Harm Reduction Injecting: Registered every time, still missed?

[Derailed]

I have been having trouble finding other answers on the internet in regards to missing injections, while pulling back blood every time it's checked. Is it because the blood pressure pushes the injection out as it's pushed in? And how can this be avoided when injecting? No tourniquet was used when this issue occurred.

Any thoughts or experiences?

 

[crzydiamond]

Without seeing what you are doing, there is a chance you are in the vein when you pull back (register) but then when you push the plunger you push through the wall of the vein, thereby missing.

I have seen someone else do this before--he would draw back and be in. Then he would push the plunger and feel it missing and draw back and still get blood. But see, when he pulled back he was actually pulling the whole syringe back into the vein. He wasn't good at holding the entire syringe still in the vein while only depressing the plunger. I saw this most often on IV coke, as the veins themselves contract, plus the user is shaky. But that one friend, he just couldn't hold it really steady one handed.

Other than that--is it a register of dark, fast flowing venous blood that rushes into the syringe? Or is it a little slow trickle? Slow trickle registers usually mean you're barely in, or you're in a thin branch of a vein, neither of which are a great place to go.

Blood pressure isn't going to make you miss.

Without more specifics I can't speculate more. What I can say is-- get into a good vein with good flow. As soon as you have the tip of needle in skin draw back slightly so you see the blood hit as soon as you puncture a vein. Once you know you are in good, slowly press plunger. Don't check your register a whole bunch of times either--I've seen people do this and screw up a perfectly good register over checking and pushing through vein.

Or if possible have someone else hit you to see it someone steady has the same issue

 

[Derailed]

Steady handed friends have done the same thing to me, although I do see your point. Normally the blood is dark and spurts into the barrel.
Thanks for your information

 

[subotai]

Yeah it means you were in the vein when you pulled back but sometime between that moment and pushing down it went out of your vein

probably means youre using the same spot too often or you just moved your hands too much

It should be pretty obvious you are missing a shot from my experience. dont try and be a hero and just keep plunging without knowing for sure you are in the vein.

if youre missing you will see a little bubble start to form immediately and it will hurt a little bit, whereas a clean shot does not hurt at all.

if I was going to shoot on a little trickle of blood I would recommend pushing in like 5 units of the liquid first to make sure youre still in then keep going with the rest

if you get a quick stream of blood when you pull back odds are you can just plunge all the way through and not have to worry about missing any of it

and it would also depend on where I was shooting up, if you miss in the arms its not a huge deal, but would I want to miss a neck shot? I dont know. probably not

 

[Znegative]

If you're shooting in your neck, groin or armpit/brachial, you have to be good enough NOT to miss.

The best trick I ever learned, which I've recommended to multiple people that have had success, is to create a vacuum. To do this, pull back on the plunger almost immediately when you puncture the skin, BEFORE you even think you're in a vein, then, when you hit it the blood will rush in. It solves the problem of having to awkwardly pull back and stay 'in' at the same time. Now this doesn't mean that you shouldn't still register your shot if you feel like it's missing (see subotai's post above for signs of a miss), but it makes things a lot easier. Also, a lot of people don't appreciate how much more important it is to 'feel' or 'palpate' a vein rather than just seeing one. I'd take a vein I could feel over a vein I could see any day.

Also, depending on what drug your shooting, registering halfway through the shot could cause more chance of a miss, for instance a drug like cocaine that causes veins to constrict, you would want to register and slam (also use as little water as possible). Checking your register could cause a miss because the vein could constrict during that period of time, causing the needle to pierce through the wall. However, with opiates one should always register twice. Even with cocaine it's better to do so, but only if you're fairly confident in your technique.

 

[subotai]

I thought the pull back on the syringe before you put it inside you thing was a pretty well known practice tbh.

thats how I know when to pull back once its in.

I guess you could just...guess randomly but... fuck that?

Idk I never had anyone show me how to shoot up I just sort of... did it. I also poured over a lot of posts about it on forums like this one. Probably got lucky the first few times but I missed eventually, we all do.

But I found it to become second nature after the first 5 times or so

 

[Znegative]

yeah it is pretty well known, to people who know about it, and I'm not suggesting blind 'fishing' as they say.

 

[subotai]

yeah im not trying to sound like a douche my bad. I just realized most people dont pour over threads about injecting before doing it

 

[skodeo]

I was an IV user for two years and for some reason I never ever had to register...once the needle was in a little trickle of blood would seep in and I knew I was good to go...

 

[Znegative]

^yeah, I was like that for a while, but after about 5-6 years of shooting drugs your veins start to go and your vascular system just gets weaker.

@subotai, no harm done.

 

[Jacobysmith187]

Know exactly what you mean!!

I was an IV user for two years and for some reason I never ever had to register...once the needle was in a little trickle of blood would seep in and I knew I was good to go...

Yupp! If the liquids light enough sure can see that happen but for ppl like me who do such dark shots u woudnt even see any red blood come in but you can still tell difference between needle thats not fillin up(registering) & a needle that definitely is filling up(registering)..

I doo understand your frustration tho! Happens to me all the time & I'm extra careful bout accidentally movin the point.. I use longs tho not short points..
You'll feel if your missing cuz it'll sting lil bit or Itch afterwards
feel numb in area & is true you can see your skin start to raise n bump up the more liquid you plunger in. Just take needle out take deep breathe to calm shakiness down & reinsert it where vein is & once in skin at a 45? Degree angle n semi quickly push it in & follow thru wit the whole point..

Best of luck to you brobro!

 

[boydoilovefentanyl1488]

Without seeing what you are doing, there is a chance you are in the vein when you pull back (register) but then when you push the plunger you push through the wall of the vein, thereby missing.

I have seen someone else do this before--he would draw back and be in. Then he would push the plunger and feel it missing and draw back and still get blood. But see, when he pulled back he was actually pulling the whole syringe back into the vein. He wasn't good at holding the entire syringe still in the vein while only depressing the plunger. I saw this most often on IV coke, as the veins themselves contract, plus the user is shaky. But that one friend, he just couldn't hold it really steady one handed.

Other than that--is it a register of dark, fast flowing venous blood that rushes into the syringe? Or is it a little slow trickle? Slow trickle registers usually mean you're barely in, or you're in a thin branch of a vein, neither of which are a great place to go.

Blood pressure isn't going to make you miss.

Without more specifics I can't speculate more. What I can say is-- get into a good vein with good flow. As soon as you have the tip of needle in skin draw back slightly so you see the blood hit as soon as you puncture a vein. Once you know you are in good, slowly press plunger. Don't check your register a whole bunch of times either--I've seen people do this and screw up a perfectly good register over checking and pushing through vein.

Or if possible have someone else hit you to see it someone steady has the same issue

Ok now what if I tie off correctly have a brand new needle I’ve only used once n clean back out throughly n I find a vein halfway up the inside of my forearm right below the crack or line that connects to your inner elbow. Well I always been 90% accurate mainlining my drug of choice n I know it’s bad for your veins or i have heads that it fucks your veins up or your veins absolutely do not like the actual powder fentanyl. Full blown raw fetti that I do doses of 0.2-0.3 each n every time I cook a shot up cuz I’m on 130mgs of methadone as well. I mainlined it constantly only cuz smoking it I never got the rush or even the full effects of the shit that ppl get smokin it couple times when it that strong but I’ve smoked a entire half gram of rawest form I could get it with literally no cut in it other then it had already in it str8 from manufacture or w.e the methadone blocks about 75%-80% of every single opiates feel goods feelings N rushes so smoking full half gram to the face in one setting couldn’t even get me slightly high or make me nod off at all so only way I’m able to get full effects of the shit is if I bang .2 or .3 on the scale n mainline it but now 80 to 90 percent of my arm veins down to wrist & hand veins are invisible now like goneee. I drink 6-10 water bottles a day n always have so I know it isn’t dehydration. I know it isn’t cuz I’m cold cuz I have central heating n air n have soaked it in warm/hotter type water for 5-10mins handful of times as well or fresh out the hot ass shower n every time I get the needle in this particular vein it only registers when I pull it back out like half way out of my skin & full on registers to not jus a little bit of blood I mean until the syringe is full of blood or the entire air bubble from Pullin back is filled wit dark red blood. So I think ok I’m halfway in it pretty much so I untie go to pull back out until it rushes blood in it then I stay right where I’m at (which is hard as fuckk!) n push all the drg’s in while still holding it half way out my arm where it registered n continues to register but then every ounce of the liquid I push in my arm it still builds up & I know that when it’s a miss shot. When your skin bumps up every bit you push in it I know when you’re 100% in the vein properly n push all drg’s into your arm that it should leave no bump or skin shouldn’t raise up any bit at all should remain the same looking but no matter what this vein always registers half way back out then I push it in gently let me mind you! N everytime it jus gets pushed into my arm it always alwayssss misses no matter what! I’ve even pushed liquid in consistently slowly while moving actual needle itself in & out my arm to see where the areas at but don’t matter it misses all way in halfway in & 3/4’s backed out no matter what. Then why’s it register over n over again tho??!!!!!!…… Fucking irritating let me tell you!!! I’ve tried my feet that have big soft squishy veins on top of them & can never get inside one legitimately either n I have the smallest sized gauge needles n shortest ones too. Easiest to me to get a hit on a vein majority of the time except for lately I’ve had mad issues hitting veins & like I said I always been pretty damn decent at hitting one after i pick a actual vein itself I could hit 90% of the time the first try goin in. Wouldn’t even need to try a 2nd time or let alone a total different vein altogether but recently I’ve had a 15-20% success rate hitting veins it’s always skin popped or muscled cuz I get fed up after awhile. I remain relaxed up til that point tho! Trying to hit a vein jus lose patience after awhile…

 

[boydoilovefentanyl1488]

thanks for your knowledge & different insight on the whole thing tho I really appreciate the different thoughts that I’ve maybe overlooked by accident or somethin but it’s nothing new to me bangin drugs. I did blc for longest time bangin it then went to fent cuz it felt better then blc & now I get sick n not even able to hit to make myself well again. & that my friend I wouldn’t be wish upon my worst enemy n I got ALOOTTT of em to! Lmao!

 

[Monte4040]

Without seeing what you are doing, there is a chance you are in the vein when you pull back (register) but then when you push the plunger you push through the wall of the vein, thereby missing.

I have seen someone else do this before--he would draw back and be in. Then he would push the plunger and feel it missing and draw back and still get blood. But see, when he pulled back he was actually pulling the whole syringe back into the vein. He wasn't good at holding the entire syringe still in the vein while only depressing the plunger. I saw this most often on IV coke, as the veins themselves contract, plus the user is shaky. But that one friend, he just couldn't hold it really steady one handed.

Other than that--is it a register of dark, fast flowing venous blood that rushes into the syringe? Or is it a little slow trickle? Slow trickle registers usually mean you're barely in, or you're in a thin branch of a vein, neither of which are a great place to go.

Blood pressure isn't going to make you miss.

Without more specifics I can't speculate more. What I can say is-- get into a good vein with good flow. As soon as you have the tip of needle in skin draw back slightly so you see the blood hit as soon as you puncture a vein. Once you know you are in good, slowly press plunger. Don't check your register a whole bunch of times either--I've seen people do this and screw up a perfectly good register over checking and pushing through vein.

Or if possible have someone else hit you to see it someone steady has the same issue

Wow! I’ve been searching for hours to find this topic, using different combinations of keywords etc…I’m racking my brain with different ridiculous scenarios is there a glare coming off the barrel from the light? did my cat swap out my shit with plain water when I went to the bathroom? did I actually inject into the artery containing dark, painless blood?).

It seems like what you’re saying is the most obvious. I’m going to try pulling back before I’m all the way in.

Thank you!

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

I

I have been having trouble finding other answers on the internet in regards to missing injections, while pulling back blood every time it's checked. Is it because the blood pressure pushes the injection out as it's pushed in? And how can this be avoided when injecting? No tourniquet was used when this issue occurred.

Any thoughts or experiences?

If the blood pressure PUSHES the plunger back, you're in an artery, or you're injecting against the blood flow

 

[Eligiu]

I have been having trouble finding other answers on the internet in regards to missing injections, while pulling back blood every time it's checked. Is it because the blood pressure pushes the injection out as it's pushed in? And how can this be avoided when injecting? No tourniquet was used when this issue occurred.

Any thoughts or experiences?

I used to have this problem a lot in my earlier days of shooting up. I would register fine, be in the vein, then when I'd try to readjust my hand position to shoot I would jostle the rig and the needle would slip out of the vein. There is a certain hand position I hold now which means that I no longer have to reposition at all and once I register I'm all good to go. It might be worth practicing with some water to get the hand position down pat so that when you try again this aspect isn't an issue. I'm happy to upload a photo of how I hold the rig, if that would be of any help to you. I only figured that trick out about starting off with the correct hand position this year after being an IV meth user for almost 8 years now.

And as others have said, do your best to create a vacuum. I find myself that leaving a gap of air at the top of the rig for the blood to quickly rush into is the best way of doing this. You can't die by injecting air like this because the space actually fills with blood from the vacuum. Simply start pulling back on the plunger as soon as you enter the skin to do this and you'll notice the difference straight away. It's way better than going fishing.

 

[methandsex]

Huge fan of the "vacuum" method! I had such a hard time when I first started with the whole "yay I'm in!" turning into "how the fuck did I miss I was in?"

I have 2 position faves. I use whichever is most comfortable at the time.

1-Hold the syringe in your fist with your thumb bent and under the rim of the plunger. Extend your thumb to push the plunger up to create a vacuum. When you're in thumb on plunger to inject.

2-You know the 2 square wing things at the plunger end of a syringe? Put your thumb under one of them and your ring finger on the other one with the plunger in between your index and middle fingers. The flat round top of the plunger should rest on the backs of those two fingers. Extend your index and middle fingers, together of course, to pull the plunger and create a vacuum. Once you're in use your index finger to inject.

I hope this helps! I know it can be beyond frustrating when you can't get it. Be patient with yourself and if you've been trying for a while put it down and take a break.

 

[Eligiu]

Is there

Any way to describe the hand position I can't find an upload

Hard to explain, everyone is different. Basically you need to hold it so that your fingers you grip the plunger tip with (usually on top of the plunger) are in exactly the same spot when you first pierce the skin, then you move them below on either side to create a vacuum but when you register basically just I then move a single finger up to the top of the plunger the flat bit and push down.

It's finicky and everyone has a different hand position so I cannot really tell you how to do it in a description.

I would also recommend not continuing with IV drug use. I regret it immensely and the less good you are at it, the more likely in many cases a person is to just throw in the towel. My first year I was an IV user in 2016 I sucked ass at it so much I relied on a friend to doctor me. When I relapsed in 2017 for some reason I could just *do it* suddenly and I ended up in inpatient rehab within 8-9 months after years and years of substance use without anything life happening.

If you are, however, deadset on going through with this I can recommend the discord channel we have for BL and our HR section where we have a collection of safer injection information, including tutorial videos etc all set up in the same place. This way, people can get the advice they need.

If you don't use discord and are in the 'i am going to do this regardless and fuck my arms up in the process if no one teaches me' party please DM me and I can link you a helpful HR video.