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Problem "landing on target"

H

hungryguy420

Greenlighter
Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
19
Alright so I'm new to the whole posting thing but I have read/and used blue light for info. numerous times , but forgive me if I make a mistake with how I word this.

Theres been a slight difficulty when IV'ing. Seems like everytime someone helps out there's never a problem "landing on target" first try. Even without help there's been easy success with landing correctly. But with 1/2 inch needles, it's always a problem. The latest time it was a perfect landing right away. However now it's been several take off attempts( and by several , around 10-15 and its intolerable for any more fails. All veins have been prominent since day 1 and still are (or at least it seems) but the 1/2 inch needles are hard to Judge if it's too deep or if it even went in the vein.

Is it possible , even though the veins are visible and look as though they are bulging from the arm that they actually lie deeper? It's smooth in , no pain, and register....but nothing. So remove and it's like the blood has to be that which came from a vein.

Try deeper, shallower, less of an entry angle ?!!!! Help in anyway possible please
 
Honestly the veins stand out enough to not even need a tourniquet. It always feels like I hit right on when I enter but then it never registers any blood.
 
Have you looked at this thread? http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/...ation-MEGATHREAD-and-FAQ-II-show-me-the-blood

It's got a lot of great information, especially if you are new to IV'ing.

Most of the time when you're not registering, you're just not at the proper angle. Some veins are deeper and require a steeper angle to hit, other are closer to the surface and call for a more parallel approach. Also, if your having trouble with the 1/2" tips.. try the shorties. For people with very visible veins, it's often easier to use the short tips because there is less of a chance of slipping out.
 
Rest the syringe on your forearm, rather than holding it straight up and stabbing it down. Makes it more steady and less likely to move around, and also means you're entering the vein at an angle so it's going 'down' the vein rather than straight through it.

And as mr.scag said, check out the IV megathread.
 
Ive actually been a big reader of BL for a while , and yea I actually have viewed the IV megathread multiple times before. I just the other day decided to sign up for BL rather than using all of people's experiences to make a judgement on mine. I figured giving personal experience would be the best.

All in all I decided to just wait and try again after a nights rest and being sober , and whadya' know....first try all aces. And I'm glad I made the decision that way because no telling what wouldve happend if I had continued to "dig".

Thanks for the help , either way, and sorry if I posted in the wrong section. I plan to continue to use BL and it's good to know moderators are there to help and reduce harm rather than inflict verbal abuse as some sites would.

Thanks again and I look forward to future use of BL
 
So here we are , back again and the same freakin problem. I swear I'm in the veil when I insert the needle but with these half inchers , i always am afraid to go through the vein. Especially since mine "appear to be" surface veins or right on top. Can someone please give me some personal experience advice. Soooo frustrating. Is the vein in the very crook of my arm safe to use (like dead center of the crook. Right in the middle)
 
The veins in the crook of the arm are the easiest to hit and the first ones many of us use and abuse until they vanish..hah. It just sounds like you're having trouble figuring out your angles. First, try going in at a solid 30-45 degree angle. Pull back on the plunger slightly to create a vacuum, that way when you hit your vein, blood will shoot into the barrel. If you find that as your pulling the needle out, thats when you see blood flash into the rig, it means you are at too steep of an angle. In that case, pull out and insert the needle more parallel to your skin. Fish around gently, pulling the needle up and down, left and right, until you register. Sometimes if it's just not happening, you need to pull out and try a different angle.
 
So I went ahead and gave it another go after giving myself time to not stress over it, realize in not just dumping in a miss, and had a buddy slightly grasp my arm instead of a tourniquet, and he slowly/gently released the pressure one I registered, (as to not slip out, like some tourniquet releases do) and it went perfect.

Went a little farther in , using the vacuum theory, and as I continued to go a bit deeper , bluuub, there it was. No sting after taking the needle out (sometimes I have taken out too soon or quickly which can cause some of the dope to exit) and instantly felt it, nice clean rush.

Only one question. When it comes to how far up the arm, is above the elbow risky? I did the injection about an inch to an inch+1/2 above the bend at the elbow , INTO the vein on the outer side of my left arm. If you hold your arm straight in front of you (how superman flys) haha , the vein runs on what would be the top or outside of the forearm and runs along the outer edge of the bicep. Keep in mind it was only about an inch or so above the bend.

Needless to say , it was one of the best shots, ive had in a while , and absolutely no pain or sting.
The good rush could have been the fact that it was about 37-38 units (insulin syringe haha) I've done larger, but this was def. more of a satisfying feeling considering the circumstances.

Sorry for rambling, but like I was asking, any faults in going farther up than the elbow for IV? (I feel like someone's posted, or ive heard someone say bad things. Not for certain.

Again thanks for all the advice, and whatever HR thoughts are still to come

-Hungry Guy
 
It's not bad at all to go further up. There are good veins to hit in your bicep and inner upper arm, by the arm pit too. Those spots are really no more dangerous than anywhere on your forearm or inner elbow. You can run into more problems as you get closer to your extremities. Your hands and feet take longer to heal and the veins are smaller resulting in more damage if not careful. Basically the order or preferred spots goes like this,

Where to inject:

1.Arms: The upper arm is the best place in which to inject--there are relatively few nerves there and the veins are large. Just the same, the veins tend to roll, so this must be taken into account.

2.Hands and Wrist: There are more nerve endings here and the veins tend to be smaller and more delicate and thus more prone to damage. On the positive side, they are easy to find and stable.

3.Legs:These veins are at greater risk of forming blood clots. Interrupting blood flow in the legs is particularly serious because these veins are the most important for bringing blood back to the heart.

4.Feet: These veins are even more delicate than those in the hands. There is also relatively poor circulation to the feet which means that damage done is repaired slowly. Special care should be taken to clean the feet if they are used for injection because of the possibility of infection.

5.Groin: The largest vein in this area--the femoral vein--is very close to the femoral artery. It is easy to miss the vein and hit the artery--causing the usual problems.

6.Neck: Just as in the groin, it is easy to miss a vein and hit an artery. Hitting the carotid artery is potentially fatal. Even apart from injecting into an artery, damaging the veins that go from the brain is very dangerous. The brain needs blood more than any other part of the body.
 
From experience, I would avoid shooting in your hands. The veins there may be (and for me, are) easy to hit, but visible track marks even with long sleeves are extremely hard to hide. Your choices to hide them are band aids or makeup. and having to use either 24/7 is a supreme pita.

From what Ive seen, most misses are from people using too steep an angle (Ive seen some practically dive bomb their shots. wtf???) or not tying off, which results in veins "rolling". Using a new, sharp needle avoids a lot of misses imo.
 
I assume by "Dive bomb" you mean at a straight up and down or 90 degree angle with the vein? And that's just downright crazy , at least I'd think so. I've never done that.

As a rule of thumb if I'm not able to hit my arms (forearm, crook of elbow or just above the bend in elbow) I won't allow myself to try other parts of the body. Only reason being , is that I don't want to start trying to find other places, and get used to turning to more dangerous areas , just to get a hit. I have nothing against those who do, it's just my personal choice because I know how my brain works and I'm not allowing myself to. If I can't hit the arms I just squirt into a drink and chug away, or drink it directly (tastes terrible) by spraying from syringe.
 
hungryguy420 said:
I assume by "Dive bomb" you mean at a straight up and down or 90 degree angle with the vein? And that's just downright crazy , at least I'd think so. I've never done that.

As a rule of thumb if I'm not able to hit my arms (forearm, crook of elbow or just above the bend in elbow) I won't allow myself to try other parts of the body. Only reason being , is that I don't want to start trying to find other places, and get used to turning to more dangerous areas , just to get a hit. I have nothing against those who do, it's just my personal choice because I know how my brain works and I'm not allowing myself to. If I can't hit the arms I just squirt into a drink and chug away, or drink it directly (tastes terrible) by spraying from syringe.
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If you fail to find a vein, your next best option, no matter what the drug (99% of the time) is not to drink it, but plug it. Snap the needle off and squirt it up your rectum. It'll provide much greater relief than simply drinking whatever you can't shoot, and it's a great deal safer/less hassle than shooting. It's worth clearing your bowels beforehand btw.
 
Yes. Mr.Scag imo hit the nail on the head. 45degree angle with needle facing towards you is ideal. Actually as flat as possible is ideal so it along side the vein.

Sometimes your just going to have trouble ya know? I got a winner vein on my right hand (im a lefty) and even though it BOLGES out sometimes I'd miss. Ya know your body knows when your poking at it too much and burys the veins? Most addicts reffer to this as a houdini. I think you should switch up veins if possible. Also in the sake of HR I think you should consider putting the needle down. It's touh but theres SO many ROA especially with opiates.
 
hungryguy420 said:
I assume by "Dive bomb" you mean at a straight up and down or 90 degree angle with the vein? And that's just downright crazy , at least I'd think so. I've never done that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like 60* or steeper. I hold mine practically flush with the skin, 15 or 20* max. I can count on one hand the # of times I've missed but would probably need a scientific calculator to figure out the # of times Ive hit (not bragging, it's kind of sad really now that I think about it).
 
80mg said:
especially with opiates.
Click to expand...

I'm actually not talking about opiates. I guess I never posted that I was talking about meth. I actually do plan to stop injecting for a while , possibly all forms of it, just because a break from any drug can never hurt.


Kid A :

Yea same here I usually try to be as flush with my arm as I can be but Ive come to find out that a little bit of a higher angle, or a little bit deeper in with the needle does the trick.

As for misses , Ive only missed a whole injection once, I've had partial misses maybe 3 times tops. I never just push it if a burn starts. The one time I missed a whole , was when I was pretty much at my lowest of lows when it comes to using, and I will never let myself turn into that person again. That's why i plan on taking a break for a while to just give my body a break from all impurities. (plus a break means that whenever you do decide to IV again that it'll be a awesome one , requiring less)
 
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