Getting Caught With Track Marks

[Jabberwocky]

sit on this and rotate, noddy

their avatar has clearly been left out in the sun too long as well and has faded.

 

[Khadijah]

Capone: could you repeat that in English?

wats your problem yo? His post is in english and I sure as hell understand it just fine. None of that smart ass shit talking allowed in here. You know damn well wat he meant, callin attention to somebody who talks a little different than you is a dick move, kinda like callin out somebody on their tracks--says more about you than it does about him.

If you aint aware , not everybody comes from some white ass suburb and sometimes people talk different. That aint even nothin compared to the way lots of folks type so iunno wat the problem is. Lets post constructive shit not flame others for how they type.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

at the hospital recently I used my nails to scratch my arms over top of the marks, and said I got scratched up playing with a dog.

I would not do this.

 

[titstypedthis]

lol i can't help but think someones gonna speak up about it soon with these glowing red patches on my elbows

 

[pisspotnrock]

no, because I dont IV drugs since I am not a junkie.

I have called a friend out on it though (he has since gotten clean). There is no excuse you could give that would fly. If someone calls you out, they know what is going on, they just want to shame you and show their disapproval.

Good to see we still have some ignorant caarrnnttss on BL that are quick to stereotype an IV user

Would love it if you explained how exactly IV administration makes someone a 'junkie'??

 

[pisspotnrock]

ohh and the only time Ive had to cover marks is when I first started and missed a few times (didnt register so pulled out) and it was fuckn obvious... Had work the following morning so I just gentle rubbed bronzed coloured zinc cream over it which blended in nicely with the skin, couldnt see one prick

 

[titstypedthis]

Good to see we still have some ignorant caarrnnttss on BL that are quick to stereotype an IV user

Would love it if you explained how exactly IV administration makes someone a 'junkie'??

haha idk about you dude but when i was first tryin, the early days, stabbed myself 15 times...

registered on the 5th attempt but fell out, by the end of it the blood in the rig had turned black
it was pretty difficult to give up on it but i did..thats junkie thinking..


I mean i got over it, but not everyone does.
thats why its so easy to stereotype... cause just about everyones had those thoughts

 

[Zoologist]

I don't have track marks but have very visible cut marks.

With cut marks, don't bother trying to hide them. Get some sun on them because that makes them heal and be less visible. If someone asks what they are, tell them you were in a car accident (that's what I always say and it works all the time), as there's no real social taboo about it that way.

Of course this will only work with certain kinds of wounds, mine are downwards parallel along my arm, so they're not what would be considered typical self-harm scars...

 

['medicine cabinet']

I would not do this.

yea its not the best idea, but in a tight pinch this works if you have a few spots. i took a knife once and played connect the dots with the track on my arm. it was a small area with like 3 tracks so i kinda cut a line through all three so it looked like a long scratch.

 

[donkeyPUNCH]

Just say that you have been welding. All sorts of hot sparks burn your skin when welding.

HAH! I used to be a welder and that was always my go to excuse. I always hit in the crook of my arm so I'd just say that some slag got stuck in my elbow pit and burned me....

after 3+ years though my girl figured there was no way slag could get stuck in the SAME EXACT SPOT every single day and called me out on it....

to answer the OP though, no my tracks really didn't affect my decision to quit, it was more the stress and pressure on me of keeping the habit going, and the guilt of doing all the shady ass shit I used to do to keep it up. eventually it all boiled over and I couldn't do it any more so I got on Suboxone and quit.

 

[muvolution]

I wanted to come back to this thread - Does anyone have really successful experiences with Mederma scar cream?

john borroughs, I IV hydromorphone also, and it is very taxing having to inject 8-10 times a day. I am in my mid 20's but I was visiting my parents recently and I have a bad and fairly permanent scar on my left elbow, it is fucking obvious what it is, and my mother is a p.o.. I had to just man up and since then either no one has said anything because they didn't notice, or in the cases of people asking me, I just say intravenous injections. If they are asking, they already know. I get IV therapy about once a month, and I could probably try to pull the "I just had IV therapy and she fucked it up something fierce" but that's bullshit. they know.

the cat story? nothing could be more contrived. Chances are if you can see your veins, they can too, and if there is a scar tracing it, it's quite obvious what happened.

I don't know how I feel about them in relation to quitting. I don't like having them and I am better about rotating so I don't pick up any new ones (thank you bl) but I gotta deal with what happened already, feel me?

anyways, would like to know how mederma works cuz that shit is expensive.

 

[Kyles]

no, because I dont IV drugs since I am not a junkie.

Hey, hey, hey no need to be so judgemental champ, if you were a user you'd be well aware there's a HUGE difference between IV users & junkie's.... A Junkie would beg,lie & steal from their own Grandmother for a shot.... Where a user, is someone who works to pay for their own habit, never borrows $ & pays their own way.... I am what you call a "functioning drug addict" I use IV drugs & I am proud to say i have worked my damn ass off to ensure no one can ever call me a junkie

 

[verso]

This is how I discovered my sister's extracurricular heroin activities. lol

We had long suspected it, and one day after finding a receipt on the ground next to her car for "NEEDLE & SYRINGE" or whatever, I asked her to roll up her sleeves and show me her arms.

It's a definite negative for IV users, but I suppose that if you use clean needles and know what you're doing, track marks can be reduced to just barely noticeable.

 

[comatoserct]

I wanted to come back to this thread - Does anyone have really successful experiences with Mederma scar cream?

my old dealer gave me half a tube of this and it works, but you have to apply it 2-3 times a day, rather generously, and if you have marks like I do, it's still going to take months if not a year, along with never using those spots, for them to go back again.

I currently use a combination of vitamin E oil and neosporin. The neosporin is for spots that are freshly red, and it makes those go away a lot faster. I use the E oil on the spots that have gotten purple and dark red, and although I haven't noticed an incredible change, it is happening. This method is a LOT cheaper than mederma, but I still believe that works better if you have the cash. Also, I have heard people saying that vitamin E lotion is better than the oil, but I don't believe so. The stuff I have is super thick and pure, I can apply generous amounts and usually only have to apply it once a day.

Other than that, your best bet would be a very nice concealer with a combination of another concealer or powder. I have this one, but I am looking to buy this one soon because it's more heavy duty. Sephora is all over the US, look up a mall around you that has one. They even let you test the stuff on yourself before you buy it, but it's going to be pretty awkward talking to one of the associates about which one is better for your arm.

There are makeup combinations out there that can practically erase your marks, but if not done in proper lighting, it could very well end up making it look worse when you go out in the real sunlight

 

[muvolution]

lulz. I was at Walgreens buying syringes the quite a bit ago, which was super obvious cuz I just got a box of 100 and on may way out I stopped and got free samples from some makeup rep that was there. If i really have to, I use it - a combo of some stuff in a clamshell - like case with a pad to apply it, and some darker lipstick for blending and it looks pretty good usually.
I think I am going to give the Mederma a shot- shit is priced in grams and almost as expensive as drugs. jeez.

 

[Jabberwocky]

lulz. I was at Walgreens buying syringes the quite a bit ago, which was super obvious cuz I just got a box of 100 and on may way out I stopped and got free samples from some makeup rep that was there. If i really have to, I use it - a combo of some stuff in a clamshell - like case with a pad to apply it, and some darker lipstick for blending and it looks pretty good usually.
I think I am going to give the Mederma a shot- shit is priced in grams and almost as expensive as drugs. jeez.

lol i'm gonna have give that a try one day; the makeup smaple from the rep.

i've had experience with aloe vera and vitamin e creams and they seemed to help make an inch long dark track disappear.

e, not d. and yeah triple antibiotics work well

Sephora is all over the US

mmmm, kat von d

 

[Captain.Heroin]

muv, what gauge do you use? The smaller gauge needles leave less of a mark, as I'm sure you already know.

When battling track marks, I find triple antibiotic ointment works very well.

I am also having really good luck with using IM shots (as I use bacteriostatic water and micron filter, IMing my buprenorphine is not going to cause me issues AFAIK) as opposed to IV shots, as these won't leave track marks. It can leave a tiny red dot but its extremely small; other times, it is 100% unnoticeable.

 

[muvolution]

My shit is all sorted now, mostly thanks to BL. I use 29g because I usually can't find 30g in a 1/2" point. I just have one track from overuse from before I figured shit out. It is pretty old.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

My shit is all sorted now, mostly thanks to BL. I use 29g because I usually can't find 30g in a 1/2" point. I just have one track from overuse from before I figured shit out. It is pretty old.

really? 30G 1/2" is really common here. I very rarely come across short tipped 30G's.

 

[comatoserct]

I'm using 31g 5/16 and it's basically impossible to leave a mark now
all my tracks are from re-using 27g and (gasp) 29g
re-using 29-31g is especially dumb, they get so dull so fast