Lump After IVing Oxycodone, but I Don't Think It Was A Miss...

[edgyfradeh]

I'll start off with a bit of background info. I've been using Oxycodone (Roxy 30s) for about 2 years, my method of consumption has always been insufflation. I've smoked them quite a few times as well, but tend to find it to be a bit of a waste (especially with my tiny lungs). Anyways, I decided that I wanted to attempt the IV route about 3 months ago; went on a bit of a binge and decided to go to a Suboxone doctor. I've been using Subutex for about 2 months now and have been doing pretty well... until today. I was stressed, having major back pain, etc. and got my hands on 120 mg worth of Oxycodone. I was planning on snorting them, but remembered I had a few new syringes so decided to bang just one. Normally my friend would do it for me, though I have done it to myself a handful of times (I just usually have some sort of issue because my hands are shaky and I'm never able to do it quite right). Mind you, I can hit anyone else up like a pro. Alright I'm getting to the point...

So I prepped it like usual (that's never the issue), tied up my arm, found a perfect vein. I was able to draw blood on the first try and decided to just push it all in (usually I'll mess up because I'll get paranoid and keep checking if it's still drawing blood). Anyways, as I was pushing in the last 30 cc's or so I watched as it formed into a nice size lump. I have missed before and it's usually associated with pain, no rush, and the lump stays for a few days (never had any serious issues). This time though, I definitely felt the rush and there was no pain associated with it other than minor soreness (which ceased after about a few minutes). I did some research and decided to put some ice, massage it, and then put a hot towel on it. To my surprise, it went away completely (no redness, no soreness, minor - and i mean minor - swelling). My vein even looks ready to be stuck again.

So. My question is: What happened? Has this happened to anyone? I've conducted countless amount of Google searches and can't quite find a discussion concerning this same situation. Everyone that gets a lump claims it either stung like crazy, was sore, and/or didn't feel the sought after "rush." I don't think I missed. I don't think I popped the vein. None of my symptoms, or lack thereof, point to any of those two. But why did my vein balloon up (about the size of a quarter) and then dissappear so quickly? I can assure you that I am NOT complaining, lol. I'm just very curious...

Hoping someone can share their opinion or give an account of a similar situation. Thanks 8)

 

[nAON]

Strange.. did you properly filter it before you prepped? Have you shot OC before? Usually you should avoid shooting pills whenever possible due to all the possible impurities and insoluble particles - it could have been something related to that.

More likely, it could have just been a histamine reaction. Did the lump itch, or go red?

 

[effie]

Difficult to say.. did you undo the tourniquet before shooting? There is more chance of popping the vein if you don't, although it doesn't sound like that happened here. It's possible that it was a partial miss - if the needle wasn't quite in the vein properly or slipped out, but the main thing is that everything is okay now - no redness/swelling/heat/pain. It could well have been a histamine reaction..

Check out the IV complications megathread here, and as nAON said shooting pills isn't a great idea - it's really important that you use a micron filter and don't heat the pill when you are prepping it, to prevent fillers/binders from entering your bloodstream and lodging in your lungs causing a lung disease called pneumoconiosis/talcosis.

 

[lazylazyjoe]

You probably slipped out of the vein so most of the shot made it in. I do it all the time.
Also of note, pills seem to bruise me more than anything I IV.

 

[edgyfradeh]

nAON- I filtered it like normally do with cotton (I know it's not the ideal filter) and I've injected them numerous times. I don't think it was a histamine reaction because I experienced that when I IVed morphine (not fun).

Coincidentally, the same thing happened to my friend the next day. I guess it was just a partial miss- it's just that usually it doesn't balloon like that or go down so fast. Who knows...

And effie, I was always taught to remove the tourniquet once I've injected the solution, right before taking out the syringe. That definitely could be a possibility for why that occurred.

Of course that day I went on to doing a few more with out any issues, besides the minor bruising. I've come to realize that IVing pills may not be the thing for me. I'm too much of a hypochondriac to deal with it. Thanks for the input!

 

[tracy007]

what size syringe do you use? I've tried to crush them but can't suck them up into the syringe.

 

[Beachcat]

I have no experience, as I don't IV, but I was at the ER the other day for a migraine, and the IV line that the nurse put in did the exact same thing...she was in the vein, got the back flow, but when she pushed the saline, I got a big balloon that did not hurt. She said that veins have valves, and for some reason,maybe that valve had just closed. She pulled itnout and stuck me again....it sounds like what maybe happened to you?