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Heroin Swollen foot, missed vein? REALLY CAN'T go to doc, please help!

Don't risk anything. Even if it's fine it can get bad really quick. I almost lost someone who had something similar to you on their arm. Out of nowhere they got a fever and next few days find out they had sepsis which turned to endocarditis with a rare bacteria. Be careful. Don't risk anything. HIPPA works.
 
Doing the "right" thing for myself

Kids went to grandparents. At hospital now. Doc says it doesn't look like an abscess. Starting testing process. I think they're talking about insect/spider bites and I did hear the word sepsis but I dont know if that was about me or not. I said I was out drinking with friends and I overdid it and crashed on someone's couch. When I woke up my foot was a little sore but no major or visible injuries. And it's been getting worse every day. I can't tell if he suspects something or not. I'm still a little panicked but I feel better that I'm getting help. Thanks for the support. I'll update when I know more. I now officially love this forum and I plan to use it as often as needed. Especially soon because I would like to get clean for a while. I've tried cold turkey (with less time on opiates) b4 and I know I can't do it. I spent hours, if not days begging anyone and everyone for money or drugs until I got some. So, I'm gonna have to find something else that works. I'm off to X-Ray now. Talk to you all soon. Thanks again!
 
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I am glad you decided to go. I hope you have a speedy recovery.
 
Good. I'm glad you got it looked at. I understand where you are coming from with your kids. I was going to tell you if you were concerned about insurance, etc, go to an urgent care and pay cash or have them bill you. It's not like they can collect medical bills if you don't pay them anyway and it doesn't hurt your credit. And most hospitals/ERs have programs for ppl if they can't pay. You always can go to a different place than your usual doctor

But I'm behind on that advice. Still I'm saying it for someone else in your situation who may come along. If something like that happens and isn't improving get a professional medical opinion!!

And for you OP like I said, learn to pull back a bit on the plunger soon as you puncture skin. Then you will know when you are in a vein. You shouldn't have already had several misses when you're new to this and don't have bad veins. Never never inject without seeing the blood.

And please, for your kids sake, don't make it a regular thing and pick up a habit...
 
And here I am, reporting that this was a waste of time. They said everything looks fine and there's no signs of major injury or infection. They're sending me home with crutches so I can stay off of it and instructions to make an appointment and talk to my regular doctor. Has anyone had something like this, or know someone who has, and it was alright and just went away?
 
Certainly not a waste of time Hero, you just never know for sure. It'll clear up by the sounds of all that. So how long has it been since the shot that caused the swelling?
 
I think you're still in danger. You probably didn't tell them enough information for them to work with, so if any medical negligence does take place it will be because of you. Go back and tell them exactly what happened. Danger is still lurking...
 
Just keep an eye on it. Next time, don't lie. If something as drastic as losing a foot, or going septic was on the line...I would sure be honest.

I am glad. Just really keep an eye out and read the IV complications thread.
 
Dude you lied to him like i was planning to do as soon as I told them I was IV drug user the whole thing changed ... Dude you shouldn't be just on crutches man I think you made a mistake not telling him the truth ... Crutches aren't anti biotics and if it's red and swollen tender with slight hardness inside you gotta get that drained bro ...
 
My arm is 50% better from yesterday cause they drained it now I just gotta wait a day or two they told me to come back to have the gauze in there checked and removed . On my discharge papers they gave me a list of drug treatment locally and my papers said "stop IV drug use" lol
 
Invisible Helper said:
My arm is 50% better from yesterday cause they drained it now I just gotta wait a day or two they told me to come back to have the gauze in there checked and removed . On my discharge papers they gave me a list of drug treatment locally and my papers said "stop IV drug use" lol
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I am glad you are feeling better! Just make sure you take the entire bottle of antibiotics!
 
Update walking out the hospital it's been 2 days since drainage glad I was honest with the doctor cause this second visit he prescribed me clonodin and zofran (anti nausea ) for drug withdrawal which is a miracle I need those so bad , I have benzos and everything but those 2 so being honest actually hooked me up lololol they took the packing out (hurt like a fuck! ) and wrapped it again the fact you lied you might not get those prescriptions I used to beg and look for clonodin and zofran from the steets but those aren't common prescribed drugs
 
When that happens to me I wrap it in ice elevate it and take 800mg ibuprofen. I feel for you it hurts like a bitch Wearing a shoe will make it worse.
 
What? Do you ppl even bang?

hero13 said:
I'm new here, so I apologize if I'm doing something wrong. I'm not even sure if I'm posting this in the right spot, but I need to get this out there quickly and get answers quickly before I make things worse.
I will try to make this simple and not too lengthy, but I am a writer, so I tend to embellish (and sometimes ramble).
I am fairly new to injecting. I had only injected into my foot one other time. I'm just too afraid of injecting anywhere other than my arms. My preparation method was probably not the best since I'm new to this and on my own, so there are possibilities for error on that part of the process before I even get to the injection part. I was reusing a needle for probably the 4th or 5th time (brand new to me/NOT SHARED - I can be stupid at times, but not THAT stupid). I cleaned the site well with rubbing alcohol as I have done for all my sites, and I've had little to no problems in other areas (except when I reuse the needle too many times, which I have stopped doing now). I have missed the vein several times in my arm or hand and the swelling has gone down within a day or so. When I injected, it did inject slowly and more painfully than usual, which I've come to understand usually means that you're not in a vein. I am 99% sure that I wasn't in an artery. I've been lucky enough to avoid that experience.It didn't swell instantly, but I didn't get the rush I normally get from injecting. And I don't mean delayed or slower because of having to travel further from my foot, I mean not at all. It was more like a subQ/IM injection where you feel it slowly over 10 minutes or so. I wasn't really paying close attention to my foot so I'm not sure how long it took for the swelling to start, but about 3/4 of the top of my foot was VERY swollen, painful, and reddish in color at about the 15 minute mark after injecting. I iced my foot, as this has helped when I missed in my arm or hand. The swelling pain continued to get worse over the next 3 days, which is where I am now. I became worried about abscess so I did a 30 minute heat treatment, which hurt quite a bit. When I took the heat off, it was more swollen, even darker red, almost purplish. but not quite. The skin looked very dry and beginning to crack. It became pretty clear to me that this was probably not an abscess. However, it still could be. When I press on my foot, it is soft, tender, & seems to be filed with fluid, sort of like edema, which i have only seen mild cases of a few times. If I press on my skin, it stays indented and white (where my finger was) for about 10 seconds or so. I began to do research online for my symptoms (a lot of it right on this website, but I browsed quite a few medical websites as well) and since I couldn't stand the pain, I iced my foot for a while which seemed to help the pain, but not much else. I read about an eastern medicine acupressure treatment where you just continue to press on it over and over for longer periods of time and the swelling is supposed to go down and relieve some of the pain and pressure. That seemed to be helping at first, but I can't spend hours pressing spots on my foot over and over. And before anyone suggests it, it's not an option for me to go to a doctor. That may be different tomorrow or on another day, but for now, I have to try to handle this at home. Any and all suggestions, observations, recommendations, advice, etc. PLEASE HELP! I don't want to lose my foot! I'm really really worried right now! And if you need clarification on anything or have any questions, feel free to ask. I am falling asleep right now, but I'll try to keep checking throughout the night and definitely again when I get up.
As a quick side note, at some point during the last 3 days I have also had a fever, but I don't think it's related. It did cross my mind that it was an infection causing the fever, but my symptoms were more consistent with one of two things. Cotton fever or a mild case of Serotonin Syndrome. Either way, that is under control now and I'm close to 24 hours with no fever. All these stinkin problems and I want out of this stuff completely! I have been using opiates for about a year and a half. Sometimes morphine, oxy, hydo, and now I've upgraded to heroin because none of that worked for me anymore and was just becoming waaaaay too expensive. At this point, I just want to get sober and live a normal life!!! I will post about that at another time on another forum, though.
Thanks in advance for your help!
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Pretty sure it's to soon to know if it's an abscess or not at this point. I've been shooting for 8 years and had many absence along the way to the point they had to cut my neck open and I had a trach from shooting in my neck. Best option is go to hospital but all they will do for you that you can't do at hm at this point is give you antibiotics. So next best thing is to use the RICE method to try and control the swelling you body is treating it like any other injury. So it goes REST as much as possible, ICE for 10-20 mins 3 tires a day, COMPRESSION wrap it with an ace bandage not to tight that you lose feeling and circulation to your toes, and ELEVATION try to elevate it anytime you can and try to have it level or above your heart and this is the best time to ice it also, after another 48-72 hrs if it's not getting better or the swelling goes down and it's getting rock hard and more painful where u injected then go to the hospital. I hate when ppl get on these and try to preach not to use drugs...like duh I didn't fucking know that and what's your sober ass even doing looking at drug forums for. Obviously user know that but it's harder for some to quite than others so you need to mind your own business and quite stating the obvious, especially if all the helpful advice you can offer is to quit...SHUT THE FUCK UP!! Anyways good luck
 
Speed King said:
Look, not to be an asshole, but crimsonjunk has 5226 posts. He is a moderator in sober living. After a while, you begin to hear the same stories, with outcomes like, yea it would fix itself and ended having to get it cut off. Unless your in the middle of a forest, with no phone, and a strong faith in a higher power, you man up and call for help. We are a Harm Reduction site. Any similar, serious complicated question, is answered with, SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. After a while, people similar to you, can be summed up. Also, you messed up. You have to be honest with medical staff. They can read people like yourself, like a book. You will get more respect if you just tell them what happened. Would you rather risk a possible label or death? Do you think I'm joking? That is always a possibility, especially if you pick and choose facts to leave in or out. Welcome to Bluelight. Read the rules and treat others with respect.
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I think he needs to mind his business all I see is him stating the obvious answers, not everyone especially ppl using have the resources to do the best and most obvious thing, obviously or they wouldn't be here asking for alternative types of help. Ok you all see the same shit different day, getting on a forum and preaching is not going to help anyone it's a change in lifestyle so until he can come and change ppls situations he needs to mind his own if he's not giving ppl the answer they are looking for, an alternative if there is one. I read these and wonder do you ppl even get high or know what it's like to have a major addiction especially being a banger?! Enough said
 
^^ Was I coming off preachy? I give honest answers. I apologize if I came off that way. However, these answers help anyone that views this thread.
 
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