS, i just reopened your thread and realised i closed it a little hastily so i spologise; i should have merged it in here but because the amount of replies in your thread would have thrown this thread off quite a bit.

are you able to provide us with a more descript replay of what happened when you injected? your last thread left a lot for the imagination is all.

Besafe - that's a helpful link and all to that brochure but the majority of it is missing by the looks so you might want to try fixing that.

again, im glad you're ok now:)
 
help!

I don't know if anyone can help me here I booted the other day in my forearm and i think i goto some in and some i missed causing a rash to form the rash went away but now there is a semi large bump, it's not bruised but if you feel the arm it's noticeable it's not spreading but it hurts and is warm to the touch.

i've been massaging it, seems to make it feel better when i do it lightly, should i run it under warm water, or cold water? this is the first time i've had one that hurt this bad before. it's been about 2 days as of now and it's not going away or going down either.

HELP!
 
xokuromi5..careful there, sounds like you could have an abscess starting. i know you prolly don't want to, but really should go to walk in clinic or urgent care and have them take a look at it and hook you up with some antibiotics.
 
mebroken said:
xokuromi5..careful there, sounds like you could have an abscess starting. i know you prolly don't want to, but really should go to walk in clinic or urgent care and have them take a look at it and hook you up with some antibiotics.
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Thanks for your response, after I wrote that and went to bed last night I woke up this morning in excruciating pain even though I elevated my arm all night last night. I even put an ice pack on it this morning, which didn't help much, but it did help until I took it off. I went to the ER and thankgod I did because it turned out to be a really bad infection I was put on an IV drip with antibiotics as well as prescribed bactrin antibotic which was only $4 at walmart, thank goodness for that as well. Also some low dose of Ultram, which really didnt help with the pain that much. So they told me if it gets any worse, like bigger, hurts more, swells up more, or looks worse to come back in and they will have to admit me for 3-5 days.

At first I thought it was an abcess but according what the medical sheet says it's Cellulitice <not sure on spelling> meaning a bacteria infection of the skin except i know what it's from, i booted H into muscle tissue which didn't absorb, or it did i'm not sure, leaving me with this weird hard lump the size of a half dollar. It's not white either like the usual H rash you get when you miss, it looks like it wants to turn into an abcess but hasn't yet. I've had an abcess before on my wrist from being stupid and trying to shoot in my wrist vein, that abcess popped but the pain wasnt half as bad as this one i've got goin on now in my forearm! THanks for the replies!;)


Let me just say I love this site! any questions regarding medicine, drugs, whatever theres an asnwer for thanks to lovely people who read and reply!♥
 
xokuromi5 said:
Thanks for your response, after I wrote that and went to bed last night I woke up this morning in excruciating pain even though I elevated my arm all night last night. I even put an ice pack on it this morning, which didn't help much, but it did help until I took it off. I went to the ER and thankgod I did because it turned out to be a really bad infection I was put on an IV drip with antibiotics as well as prescribed bactrin antibotic which was only $4 at walmart, thank goodness for that as well. Also some low dose of Ultram, which really didnt help with the pain that much. So they told me if it gets any worse, like bigger, hurts more, swells up more, or looks worse to come back in and they will have to admit me for 3-5 days.

At first I thought it was an abcess but according what the medical sheet says it's Cellulitice <not sure on spelling> meaning a bacteria infection of the skin except i know what it's from, i booted H into muscle tissue which didn't absorb, or it did i'm not sure, leaving me with this weird hard lump the size of a half dollar. It's not white either like the usual H rash you get when you miss, it looks like it wants to turn into an abcess but hasn't yet. I've had an abcess before on my wrist from being stupid and trying to shoot in my wrist vein, that abcess popped but the pain wasnt half as bad as this one i've got goin on now in my forearm! THanks for the replies!;)


Let me just say I love this site! any questions regarding medicine, drugs, whatever theres an asnwer for thanks to lovely people who read and reply!♥
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this is a perfect example of why anyone, who is in any doubt at all, should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

i'm sorry to hear you ended up having cellulitis but am extremely glad you got the help you needed, you've set a good example for a lot of other posters who come in here refusing to go see an ER for whatever reason they have.

i hope you have a speedy recovery:)
 
shootin heroin in neck- what is going on?

if you are shooting heroin into your neck right above the colar bone cuz you cant get it anywhere else now and after about one or two shots something in there becomes hard like hitting a bone. like you put the needle in above the colar bone and angle it downward and the first time or two bam right into the vein but after that - no go, it is like you are hitting the bone. but if you go straight in it is kind of like hitting some kind of gristly feeling shit that is kind of hard to get through. if you angle up no problem. it will last like that for about a week or so then you can repeat the process over again. two more shots then hard like bone! and i know the neck is not good to shoot in but sometimes you have no options like if your femoral veins are gone...at least gone with a normal B-D U-100 27G1/2 (0.4x13mm) needle. maybe a person would just need a longer needle to hit them now, i dont know. anyway please let me know if you have this problem or know what is going on. thank you.
 
maybe by the time you use up the femoral and neck veins,its time for Sub or methadone maintenance...just a thought...or maybe switch to a different roa for a while to give your veins time to heal.you wont get the rush,but as long as you stay free of w/d symptoms it should be good.I (along with many of my junkie friends) dont really get a true high anymore anyways.
 
I think that's the body's way of saying, ''Please take yourself to rehab''.

Really though, the neck is an area of the body that doesn't have a lot of leeway room when it comes to either hitting the vein, or digging a needle around in places where a needle really, really, really should not be. After one or two injections, the vein is probably beginning to scar, collapse, and receed into the body.

Please rethink what your priorities are, and be safe. (Don't mean to sound like a jerk at all, I am just expressing concern)

-Cy
 
Put simply: the last time I saw my best friend, he had just taken up shooting in his neck, and did so in front of me. I never saw him again after that.



Please, anyone on this path, or remotely considering this path; seek help, get on methadone, go rehab, do whatever you must do to ensure you don't go down this path either.
 
Why 27g? If its tiny veins you're going for (I think I know what type you mean, they are a bitch), why not go even smaller, say 29g or 30g? They are just available, if not more so, at any pharmacy, than bigger gauges. I figure thats the size your (and most) exchange program gives out, then tend to pass somewhat high gauged syringes (perhaps so they can handle the excessive use they expect them to get? :\), but of course small is better, for hitting the vein and for minimizing the chance of track marks.
 
Captain.Heroin said:
You shouldn't use a 27G needle to hit those tiny veins that aren't ideal for injection for drug use.

-> IV Complications Mega Thread
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is that directed at me? i didnt really think a femoral vein was considered a tiny vein? when i would use any smaller guage needle to try to hit it, the needle would always bend.
 
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