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Harm Reduction Injection Complications FAQ and Mega Thread

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"Urgent" threads are kinda frowned up cos if it's really urgent then get yourself to a hospital to get it checked out. Having said that, artery shots hurt like hell - even with masking effect of coke, in my experience - and pretty much always result in massive swelling. If your hand hasn't doubled in size then I would put my money on you just having missed a lil of your shot resulting in some redness.

If you're really concerned then get yourself checked out at the hospital, but if you really hit an artery you probably wouldn't even need to ask cos it leaves you with little doubt, in my experience. Hope you're feeling better soon <3
 
Thanks for the reply. I was mostly concerned that the coke might have masked the pain from the shot, but it sounds like an artery shot will hurt like hell irespective of what you're shooting.

I read in another thread that someone hit an artery on a wrist shot and the swelling didn't happen until several hours later. Do you know if that's possible, or is the swelling near instantaneous?

Thanks and sorry about the urgent labeling, I'm just a little freaked out.
 
Quite understand your worries, Snowlife. To be honest, I suspect the coke has fuelled your worries to a great extent - that doesn't mean it's not a legit concern, of course. Personally, I've shot into arteries (accidentally through sheer desperation, clumsiness etc) including in the wrist area and the swelling is instant and hard to mistake. I also find that even registering in an artery feels like an electric shock without even injecting anything into it at all. It really fuckin' hurts.

I'm sure others will chime in with their experience, but I honestly think you just missed part of your shot causing the redness. If possible, try to avoid the veins in the hand/wrist as they can be kinda dodgy. Not always feasible if your veins are shot to hell, but the veins higher up the arm (especially the "classic" ones in the crook of your arm) are far more preferable.

There's been a recent thread or two on alternative "safe" veins to use and also ones to avoid like the plague if you search this forum :)

PS: Try this thread for some tips on good veins I'm sure there are more too if you search :)
 
Sounds from your description like you hit the cephalic vein. Google blood vessels of the arm/hand and look under google images to see the anatomy. If I understand your description correctly, there is no artery in the area you specified.

Another way of answering your question - put your forefinger directly over the injection site. Do you feel a pulse? Remember: Arteries have a pulse, veins don't.

All of that said, if you experience swelling or any other symptoms seek medical help.
 
merged into the IV complications mega thread & FAQ

So I shot a coke/h combination inmy wrist right along the thumb line (like on the side nearest me if that makes sense). It didn't hurt going in, but I know that w/ coke it can mask any sensation.

The blood looked quite light, and it seemed pretty forceful. Right now it's not swollen and it doesn't hurt but I'm scared as shit.

So please help me know if it could be an artery, even though it didnt/doesn't hurt. It's just got a little redness around the area, but minimal.
thanks

If it doesn't hurt and didn't hurt when you were injecting, I think you were fine.

Please don't use your extremities for IVing - they're not really that great, since closer to your wrists is where arteries and veins run close together (instead of further apart), along with plenty of nerves and tendons and bone matter, it's better to be using the crook of your arm.

I'm going to merge this into the IV Complications Mega Thread, but I'll leave the merged link in OD for at least a week - I hope you're OK, OP.
 
injected cocaine into an artery

So by reading various threads I've come to the conclusion that I must've hit an artery on top of my right hand. The result of this was some redness and swelling along with most of my hand and some of my arm going numb. I've had it elevated with pressure for over an hour and it seems like the swelling has gone down. Most of the numbness is gone but there are still traces of it my arm and hand. I'm continuing to keep it elevated, apply pressure and ice. Clearly I will continue to monitor it but my question is do I need to get medical attention immediately? I clearly want to avoid telling health professionals about my recreational activities but will if need be. Thoughts....
 
man i wish i could help you but the best i can say is if it doesnt go back to normal soon i would consider going to c whats up
 
If I were u I'd go to the ER right now. Ur medical records are private and they r not going to call the cops. It might save u ur hand or u might wake up tomorrow and still have to go but it will be too late then for them to do anything. Ur hand man.
 
Read the Case Studies thread. All the people in there who lost limbs due to artery shots did so b/c they waited. Go to the ER now or risk losing your hand. Period. You came here to ask for advice so plz go now.
 
Please take yourself to the emergency room. Due to HIPPA laws they can't disclose any information to the police or anything, but they may send you to a mental or detox facility and bakeract you after you get medical attention, which you need.
 
I'd say go to the ER man injecting into an artery is no joke.

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=450778

This guy lost all his fingers because of that. He didn't go until the next morning when the tips of his fingers were black and the rest of his hand blue. The doctors said they could have done more for him if he came in the night that it happened.

The way it happens is that, where veins get bigger and bigger as they go to the heart, arteries, get smaller and smaller and eventually become capillaries that are smaller than the particles of (in your case cocaine) so it coke will block off the blood supply to your hand.
 
sclerosed vein

Well apparently my main vein I used in my right arm is sclerosed. Its the Median basilic vein. I was at the hospital (for other non drug related reasons and asked the nurse what it was and she told me). Im taking a break from opiates in general, but even if I was using obviously wouldnt use the vein anyways.

So main 2 questions are

1. How did this happen? and how can I prevent it from happening again?

2. How long till it fades? It feels like a hard lump right where I would stick the needle in, at the crook of my elbow.


added a pic incase anybody wondered what it looked like
 
Hi.......my fiance used to donate plasma a long while ago when he was having trouble making ends meet. The veins in the crook of his elbow both look like the pic that you posted......they have look like that for years but he has not had any problems from it, other than difficulty having blood drawn from the site. I image using a smaller gauge needle may help, and rotating your other sites should help you avoid this in the future

This website says:
"Sclerosed or hardened veins are a result of frequent puncture leading to scarring, or inflammed or diseased veins. These veins are hard when palpated and generally have minimal flow. Avoid these veins when assessing puncture sites"
 
if you dont use good technique when shooting it can tear up your veins ie. fishing around inside to find the vein or going all the way through or reusing needles... but even if you have perfect technique eventually it will happen. if you shoot its inevitable.
 
i get that alot mate, in time it will go away, was couple of days for me, think ive done everything wrong in the book tbh
 
iv - left hand/wrist twitch/pain

ive been iv'ing hydromorphone lately (the time-release beads, crushed up and mixed with water, then filtering and shooting the previously boiled water), well today i shot a bit in my left arm inside the crook in the "classic fat vein", well afterward for the last few hours ive been having twitches and weird "stabs" of very mild pain in my left hand and a bit in the wrist and arm. it feels like its in the bone or muscle. its very discomfortng but definitely not even close to an emergency (yet??). what could it be?? may i have hit a nerve or even artery? there's n other symptoms. will it go away? [also, this is unrelated probably, but iveb een very itchy the last couple days too lol; also ive been running low on sleep if that makes a difference]. i dont wanna end up like harry requiem-4-dreamz-boy
 
Do you remember any signs that you had hit an artery like bright red blood upon registering? It kinda sounds to me like you hit a nerve. If it doesn't go away in a day or so you should get it checked out odds are you'll be alright.
 
Thanks for the advice. I might've overreacted and just missed because everything returned to normal. Gave me enough of a scare to retire from needles forever I think. Those are some serious horror stories^^^^
 
ive been feeling the twitching in other parts too, the last few days- could that be dependance/WD's type shit, maybe some sign of a virus? i also got a test done for hep and HIV recently

i guess if these new symptoms dont go away in a few days, ill go to a doc and tell him about everything. only problem is "my" doctor is a clueless crook, LOL no joke

and hell toss me the usual bottle of valiums...which WILL help the twitches, to be SURE
 
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