Opioids having trouble with my veins

[esexymami]

I'm a iv opiate user, when I go to inject myself I'm having trouble finding a vein? I can feel the needle going into the vein but I'm only getting air when I go to get a indicator, what can I do to improve the health of my veins and stop this from happening? I have small shallow veins does anyone have suggestions for me

 

[woamotive]

I'm curious - is this something new you're dealing with? I only ask because you say you are (already is the assumption) an IV user... then that you are having a really rough time hitting/registering/getting a good shot.

Have you been having issues with collapsed veins? Or, how long have you been IV'ing? Where are you trying to hit (veins in what part of your body)? Are you using a tourniquet? Are ALL of your veins small and shallow (has it always seemed this way, or is this something you are just now noticing)?

*EDIT: And also: what size needle are you using?
*EDIT2: check out this megathread - http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/602800-Injection-IV-Complications-and-Info-MEGATHREAD-amp-FAQ-III-I-Vant-To-Suck-Your-Blood?p=10188168#post10188168

 

[BrokedownPalace]

^Good response, check out that link woa provided.

As far as getting a good shot in, there are many things you can do to improve your chances. NEVER re-use rigs. Use as small a gauge as possible. ( 30 or 31 gauge) Take a hot shower right beforehand to increase circulation. Work out regularly. Rotate injection sites. NEVER re-use rigs. Tie off if you have to. Have someone else more experienced hit you. Study a vein map and find some new spots. oh, and NEVER re-use rigs.

 

[esexymami]

I've been IVing for about a month, my veins have always been small and shallow but I've just started having a problem hitting them.i use a 30 or 31 gage rig, and I always tie off. I use my hands forearms crook and my feet. My bf helps me sometimes but even he can't find a vein all of a sudden, and he's never had a problem.what do u suggest?

 

[esexymami]

I never re-use rigs,i will try the hot shower and study a vein map and let u know how it works for me. Thanks for the advise and any other suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

[woamotive]

First, I suggest not hitting in your feet. Stick to your crooks, forearms, veins around the bicep area (def study a map of veins). Make sure the lighting wherever you are shooting is VERY good - it's incredibly hard to find a good vein and hit with poor lighting: this is actually one of my biggest issues currently (it's SO annoying). Run your hands in warm water or try to warm your body before shooting, this will (or should) make your veins easier to hit (and see). Sound like you're using a decent sized gauge... and you're using new rigs every time. That's excellent.

Do you position your arm hand pointing toward the ground (vertically) when you try to hit? Or straight in front of you, a 180 degree angle with your body? (should do the former - vertically, correct ppl?) I'll ponder some more and get back to you again...

Oh, and try to relax! Don't tense up. Take a deep breath before you attempt. Make sure the eye is UP and you're holding the needle at the proper angle (again check out that thread I posted above).

 

[DexterMeth]

I've been IVing for about a month, my veins have always been small and shallow but I've just started having a problem hitting them.i use a 30 or 31 gage rig, and I always tie off. I use my hands forearms crook and my feet. My bf helps me sometimes but even he can't find a vein all of a sudden, and he's never had a problem.what do u suggest?

Also, a 30 or 31 might be too small for you. You may have to get used to something more like 27s and 28s.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I know you said that you don't re-use rigs, but you may need to use more than 1 rig per hit. I would go so far as to say that if you are having trouble finding a vein in that you have inserted the syringe and didn't draw blood, switch to a new rig right away for the next try. The more times you try or "fish", puncturing your skin with the needle or moving the needle in/out/around under the skin, the duller it will rapidly get. Often I found just switching to a new syringe was enough to enable me to find a vein. If you don't know how to do that there are 2 ways: 1) pull the plunger out of the new syringe, squirt the liquid from your first syringe into the barrel of the new one, carefully place the plunger back in just until it is in enough to create a seal, then turn the syringe upside down until the liquid all goes towards the plunger, then slowly pushing the plunger in to squeeze the air out without squirting out any liquid. Or, 2) squirt the liquid from the syringe back into your spoon, re-draw it up into the new syringe through a filter. Personally I prefer the first one as that way nothing touches the new needle tip at all, keeping it as sharp as possible, but it takes a little bit of practice to master (you could always try this first with water to practice).

I can't stress this enough: taking care of your veins as much as you possibly can now is extremely important in the long run if you want to avoid horrible situations in the future where all your veins are permanently damaged and you spend hours and hours crying hopelessly trying to draw blood, trying 30 different spots, causing bruising and scarring, or missing your hit under your skin, every single time you try to inject. It is miserable. What can you do to avoid this?

Some tips:
- follow the instructions I outlined above about using a sharp fresh syringe for every try
- do whatever you can to plump up your veins beforehand, like a hot bath, heating the room, doing some quick exercise, etc
- try to use a different vein each time or rotate the veins that you use to give them time to heal in between
- use a proper tourniquet and ideally take it off before pushing the plunger down to inject the liquid
- sterilize your injection sites before and after every use (washing with soap and warm water if you don't have rubbing alcohol)
- learn proper injection techniques
- if at all possible avoid injecting into tiny veins such as on hands or feet (they will often rupture)
- learn how to find veins that you can't see, like in your arms and legs; with practice you may be able to feel them or you can just learn where they are likely to be
- use a smaller gauge needle for small veins and a larger or longer needle tip for deeper/larger veins
- when possible inject before you actually get too sick; withdrawal makes you cold and causes the veins to be much harder to find, plus it makes you anxious and impatient
- properly cook and filter your dope

Hope this helps!

 

[woamotive]

^ I use 27s... it's all they've got at the exchange I go to (w/ 1 cc and 1/2 cc being my options). They work just fine. I DO have trouble hitting, being a female. I've had a few people help me out (and do most the time). Apparently I have 'great veins' but yet I still cannot seem to hit! For me, the reason I think I can't hit is the following: I get WAY too nervous (I can hardly stomach the idea of pushing a needle through my skin. And seemingly so deep - that needle looks freaking LONG). I have to really focus on my breathing and think about how relieving it'll feel to register and hit. I was also originally holding the rig WAY wrong, like a pencil. I'm terrible with such objects (such as chopsticks, just can't do it) - I've now changed to hold the syringe properly. How do YOU hold it? Do you have a fairly steady hand?

Also, one clean jab is preferred rather than slow intermittent pokes, fishing around, etc. I think the key is to not over-think it (while practicing sterile technique).

 

[Znegative]

The best technique I learned was to pull back before. You know that your in the vein. This causes a vacuum so that when you do hit, the blood flushes up the barrel and you don't have to worry about falling out while registering you just push down on the plunger. I also (when I still had veins in my crook) would have my arm parallel to my body, I found that my big vein would really pop out that way, im also double jointed so it sorta helps push it out a bit more I think, but if you do this, make sure your sitting down. It's not safe to shoot while standing.

One more thing, put the needle in with the point beveled edge facing up, and insert it at a shallow angle like fifteen degrees.

 

[HYDRO_CHRONIC]

i wish this was stressed alot more ,INTENSE exercise ...like lifting weights heavy and lift till u cant lift any more ,then wait 3 min and do it again ,remeber u have the bicep to work,triceps ,brachialis(sp) ...then foream then shoulders

look at any dedicated bodybuilder ....i know its the last thing on your mind when in the depths of addiction .l..but why would u want things to get to where u cant find a vein ...you're an addict ...you don't want this to happen so why let it?

 

[Swimmingdancer]

The best technique I learned was to pull back before. You know that your in the vein. This causes a vacuum so that when you do hit, the blood flushes up the barrel and you don't have to worry about falling out while registering you just push down on the plunger.

Yes, this is a good tip too. In case it's not totally clear, what Znegative means is that once you've punctured the skin with the needle, pull back on the plunger (doing this before you put the needle in will just pull air into the syringe, which you don't want). If you're not in a vein it will create a vacuum. You may have to keep holding onto the plunger in order to keep it from just going back down though. It takes some practice. Then you can move the needle around/up/down under the skin until you hit a vein. Too much of this adjusting the syringe after it's already in your flesh is what people call "fishing" and is not ideal, but if you're gonna have to do it anyway it may be worth it to keep a vacuum in the syringe in the manner described above so as soon as you have it in a vein you'll know because blood will rush in. Then hold it really steady in that place and pull up on the plunger a bit more to make sure it's still in and still drawing blood.

 

[Znegative]

Yeah that technique really comes in handy with rollers (like further down the arms, hands and wrist)

 

[esexymami]

Thank u all I will try ur suggestions and let u know what happens

 

[Howdoesitfeel?]

^ I use 27s... it's all they've got at the exchange I go to (w/ 1 cc and 1/2 cc being my options). They work just fine. I DO have trouble hitting, being a female. I've had a few people help me out (and do most the time). Apparently I have 'great veins' but yet I still cannot seem to hit! For me, the reason I think I can't hit is the following: I get WAY too nervous (I can hardly stomach the idea of pushing a needle through my skin. And seemingly so deep - that needle looks freaking LONG). I have to really focus on my breathing and think about how relieving it'll feel to register and hit. I was also originally holding the rig WAY wrong, like a pencil. I'm terrible with such objects (such as chopsticks, just can't do it) - I've now changed to hold the syringe properly. How do YOU hold it? Do you have a fairly steady hand?

Also, one clean jab is preferred rather than slow intermittent pokes, fishing around, etc. I think the key is to not over-think it (while practicing sterile technique).

I very strongly recommend using the vacuum register method that has been mentioned. I've been IVing for 6 months, and still wouldn't be 100% sure I was in a vein were it not for the vacuum technique.

And to answer the question about how to hold the needle, the way that I find works best for me is almost like holding a wine glass. Palm facing up, pointer and middle fingers on plunger to register and inject; ring finger on the top side of the crossguard, away from the needle, to counteract register force and stay in vein; thumb on bottom/needle side of crossguard, to counteract injecting force, and pinky finger on side of barrel for stability. While this may seem a little strange at first, I've tried pretty much every hand position I could think of, and have found this to be by far the most versatile, stable, and accurate for me personally. Wish you the best of luck.

 

[enoughorangejuice?]

i wish this was stressed alot more ,INTENSE exercise ...like lifting weights heavy and lift till u cant lift any more ,then wait 3 min and do it again ,remeber u have the bicep to work,triceps ,brachialis(sp) ...then foream then shoulders

look at any dedicated bodybuilder ....i know its the last thing on your mind when in the depths of addiction .l..but why would u want things to get to where u cant find a vein ...you're an addict ...you don't want this to happen so why let it?

Just what I feel like doing when I'm going through withdrawal, some heavy weight lifting! LOL. It's definitely an option that would work but how many of us would be able to do enough weight lifting for it to work when we're going thru withdrawal or even if we're not, how many IV addicts have the energy/strength to do any weight lifting?

 

[Captain.Heroin]

lift some weights

 

[n0th1ng]

Drink lots of water prior to iv'ing, make a hard fist and loose and tight it up till some veins are more visible, slapping your visible and unvisible veins with your fingers might also help. Or just google femoral injection and save your self from track marks.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Drink lots of water prior to iv'ing, make a hard fist and loose and tight it up till some veins are more visible, slapping your visible and unvisible veins with your fingers might also help. Or just google femoral injection and save your self from track marks.

Are you seriously recommending somebody to IV in the femoral vein? That along with the neck, is one of the most dangerous places to IV, prone to the most complications. Please do not ever recommend such risky behavior. I mean, seriously?

 

[n0th1ng]

There is a femoral injection guide here on BL forums, so me suggesting that wouldn't be a big issue i'm guessing. In fact i've just uploaded a new guide on femoral injection guide thread.