Reused, filthy, reassurance PLEASE

Moxidized%razør

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Messages
6
I reuse needles semi frequently. I hate the habit. Although I only reuse them if it's been less than a day, and I always ensure they are sterilized with boiling water and rubbing alcohol. If it hasn't been that long I'll just rinse it several times with water.
So I get back from a party wasted, and feel the sickness coming. I need a hit. But I'm on speed and very paranoid about my family hearing me. I hit a wash and rinse my old rig that I thought was from today. Although it burned and was barbed going in. So I'm like "wtf that's not good".... As I put the rig back in my backpack where I got it, I realized it had been mixed with many other ANCIENT rigs and I'm TERRIFIED now. This rig I just used may have been a year old. Maybe older. I'm so grossed out and I'm a crying mess, having a breakdown because I don't want to die of a blood infection. Please, anything reassuring will help. I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow!!
I'm TERRIFIED. Will I get a stroke? What are the risks of being this stupid? Please someone tell me I not gunna die of AIDS. I wanted to get sober and spend my life helping others who are addicted and traumatized like me.. I can't die knowing I've accomplished nothing. Please someone talk to me I'm so scared. My best friend Ryan died from strokes induced by unsafe injection practices. I gotta see a doctor that's for sure but is there any light someone can shed on me regardless??? Please..... I don't want to die....
 
Are these you OWN dirty needles? Or are they mixed with other users? You can't give yourself AIDS. You can give yourself Hepatitis. If these are your needles and yours only, and you know for certain that nobody else has used them, then Hepatitis is your main worry. It's a bad illness but it's not the end of the world and if you get it taken care of it's not life threatening.

I'm not judging you because I have re-used my own needles before as well, especially on stims, but cut that shit out! After you use a needle ONCE, bend the tip so you can't use it again.

Where do you live? Are there needle exchanges in your area or can you buy fresh rigs at the drugstore? I used to have boxes of new needles lying around so if I did get the urge to use sporadically without planning ahead, there would be plenty of fresh points around.
 
I reuse dirty syringes quite a lot - with a very similar practice to you actually; typically if they were within the last few hours, I rinse them - if they're days/weeks old - I boil them and rub alcohol across the needle..

But, I've also use some pretty fucking filthy fits and definitely used some that have been really old (>1yr) before. I've been lucky / never had a problem.

I think the chances are far greater that you'll be ok, than that you'll run into serious trouble. But I guess it's basically like russian roulette; not something you want to make a habit of.
 
I've reused needles a lot more than that. And been pretty bad about it. I'd really not worry too much. Certainly not about dying or anything like that.
 
Yes they are my needles. I freaked out. I think I'm OK. I saw a doctor and said I should be fine but if any symptoms of a blood infection arise go to hospital... Sorry I got really freaked out
 
No, no that's ok, I inderstand the freak out. I would have too. It's too late for me to comfort you, so I will lecture, lol. No, not really. But seriously, why do you have year old needles in your backpack? If you needed a rinse to get well you must be an addict, so shouldn't you have gone through so many needles over the past year? I'm actually just curious really, because I have my own way of doing things, which is obsessive to the point that I dropped my last new needle on the ground once. THis was before California sold them OTC, the needle exchange didn't open until 6:30 that night and this was to be my morning shot. I was too scared to use it, and too addicted to the needle to waste dope smoking it, that I waited sick in the library for the exchange to open.
 
Depending how barbed the end was I would have used it anyways and put astringent on it lol. Hadn't used the backpack in a while. Totally didn't know I had equipment still
 
Ah, I didn't think about that, not your everyday backpack, for some reason that is how I pictured it. Makes sense now.
 
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