Injection; IV Complications and Information MEGATHREAD and FAQ II - show me the blood

[John_Burrows]

Rhodian - Hey, you're still going to get to play with the needle, I'd just recommend saving it for later! Seriously, try plugging this weekend and let me (us) know what you think.

 

[John_Burrows]

Can a needle be TOO sharp?

Of course on one hand, I agree that the sharper the needle the better - when it slides in like butter it's fat less likely to leave behind any marks.

But whenever I've used a super sharp sharp, it really becomes a challenge to hold it still while you move your hands around to pull back and register and then press down on the plunger.

Does anyone else have this experience? The needles I usually use are from my local needle exchange, and I always thought they were good.... But one day I ran out and went to a local pharmacy to pick up a few, and it was a different brand.

Holy smokes, I didn't realize there could be so much difference between brands! This drug store needle slid into my skin like it wasn't even there, required almost no force at all. Which is great, but the slightly different design of the needle made it a little harder to operate one handed, which was a REAL pain in the ass because the slightest move would send that thing sliding in and out of my arm like a knife through hot steam!

I've actually un-registered halfway through my shot on several occasions with the super sharps....

Can anyone recommend a needle that might be a good compromise? If anyone out there has experience with multiple brands and has chosen a favorite, please share.

I think it's time to order some needles online,,, I love my needle exchange, but their needles are practically dull compared to the other. Something in between would be nice...

 

[BrokedownPalace]

I prefer BD brand. 31g. I have also heard that Walmart brand (Caraco? something like that) are superior to BD. I have never used them though, since in NJ we obviously have to go to the exchange to get them. They used to have Termulo (I can't spell this shit today) but in my personal experience BD are far superior. In regards to sharpness, plunger action, etc.

 

[LiLCv2]

Possible vien damage from missed shot?

I'm not really sure how to form this question or word it but i'll give it a shot.

I've been IV'ing oxycodone for the past 5 days or so. I Haven't used in about 2 days.

About two days ago i've gotten this weird pain on the inner vien in the middle of my right arm, when i bend it it hurts, when i touch it it hurts, if i rub it i feel this little bump under it, is it possible i missed part of the shot or could i have done some serious damage, i'm not sure if i should go to the ER as nothing else really seems to be happening and i've had it happen to my left arm before and the pain went away after a few days and the bump slowly faded away.

Has this happened to anyone before? Does anyone know what the possible cause of this is?

 

[amapola]

There are several things it can be. A missed shot would probably have gone away by now however it is still a possibility as you were shooting pills which have some insoluble binders. More likely (especially if it is right on the vein) you have thrombosis which is a blood clot inside your vein which then hardens and could be the bump you can palpate. The third option is an abscess which is similar to a pimple deeper under your skin.

For all of these options your best bet is to wait and they should heal on their own. The abscess could being to get worse in which case you would need to have a doctor drain or excise it. There isn't much you can do at home however resting the area is preferable to using it.

I'm going to throw this into the Injection Mega Thread for you now and we'll see if anyone has anything else to add.

Best of luck and if you notice any signs of worsening condition, infection or just don't feel comfortable leaving it as it is, be sure to seek a medical opinion.

 

[LiLCv2]

Yeah, I was thinking probably thrombosis too as I've been looking into it. I'm going to give it until Sunday, If it's gone by then, great. If not I'll go over to the ER and explain to them I've been a huge dumb ass for shooting roxy's and see what they can do lol... hopefully it goes away. I Definitely won't be using any heroin or oxycodone for a hot minute.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[amapola]

If it is thrombosis or scar tissue it can take a lot longer to go away. I got hit by a lacross ball right near my belly button and it crushed a vein causing a thrombosis. It only hurt for a few days but was like a short pencil there for three weeks or so afterwords. If you have a build up of scar tissue from shooting often it might take even longer.

 

[amapola]

If it is thrombosis or scar tissue it can take a lot longer to go away. I got hit by a lacross ball right near my belly button and it crushed a vein causing a thrombosis. It only hurt for a few days but was like a short pencil there for three weeks or so afterwords. If you have a build up of scar tissue from shooting often it might take even longer.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Of course on one hand, I agree that the sharper the needle the better - when it slides in like butter it's fat less likely to leave behind any marks.

But whenever I've used a super sharp sharp, it really becomes a challenge to hold it still while you move your hands around to pull back and register and then press down on the plunger.

Does anyone else have this experience? The needles I usually use are from my local needle exchange, and I always thought they were good.... But one day I ran out and went to a local pharmacy to pick up a few, and it was a different brand.

Holy smokes, I didn't realize there could be so much difference between brands! This drug store needle slid into my skin like it wasn't even there, required almost no force at all. Which is great, but the slightly different design of the needle made it a little harder to operate one handed, which was a REAL pain in the ass because the slightest move would send that thing sliding in and out of my arm like a knife through hot steam!

I've actually un-registered halfway through my shot on several occasions with the super sharps....

Can anyone recommend a needle that might be a good compromise? If anyone out there has experience with multiple brands and has chosen a favorite, please share.

I think it's time to order some needles online,,, I love my needle exchange, but their needles are practically dull compared to the other. Something in between would be nice...

I think the sharpest needles are the best. I use the short tips, 31G, and I never slide out. If you know how to angle it into the vein correctly, you have a lot of leeway. If you don't, you may have to hold it really still so as to not pull it out or puncture both sides, but it's all about technique.

 

[John_Burrows]

I've tried the short tips once and for the tops of the hands, they are def great. I agree that they are pretty easy to keep "anchored" in a situation like that. But when it comes to my arms, I need the full size half inch tips; sometimes I need to push them all the way in! Got some deep veins in my arms...

Still, the benefits of sharp def outweigh the negatives. I haven't been able to conduct a lab study yet, but I'd be willing to bet that sharper needles lead to fainter track marks.

Maybe I can get a research grant...

Speaking of which...

 

[etard7007]

Damage from IV without micron filters over time?

Hi, I am just curious about the damage of IV oxymorphone from pills over time.

I know there was a thread just posted that charts and shows exactly the difference in damage between cotton filers vs. micron filtering... however, i am concerned about what kind of damage i am looking at specifically based on the length of time i have been intravenously injecting opiates.

I have been IVing Opana IR ever since my doctors switched me to it on my specific request. i would say it has been about 7 months of daily use... or sometimes i would IV all of the pills over two weeks and insufflate my Opana ER for the remaining two weeks of the month.

I really want to use micron filers and bacteriostatic water. the only problem is i am currently at home with my parents because i am on a leave from school... on top of that i lost my license for a year from a DUI about 9 months ago. so i cant drive to the post office to get a PO box. and i cant mail the filters to my parents house. and my only friend who knows i IV drugs has his own place, although we got in a huge fight because the shit head stole tonnns of my opana IRs while i was sleeping on his couch... he stole from a person who suffers from chronic pain :/ so i dont know where i can mail the damn stuff!!

luckily i will be back in california somewhat soon, although it wont be until august... once im there and have my own place it wont be an issue.

so will i be okay in the long run if i continue to IV with cotton filters and bottled water for another 5 months, making a total of a year. im just worried that im going to get endocarditis or some nasty lung infections. I am very clean about my IV technique at least. like wash hands, new bottle of water, clean new syringe every time, alcohol swab, clean surface, new cotton, etc.

any feedback would be great thanks.

 

[BrokedownPalace]

Nobody here can tell you with certainty how much damage you are/aren't doing to your body from shooting pills without a micron filter. The only thing for certain we can tell you, is that shooting pills consistently without a micron filter for extended amounts of time, CAN and most likely WILL create some kind of problems. How bad/of what type/magnitude we cannot tell you. You also may even get lucky and NOT experience any negative effects. You may or may not even notice the negative effects, either.

Basically, it's playing with fire. Where do you live that there's no post office near you? Even if it was a mile or two walk, don't you think walking there once would be worth it, for the sake of your health? And couldn't you get a friend to drive you there perhaps? You don't have to tell them what you ordered or whatever..

We have a huge IV complications MEGA THREAD, which I would advise you read. I am going to merge this, as it has no need to be standing on its own.

 

[edarrin]

As far as you first question, you are fucking up your arms be repeatedly stabbing yourself with the same needle. A needle should only puncture the skin once then tossed and a fresh one should be used. The only time to ever insert it more than once is in the rare case an experienced person misses

After extended IV administration my friend is lucky to get something in 10 tries.

Can get to be a bloody mess after a while, believe me. Those were the days, when it just went straight in. But it is important to use a new one every injection. Now it's just hope it goes before it gets dull.

And missing becomes a lot more frequent d/t limited spots and damaged veins

 

[John_Burrows]

Scary injection experience - can anyone ID this?

This morning I cut an 8mg dilaudid in half and prepared it for injection (crushed, spoon, cotton, etc) as I have hundreds of times before.

I injected it in my hand, near the base of the thumb, in a vein I have used many times before.

But this time something really weird happened.

I registered and am as sure as anyone can be that I was in the vein, I pushed down the plunger and right before I finished injecting the injection site started to burn! A good 3 or 4 inch radius around the site also gave me a pronounced burning sensation, and the skin felt like it had constricted; when I tried to make a fist, my thumb and first two fingers felt tight, and it made making a fist more difficult.

I felt the drug coarse through my body, and the same burning sensation shot through me, as if I could feel the drug as it made it's way through me.

The full body sensation dissipated quickly, but the burning and "tightening" around the injection site persisted for a good half hour, but it was gone within an hour or two.

I double checked to make sure I didn't inject the wrong pill, but it was def dilaudid.

What the hell happened?? I've never experienced something like that, or even read about it here.

Naturally it was a scary experience, as is any IV session that goes wrong...

 

[Mora Fiend]

It sounds like you missed some of the shot, and I am sure you read it before but I gotta tell you man invest in some micron filters if you're shootin pills man, I never used to use em until I tried it and let me tell you it really does make a huge difference.

 

[amapola]

The thumb and first two fingers aspect along with burning and tightness makes it sound like an artery shot as they are both supplied by the radial artery. The pain shooting up your arm though is more reminiscent of hitting a nerve. My guess is that you slipped through the vein near the end of your shot and created a bolus of dilaudid solution underneath it which put pressure on a nerve. Then flexing your hand would increase pressure and send waves of increased pain up your arm and into the fingers on the side of your hand. Once the drug dissolved into the tissue the pressure abetted and symptoms resolved.

Then again we can't possibly know for sure and if it is more serious...well you've been here long enough to know the whole spiel about doctors and such

I do hope you end up okay.

 

[John_Burrows]

Thanks for the replies... As I mentioned, within 2 hours everything was back to normal, so there doesn't seem to be a reason to get checked out. And I've missed my fair share of shots and it's never felt anything like this. The feeling of the burning sensation flowing through my body also led me to believe the drug did in fact make it into a vein, or else the pain would have remained localized (or so my uneducated self would guess).

Is there really an artery in that spot? Like I said I've injected this area before, and this shot was within a centimeter or two of previous shots and lined up with previous marks, so if it was an artery, it must be sitting literally on top of the vein!

Is that burning sensation and constriction of the skin normal for artery shots? It was so scary, moments like that really make me wonder if I'm about to die.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Hi, I am just curious about the damage of IV oxymorphone from pills over time.

I know there was a thread just posted that charts and shows exactly the difference in damage between cotton filers vs. micron filtering... however, i am concerned about what kind of damage i am looking at specifically based on the length of time i have been intravenously injecting opiates.

I have been IVing Opana IR ever since my doctors switched me to it on my specific request. i would say it has been about 7 months of daily use... or sometimes i would IV all of the pills over two weeks and insufflate my Opana ER for the remaining two weeks of the month.

I really want to use micron filers and bacteriostatic water. the only problem is i am currently at home with my parents because i am on a leave from school... on top of that i lost my license for a year from a DUI about 9 months ago. so i cant drive to the post office to get a PO box. and i cant mail the filters to my parents house. and my only friend who knows i IV drugs has his own place, although we got in a huge fight because the shit head stole tonnns of my opana IRs while i was sleeping on his couch... he stole from a person who suffers from chronic pain :/ so i dont know where i can mail the damn stuff!!

luckily i will be back in california somewhat soon, although it wont be until august... once im there and have my own place it wont be an issue.

so will i be okay in the long run if i continue to IV with cotton filters and bottled water for another 5 months, making a total of a year. im just worried that im going to get endocarditis or some nasty lung infections. I am very clean about my IV technique at least. like wash hands, new bottle of water, clean new syringe every time, alcohol swab, clean surface, new cotton, etc.

any feedback would be great thanks.

How far away do you live from the post office?

If it's less than 5 miles, walk!!! Walking a few miles every day is a good idea IMO, unless you are physically disabled, in which case it is understandable that you don't want to do this.

Bottled water contains more bacteria than tap water but this doesn't mean shit because I believe both are bad water sources to IV with.

I IV'd with tap water for over a year and OMG do I regret this...

I turned off the cold water to my sink once and turned it back on later, when I did I had the water running already, and OMGWTF all of this black shit came out for like 5 seconds.

I literally started to have a panic attack at thinking, how much of this black shit has come out in small amounts which I can't notice when IVing with tap water for so long??? 8(

Do you have a friend who lives near by? Maybe you can mail it to their place?

If you absolutely have to drive to the post office to get it delivered to you, then do this; pay a taxi to get you there. Or maybe just pay your friend $5 to get you there and back.

It's worth it.

 

[John_Burrows]

I had/have the same concerns as etard and I've been injecting opiates for close to a year using an old sock for my filter and 7-up for water (it's clear so I can see the blood when I register).

Just kidding. I also use cotton and non-sterile water. Actually it's funny, the needle exchange I use also gives out small vials of water for injecting, but right on the vile it says STERILE WATER - NOT FOR INJECTION.

I usually use tap water, but it's filtered through a Britta filter, which they claim removes 99% of impurities. It may not be perfect, but a year later I'm still alive.

And while I admit I am ignorant of the specs, but I have a hard time believing that bottled water is just as bad as tap water! That makes no sense. Maybe you can pick up a bottle of distilled water from a pharmacy? It's not the same as sterilized water, but it's probably pretty clean!

On the subject of cotton, I recommend a q-tip head over a cotton ball. The q-tip head is a very tight, densely packed piece of cotton and def will trap more impurities than a loose piece of a cotton ball. I generally try and pull the entire head off the Q-tip, which gives you a good sized piece of dense cotton. It can take a bit of effort to get the head off in once piece (try wetting your fingers for grip and twisting) but when it works it really is a good filter.

 

[runduderun]

Hi

I opened a thread but go no replies, so im hoping to be more lucky in here.

So the thing is, a few months ago i injury my gluteus after doing several intramuscularly injections of ketamine in the same place. That happened after a long binge, so i was too messed up to even bother injecting properly (yes, i know its was stuped).

I ended up with a bruise (hematoma) in both sides of my gluteus that went better with time. However, I noticed that I ended up with a nodule in one side. At first i thought it was an internal scar, due repeatedly injecting in the same place. But then i examined more carefully and I noticed its a small nodule. Its totally painless tho, and I didnt noticed any increase in size over the time. The problem is it wont disappear.

I'll schedule an appointment with an orthopedist to see what can be done with it, but in the meanwhile i'd like to know if any of you know what that nodule may be, if its dangerous, and what can be done to get rid of it.

I learned my lesson the hard way. Now i just want to clean up my mess.

Thanks!!