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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Sigs of an Abscess cause by a Missed IV Shot

BackSeatSuicide

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
123
So Its been 48 hrs and I still have this nice, somewhat sore lump where i missed a full 1cc shot. I've had missed shots stay swollen for a couple days before when they were big shots and I didn't put heat on em like I should. But this one is a lil more sore than previous ones. But there seems to be no signs that its an abscess, based on what I read the signs are. Such as, the area is Warmer to the touch than the surrounding area, which this is not. Discoloration of the skin at the area, which there is none. And generally I heard the swelling is soft, and can be pushed on, which this is hard not soft, which is just like it is when i've missed previously.

The longest I've had a missed shot stay swollen is like 3-4 days, but like i said, thats cause it was a big shot, small shots generally go away when missed after 24 hours or less. Now that I've been putting heat on it tho it seems to be getting smaller, which its been getting smaller anyways even before i started putting heat on it. But just me being who I am, i worry, and so I wanted to see what you guys think. From the research I've done, pictures i've seen of Abscess in their beginning and late stages, and symptoms i've been told that are signs of an Abscess, I don't seem to have any of them except for the soreness, but a missed shot, especially a full syringe worth can be painful. Especially since after I did the shot, I realized that i didn't get all of the excess leftover from the pill, the binders, filtered out, so I think thats what made it worse is that there are binders and fillers in there as well, hence why i started putting heat on it to help dissipate it. Anyways, what do you guys think. And any other ideas to make it heal faster ?
 
I once missed a shot of roxicodone and a hard lump in my arm stayed there for months, but it never turned into an abscess and now over a year later it's gone. It might be good to know what you shot up and if it was sterile solution or not. You might wanna ask a doctor though man i don't think anyone can really say whether or not your body will form an abscess.
 
well like I said, the longer I seem to keep it on it, the smaller and less sore it seems to be getting. I've never had a missed shot stay a swollen for months like you have, but I've had it last quite a few days, and never had an Abscess. I always practice safe shooting (both on and off the Range lol I am also a Competition Long Range Marksman) I always use fresh needles, sometimes I will reuse a needle once, but only have its been thoroughly cleaned/rinsed. I always clean the injection site with alcohol swabs i get from the doctors office when no one is looking lol. And I always clean it after shooting as well. And usually I am always on top of making sure my shots are filtered properly, especially when doing Pills

I do the 30mg Oxycodone IR's quite often since Heroin is hard for me to find, and the last couple times I tried to buy it, I got ripped off. Besides, Oxycodone is pure, and I know for 100% what I am shooting, unlike with Heroin, although, even tho the high/rush is pretty close to the same, i do prefer the high/rush from heroin for some reason, it seems to last a lil bit longer too, but not by much, could just be in my head anyways but this time, i was shooting a new brand (I usually get the white 30's that have the M inside the Square on one side, and a 30 imprinted on the other, they are the best IMO) these ones had the V on the back, and are blue, and I was in a hurry, and even tho I followed all my other protocols, cleaning the site, using a new needle, i was in a rush when i filtered it, and I noticed after it was too late that quite a bit of the Binder and Fillers from the pill got into the syringe and since I missed, it made it that much worse, so thats the reason I believe this one has swollen so badly and is more sore then normal. But as I said, it seems to be going away, and I have none of the symptoms of Abscess, so I think I am all good. Definitely not going to rush when it comes to filtering again, and most likely not gonna shoot these blue ones ever again !
 
Yeah man, also I used to do both the Mallinckrodt (M's) and the V 30s (they were far more blue in solution). I wanted to let you know theres a huge batch around the states of the M/30s that are complete fakes, so watch out man wouldn't want you shooting some unknown substance. I think when you miss with binders in the shot, calcium swarms the area and eventually in turns into a small hard lump. That's a calcium deposit though, not an abscess.
 
Applying heat regularly is a good idea, that will help decrease the chances of infection and help it dissipate. The fact that it's improving seems like a good sign at least. But don't hesitate to go to a doctor if you're unsure about it or you develop any signs of infection (like tenderness, heat and redness in the area, swelling getting worse, a red line going towards your heart, fever, chills, low blood pressure, etc).
 
That was the other point I forgot to make. While if it came down to it i would definitely go to a doctor if I had to, cause I am a lifelong Musician, music/Guitar is my life, and am in School for Audio Engineering and Music Theory, so I am making a life/career out of music, so loosing an arm or the ability to use it, would fucking suck. But I am hesitent to go to a doctor about an Abscess in my arm, cause then it will be known that I am an occasional IV user and it will cause me nothing but problems. They wont prescribe me pain pills when I need them for legitimate reasons, i will be looked down upon. Its not supposed to work that way, but it does. Lovely world we live in.
 
I too am a career musician, who also went to school for it (although i wish i hadn't). Hospitals and doctors are confidential. If you go to one doctor, he can't get records from another doctor without your permission so that shouldn't be an issue.
 
^Actually that's what I thought too, but upon further research I don't think that's true. In practice I think it is very unlikely that your doctor will access the info that you were treated by another doctor/hospital for a drug-related injury, when they have no reason to even be aware of its existence, it is not sent to them automatically or anything, but it sounds like they can access your medical records if they have a reason to. However, this being a possibility (probably a small one) should certainly never deter anyone from seeking medical help for things like abscesses (or overdoses!). Your health is more important! Plus, what your records even say would depend on whether or not they specifically included info about how you got the abscess, they may not.

Here are a bunch of quotes/sources on confidentially (or lack of it) of medical records/health info in the US and in Washington State. (just NSFW'd for size)
NSFW:

According to the US Department of Health & Human Services:
A health care provider or health plan may send copies of your records to another provider or health plan as needed for treatment or payment or as authorized by you. However, the Privacy Rule does not require the health care provider or health plan to share information with other providers or plans.

George Washington University's Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program says:
Privacy and Confidentiality in Washington: The law does outline exceptions that allow a health care provider to disclose health information without a patient’s authorization. Patient authorization is not needed if the disclosure is for the patient’s health, health care treatment purposes, payment, or research purposes. Other exceptions include, but are not limited to disclosure to public health officials or to law enforcement.

According to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA):
When can my health information be shared without my consent?
The law says that anyone can see your health record who needs it in order to provide your treatment, to facilitate payment for healthcare services, and to make sure quality care is being received. Most healthcare organizations have quality assurance departments. People in these departments review patient information in order to monitor and improve the quality of care you receive. Your information may also be used for research and as a legal document in cases where evidence of care is needed. For the most part, anyone who wants to use it for any other purpose needs your permission first.

There is no nationwide repository of health records. Your health records are stored by your doctor’s office or any other facility where you have received treatment.

According to FindLaw:
Who Has Access to Records? Patient may authorize disclosure (70.02.030); without authorization: health care providers, penal institution officials, public health authorities [have access](70.02.050)

When you use insurance to pay for health care, some info can be shared with your insurance company. Insurance companies also share some health info. According to eHow:

Information that is shared by various insurance companies is contained in a database that has been compiled by the Medical Information Bureau or MIB. This is a central database that includes codes for specific types of medical conditions and certain activities. The database does not contain detailed information about an individual's health history. There are currently more than 600 insurance carriers that use the MIB to obtain information about applicants that apply for health insurance.

Intelliscript and MedPoint compile and maintain databases that contain information about an individual's purchase history for prescription drugs. Information in these databases can include the types of drugs purchased, the dosage amounts and any refills that have been obtained. Insurance companies can use this information to include exclusions in a policy, increase the premium for a policy or decline to offer a policy.
 
I think that is probably most likely in the case of law intervention, or when a person is too ill to make decisions for themselves. Like, special cases. But 'research' purposes are interesting... Eh, can't expect anything less than loopholes everywhere in a corporatist society right? lol
 
I think that is probably most likely in the case of law intervention, or when a person is too ill to make decisions for themselves. Like, special cases.
I don't think there has to be some reason preventing them from getting your consent, such as being too ill to make decisions for yourself or it being an emergency, I think the info just has to be considered relevant to your treatment. Most doctors greatly value confidentiality and ask for your written consent before getting any medical records from other health care professionals, even when they legally may not technically need to. I really don't see it as being very likely that a doctor would find out their patient went to another doctor/hospital about an abscess that was caused by injecting drugs, when they have no reason to.

What concerns me most about all these privacy exemptions is how much insurance companies can access and share :(

I was conflicted about even posting this info, as I really don't want anyway to be afraid to get treatment for drug-related medical issues, and I still don't think that getiing help with an abscess or OD provides much risk that other health care providers will find out, but I always used to think, like you said Crashing, that doctors could not access your records from another doctor without consent in the US, I think I've even told people on BL that before, and I thought people deserved to know the reality of the law.
 
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So how exactly does swim know if swim missed?

Swims first time IV'ing was today
 
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