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Harm Reduction ideas of what happened? iv complication

justcurious1234

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Messages
29
Location
Seattle WA
I have searched for long time and don't feel like I got the info I need. I'm hoping I can get some idea of what happened.

I have only been shooting about 6m and have had no problems at all. I have been as safe as possible to avoid health issues beyond my addiction. I usually only use once a week and I also did and do a lot of research on iv to at least think I know what I'm doing...

Anyways, 5 hrs ago I did a shot. I used my favorite spot the right elbow crook. This vein is the only one that "pops" like users describe. I didn't bother to tie off because my rigs this time are not the shorts like I'm used to so I tend to go through easier. When I heard my pop it seemed a little tougher to get in then usual but I pulled back, saw blood and started to shoot. It stung some and felt really weird. Like pressure and stinging so I pulled back to make sure I wasn't missing and blood was instantly filling the syringe. Thinking I was tripped I went to push and it was like my rig clogged. I've never had this issue but I pulled out slow and more blood then usual came out. I only injected a tiny bit. I got no taste in my throat what so ever which I found weird but my concern is my elbow feels super bruised and kinda hurts to straghten my arm.
I have no swelling no redness just pain like I got punched all in my elbow crook. I didn't notice anything to weird at the moment besides the slight stinging and pressure feeling. The blood was normal.
Any ideas please?
And don't just say er please. I spent 5 hrs there with my sister today right before I dosed and I know I may have to go back. I'm just wanting to know what I may have done to avoid it again.
Thanks
 
This is a very verbose description, can you get a solid picture of it?

For one, use a heat compress. If it is *severely* painful, go to the ER. If your limbs/fingers swell up, go to the ER.

Take some anti-inflammatory medications as well.

We have a mega thread for injection complications and I'll merge this thread in a while.
 
I'm using my cell so I am not figuring out how to attach the pic but can in a couple hrs off the computer.
Sorry I started a new thread I usually just search and read.
My arm has no swelling, no brusing, no red, nothing. To anyone they wouldn't see a sign of a problem. But it hurts quite a bit.
Thanks for trying to help.
 
Yeah, I just had a really painful shot of meth.. Just give it a few days and it should heal... vitamin e or neosporin, thats what im doing. If there's no swelling or bruising you really dont have much to worry about at all.

I guarantee the one i jsut had is prolly more "hospital-worthy" but fuck going to the hospital for shit like that. You just gotta tough it out you know..
 
Thank you, I think I was just paranoid lol. I haven't had any issues what so ever yet so when I felt discomfort it concerned me. I try to be careful but stuff happens.
Thanks for helping me feel better.
 
Of the top of my head, there are a couple of things that could be happening.

(1) scar tissue is building up around that site. Have you noticed the flow of blood being less strong when you jack back?
(2) sometimes even after filtering with cotton, large particles may block the needle

If you are not already proficient manipulating the fit with your 'wrong' hand, give it a try. With the massive positive reinforcement that a nice taste offers, it won't take long to master. What I am basically saying is... stop using that site for awhile.

I have heard of this issue before (the excess blood thing) and the simplest explanation is that you've overused the one site.
 
^that's what i thought as well from the description.

sometimes you'll accidentally push through the opposite side of the vein after you've registered and when you re-flag you'll sometimes pull it back into the vein again.
 
You might have hit a valve inside the vein. Just speculating, but that's a possibility. It's also possible that your "favourite" spot is also your most damaged and you're injecting into scar tissue inside the vein. This is sometimes responsible for leakage and can be painful.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. Arm feels fine today. I did get a slight rush yes. I agree I am over using both my elbows and decided they need a good break. I used today and the only other spot I can get is my inner forearms. I did 2 shots today and this morning I noticed I got an intense rush. I didn't use anymore dope then usual and when making it was concerned it might not be enough. I haven't been that high in a while...almost to intense for me. Then a few hours ago I decided to do a small hit and I did it in the other arm. Same thing. A really intense rush (esp for how much I made).
Is it possible to have different rushes from different veins? All my stuff was out of the same bag btw. I started thinking maybe I'm building up scar tissue and creating some type of damage that could be causing the drug not to circulate as fast? I did teach myself on these veins so I'm sure I abused them. But there is no doubt my arm veins both time took less dope and way more intense high.
 
sounds like you do have some circulation issues in your elbow if the shots in the forearm are noticeably stronger.

still, you would have had a lump if it leaked out or missed. im pretty sure that the pain you had without any redness or lump was because you hit a nerve.
 
I didn't have a lump when I wrote this no. Shortly after I started I noticed if I did more then 2 shots it was like my vein would swell. I knew it was my technique and my first pack of rigs I used the last one 3 time before I learned how stupid that was (I was told just reuse and bleach). As a result I do got some scar tissue developing there as well. At first I would try to rotate spots but I couldn't hit anywhere else for the life of me. I ended up doing 3 total in my arm with much more intensity each time so I know I wasn't just high and trippen.
I'm not a daily user but this last time I used a couple days in a row which didn't help. I'm back to reality for a couple weeks so I can let those babies heal. I think next go I will avoid the elbow, and if I can't hit my arm then it wasn't meant to be. A good night isn't worth vein damage.
Thanks everyone!
 
yes, it does sound to me as if you are causing scar tissue build up and circulation problems in those fav veins. give them a good long rest and use vitamin e, not neosporin. neosporin promotes scar tissue.
 
Almost sounds like you hit an artery b/c you say more blood came out and the descriptions you provided make it sound like there was much more pressure than a vein would carry.
 
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