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OD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
Heroin Difficulty IV'ing
- Thread starter TheManWithNoName
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TheManWithNoName
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!
Thanks to everyone who contributed so far. I was out of dope by Sunday night and my guy didn't pick up his phone till this evening. Like an idiot I bought two b's (the most I ever bought at once) and this shit is not good. The stuff I had before with the same stamp but different color was excellent. I really think it was fentanyl because he called it "china white," who knows. Before I could use half a bag and be good but now I have to use at least one or two. Shit happens, but anyway my arms were soar late Sunday and Monday but today they were fine up until a few hours ago. Since I started this thread I got better and better towards the end I was hitting the vein 3/5 times. I could barely see the veins because of the discoloration of the bruises so I must have tried 40 times and only got it like three times, my arms are fucked up and soar again and I'm pissed I'm gonna try to wait till Friday, but it's really hard. I am taking John Burrows suggestion and gonna try the plugging. Again I picked up the wrong syringes. 1 cc, 30G and 12.7mm. I usually get the 1cc 31 G and they must be ten mm because their shorter than the 12.7mm but longer than the 8mm. I am afraid I am gonna accidentally hit an artery and with my inexperience that's a possibly. I know I have to go in parallel to my arm but on what angle would you say 30 degrees? If my arm is flat?
I am gonna search the threads for plugging tips but I'd like to hear what you guys have to say. I bought an oral syringe and a rectal syringe. Common sense tells me to use the rectal syringe because it is indeed called a rectal syringe, but I read a post earlier saying to get a oral syringe, is there a special reason for this or just because it costs less. Please chime in. Thanks once again in advance.
@Imc422 I appreciate you taking the time out to post since you say you don't post often. You kind words are a nice contrast to some others have been posting (John Burrows) I appreciate all the advice and you have definitely helped me. Please post more on the forum and in this thread because you have some good things to say!
Thanks to everyone who contributed so far. I was out of dope by Sunday night and my guy didn't pick up his phone till this evening. Like an idiot I bought two b's (the most I ever bought at once) and this shit is not good. The stuff I had before with the same stamp but different color was excellent. I really think it was fentanyl because he called it "china white," who knows. Before I could use half a bag and be good but now I have to use at least one or two. Shit happens, but anyway my arms were soar late Sunday and Monday but today they were fine up until a few hours ago. Since I started this thread I got better and better towards the end I was hitting the vein 3/5 times. I could barely see the veins because of the discoloration of the bruises so I must have tried 40 times and only got it like three times, my arms are fucked up and soar again and I'm pissed I'm gonna try to wait till Friday, but it's really hard. I am taking John Burrows suggestion and gonna try the plugging. Again I picked up the wrong syringes. 1 cc, 30G and 12.7mm. I usually get the 1cc 31 G and they must be ten mm because their shorter than the 12.7mm but longer than the 8mm. I am afraid I am gonna accidentally hit an artery and with my inexperience that's a possibly. I know I have to go in parallel to my arm but on what angle would you say 30 degrees? If my arm is flat?
I am gonna search the threads for plugging tips but I'd like to hear what you guys have to say. I bought an oral syringe and a rectal syringe. Common sense tells me to use the rectal syringe because it is indeed called a rectal syringe, but I read a post earlier saying to get a oral syringe, is there a special reason for this or just because it costs less. Please chime in. Thanks once again in advance.
@Imc422 I appreciate you taking the time out to post since you say you don't post often. You kind words are a nice contrast to some others have been posting (John Burrows) I appreciate all the advice and you have definitely helped me. Please post more on the forum and in this thread because you have some good things to say!
John_Burrows
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Hey I just don't sugar coat my responses, but I've been taking the time to try and help so bite me if you don't have a sense of humor 
The reason to use the oral syringe is simply because its bigger it's easier to handle and work with. Also, using a standard syringe with the needle pulled out will work, but it wont hold much liquid and even with no needle those things are so skinny they are kinda sharp on their own, so it's possible to hurt yourself.
I've used the oral "child syringe" for years with excellent results, and I think most pluggers prefer it. Just do a thread title search with the word plugging and/or put my name in the "search by author" part of the advanced search menu and you'll find all MY posts about plugging and I have posted all you need to know.
Also, when you decide to try IV again, don't just go by sight alone - learn to feel the vein under your skin. Touch it with your index finger, do a gentle "bounce bounce bounce" with your index finger over a spot where you know a vein is and you WILL be able to feel the slightly spoungy texture. Once you got the hang of it, you can use your sense of touch to hunt down the exact location of other veins, using the "vein map" image at the top of this thread and elsewhere.
Like ive mentioned before, I can't see ANY of my veins and have learned to find them the Helen Keller way. How much of an angle you go in with the needle depends how far under then skin the vein is; if you can feel it right under the skin, then a shallow angle of like 20 or 30 degrees is good; if you think the vein is further down, sometimes I go in at a 70 degree angle (this is where the "draw back first, then push" technique makes all the difference).
Someone above suggested 27 or 28g needles but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are 500 pounds and have leather skin, those needles are way too thick. 29-31g is a better range, I think. You want to use the thinnest needle that you can, since it will pierce the skin more easily AND leave behind fainter marks.
Honestly, you've gotten two pages of very good advice and an entire IV megathread full of advice. If you're still asking questions and freaking out and looking to be talked through the process by Doctor Bob then maybe you're just not cut out for IV drug use. There's nothing wrong with that, in fact EVERYONE is better off without it, so you'd be lucky if you just gave up on it.
Try plugging, make sure you follow instructions and do it right, its guaranteed to make you feel good, just don't expect an intense rush (personally, I'd trade the rush for two hours of feeling warm and fuzzy any day of the week).
Good luck and may the FORCE be with you.
The reason to use the oral syringe is simply because its bigger it's easier to handle and work with. Also, using a standard syringe with the needle pulled out will work, but it wont hold much liquid and even with no needle those things are so skinny they are kinda sharp on their own, so it's possible to hurt yourself.
I've used the oral "child syringe" for years with excellent results, and I think most pluggers prefer it. Just do a thread title search with the word plugging and/or put my name in the "search by author" part of the advanced search menu and you'll find all MY posts about plugging and I have posted all you need to know.
Also, when you decide to try IV again, don't just go by sight alone - learn to feel the vein under your skin. Touch it with your index finger, do a gentle "bounce bounce bounce" with your index finger over a spot where you know a vein is and you WILL be able to feel the slightly spoungy texture. Once you got the hang of it, you can use your sense of touch to hunt down the exact location of other veins, using the "vein map" image at the top of this thread and elsewhere.
Like ive mentioned before, I can't see ANY of my veins and have learned to find them the Helen Keller way. How much of an angle you go in with the needle depends how far under then skin the vein is; if you can feel it right under the skin, then a shallow angle of like 20 or 30 degrees is good; if you think the vein is further down, sometimes I go in at a 70 degree angle (this is where the "draw back first, then push" technique makes all the difference).
Someone above suggested 27 or 28g needles but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are 500 pounds and have leather skin, those needles are way too thick. 29-31g is a better range, I think. You want to use the thinnest needle that you can, since it will pierce the skin more easily AND leave behind fainter marks.
Honestly, you've gotten two pages of very good advice and an entire IV megathread full of advice. If you're still asking questions and freaking out and looking to be talked through the process by Doctor Bob then maybe you're just not cut out for IV drug use. There's nothing wrong with that, in fact EVERYONE is better off without it, so you'd be lucky if you just gave up on it.
Try plugging, make sure you follow instructions and do it right, its guaranteed to make you feel good, just don't expect an intense rush (personally, I'd trade the rush for two hours of feeling warm and fuzzy any day of the week).
Good luck and may the FORCE be with you.
TheManWithNoName
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Yea I know your helping I am joking around too. I have gotten all the advice I needed and I am not bugging out anymore, the fact that everything started healing and the soreness went away within a day or so has shown be I have been overreacting. I have been feeling my vein and feeling for the 'bounce' but like another forum member suggested I may have rollers because after I attempted an injection the little hole is right on top of the vein. Is it possible that I am going right through the vein to the other side? I aways pull the plunger a little and try to go back and forth and up and down slowly. Lately I have been using 1/2 cc syringes which feel like they do not have much suction power. I am going to use a regular syringe to filter the product through cotton then suck it up and go to town. Since this product is not as good as the last and I used around a bag for IV use. I am gonna play it safe and just do one for now.
I do have one more question. I know this depends on how much you have used and how high your are and other things but how long after you first inject do you have to wait between injections to get that rush? With the other stuff I had and when I was hitting the vein more frequently I waited around two or so hours but the rush would be significantly less most of the time not even there. Also, is it normal to feel the effects from IV after 1 or 2 mins? I know it can't be IM or skin popping because the former takes in me at least five mostly likely ten minutes and the skin popping I have done by accident doesn't produce any effect expect as case with the first attempted injection, ease withdrawal symptoms.
Also, I feel this thread is a good introduction for IV noob's like myself that might want a more condensed version of the mega thread. Believe me I have scrolled through the whole thing and like you said John Borrow this thread is almost as rich with information as that one.
I do have one more question. I know this depends on how much you have used and how high your are and other things but how long after you first inject do you have to wait between injections to get that rush? With the other stuff I had and when I was hitting the vein more frequently I waited around two or so hours but the rush would be significantly less most of the time not even there. Also, is it normal to feel the effects from IV after 1 or 2 mins? I know it can't be IM or skin popping because the former takes in me at least five mostly likely ten minutes and the skin popping I have done by accident doesn't produce any effect expect as case with the first attempted injection, ease withdrawal symptoms.
Also, I feel this thread is a good introduction for IV noob's like myself that might want a more condensed version of the mega thread. Believe me I have scrolled through the whole thing and like you said John Borrow this thread is almost as rich with information as that one.
John_Burrows
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The first post of the mega thread is the most important info on here. If more nubies would bother reading that most of them wouldn't have to ask questions anymore.
And no this thread is not just as helpful as the megathread, it's pretty much just people telling you the same things over and over again
And no this thread is not just as helpful as the megathread, it's pretty much just people telling you the same things over and over again
What isn't right? All heroin in the U.S (where I'm from) is water soluble (#4, black tar), so adding heat is not necessary and by doing so you're just dissolving more of the non-soluble material into your shot.. I see you're not from the U.S though, and am aware that the U.K/Europe/etc get #3 heroin, which needs citric acid and heat to dissolve it for IV. I was just refering to the heroin we get here. %)
Captain.Heroin
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TheManWithNoName
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Have you wondered why your leg got bruised and swollen from heroin shots? I'm guessing that you get some white/off-white/yellowish white heroin salt if you wrote you'd injected it intramuscularly (although I've seen freaks injecting i.m. brown heroin freebase cooked up with citric acid...).
Because it's adulterated. You will administer all the dirty stuff from your heroin injecting it intravenously as well.
Increased heart-rate just seconds after i.v. shot of heroin is normal, it shouldn't be big though, definitely not like you took some stimulant. And it fades away as soon as heroin gets to brain and is rapidly metabolized to 6-MAM and morphine and they cause rush feeling.
Anyway, you're writing that you cook your heroin. What type of heroin is it? For abcesses use sodium bicarbonate with little water added so you get a mash and apply it, it kills bacteria so you should recover faster.
Concerning your question "am I doing something wrong?", it's been discussed a lot of times how to properly administer drugs intravenously. Your case is no different than other people's, intravenous injection is always the same. So look for tips in those threads.
This is a bad tip. He can hardly hit a vein and you tell him not to use a torniquette (or anything that does its job)? Hot shower before the shot... Yeah, it definitely helps but probably only for people who just started using opioids and aren't addicted to heroin/morphine/6-ketones etc. that eventually act so short that you have to shoot up a few times a day. I don't think there's a time for hot shower when your shit is water already.
Ok if thats true than how much more dangerous is IM than IV? Especially if, like last night I might have missed a couple of shots because when I registered and loosened the tourniquet and pulled back the plunger a little more no more blood came through but I was fed up anyway and just shot it. No abscess. About two years ago when I started using H i would just IM, not at the frequency I have been recently but never had any problems aside from a sore leg.
I IMed about 5 bags in the last couple hours just to catch a buzz and I am just going to maintain, snort or smoking occasionally (I know smoking #4 powder is a waste but it does have an effect, if I smoke enough my pupils constrict, I'm definitely not sober, and most importantly is stops the WD symptoms. I'll do that until Friday or so when my veins are better and I can start again. I have been using a belt to tie off but I would like to get a rubber tourniquet. Anyone know where to get one at a store (not online). From the looks of it I could just go to a pet store and put a few feet of fish tank tubing and use that. Any input? Thanks.
Most importantly is IM really that bad. The worst complication I have ever had was when I tried to IV into my hand. I think I even went into the wrong direction, aside form the fact I didn't even register and draw blood. What ensued was a rapidly growing abscess in my hand. After googleing abscess the first thing I said was lost limb. I bugged out drove to my doctor (unfortunately due to taking a semester off in the fall for legal reasons from school, I did not have health insurance but it was an emergency. I just went in without calling and told them that I was going through my closet and got poked with a needle that a friend left there from a months ago. They couldn't do anything and demanded they call an ambulance for me to go the hospital. I knew I didn't have insurance and I am on probation, so I was worried about the possible financial and legal repercussions. I went home and put a heating pad on it and it was down in a few hours. Pardon my rant but I tend to do that while on my opiates. Just to throw it out there, nothing is like IV dope but my favorite is still parachuting a dozen or so percs (I know its a lot of acetaminophen, but I feel that also ads a warmth to the buzz)
One more thing I have stopped cooking my product(I never did in the past but a friend who introduced me to my "friend" told me to do so. Whenever I did i felt my throat closing up and it definitely didn't feel right) But I have a compromise like it says on Heroin Helper...the author mentions how people say that cooking powder #4 just lets the cuts dissolve more into the shot, but he says that if you heat it then let it cool back down to room temperature the cuts will separate again like they were originally before heated and a good amount of the bacteria will be killed. Any validity to that statement?
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TheManWithNoName
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This thread isn't gonna die! I was trying to register before and I went to pull back the plunger and it would just come back down? Am I doing something wrong with the suction. It seems like sometimes I am right in the vein and when I take the syringe out the hole is right on top of the vein. But I notice blood coming out after I take the needle out again with a suction noise. Any way I could be screwing this up?
@TheManWithNoName: I dont do H anymore bc I know use morphine IR's but when I was using it (IV only) I didnt always wait that long to do my next shot. Maybe 1-2 hours. But I always felt the rush it just wasnt as strong as the first one. Unfortunatly it never is. We are forever chasing that first rush. But I do know the longer you can wait the better it will be and that deff goes for the morphine which I usually only shoot up 3-4 times a day bc with the morphine rush you have to wait or its just not worth it. But the effects last much longer than H and you dont have that urge to use again and again. And its a diff kind of rush and you dont get that foggy noddy high that you get with H. Its more of a pins and needles euphoria and then your just feeling nice. We all have our prefernce.
As far as your IV'ing technique goes I think your doing everything right. Many times I dont get the vein right away and I have to fish around for it. I do this with the syringe vacumed so that when I do hit the vein I know it and once it fills with blood I pull it back a little more to make sure it stayed in the vein than while keeping my hand really steady not to move the syringe I inject it. I usually push it in fast rather than slow bc it makes the rush so much better. I fish around bc my veins roll and I have to catch the damn thing bc I will only inject my drugs. If at first u dont succeed try try again. LOL. Thats how I do! another thing that helps with people whos veins roll is to not keep your arm completly straight, bend it just a little bit. It helps the veins from rolling so much. And I also have to try different angles. Its all trial and error untill you figure out where ur veins are. Another thing with injecting is that when U are injecting and have found the vein, when you are pushing it in and its suddenly hard to push in you are not in the vein. When you are in the vein and the liquid is going in, its easy to push in and goes smoothly. It shouldnt take much pressure to push it in. So if it does get hard to push down on, pull back to see if blood comes in the syringe again, if not move the needle up and down slowly untill it goes back in the vein and then push the liquid in again. I hope I explained that clearly. And hope it was a bit of a help to you. TTyl!
As far as your IV'ing technique goes I think your doing everything right. Many times I dont get the vein right away and I have to fish around for it. I do this with the syringe vacumed so that when I do hit the vein I know it and once it fills with blood I pull it back a little more to make sure it stayed in the vein than while keeping my hand really steady not to move the syringe I inject it. I usually push it in fast rather than slow bc it makes the rush so much better. I fish around bc my veins roll and I have to catch the damn thing bc I will only inject my drugs. If at first u dont succeed try try again. LOL. Thats how I do! another thing that helps with people whos veins roll is to not keep your arm completly straight, bend it just a little bit. It helps the veins from rolling so much. And I also have to try different angles. Its all trial and error untill you figure out where ur veins are. Another thing with injecting is that when U are injecting and have found the vein, when you are pushing it in and its suddenly hard to push in you are not in the vein. When you are in the vein and the liquid is going in, its easy to push in and goes smoothly. It shouldnt take much pressure to push it in. So if it does get hard to push down on, pull back to see if blood comes in the syringe again, if not move the needle up and down slowly untill it goes back in the vein and then push the liquid in again. I hope I explained that clearly. And hope it was a bit of a help to you. TTyl!
TheManWithNoName
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Thanks lmc422 for your help. New problem, lol. I kept trying to get veins today and after a few times on each shot I would just IM it. I have never got a bump but I did after IMing one shot into my upper leg. The real problem is I finally got some blood and loosened the belt I must have slipped out because my elbow crook/ forearm is really sore and it hurts bad. I have have abscesses in my hand when I tried with no IV experiences months ago, and apparently the closer to the heart the better chance of no complications. The thing is I never felt pain from a missed show. Could this be because it is right in the muscle? I have a heating pad that I throw on around 170 degrees and wrap it around my arm. Any other suggestions. I'm such an asshole that I'm gonna try and get that vein again in an hour or so. Could using the belt as a tourniquet while I have this ?abscess? be a problem?
Honestly I really dont know. I dont even know if its an abses. Ive missed b4 and had the same pain but not sure if it was an abses. I shot in the same spot too afterwards. Now that you know the vein is there and how to get it I would do it there again. But Im in no way recomending doing it again in that spot. Im just saying for me I actually would. Now when going for the vein just make sure ur at an angle. Im not good with what degree it should be but when you have it at an angle theres a less chance of it slipping out or going thru the vein. I dont use a touniquet so im no use for that question. have you ever tried not using it? and missing is the reason I double check that im in the vein still and sometimes even half way thru the shot. are you staying really steady? like not moving AT ALL! I dig ur honesty and questions. Most ppl who use and post on here are really snappy and rude. and I know why, its bc the opiets do that to you. Thats why I like the morphine. It doesnt make me a mean nasty person like the opiets did. yea morphine is still an opiet but its different in a way that I can still function and it doesnt change my mood. and Im in no way riping on anyone. Im just saying. And I can usderstand ur frustration with IV'ing. U really have to be and stay patient. and stay steady! Once ur in the vein and go to pull back hold the syringe in ur palm and with ur last 3 fingers (middle,ring & pinky) hold the syringe steady in ur palm and pull back with ur index finger and thumb and inject with ur thumb or index finger. but stay really steady and go as slow as u need to, to make sure you dont move the needle at all. Im hoping maybe this helps a bit. lol ur questions and posts are all good with me! Im happy to help if i can.
TheManWithNoName
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I just fixed without releasing the tourniquet so I wouldn't miss again. I heard you can blow a vein how can you tell if you did? Also, I can always tell if I got the vein if I can taste it in my mouth.
TheBollocks
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Dood consider not doing hard drugs and sticking yourself with needles. Pretty please...
TheManWithNoName
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I'm pissed just put my last two bags in a rig and it ended up having a suction problem. When it was inserted, when I would pull up the plunger it would come down again, I saw a smidgen of blood so I got fed up after a half a dozen attempts in the same place so I just pushed it in. Of course it was a miss so I have another bunch of shit right next to the shit from the miss before.
Just in case, how does one know when to go to the doctor/hospital regarding an missed shot/abscess? I got to give my body a break I ended up IMing a bunch of shots cause I couldn't hit anything. My immune system can only handle so much lol.
Just in case, how does one know when to go to the doctor/hospital regarding an missed shot/abscess? I got to give my body a break I ended up IMing a bunch of shots cause I couldn't hit anything. My immune system can only handle so much lol.
TheManWithNoName
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I IMed in both my legs a few hours ago and applied heat to both of them. I feel tingling in both of them could this meaning anything or is this harmless? I am said over and over again that I am not gonna IM anymore but with failed shots I keep getting frustrated but now I'm done for good I just want to know if this means anything.
dokomo
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Theres no way we can tell you for sure, so you need to see a doctor. With all of this IM'ing and missing you're bound to get an infection (and you'll actually be lucky to get off just with that.)
Talk to your doctor and get checked out, he may want to prescribe antibiotics depending on your situation.
Talk to your doctor and get checked out, he may want to prescribe antibiotics depending on your situation.
TheManWithNoName
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Ok. I am going to make a doctors appointment this morning. Can I tell him that I have been injecting street steroids? I am in a legal situation and I don't want this to be used against me. I am pretty sure they can't but just in case. I figure I could say steroids because they both could have the cuts which may have caused this, and say that I have only used them for a few days and am gonna stop.
Has anyone experienced this before or heard of this. I went ahead and googled abscess and gangrene and "tingling" and this is a symptom of both. I doubt I have gangrene already but who knows. I am really gonna stop IMing and give my veins a rest and be careful and make sure not to miss.
Back in the day when I first started IV'ing and this site and sites alike were not available I used to not release the tourniquet. Only bc I didnt know any better and didnt know that you were suposed to. I never blew a vein or had any problems bc of it. I also always used to use the veins in my hand bc you can see them and see if they are rolling. But I always had to tie off if I was going to use my hand. Not long ago I graduated to the crook of my arm. I really think you should use the veins on the top of ur hand. and use a tournaquet. In my opinion the hand is better for beginers. and use like a 10-30 degree angle. When I used my hand I could always see if the vein was moving and knew if I was in or not. Plus you can totally see and feel if your missing. A way to tell if ur missing is if the plunger is NOT easy to push down. When you are in the vein its very easy to push the plunger down and doesnt take much pressure at all. it goes very smoothly. Now for when you do the pull back if the plunger doesnt stay vaccumed up you have to hold it there in place. I have this happen alot.
Can you explain your tequnique in detail/step by step exactly what you are doing? It may help some of us to see what ur doing wrong. Im even thinking about sending you a video of how I do it. lol But I am not about to post it on here for all to see and maybe incriminate me someway in the furutre. id deff have to personally email you something like that. Let me know what happened at the doc.
It sounds to me as if you have missed the vein. An abscess or gangrene takes a while to develop. Seeing as an abscess is a buildup of infection, it takes time for the body to react to bacteria and mobilise a response eg. - white blood cells. (Abscess = pus ---> pus is made up of white blood cells.) Gangrene is caused by either injecting into an artery or blocking off the blood supply to an extremity. This happens over time too.
The problem with a missed shot is that if what you are injecting isn't sterile (which usually it isn't!), the extraneous substances can cause an abscess. Also, once I injected methadone in between my toes (well many times but anyway), and I missed but I hadn't had the telltale signs such as pain, not being able to push the plunger in, swelling etc. Once I pulled out, it felt numb and tingly (due to nerve compression). I had injected about 50 mls of liquid!! Some of it had gone in the vein as I had been jacking every so often to check.
ANYHOW, due to compression of all the vessels, I ended up with a necrotic ulcer between two toes but on the top of my foot. Over two months later and it is still healing, I have home visit nurses coming to dress it regularly! I used a 0.2 micron filter and sterile technique with this so I am pretty sure it was purely due to missing rather than bacteria. (And the doc said it is not infected.)
So that is what CAN happen with missed shots. However, my unexpert opinion is that the tingling you are experiencing may be due to missing near a nerve. If you are injecting in the antecubital vein (inside of elbow) then there are nerves and arteries near that vein (but deeper).
In order to avoid missing, try the following:
1) Using suction while poking for the vein - wait until the needle is a few millimetres under the skin before you apply suction to the plunger. Otherwise it will draw back air.
2) Just because blood comes into the syringe, doesn't mean you are in the vein. You may have nicked it. Through practise you will come to learn what kind of a backflow means you are in. The more blood that jacks (at once, like a stream), the more likely you are in.
3) When you get the vein, try threading the needle in slightly. This is a gamble as you don't want to go through the vein. If you are dextrous enough, once you get the vein, you can flip the needle so the bevel is pointing down (the bevel of the needle should always be up when piercing the vein). Once the bevel is down, if you thread the needle in slowly, there is less chance it will poke through the other side of the vein. (I use a butterfly needle so this technique is easier for me.)
4) Sometimes a bevel that is outside the vein can stop missing once you turn the bevel upside down. It is sometimes worth trying before you pull the needle out and abandon that vein.
5) If there is ANY pain, resistance or swelling, DO NOT CONTINUE! It is a miss!
Getting veins:
1) I know people say you should release or loosen the torniquet before injecting BUT if you are barely inside the vein, loosening the torniquet will deflate the vein slightly, putting the needle outside the vein. Keep that in mind. If your arm is dropping off just loosen it a slight touch.
2) If you have missed on a vein, try the same vein on the opposite side of the body. I can't write for shit with my left hand but whacking up is a different story.
3) If you don't have a steady hand, see if you can get butterflies. They make it so much easier to get the vein in so many ways!
4) Hold the syringe so that once you get the vein, you can jack back or push in the plunger with your thumb without having to readjust your grip.
Re IM shots, if there are bacteria or particles in your shot (which there will be unless it is from a sterile ampoule), IMing is a surefire way to get abscesses. Worse than that, you could get infected muscle. Or even osteomyelitis (infection in the bone.) If you are having that much trouble injecting, you're better off smoking it, or plugging it. Re-reading your posts, I think your problem is you are only just in the vein. My advice - keep the torniquet on and inject slowly.
If your missed shots (or places you've IMed in) are warm to the touch, red and sore the next day, these are signs of infection and you should go to the doctor. (It is normal for missed hits to be red, sore or warm the same day but if this lasts beyind this, it is an infection.) If you are worried about repercussions, go to a doctor you haven't seen before and never will again.
The problem with a missed shot is that if what you are injecting isn't sterile (which usually it isn't!), the extraneous substances can cause an abscess. Also, once I injected methadone in between my toes (well many times but anyway), and I missed but I hadn't had the telltale signs such as pain, not being able to push the plunger in, swelling etc. Once I pulled out, it felt numb and tingly (due to nerve compression). I had injected about 50 mls of liquid!! Some of it had gone in the vein as I had been jacking every so often to check.
ANYHOW, due to compression of all the vessels, I ended up with a necrotic ulcer between two toes but on the top of my foot. Over two months later and it is still healing, I have home visit nurses coming to dress it regularly! I used a 0.2 micron filter and sterile technique with this so I am pretty sure it was purely due to missing rather than bacteria. (And the doc said it is not infected.)
So that is what CAN happen with missed shots. However, my unexpert opinion is that the tingling you are experiencing may be due to missing near a nerve. If you are injecting in the antecubital vein (inside of elbow) then there are nerves and arteries near that vein (but deeper).
In order to avoid missing, try the following:
1) Using suction while poking for the vein - wait until the needle is a few millimetres under the skin before you apply suction to the plunger. Otherwise it will draw back air.
2) Just because blood comes into the syringe, doesn't mean you are in the vein. You may have nicked it. Through practise you will come to learn what kind of a backflow means you are in. The more blood that jacks (at once, like a stream), the more likely you are in.
3) When you get the vein, try threading the needle in slightly. This is a gamble as you don't want to go through the vein. If you are dextrous enough, once you get the vein, you can flip the needle so the bevel is pointing down (the bevel of the needle should always be up when piercing the vein). Once the bevel is down, if you thread the needle in slowly, there is less chance it will poke through the other side of the vein. (I use a butterfly needle so this technique is easier for me.)
4) Sometimes a bevel that is outside the vein can stop missing once you turn the bevel upside down. It is sometimes worth trying before you pull the needle out and abandon that vein.
5) If there is ANY pain, resistance or swelling, DO NOT CONTINUE! It is a miss!
Getting veins:
1) I know people say you should release or loosen the torniquet before injecting BUT if you are barely inside the vein, loosening the torniquet will deflate the vein slightly, putting the needle outside the vein. Keep that in mind. If your arm is dropping off just loosen it a slight touch.
2) If you have missed on a vein, try the same vein on the opposite side of the body. I can't write for shit with my left hand but whacking up is a different story.
3) If you don't have a steady hand, see if you can get butterflies. They make it so much easier to get the vein in so many ways!
4) Hold the syringe so that once you get the vein, you can jack back or push in the plunger with your thumb without having to readjust your grip.
Re IM shots, if there are bacteria or particles in your shot (which there will be unless it is from a sterile ampoule), IMing is a surefire way to get abscesses. Worse than that, you could get infected muscle. Or even osteomyelitis (infection in the bone.) If you are having that much trouble injecting, you're better off smoking it, or plugging it. Re-reading your posts, I think your problem is you are only just in the vein. My advice - keep the torniquet on and inject slowly.
If your missed shots (or places you've IMed in) are warm to the touch, red and sore the next day, these are signs of infection and you should go to the doctor. (It is normal for missed hits to be red, sore or warm the same day but if this lasts beyind this, it is an infection.) If you are worried about repercussions, go to a doctor you haven't seen before and never will again.