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Harm Reduction Injection Complications FAQ and Mega Thread

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Eight0Eight said:
I hold the needle like a dart to insert the pin.

I then take my index and middle finger off the barrel - and use it to operate the plunger.
Click to expand...

sorry if im gonna piss you off with the next barrage of Q's.

if you took the middle and index finger off the barrel. what is left holding the syringe? or is it left resting on the arm?

seems like I need something to hold the syringe while trying to pull the plunger back
 
Captain.Heroin said:
Legs, some people prefer legs to arms. The higher up on your leg the better though. The closer to the heart you're injecting, the better.

Personally, I prefer arms and I find it impossible to do alone.
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do you see a vein in plain sight on your leg?
 
Mystery Brew said:
sorry if im gonna piss you off with the next barrage of Q's.

if you took the middle and index finger off the barrel. what is left holding the syringe? or is it left resting on the arm?

seems like I need something to hold the syringe while trying to pull the plunger back
Click to expand...


Heh. No worries.

My thumb, ring and little finger is whats holding the barrel.

I can stretch my middle and index fingers up to the end of the plunger.

Not using a SHITLOAD of water obviously helps!


Have you just started I.V'ing? You just sort of "get it" with practice.

BTW - I *do* have to leave the needle just "resting" where it is, when I have to undo the tourniquet.
 
trouble hitting a vein

I dont know why this is happening lately, but I just can't seem to hit a vein on my own anymore. I have only been IVing for a little more than a month, but I can't seem to hit a vein when I hit myself lately. My first few weeks of shooting up were easy. Sometimes, I'd draw red without having to move the needle around at all. Now, I've been missing all the time. I've been shooting with the vein in the crease between my upper and lower arm where the vein used to show up so clearly opposite my elbow. Now it's all inflamed and the bruising is making it harder to see where the vein is, but I know its there and working fine. When I get my friend to hit me, after moving it around a little bit, he draws it so easily. Sometimes I'll keep moving it around in the same spot, and either i'll be in for a split second, then it'll move out, or I just cant seem to draw red at all. The blood hardens in the chamber and its hard as fuck to push down the plunger, and I know that can't be good to put in the vein so it just ends up going in IM. I'm sick of wasting money, and theres gotta be a good trick so I can get in the vein with minimal effort. I'm tired of having to have my friend hit me. Should I just try to find a new spot? Like a few inches away from the old spot? It definitely has to do with the inflamation because in the morning when it's all healed and looking good is when I seem to get in the easiest.
 
search around here on BL for vein maps there are a couple threads on where stuff is located. i use the tops of my hands and have been for awhile now. not saying you should do that but it is a suggestion. and please dude dont be digging around in ya arm like you describe. if ya miss pull out and try again this is why you are wrecking havoc on the veins you do got
 
shake2 said:
search around here on BL for vein maps there are a couple threads on where stuff is located. i use the tops of my hands and have been for awhile now. not saying you should do that but it is a suggestion. and please dude dont be digging around in ya arm like you describe. if ya miss pull out and try again this is why you are wrecking havoc on the veins you do got
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I always figured and I was told by my buddy who's been IVing for 7 years that keeping it in one hole, and just moving it around is better than poking a bunch of holes in the arm.
 
its just erks me out to watch someone digg around thats all. to each they own but i cant see diging around or pulling out each time to be any worse than the other. i havent ever been faced with the situation you are having though
 
btw that vein map post is edited and the link isn't there anymore.

EDIT: I was thinking about trying a new spot, and drawing blood before I prep a shot and end up wasting it. Anybody try this before shooting for the first time in a new spot?
 
are u using a tie off? I think pulling it out and trying again would be better than digging around. I imagine you can cut the vein open whit the needle while digging around. I'm a skinny guy so my veins pop out and i have a bunch on my arms. so I don't really know how to help you. My friend would tie off just above the wrist and shoot in his hands, maybe you can try that.
 
love2party said:
My friend would tie off just above the wrist and shoot in his hands, maybe you can try that.
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Fucking horrible idea.

Don't listen to someone who obviously has no clue.

Don't shoot in your hands or feet, that's the last place you'd ever want to do that. I would suggest you rotate injection sites. It sounds like the OP is using the same vein over and over. It's better if you use one vein, and then give it a few days to rest. The next time, just choose another one.

If it's bruised, that means it needs a while to recover and you shouldn't be IVing there. Bruising can also occur as a result of not applying light force with an alcohol pad after injection, or if you don't wait a few seconds then pull out the needle slowly.
 
captain heroin=mr know it all jerk

Captain.Heroin said:
Fucking horrible idea.

Don't listen to someone who obviously has no clue.

Don't shoot in your hands or feet, that's the last place you'd ever want to do that. I would suggest you rotate injection sites. It sounds like the OP is using the same vein over and over. It's better if you use one vein, and then give it a few days to rest. The next time, just choose another one.

If it's bruised, that means it needs a while to recover and you shouldn't be IVing there. Bruising can also occur as a result of not applying light force with an alcohol pad after injection, or if you don't wait a few seconds then pull out the needle slowly.
Click to expand...


I don't see what is so bad about shooting in your hands, I wasn't saying it's a good idea, or that's it would be my first choice. I can think of plenty of there places that would be worst than your hands.

If your like my friend that I mentioned he has no veins left in his arm, so it was either shoot in his hands or some other place that is probably worst.

I know the op probably has other veins he can use in his arms, but some people have no veins left or too much fat on there arms and have hardly any visible veins, execpt the one in the crook of their left arm.

Next time why don't you correct people instead of calling them clueless and acting like jerk.

just chill out with the name calling - leftwing
 
Last edited by a moderator:
^just chill out, i think you need to lurk more. cpt.h stated widely known facts and he wasnt calling you clueless.

a few reasons it's a bad idea to shoot in the hands include how small your veins are, how close to an artery the easier veins to hit are, how little muscle and fat you have in the area in case of an accidental miss (muscle and fat can act somewhat as a buffer, however that can still turn extremely ugly from a missed shot). bone isn't going to absorb a missed shot.

redirecting this into the IV complications thread.
 
Mystery Brew said:
when you inject heroin alone? how do you register veins (pulling plunger to draw blood into syringe) with one hand?

oh and when it stings does it mean I missed the vein?

this is all tar
Click to expand...

when i inject i hold the barrel with my pinky, ring finger and my thumb and using my middle finger to keep the barrel sturdy as possible, kind of acting as a prop i guess and i have my index finger held close enough to the plunger so i can simply use it to pull it back. the middle finger is close by so i can grab the plunger with my index and middle finger if i really need. it's exactly as eight0eight described. i have pretty short and stumpy fingers so using smaller solutions is always the better idea so i can reach the plunger without having to take my grip off and let it dangle in the vein.
 
leftwing said:
^just chill out, i think you need to lurk more. cpt.h stated widely known facts and he wasnt calling you clueless.

a few reasons it's a bad idea to shoot in the hands include how small your veins are, how close to an artery the easier veins to hit are, how little muscle and fat you have in the area in case of an accidental miss (muscle and fat can act somewhat as a buffer, however that can still turn extremely ugly from a missed shot). bone isn't going to absorb a missed shot.

redirecting this into the IV complications thread.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The closer you get to your feet and hands, the closer the arteries are to the veins, and the closer the nerves are to the veins as well.

Many examples of what happens when people try to IV in their hands can be found in this thread: http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=445570
 
Eight0Eight said:
Heh. No worries.

My thumb, ring and little finger is whats holding the barrel.

I can stretch my middle and index fingers up to the end of the plunger.

Not using a SHITLOAD of water obviously helps!


Have you just started I.V'ing? You just sort of "get it" with practice.

BTW - I *do* have to leave the needle just "resting" where it is, when I have to undo the tourniquet.
Click to expand...

ya im fairly new. I tried to use my middle and index to register blood, but idk I guess my 2 fingers dont have enough power or something. I think next im going to try holding the rig with my hand and using the thumb to pull up to register. eh hopefully I can get it on my own this time
 
index & middle on tthe wings or four fingers on the cartage & a thumb on the plunger. Ohh that Red rose, she'll always be with me..Once i see her i know all will be well, ill be melting in a puddle of euphoric goodness & all my problems will leave my sights for many hours to come.
Alas, she was with me through child hood & adolescents but now ima older(&legal) i know it just wasnt met be.. i miss & curse that Biotch every other day.
 
From a good knowledge of anatomy I too vote to stay away from shooting in your hand if you can. Shooting in your hands or wrist area puts you at a good risk of accidentally hitting an artery instead of hitting a vein. If you go look at the case studies thread you can see that many people who have hit there artery's instead ended up with gangrene and losing fingers/limbs. Not something I'd want to gamble with at all. Even though I've watched plenty of people successfully hit there hands without problems. It's just a scary prospect. I've even watched my friend hit that TINY vein that runs down your thumb that I can't even see.

A tip though if you do hit an artery, when you pull back the blood tends to be much brighter red and have an almost frothy/foamy look to it. I've seen this personally a few times at work and in my private life. It's like an instant warning to the wise that you do not want to inject where the needle currently is! I can say in my dumber much younger ill educated days I DID inject heroin into an artery.

I didn't know that you had an artery about 2 inches inward from that large vein in the crook of your arm. Pulled back, thought the blood looked a little weird but I was banging tar so it's dark and hard to see the blood flash. I pushed off and instantly got a surge of MAJOR pain & my whole arm swelled up. My hand looked like mickey mouses hand. It was 3x as big as my other hand easily. You don't feel the dope at all. I was expecting a rush of euphoria and got a rush of pain & swelling. I got in the car to head to the ER. I wasn't about to risk my arm. By the time I got there though my hand had returned to normal & the swelling in my arm was gone. I went home and nothing more came of it. After looking at the case studies though I feel lucky as hell!
 
TheDankaholic said:
From a good knowledge of anatomy I too vote to stay away from shooting in your hand if you can. Shooting in your hands or wrist area puts you at a good risk of accidentally hitting an artery instead of hitting a vein. If you go look at the case studies thread you can see that many people who have hit there artery's instead ended up with gangrene and losing fingers/limbs. Not something I'd want to gamble with at all. Even though I've watched plenty of people successfully hit there hands without problems. It's just a scary prospect. I've even watched my friend hit that TINY vein that runs down your thumb that I can't even see.

A tip though if you do hit an artery, when you pull back the blood tends to be much brighter red and have an almost frothy/foamy look to it. I've seen this personally a few times at work and in my private life. It's like an instant warning to the wise that you do not want to inject where the needle currently is! I can say in my dumber much younger ill educated days I DID inject heroin into an artery.

I didn't know that you had an artery about 2 inches inward from that large vein in the crook of your arm. Pulled back, thought the blood looked a little weird but I was banging tar so it's dark and hard to see the blood flash. I pushed off and instantly got a surge of MAJOR pain & my whole arm swelled up. My hand looked like mickey mouses hand. It was 3x as big as my other hand easily. You don't feel the dope at all. I was expecting a rush of euphoria and got a rush of pain & swelling. I got in the car to head to the ER. I wasn't about to risk my arm. By the time I got there though my hand had returned to normal & the swelling in my arm was gone. I went home and nothing more came of it. After looking at the case studies though I feel lucky as hell!
Click to expand...

Good to hear you're still with us. When you say "MAJOR pain" I take it it was much, much more painful than just a simple partial subcutaneous injection (where you are mostly in the vein but some of it leaks out)?
 
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