eskalithic
Greenlighter
Hey - I've never posted here before, though I've often read the posts. As it happens, however, I'm kinda bored at the moment and thought I might get something out of relating this unfortunate little episode. What the hell; at the very worst I post something dull or unreadable. Of course, at the very best, I might possibly help someone who might be thinking about trying to inject heroin for the first time think a little harder about what they are proposing to do...
This happened a few months ago. I had a moderate habit (bundle* or so daily) at the time and I was getting my dope from a fairly reliable connection (well, as reliable as anyone who makes his living selling illegal chemicals to addicts). On the day in question I purchased 15 bags - - I forget what they were stamped, but it was the usual stuff.
I think it was friday or saturday - - i was staying with my parents at their country house in upstate new york. I had arrived that evening (having not yet tried my new dope), and gamely sat through three or four hours of social interaction, pleasant conversation, etc. Finally I was able to sneak off to my bedroom upstairs.
I got out my dope and dumped the bags on my bed. Using a heavy book as a table (the PDR, ironically), I set out the stuff I got from the needle exchange: little amps of sterile water, 2** terumo 27g 1cc insulin syringes, baggies of cotton balls, 1 or 2 alcohol prep pads, a metal cooker, a rubber tourniquet (rubbery, anyway...I don't really know - or care a whole lot - what the thing was actually made of), a lighter, a few clean tissues and a straight razor blade. Using the blade, I sliced the tape that held the folded bags together. Then, after ripping off the top half of the bag, I dumped the contents of three or four (don't remember) bags into the cooker. I twisted the cap off the amp of sterile water and inserted one of the syringes. I pulled back the plunger, delivering 3 units of water into the barrel of the syringe. Next I squirted the water onto the powder contained in the cooker, doing my best to get everything good and wet. Using my lighter (regular bic; no super torch), I heated the solution for a couple of seconds, stopping right before the stuff would start to bubble (that just takes practice). I swirled the liquid around the cooker for a bit, ensuring that it was properly mixed and all the stuff that was supposed to dissolve had dissolved. Next I dropped a cotton ball from the baggie into the mixture. Taking a syringe, I gently speared the cotton ball and drew slowly back on the plunger until all of the solution had transferred from the cooker to the needle. Using my index finger I flicked the barrel of the syringe until everything had settled at the bottom and there were no bubbles. (Here comes the good part...)
I rolled up my sleeve and gave the vasculature on my hands and in my elbow area a couple swipes with the alcohol pad. All of the veins on my left arm and hand were (and are, unfortunately) pretty chewed up, but I managed to locate a spot on my hand that looked somewhat promising. I tied the tourniquet mid-forearm (in such a way that it could be released easily with one hand) and pumped my fist for 30 sec or so. The vein popped up (sort of) and I aimed the syringe at a good-looking spot (bevel up, of course). I inserted the needle as smoothly as possible and was gratified to see that tiny blowback of blood in the barrel that indicates that you've got it. To make sure I registered - - beautiful dark red blood swirling into the barrel is one of the loveliest sites on earth (at least for a junkie) and that's what i got. Here's where it gets bad: I released the tie and slowly depressed the plunger until all the liquid had been injected.
I had just enough time to think to myself, "wow...this is really good sh-", before everything went black. Next thing I know I'm sitting in the chair in my bedroom (one of my mother's old livingroom chairs) and there' s like 15 people in my bedroom. After a few seconds I also realized that I didn't feel so good. In fact, I felt pretty bad. In the space of five seconds or so (as the Narcan*** circulated in my system) I began to feel as bad (and probably worse) as I've ever felt. Not sure if I was going to puke, I sat up a little bit and tried to removed the Oxygen mask on my face. The paramedic on my left saw what I was doing and (I guess) figured it out, cause he helped me remove the mask and handed me an emesis basin. I didn't puke, to my great surprise, but I did begin to have trouble breathing. I was hyperventilating and my heart felt like it was going to explode it was going so fast. I started to panic. The paramedic on my right had a clipboard and was trying to get me to answer questions, but I wasn't in the mood for talking. I started to develop the most deeply painful headache I've ever had. I was dripping sweat and my skin felt like it was crawling crazily. I thought I was going to die, no exaggeration.
Finally, it started - not to go away, exactly - but to lessen. The paramedics had me buckled into a stretcher at that point and I was pushed out to the ambulance on our front lawn. On the way out I caught a glimpse of a couple of cops talking to my parents.
It doesn't really get better from here. I spent a few hours in the ER then had to call my house to ask for a ride home at 4 AM. On the way home (my father finally came to get me), I was informed that the cops had discovered the pile of dope on my bed and were coming back in the morning to arrest me. Great. Also, I learned that had I not fallen out of my bed when I lapsed into unconciousness, my parents would never have come upstairs to investigate the crash and discovered my cyanotic body on the floor.
Not such a cheerful story, I guess. And yeah, I'm high right now - - most definitely did not learn my lesson.
Oh well.
* - bundle equals ten bags
** - I always start with two syringes - - my veins are so crappy, I often have to poke around a bit before I get a hit and I like to have a fresh needle just in case the first one starts to get dull.
***- Narcan (naloxone) is an opiod antagonist used in the acute treatment of an opiate overdose. It effectively "reverses" the effect of the heroin (or whatever) and wakes the victim up in an extremely uncomfortable way. The only thing about it is that it tends not to last as long as the heroin so repeat doses are often necessary.
This happened a few months ago. I had a moderate habit (bundle* or so daily) at the time and I was getting my dope from a fairly reliable connection (well, as reliable as anyone who makes his living selling illegal chemicals to addicts). On the day in question I purchased 15 bags - - I forget what they were stamped, but it was the usual stuff.
I think it was friday or saturday - - i was staying with my parents at their country house in upstate new york. I had arrived that evening (having not yet tried my new dope), and gamely sat through three or four hours of social interaction, pleasant conversation, etc. Finally I was able to sneak off to my bedroom upstairs.
I got out my dope and dumped the bags on my bed. Using a heavy book as a table (the PDR, ironically), I set out the stuff I got from the needle exchange: little amps of sterile water, 2** terumo 27g 1cc insulin syringes, baggies of cotton balls, 1 or 2 alcohol prep pads, a metal cooker, a rubber tourniquet (rubbery, anyway...I don't really know - or care a whole lot - what the thing was actually made of), a lighter, a few clean tissues and a straight razor blade. Using the blade, I sliced the tape that held the folded bags together. Then, after ripping off the top half of the bag, I dumped the contents of three or four (don't remember) bags into the cooker. I twisted the cap off the amp of sterile water and inserted one of the syringes. I pulled back the plunger, delivering 3 units of water into the barrel of the syringe. Next I squirted the water onto the powder contained in the cooker, doing my best to get everything good and wet. Using my lighter (regular bic; no super torch), I heated the solution for a couple of seconds, stopping right before the stuff would start to bubble (that just takes practice). I swirled the liquid around the cooker for a bit, ensuring that it was properly mixed and all the stuff that was supposed to dissolve had dissolved. Next I dropped a cotton ball from the baggie into the mixture. Taking a syringe, I gently speared the cotton ball and drew slowly back on the plunger until all of the solution had transferred from the cooker to the needle. Using my index finger I flicked the barrel of the syringe until everything had settled at the bottom and there were no bubbles. (Here comes the good part...)
I rolled up my sleeve and gave the vasculature on my hands and in my elbow area a couple swipes with the alcohol pad. All of the veins on my left arm and hand were (and are, unfortunately) pretty chewed up, but I managed to locate a spot on my hand that looked somewhat promising. I tied the tourniquet mid-forearm (in such a way that it could be released easily with one hand) and pumped my fist for 30 sec or so. The vein popped up (sort of) and I aimed the syringe at a good-looking spot (bevel up, of course). I inserted the needle as smoothly as possible and was gratified to see that tiny blowback of blood in the barrel that indicates that you've got it. To make sure I registered - - beautiful dark red blood swirling into the barrel is one of the loveliest sites on earth (at least for a junkie) and that's what i got. Here's where it gets bad: I released the tie and slowly depressed the plunger until all the liquid had been injected.
I had just enough time to think to myself, "wow...this is really good sh-", before everything went black. Next thing I know I'm sitting in the chair in my bedroom (one of my mother's old livingroom chairs) and there' s like 15 people in my bedroom. After a few seconds I also realized that I didn't feel so good. In fact, I felt pretty bad. In the space of five seconds or so (as the Narcan*** circulated in my system) I began to feel as bad (and probably worse) as I've ever felt. Not sure if I was going to puke, I sat up a little bit and tried to removed the Oxygen mask on my face. The paramedic on my left saw what I was doing and (I guess) figured it out, cause he helped me remove the mask and handed me an emesis basin. I didn't puke, to my great surprise, but I did begin to have trouble breathing. I was hyperventilating and my heart felt like it was going to explode it was going so fast. I started to panic. The paramedic on my right had a clipboard and was trying to get me to answer questions, but I wasn't in the mood for talking. I started to develop the most deeply painful headache I've ever had. I was dripping sweat and my skin felt like it was crawling crazily. I thought I was going to die, no exaggeration.
Finally, it started - not to go away, exactly - but to lessen. The paramedics had me buckled into a stretcher at that point and I was pushed out to the ambulance on our front lawn. On the way out I caught a glimpse of a couple of cops talking to my parents.
It doesn't really get better from here. I spent a few hours in the ER then had to call my house to ask for a ride home at 4 AM. On the way home (my father finally came to get me), I was informed that the cops had discovered the pile of dope on my bed and were coming back in the morning to arrest me. Great. Also, I learned that had I not fallen out of my bed when I lapsed into unconciousness, my parents would never have come upstairs to investigate the crash and discovered my cyanotic body on the floor.
Not such a cheerful story, I guess. And yeah, I'm high right now - - most definitely did not learn my lesson.
Oh well.
* - bundle equals ten bags
** - I always start with two syringes - - my veins are so crappy, I often have to poke around a bit before I get a hit and I like to have a fresh needle just in case the first one starts to get dull.
***- Narcan (naloxone) is an opiod antagonist used in the acute treatment of an opiate overdose. It effectively "reverses" the effect of the heroin (or whatever) and wakes the victim up in an extremely uncomfortable way. The only thing about it is that it tends not to last as long as the heroin so repeat doses are often necessary.
