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OD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
Injection; IV Complications and Information MEGATHREAD and FAQ II - show me the blood
- Thread starter Jabberwocky
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+1 on going to the doctor.
If you do not have health insurance or you do not want your health insurance finding out about this, and you are in the U.S., locate a free clinic. Ask at a needle exchange or look it up in your phone book (yellow pages).
Wish you the best of luck, and I'm sorry that happened to you.
If you do not have health insurance or you do not want your health insurance finding out about this, and you are in the U.S., locate a free clinic. Ask at a needle exchange or look it up in your phone book (yellow pages).
Wish you the best of luck, and I'm sorry that happened to you.
ayjay
Bluelighter
It sounds like a massive dirty hit. That normally only lasts for a few hours so 2 days is on the long side. You are getting better so that's a good sign. Watch for continuing signs of infection - both at the site you injected (tenderness, redness, swelling, pain, heat) plus more generally (weakness, fever).
It was indeed a very dirty shot...four days of vomiting and last night was the worst/ I couldn't sleep because I felt vertigo and my chest hurts very much. I felt at times when I was about to felt asleep that my heart and my breathing were about to stop. It was a hell of a night. At 5am I went to my doc and I was medicated with serums of vitamins, pepcid, etamina or something like that, and benadril 50mg...I was tripping even allucinating and after that I felt like new. The tests on the blood were fine, no infections so far and my heart and lungs are in good condition. I'm ok eating and shooting again.
So for you if you experience this same thing one time then you know what to do.
I talked clear with my doc and he was able to help and he did well so I recomend that as well...is better than die.
Thank you guys.
So for you if you experience this same thing one time then you know what to do.
I talked clear with my doc and he was able to help and he did well so I recomend that as well...is better than die.
Thank you guys.
HighlyEnjoyed
Greenlighter
maybe a dirty solution, take your time with the solution. No matter if its a pill or smack its worth it to take your time, use a clean filter, rig, and spoon. I've done some pretty raunchy stuff and paid severely. Cotton fever or a dirty shot usually makes me sick for 2 days or so with similar symptoms. Best and try an avoid it if you can.
HighlyEnjoyed
Greenlighter
im a newbie as well but hey pandemie, thanks for the salutations
i had a dirty shot similar only lasting like a day. Constant vomiting even such as dry heaving on an empty stomach. My lower back\spine was in so much pain along with my knees really bad. And every other joint hurt just not as bad as the spine and the knees. I couldnt sit or lay down i had to stand up almost the whole day and was shaking really fierce. Worse experience ever and it was 1 out of many. But clean supplies has help me keep those numbers down thankfully
i had a dirty shot similar only lasting like a day. Constant vomiting even such as dry heaving on an empty stomach. My lower back\spine was in so much pain along with my knees really bad. And every other joint hurt just not as bad as the spine and the knees. I couldnt sit or lay down i had to stand up almost the whole day and was shaking really fierce. Worse experience ever and it was 1 out of many. But clean supplies has help me keep those numbers down thankfully
@pandemie7c:
Welcome to bluelight
There is a whole forum here dedicated to New Member Introductions as well as a New Members Social Thread. Both of these places would be more suited for an introduction, as this thread is purely for the discussion of Injection Complications and Information.
Welcome to bluelight
There is a whole forum here dedicated to New Member Introductions as well as a New Members Social Thread. Both of these places would be more suited for an introduction, as this thread is purely for the discussion of Injection Complications and Information.
@MindFruit
From Wiki [link]:
Description:
Cotton fever is a syndrome that is often associated with intravenous drug use, specifically the use of cotton to filter drugs like heroin. The cause of the condition is believed to be endotoxin shed by the bacteria Enterobacter agglomerans which colonizes cotton plants. A condition very similar to cotton fever was described in the 18th century among cotton-mill workers. The term cotton fever was coined in 1975 after the syndrome was recognized in intravenous drug users. However, some sources have attributed the symptoms of cotton fever with simple sepsis occasioned by unsafe and unsanitary drug injection practices. This is borne out by the fact cotton fever occurs in equal spread with all injectable drug users, irrespective of if they used cotton as a filter or not.
Symptoms:
Symptoms of cotton fever usually appear with 10–20 minutes after injection. In addition to fever, they may include headaches, malaise, chills, nausea shortness of breath, and tachycardia. The fever itself usually reaches 38.5–40.3 °C (101–105 °F) within the first hour. The symptoms of cotton fever resemble those of sepsis and patients can be initially misdiagnosed upon admission to a hospital.
Treatment:
Cotton fever will usually resolve itself within a few hours to a day with no medical intervention. Once afflicted, additional doses of the original drug or another opiate can partially alleviate symptoms. There is an inherent danger associated with the administration of additional doses due to the possibility of overdose.
It has been claimed that resistance to cotton fever can be developed after repeated experiences, resulting in a decrease in symptom intensity.
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Also worth checking out is this thread, also in OD: (HR) The Dirty Hit & Dirty Rush
From Wiki [link]:
Description:
Cotton fever is a syndrome that is often associated with intravenous drug use, specifically the use of cotton to filter drugs like heroin. The cause of the condition is believed to be endotoxin shed by the bacteria Enterobacter agglomerans which colonizes cotton plants. A condition very similar to cotton fever was described in the 18th century among cotton-mill workers. The term cotton fever was coined in 1975 after the syndrome was recognized in intravenous drug users. However, some sources have attributed the symptoms of cotton fever with simple sepsis occasioned by unsafe and unsanitary drug injection practices. This is borne out by the fact cotton fever occurs in equal spread with all injectable drug users, irrespective of if they used cotton as a filter or not.
Symptoms:
Symptoms of cotton fever usually appear with 10–20 minutes after injection. In addition to fever, they may include headaches, malaise, chills, nausea shortness of breath, and tachycardia. The fever itself usually reaches 38.5–40.3 °C (101–105 °F) within the first hour. The symptoms of cotton fever resemble those of sepsis and patients can be initially misdiagnosed upon admission to a hospital.
Treatment:
Cotton fever will usually resolve itself within a few hours to a day with no medical intervention. Once afflicted, additional doses of the original drug or another opiate can partially alleviate symptoms. There is an inherent danger associated with the administration of additional doses due to the possibility of overdose.
It has been claimed that resistance to cotton fever can be developed after repeated experiences, resulting in a decrease in symptom intensity.
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Also worth checking out is this thread, also in OD: (HR) The Dirty Hit & Dirty Rush
First time hearing about "flushing" so I have a couple simple questions... Wouldn't it be a better idea to just do this by after doing your shot, drawing water into the barrel and shooting that? Is the amount of drug solution remaining in the hub even significant enough to bother flushing at all? And is it the bigger the gauge / syringe, the more solution is left in the hub? Or is it other factors that affect how much is left over? Thanks
Help me figure out why I'm getting red spots
I can't figure out why a day later a vein that I didnt even inject in (couldn't get register) is red and puffy. Heres what I think I did right: i swabbed the spot, used new syringe cotton etc. (this is meth btw) I didn't miss ( just moved to another vein which looks fine. ) I applied Cotton swab afterwards.
From reading here what I might have done wrong:
Did not clean spoon which I had used previous day.
I pulled the needle out pretty fast
I wonder if I pulled too hard when trying to get register?
Any suggestions ?
I can't figure out why a day later a vein that I didnt even inject in (couldn't get register) is red and puffy. Heres what I think I did right: i swabbed the spot, used new syringe cotton etc. (this is meth btw) I didn't miss ( just moved to another vein which looks fine. ) I applied Cotton swab afterwards.
From reading here what I might have done wrong:
Did not clean spoon which I had used previous day.
I pulled the needle out pretty fast
I wonder if I pulled too hard when trying to get register?
Any suggestions ?
Captain.Heroin
Bluelight Crew
Weird to say the least. A shot of meth will swell up, a lot, but if you didn't miss and it wasn't the vein you shot into, I am clueless. I hope it gets better for you; I would use a heat compress and if it gets worse before it gets better, I would seek out medical treatment.
Maybe it is a spider bite or something? One time I woke up and there were two *huge* spider bites on my leg and they took months to go away.
With an insulin syringe, there is typically next to nothing lost, so "flushing" is just doing damage to your vein.
With a luer lock syringe and needle tip you lose about 5 units; you can leave some (not a lot) air between the plunger and the solution (an air embolism requires a great deal of air, greater than 1 ml), this way the last 5 units will all go in as the air will replace it. Knowing that there is about 5 units left you would really only need 5 units of air.
ahh... good idea, thanks!
TwoOnSmack
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2009
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- 48
Now, we're talking about flushing, I've been wondering something as well:
Given that you only flush with ~0,1 mL (which is about the vol. I pull back when registrering) and that you pull back slowly and carefully, how can flushing be more damaging than the register itself - when they're physically the same movement?
Or is it, that creating a vacuum in the vein is always a bad procedure, but the cost-benefit of registrering (knowing you're in the vein), makes it a necessary evil?
Also if anybody have some litterature references, it'd be cool.
/peace!
Given that you only flush with ~0,1 mL (which is about the vol. I pull back when registrering) and that you pull back slowly and carefully, how can flushing be more damaging than the register itself - when they're physically the same movement?
Or is it, that creating a vacuum in the vein is always a bad procedure, but the cost-benefit of registrering (knowing you're in the vein), makes it a necessary evil?
Also if anybody have some litterature references, it'd be cool.
/peace!
Captain.Heroin
Bluelight Crew
If you draw back the plunger too quickly, this can damage the walls of your vein and cause hemolysis. The plunger can be sticky after you inject. Additionally, unless you are very careful, small movements while your needle is in the vein can cause the hole that is already punctured into your vein to enlarge.
Getting a few units of air at the top of the plunger is a whole lot better than flushing.
I would say until the injection site is visibly healed..if not longer. 1-2 weeks IMO...Of course that is in a perfect worldI am curious what other people have to say.
The larger the gauge the longer the healing time.
John_Burrows
Bluelighter
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- Jul 31, 2008
- Messages
- 1,007
Veins heel very quickly; I have 4 injection sites I rotate around, and by "site" I mean a 6-inch strip of vein in my left and right arm (that's 2 sites) and the tops of both hands (sites 3 and 4).
The hands offer at least 3 or 4 veins each, so when I hit that "site" naturally I switch which vein I'm using, as with the location of where I hit that 6 inch vein in my arms. So, since I inject 4 times a day, I give each site only 24 hours of rest in between hits, but the exact location I inject (which I think is the important part) probably gets at least a few days before i come back to it.
I'm guessing it's the same with most of you? I avoid injecting the exact same spot too often, but I come back to the general area approx every 24 hours, which seems to be working out fine. My veins remian healthy, although the track marks in those areas basically never go away - more than anything, I'd say THAT'S the primary reason not to come back to a site too often, but it's hard to avoid; if I wanted to keep all visible signs hidden, I'd have to give each site about a week off in between hits, which just aint gonna happen, unless I can come up with 7 injection sites, and given how hard it is to find my veins at all, I just don't see it happening.
Anyway, I guess my overall point here is I think 24-48 hours is probably enough time for a vein to heal before you come back to it, assuming you are using good injection techniques (fresh, thin-as-possible needles (try to keep it to 27 or 28g MAX - I'm a big guy and use 29g all the time with no issues, so you can too). Don't use the same needle more than twice (hey in a perfect world we use a fresh needle every single time but I bet most of you don't - but you really should try to keep it to every other time), keep everything clean, put pressure on the injection site after you pull out and my personal favorite tip is to run warm water over every injection site after i hit, even if i don't miss (i find it helps healing and minimizes post-injection bumps and mosquito bites).
I also rotate skin creams and try to apply vitamin E, neosporin and Biafine (an excellent healing agent) after every session. Regular application of moisturizer and the ocassional exfoliant of injection sites is also a good idea.
Sound complicated? It really isn't once you get into the routine and, after all, if you're going to choose to be an IV drug user, practicing some healthy skin habits is a good idea (also, l-lysine as a daily pill supplement is a good idea, it helps aid healing skin).
The hands offer at least 3 or 4 veins each, so when I hit that "site" naturally I switch which vein I'm using, as with the location of where I hit that 6 inch vein in my arms. So, since I inject 4 times a day, I give each site only 24 hours of rest in between hits, but the exact location I inject (which I think is the important part) probably gets at least a few days before i come back to it.
I'm guessing it's the same with most of you? I avoid injecting the exact same spot too often, but I come back to the general area approx every 24 hours, which seems to be working out fine. My veins remian healthy, although the track marks in those areas basically never go away - more than anything, I'd say THAT'S the primary reason not to come back to a site too often, but it's hard to avoid; if I wanted to keep all visible signs hidden, I'd have to give each site about a week off in between hits, which just aint gonna happen, unless I can come up with 7 injection sites, and given how hard it is to find my veins at all, I just don't see it happening.
Anyway, I guess my overall point here is I think 24-48 hours is probably enough time for a vein to heal before you come back to it, assuming you are using good injection techniques (fresh, thin-as-possible needles (try to keep it to 27 or 28g MAX - I'm a big guy and use 29g all the time with no issues, so you can too). Don't use the same needle more than twice (hey in a perfect world we use a fresh needle every single time but I bet most of you don't - but you really should try to keep it to every other time), keep everything clean, put pressure on the injection site after you pull out and my personal favorite tip is to run warm water over every injection site after i hit, even if i don't miss (i find it helps healing and minimizes post-injection bumps and mosquito bites).
I also rotate skin creams and try to apply vitamin E, neosporin and Biafine (an excellent healing agent) after every session. Regular application of moisturizer and the ocassional exfoliant of injection sites is also a good idea.
Sound complicated? It really isn't once you get into the routine and, after all, if you're going to choose to be an IV drug user, practicing some healthy skin habits is a good idea (also, l-lysine as a daily pill supplement is a good idea, it helps aid healing skin).
Long time Bluelight lurker here. I have a few questions that I feel more experienced IVers could help a novice out with (I have been enjoying opiates for over 8 months, I live a functional life enrolled in a university as a full time college student, and have just recently begun to experiment with IVing; please do not tell me not to start IVing, that I'll regret it, that my life will spin out of control, etc etc.)
My question is this, the veins in my left arm are much more deep then my right arm... this really sucks because I'm right handed! Is there anything I could do to improve upon the visibility of the veins in my left arm? I have tried a hot shower, a brief workout, and a using a turnakit
Nothing seems to help!
Secondly, I feel like an idiot for this. I previously stated I am right handed, my lift hand is absolutely gimped. I attempted to inject myself with my left hand into my right arm. I hit a vein, pulled back on the plunger to see blood... success! Now I just needed to bang it... if only. My gimped left arm started to hake, and the needle sunk deeper into my arm. I pulled back on the plunger only to see air. I removed the needle (I would never blindly shoot into my arm, I'm not about to lose a limb over this) without injecting and now the it's swollen.
I haven't had swelling happen before, so I am a bit worried. Thing is, nothing was injected into me! Chances are likely that it's nothing, that I agitated the vein with the needle or something similar to that, but this is a site for harm reduction! Better safe than sorry!
My question is this, the veins in my left arm are much more deep then my right arm... this really sucks because I'm right handed! Is there anything I could do to improve upon the visibility of the veins in my left arm? I have tried a hot shower, a brief workout, and a using a turnakit
Nothing seems to help! Secondly, I feel like an idiot for this. I previously stated I am right handed, my lift hand is absolutely gimped. I attempted to inject myself with my left hand into my right arm. I hit a vein, pulled back on the plunger to see blood... success! Now I just needed to bang it... if only. My gimped left arm started to hake, and the needle sunk deeper into my arm. I pulled back on the plunger only to see air. I removed the needle (I would never blindly shoot into my arm, I'm not about to lose a limb over this) without injecting and now the it's swollen.
I haven't had swelling happen before, so I am a bit worried. Thing is, nothing was injected into me! Chances are likely that it's nothing, that I agitated the vein with the needle or something similar to that, but this is a site for harm reduction!
Better safe than sorry!Thanks John burrows that s helpful. I should have specified that my friend is a casual recreational user and has no problem waiting a week, two weeks , a month, whatever you guys think is reasonably long enough to really let veins heal, ESP when they are getting slightly bruised or slight bumps that go away. Thanks!
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