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Heroin IV Problems

U

unsui

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
582
i have recently been shooting street H up. i have been doing so for the past 3-4 months or so. i never really ran into any problems until now. last week i register and inject it in my upper left arm near my biceps. a day later it hurts like hell and i can't even move my arm. 2-3 days later where my elbow is, there is a huge red mark where the pain is. after 3-4 days the redness goes away, but my arm is still in pain. around day 5 i am able to move my arm, but not fully extend it like my other arm. i now feel a little lump near my bicep that induces pain when touched or when my arm is extended. anybody know what this can be?

it seems as if i have done the same thing on my other arm yesterday near my forearm. it hurts to move it. it is kind of red, but not so much as my other arm displayed when it turned red.

each time i inject it appears to be registered and doesn't hurt when injecting. it only seems to be painful and swell or whatever it's doing after the injection. i have been icing and heating these parts of my body. my left arm still hurts, but not to the extent it used to. and now my right lower arm hurts like hell, where i can't even move my fingers without it affecting my arm and hurting it.

someone please help. have i damaged my viens? muscles? what?!
this is horrible. and has been happening too much lately and i don't know what i am doing wrong...
 
^ when you shoot, do you get a rush? IF not your probably missing the shot.

This happend to me a few times when I first started IVing. It was exactly how you described it. I honestly have no idea what exactly caused it, so I cant raelly give good advice on it besides making 100% sure you are in the vein the whole time you are injecting and to maybe find different injection sites to use for the time being.
 
i'll sometimes get a rush, depends. how can i tell if i am missing? i even pull back to check if i'm still registered during the shot. and these injections that caused this harm to my arms didn't even hurt while injecting. i've missed before and as soon as you're missing you can tell you've missed because of the pain, but these injections weren't accompanied with pain.

anything besides time to reduce the pain instilled in my arms still? this lump that has grown has got me scared. feels like an extra muscle built on top of my biceps...
 
unsui said:
i'll sometimes get a rush, depends. how can i tell if i am missing? i even pull back to check if i'm still registered during the shot. and these injections that caused this harm to my arms didn't even hurt while injecting. i've missed before and as soon as you're missing you can tell you've missed because of the pain, but these injections weren't accompanied with pain.

anything besides time to reduce the pain instilled in my arms still? this lump that has grown has got me scared. feels like an extra muscle built on top of my biceps...
Click to expand...

care full i wouldnt shoot for a wile , as you describe a pretty decent abyses. No dout you missed them shots though, when your shootin hold the needle tighty and steady so you dont slide out
 
Sounds like you're describing the beginning of an abscess. Pain increasing as time goes on, a "lump" growing, etc.

I missed should should heal within 3-5 days. If it starts getting worse after the 2nd or 3rd day, I'd seek medical attention.
 
^ I'd say go now. I left a puncture wound from a cat claw unattended and 5 days later I was in hospital, getting surgery to deal with the septic abcess. Spent over a week on IV antibiotics and it took 2 months of having to go for change of dressing every 2 days before it had totally healed.

I was later told that if I'd waited until after the weekend (went to A&E on a Fri night) to get it seen to, I'd have either been in intensive care or a pine box six feet under
 
It sounds like you maybe missed and an absess is forming. Maybe it could be the cut in your dope. Where do you live, so we can know what type of dope your useing i.e. tar, powder, etc. One time I got septicemia(blood poisoning) from just the needle prick, not even a missed shot. That was painful, and I had to go to the ER and get a bag of antibiotics adminsiterd and ever got a shot of demeral because it hurt so bad. I would have been fucked if I didnt go. If its been longer than afew days Id go to the hospital.....but hey, its just your life.
 
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^^ what were the symptoms of blood poisoning? (or the symptoms that led you to go to the hospital). Blood poisoning is one of those things I'm weary of with IV'ing and if I ever suspect it I'd definitely haul my ass over to the ER too...
 
^You will know you have septicemia by red streaks going up your arm. And every scratch you get becomes pussie and inflamed, like if you scratch your elbow, the very next day instead of a scab forming it will just pus and fester. Any scratch, poped zit, needle hole, anyware the skin is broken it will pus ALOT. That is why if that ever happens dont put another hole in your arm with a needle because the infection will go there. The thing is I didnt get septicimea from useing dope/needles. I got it from cutting my hands while setting up scaffolding to prune some pitisporum trees, so I dont know if I got it from dirt on the sccaffold or from the plants and trees but after three days it had spred through my body. And I got screwed from just useing a needle and breaking my skin so the infection went there, and thats where the red streaks shot up my arm from where I injected and I shot perfectly didnt miss at all.

When I was in the ER I told them what happend and that I had injected Heroin the previous day. They asked if I could take some vicodin for the pain and I said that if it wasnt anything they could put through the stint they put in my arm for the antibiotics, then I didnt want it. So, they ended up given my a huge shot of Demoral. That didnt take away all the pain, but it took the edge off.
 
There have been lost of missed shots lately, I was thinking maybe a sticky with some practical info on what to do and what to watch for would be a good idea....??

Here are a couple of threads that will tell you things you can do and what to be watching for, also at the bottom of the page (when you try these links) you should pull up others with similar subjects. I just don't have time right now to write everything out that i normally would.... anyway here are a couple first one and another one, don't try the home surgery!
 
hfrs said:
There have been lost of missed shots lately, I was thinking maybe a sticky with some practical info on what to do and what to watch for would be a good idea....??
Click to expand...

I was thinking about an iv damage guide a couple weeks ago. Basically, it'd talk about common damage caused by iv'ing(abscess, phlebitis, thrombosis, endocarditis, etc), how to avoid it, and how it's treated.

Maybe we should start a thread and make it a collaborative effort? Possibly list what it should cover and allow members to look up the info for a particular thing then post it in the thread. At the end, it'll all get moved to the first post of a new thread.

Just a thought...
 
ChemicalSmile said:
Phrozen ^^ great idea. I think you should definitely create the guide.
Click to expand...

I don't have the time, or the patience to research all of common dangers of IV use right now, that's why I suggested delegating some of it...


We first need to start a thread where we list some of the common dangers and where people will sign up to look them up and post them. If it all runs smoothly, it could probably be done in less than a week.
 
well damn. it has felt much better from day 1. it is now day 8 and just the lump hurts, but not a lot or anything.
 
so i should seek medical attention ASAP? does this really sound like the start of an absess? i still can't fully extend my arm wthout it hurting. should i go to the hospital or should i go visit my regular doctor? bad idea to tell them i shot heroin? also i still live with my parents, but am 19 years of age. they have to disclose all info from them if i'm over 18 correct?

anything i can do in the meantime before going to the doctor? i won't be able to go to the doctor until sunday or monday. is it a bad idea to drop some cid at this upcoming rave i'm going to on saturday?

the lump or arm isn't really noticeable until i want to extend it fully or flex. the lump also appeared like 2 inches down from the injection site. the lump is hard and is about the size of a grape it seems like. i'm starting to notice some bruising right on top of the lump.

i have been icing, heating, and massaging it. bad idea?
fuck. help me!!!!
 
it seems like the lump is getting worse, but the pain has subsided. the lump is a lot more prominent and has began bruising a tiny bit above where it hurts on the lump. lets just say it's a hell of a lot more better than it was at day 2 or day 3. there was a big patch of redness right where your elbow is and i could not move my arm. it was like it was stuck in a cast and i was unable to extend my arm fully at all. now i am able to extend it, but with minor pain compared to 7 days ago.

can anybody answer my concerns as posted above phrozen's post? i'd appreciate it. after typing this it seems like or feels like my arm just got punched and i have a dead arm. maybe not to that extent, but it feels different. when i touch the lump lightly it produces minor pain in it, but nothing i can't stand.

do you think i should see a doctor tomorrow morning? or wait it out until monday after i'm well rested from my rave and acid trip?
 
what's that supposed to mean?

should i continue to warm it up and massage it?
 
you have an abcess you need to have it drained and get on some antibiotics

if i am wrong about this no big deal

on the other hand if i am right and you do nothing you could die

if the infection spreads you can get septicemia and that can be fatal

go to the doc now dont worry about your parents knowing if you are 19 they wont be told

if you end up in the hospital fighting for your life i think they will find out anyway
 
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