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Heroin Have any of you actually ever hit an artery?

Phase0)))

Phase0)))

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 21, 2012
Messages
104
Or have you know someone that did?

Lately, I have been hitting the top of my hand or a nice fat vein in on the side of my wrist. Actually, it's technically on my forearm, just below the wrist line.

I read tonight while lurking that it's pretty easy to hit an artery in your hand and an easy way to lose that hand.

Now I am scared and terrified. And sad because I'm bulding up too much scar tissue on my forearms.

I wish I could just go back to the crook of my elbow ;_;
 
Yes I have, twice, it is fucking agonising. The second time it happened I went to hospital because my arm swelled up to twice it's normal size.
 
There have been a lot of people on here that have discussed hitting arteries, though I never have.

Trust me when I say if you hit one you would know it. Also, as a nurse for 20 years I can tell you that unless you go pretty deep in that area you are not going to hit an artery. Generally there would be a little more concern on the side of your wrist (the inside part) where when you lay your hand down flat with the back of your hand on the table the part that is facing up to you...that area it would be a little more likely..not where you are talking about.

Google for a chart that shows a diagram of arteries in your hand and arm and just avoid those areas. Remember, arteries are usually much deeper than veins. Also, each persons arteries may not be exactly where they are on a picture but will be pretty close.
 
I wasn't exactly inexperienced when I hit an artery, in both cases when I hit one I was 'sure' at first that I was in a vein. It is not always obvious at all. There will be not doubt if you hit one though. If there is any doubt in your mind about whether you've hit one then you haven't, it is jump across the room screaming in pain agony for 5-10 seconds as the drugs filter through the muscles further down the blood line from the injection site. The most intense pain I've ever felt, like dipping my hand in a deep fat fryer, but it disappeared quickly.
 
I've hit an artery on more than one occasion; trust me, it's something to be avoided at all costs. I actually did it purposefully (stupid, I know), when I had no reachable, usable veins left. The arteries pump blood in the opposite direction from veins-I injected unfiltered subutex into the artery in the crook of my right arm, and for around 15 minutes afterwards, I experienced a burning sensation over my whole arm. I could feel the shot burning it's way through the tiny veins in my hand, and also, an angry, spotty rash appeared around the injection site. I shot up this way around 10 times; one time, I must have hit a nerve, because my arm was in absolute agony for 4 days, and it had swollen to almost twice it's original size.

I was younger, dumber, and desperate to inject at the time; harm reduction was the last thing on my mind. You don't want to purposefully inject into an artery-if the blood is pink and fills the syringe rapidly at higher pressure than normal blood, just look for somewhere else to inject.
 
Yeah I've tagged an artery a couple times on accident and it's a pretty brutal experience. First of all it is incredibly painful when injecting, but all it takes is a little bit of solution and your hands swell up like balloons, you get intense burning and heat in your extremities, and it could lead to real complications. It has always gone away for me after about a day or so but certainly made me a lot more careful after it happened. I haven't hit an artery in many years as I now know what to look for and what it feels like so can avoid it.

The key is if that you are still registering but experiencing pain when depressing the plunger, pull out immediately and go to another spot. A lot of times the blood that comes into the syringe is much lighter in color and not as thick, but this isn't always a definite.

Another big way to avoid this happening is to never IV somewhere where you feel a pulse. You can still hit arteries in other areas but it's rarer.
 
its also easy to go too far deep in your hand... ouch. not fun.

also is much easier to blow veins in your hand. not fun either... you have to be very careful. some folks, like me, have a vein that goes almost directly between your ring and middle fingers on the back of your hand towards the top. that is the safest one to use IMO. no arteries around it, and on me its a good one to use. some friends of mine dont have the same vein, some do. most who dont cant seem to get good hand IV's.

ugh i know one guy who kinda stretches out the vein on the back of his thumb with the needle and uses that. it grossed me out when i saw him do it. i have no idea how this guy has any veins left.
 
^
I used the veins on the back of the fingers too , no stretching involved I have very long fingers.

Never hit an artery although when shooting behind the knee I went in too steep and gouged a big vein which resulted in major internal bleeding , couldn't walk for 2 weeks and have a huge scar (the skin just turned black and peeled off) , this was years ago
 
damn!!^^
i always wondered what would happen if u scrape/gouge a vein thats big enough.

my buddy, he has real bad arms and he isnt good enough to shoot anywhere else. so he just fights away at the crooks of his arms untill he either half gets it, or just shoves it in there and then complains about missing.

one day he said he missed and when he took out the needle his whole arm began to burn real bad. he said it started to get worse in his hand until it went numb. then his hand and arm all got swollen up pretty bad. i told him to goto a hospital, and that he had musta hit an artery, but he refused. it took him a few days before he felt right again. he complained a lot about his hand. and thats not even where he shot up. hitting an artery does that.

i dont know if this made it worse for him or not, but, im always getting after him for pulling so far back on the plunger just to register. i mean he gets like 30 units or more of blood in there before he shoots sometimes. i figure that has to be tear'n up his vessels pretty bad. plus i had to show him how to untie before shooting and hes been an addict for almost 10 years. yuck.
 
Slum Survivor said:
its also easy to go too far deep in your hand... ouch. not fun.

also is much easier to blow veins in your hand. not fun either... you have to be very careful. some folks, like me, have a vein that goes almost directly between your ring and middle fingers on the back of your hand towards the top. that is the safest one to use IMO. no arteries around it, and on me its a good one to use. some friends of mine dont have the same vein, some do. most who dont cant seem to get good hand IV's.

ugh i know one guy who kinda stretches out the vein on the back of his thumb with the needle and uses that. it grossed me out when i saw him do it. i have no idea how this guy has any veins left.
Click to expand...

Yeah the hand and finger veins are super delicate. You need to make sure you're using the smallest syringe possible. I find 31G short-tips the best. And it's also super important to use a fresh syringe on the hands especially. Like you said, they blow easily.
 
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