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Heroin Best place to IM heroin

It is common knowledge that Intra-muscular and subcutaneous (skin popping) injection are very risky and have a high potential to cause absesses. One question that might come to the minds of people less informed on biology (I fall into this category) is how can it possibly be safer to IV something than it is to IM something? I think this would be a good thread to shed some light onto that subject. Anyone care to explain?

Does a substance that gets intraveinously injected get filtered somewhere along the bloodstream? That is the only logic I could come up with, but I am curious to know why (as I'm sure other people are) IV is safer than IM?
 
If you really have run out of veins *Best spots scarred* first you should tie off and find a some new ones. Look on top of your thighs. If there's really nothing less I suggest the lower bicept just above the crook of the arm. AS SOON AS YOU SHOOT hold a warm rag over the area for 10-15min or until all swelling has dissapated. Before even shooting make sure you've filtered your dope real nice, and if you're using a 1cc rig use 65 units water. a real concentrated shot of tar causes an abscess much easier as you can imagine.

I hope you can find some veins, maybe a hidden savior. I found some just this week, but It's not a prime spot in the safety department but my good ones are healing fast. Stay safe and good luck finding a vein
 
kasad said:
Yeah, sorry Captain, but I was kinda overwhelmed with zillion of posts asking how to do something extremely unsafe. I'd made those bigger if I could. And flashing.
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I actually agree with you, I think if people miss your message, ignore it because they think they know better, there's nothing that anyone could have possibly said to change those moron's minds. And eventually, their case will be posted in the Case Studies thread.
 
I think the health of your immune system is something to consider as well. I've had abcessess before from shooting coke. However that brings many more shots and usually no eating, sleeping e.t.c When IM'ing heroin though most of them have come from slipping out of the vein because they were too small or just rolling e.t.c Anyway I usually get a delayed high but good. and then just a sore spot for about 24 hrs.

But then many have been intentional with just a sore spot for a while.

Because your body does fight infection. I think its just a luck of the draw type of thing.

To the poster that talked about filtering. Yes, IV provides the liver as a filter. IM only the immune system.
 
Pablosan said:
I think the health of your immune system is something to consider as well. I've had abcessess before from shooting coke. However that brings many more shots and usually no eating, sleeping e.t.c When IM'ing heroin though most of them have come from slipping out of the vein because they were too small or just rolling e.t.c Anyway I usually get a delayed high but good. and then just a sore spot for about 24 hrs.

But then many have been intentional with just a sore spot for a while.

Because your body does fight infection. I think its just a luck of the draw type of thing.

To the poster that talked about filtering. Yes, IV provides the liver as a filter. IM only the immune system.
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You are mistaken. When you slip out of a vein while trying to IV, this is a Subcutaneous (under the skin / skinpopping) injection, not an Intra-Muscular (IM) injection. There is substantial difference between the two.
 
Pablosan said:
But most of the time it slips into muscle, not under the skin.

Heres a little king co health dept pdf ( tons of junkies in seattle )
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthser...ces/publichealth/documents/hiv/abscesses.ashx
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You speak of a "sore spot" - that's from a subcutaneous injection. An IM is sore/painful, but you can feel that it's in your muscle and not on top of your skin.

If you actually did "miss" an IV and it went into your muscle, you must be a horrible shot I'll say that much.

I think Tchort is right in saying it's a SI and not an IM.
 
Captain.Heroin said:
You speak of a "sore spot" - that's from a subcutaneous injection. An IM is sore/painful, but you can feel that it's in your muscle and not on top of your skin.

If you actually did "miss" an IV and it went into your muscle, you must be a horrible shot I'll say that much.

I think Tchort is right in saying it's a SI and not an IM.
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Definitely SI, IM is something completely different
 
bluemorning said:
exactly.

the best place to IM heroin is your veins.
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I mostly snorted dope when I used it (I've been clean for 8 months as of tomorrow), but after I started to quit using constantly I tried IVing it a few times. Heroin's definitely meant to be IV'd. I wouldn't ever do it any other way (other than snorting due to the longer duration and longer peak), however I don't use heroin anymore and wouldn't use it again.
 
Captain.Heroin said:
I mostly snorted dope when I used it (I've been clean for 8 months as of tomorrow), but after I started to quit using constantly I tried IVing it a few times. Heroin's definitely meant to be IV'd. I wouldn't ever do it any other way (other than snorting due to the longer duration and longer peak), however I don't use heroin anymore and wouldn't use it again.
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Almost exactly the same story for me.

Always snorted for the longest time, except for occasionally chasing it when i got really good stuff. Once I quit and got on subs, I stayed clean for a few months before trying it IV for the first time. Only IV'd a few times, and only since I gave up daily use, but I'll never do it any other way again either. It's been 8 months Monday for me also, since I gave up every day use, but I haven't been totally clean since then... I've taken 4, maybe 5, "vacations"... first one snorted, then after that was my first IV, and they were all IV after that.

Good to hear you're staying clean. How's your bupe maintenance going?
 
The best places to IM heroin are your upper-outer arms (also called upper-lateral). To find this area on both arms, place two fingers on your arm starting at the top of the shoulder. The deltoid muscle covers your shoulder and upper arm; the area to insert the needle is two finger-lengths below the top of the shoulder. To ensure that you are in the muscle, you should be using a 3cc, 1 inch, 25g needle (if you are a hefty person or a bit on the very "bigger" side, you might need to use the larger 3cc, 1.5 inch, 22/23g needles instead).

If using a 1 inch needle on the deltoid muscle of the upper arm, insert it all the way in; if you push in and hit a hard surface (your bone), simply pull back slightly and then administer the injection. Basically, if the needle hits up against the hard bone surface, the muscle is right next to it and pulling back just slightly will ensure you're in the muscle. This technique is actually taught to nurses when giving IM injections such as certain vaccines- If you hit bone, pull back slightly, then administer the injection.

Also, as a note, it is NOT dangerous to accidentally poke the surface of a bone while attempting IMing on the upper arm. SWIM's local needle exchange nurse explained that during her own training, she was instructed to push the needle in far enough to feel it hit the bone of her patient; after this occurred, she was instructed to pull back slightly and inject- because "that way you know you're in the muscle."

Two other primary areas are the upper-lateral thighs (meaning upper-outer thigh). This is the meatiest part of your thigh towards the top and on the side, below your hip. You should be able to pinch the area to feel for the meatiest part, and administer the injection with a 1 inch, 3cc, 25g needle. Unlike the arm, you probably won't strike bone by accident, so to ensure that you have entered the muscle simply push all the way in with the 1 inch needle.

The third two main areas for IMing are harder to explain; it is the area just above each butt cheek, then moving outwards towards the hip. First, place a hand on one of the cheeks of your ass. Then move your hand up to where you hit the small of your back/to the side of the base of your spine. Move your hand slighly outward, stopping just before you've gotten to the side on your hip (so that your hand is still technically *behind* you, and *not* on your side/hip. If a friend was standing in front of you while you were trying to find this area, they would NOT be able to see your hand because it is still behind you and NOT on your hip). You should be able to pinch and feel for a fairly meaty area which is where you would perform the injection(using this procedure on both sides of your ass). You could call this area "Upper butt, slightly outward." For a normal sized person, use a 1 inch, 3cc, 25g needle, sticking ALL the way in to make sure you pierce the muscle there.

***Injection Technique***

Many people here have stated that IMing any street heroin is asking for an abscess. SWIM has also seen a few people here group "IM/SC" together as if they are the same thing, or very similar. They ARE NOT! IMing refers to injecting DEEP and into a *muscle*. SC refers to injecting into tissue below the skin, and is also what happens when someone misses their shot of heroin and gets a white blister as a result.

"Asking for an abscess" was a phrase SWIM frequently used to use regarding IMing before becoming correctly educated about IM heroin injection from needle exchange nurses. In reality, SC injection is "asking for an abscess"- Although this *can* vary from area to area. In higher-purity areas, SC injection is far less likely to lead to an abscess because purer heroin absorbs much quicker than poor quality heroin. Usually, "SC injection" is done by accident when somebody misses their shot under their skin.

A nurses' words regarding the safety of IM injection of heroin:

Nurse: "Most people who have abscesses in our area [black tar/poor quality] from IMing heroin just didn't do it correctly. You need to use the correct size syringe, usually a 1 inch needle, 3cc. People here will attempt to IM with a 5/8ths inch needle and a thick black solution with it since those are only 1cc syringes- then they usually fall just short of the muscle, or their solution was so thick that it couldn't absorb, or they were just plain unsterile doing it."

SWIM: "But what about the heroin in this area? It's very poor quality- I've read that abcesses form inside the muscle- it sounds terrible, I'm scared to ever try it even though I have no veins left!"

Nurse: "Did you get any IM syringes here? We're still open for exchange. You see, there's a good amount of bloodflow inside the muscle, and as long as you actually get into the muscle, there should be no problem assuming you use sterile equipment and alcohol. Also you must make sure to water down the solution the best you can- feel free to draw up the entire 3cc syringe with extra water-all the way to the top- to make it as diluted as possible. Remember to use site rotation as well!"
***

Make sure to use all sterile equipment, filter with cotton, NEVER reuse your IM syringe, and swab down the target muscle thoroughly with alcohol! SWIM prefers to swab with alcohol before and after the injection, and prefers to inject slowly with the entire dose of heroin diluted in 3cc of water for ease of absorption into the muscle.

Initially, after injection, you will notice slight redness at the site and a little soreness- similar to having a tetanus shot at the doctor's office! If performed correctly, the redness will subside within an hour, while some soreness might persisit. SWIM uses a trick taught to her by a nurse, which is to rub the injection site with an alcohol swab in gentle circular motions after injecting. This encourages the solution to absorb faster (also, baths and hot compresses will also work) and will help alleviate the minor soreness faster.

Nurse: "IMing has a slower onset, but it will definitely get you well, and since there's such a good amount of blood in the muscles, you may even get a.. well.. high."

SWIM nodded out during the making of this post response, so SWIM will vouch that IM injection does produce decent effect. SWIM noted that onset of the effect was five minutes or less after finishing the injection, and would last a normal 4-6 hours as with IV administration.
 
bluemorning said:
Good to hear you're staying clean. How's your bupe maintenance going?
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It's going good man. I'm a lot better off with buprenorphine than I ever was with heroin and I'm glad I see that now and am enjoying the benefits of avoiding heroin.

Also, please still don't IM heroin. It's so much easier to IV. If you run out of veins you shouldn't be shooting anything that isn't in a sterile ampule anyways.

Finally, I can hit my muscle with a 5/16" needle, even a 1/2" needle tip is too long IMO.

If you don't want to IV, you can always plug.
 
An IM injection of sterile diamorphine in an ampoule is okay, isn't it? It's just the bacteria in street heroin that makes it dangerous to inject intramuscularly, right?
 
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