Trackmarks - what can i do?

[mcflurry]

Hey,

ive been shooting up meth for about 4-5 years, very infrequently, yet i do have trackmarks on my arm veins. I admit i havent been the nicest to my body and have reused needles almost every time i went on a binge ... cant help but feel weird during summer when wearing t-shirts.

is there anything apart from putting on concealer that i can do to make them disappear? its mainly erythema right on top of my veins. to me, anybody with half a brain can tell that its because of iv drug use.

have you ever heard of laser treatment that could make this go away?

ive been sober for 6 months now and really want them to disappear so i can "move on" with my life ...

thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Jabberwocky]

unfortunately i don't think there's much you can do at this point, i suspect a doctor would be your best bet. well done on getting 6 months sober that is a huge achievement.

if you relapse, make sure to apply pressure to the site directly after you pull the needle out and hold it for as long as possible.... and don't reuse needles i'm guessing berlin is like the uk you can get as many as you like along with the rest of the kit no questions asked in pharmacies so there is no excuse. that's not to say i haven't done the same myself though.....

 

[sekio]

I'm no expert on this, but as i understand it track marks are kind of like any other scar - they are caused most often by re-using needles or multiple failed attempts to access a vein. Like all scars they do fade a little with time but it's not likely they will disappear totally. I have heard topical vitamin E can help some, not sure on its efficacy though. I'm not big into cosmetic surgery so I don't know what the state of the art in scar removal is either.

Unfortunately I think you are going to have to either just accept your scars as part of you now, or continue to wear long sleeves all the time.

I don't think you should worry too much about it. A lot of people not intimately familiar with the "drug scene" may not make the connection. And if you do have to talk about them, you don't need to go into intimate detail, you can just say they are reminders of a bad time in your life, and keep it at that. In my experience though, most people will not notice or care. Anyone who thinks less of you because of some scars is probably not worth interacting with at all, either.

Your other option is maybe consulting a plastic surgeon, or even just a cosmetologist, and see what they can do.

 

[Deru]

It depends upon the type of scarring that occured, the severity of damage done and your body’s ability to heal itself.

I had track marks from hands to feet, and after almost 3.5 years since I’ve injected last, the only thing that remains are small pits in my skin where I had marked on my skin for deep veins and would repeatedly penetrate the skin at 90 degree angles in the same spot. They’re completely impossible to tell they were track marks at this point, they just look like little tiny dimples, and even as I’m looking at one now that one seems to have almost faded from existence.

Acetyl-l-carnite and/or L-carnite and intense exercise has helped insanely well in the past few months to finally clear up some of the remaining scars that I thought would never fade after three years of still remaining.

I also take a Vitamin E supplement daily, although back in the day I did use topical vitamin E with good results.

The only scars that will probably permanently remain are where I had abscesses lanced and drained, and even those no one would ever know were due to IV use.

 

[Larimar]

Maybe get some tattoos or cosmetic tattoo , they can fill in skin colored ink ( they do it for scars, stretch marks etc.)

 

[neversickanymore]

^ good Idea, but would hold off on the tattoos until the scars lighten, Products like Cicatricure can be applied regularly to help the scars healing process. Applying a full coverage foundation like Glamoflauge (budget) can easily hide the damage. When you look at them see them as a positive as a testament to all the positive change you have brought about. As you maintain your new path they will eventually become unnoticeable.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

I haven't picked up a needle for 10 years now and you would have to look very closely to find any evidence of IV drug use. The most telling sign is the total absence of nice fat veins, but the scarring has largely disappeared. The worst of my scarring is on my legs and feet where numerous missed shots occurred from trying to hit unfeasibly small veins. These look more like cigarette burns than anything else.

My HR practices were also very poor to say the least. Multiple reuses of dirty clogged rigs, cleaning the burr off with the side of a matchbox, that sort of thing.

So if your use was infrequent as you say, then your tracks should fade relatively quickly.

 

[Deru]

The most telling sign is the total absence of nice fat veins, but the scarring has largely disappeared. The worst of my scarring is on my legs and feet where numerous missed shots occurred from trying to hit unfeasibly small veins. These look more like cigarette burns than anything else.

Same here, the most notable thing is my entire arms have no visible veins anymore (except somehow my hand veins have made a reappearance recently since I started exercising). Even the lack of visible veins really doesn't scream to anyone I was an IV addict, as not everyone has pipes for veins, although I do miss seeing those damn things. I suppose it's for the best, I'd just obsess over them anyways lol.

I agree though, if OP's use was infrequent and he had no significant infections from injecting, his track marks should fade relatively fast.

 

[mcflurry]

thank u all so much for your replies! going for vitamin e oil and glamoflauge.

I don't think you should worry too much about it. A lot of people not intimately familiar with the "drug scene" may not make the connection. And if you do have to talk about them, you don't need to go into intimate detail, you can just say they are reminders of a bad time in your life, and keep it at that. In my experience though, most people will not notice or care. Anyone who thinks less of you because of some scars is probably not worth interacting with at all, either.

thats great advice, thank u

 

[bongdong]

ive been sober for 6 months now and really want them to disappear so i can "move on" with my life ...

First of all, well done! Regarding scars, as @sekio and others have already pointed out, there is always the possibility of acceptance. Not in the sense of making an identity out of it, "I was/am an IV drug user", but acceptance of what is already here. Fighting/negating what is is a futile and dreadful condition! In our times of conformity, I have to deal with social stigma a lot myself so I kind of know how that goes.

You know, there will come a time when you will have wrinkles in your face and aging spots and all sorts of things. What to do about that? Just because it's natural and most of us will experience this, doesn't mean that there is acceptance. If this where the case, there would be no "anti-aging industry". It's the prevalent human condition and stupid culture we live in. I guess what I'm saying is: learning to accept things as they are right now is a most valuable skill that can have a huge effect on your life in general. So your scars can provide or be seen as a challange or opportunity to develop just that.

All the best.

PS.: And by the way, judging others for being judged is one hell of a pointless circle-jerk. I don't know how many times I fell (and probably will fall) into that trap. It seems I 'prefer' to learn the hard way; just wanted to point this out, so you can perhaps spare yourself (and others) some suffering..

 

[endlessnameless]

Have you considered concealer? Had (have, but we need to stay away from each other until he decides to get clean as that's what I'm doing) a friend who covered his up all the time with it and it worked a treat. I mean you'd never even know he ever used, were it not for the fact that he was still using and would be generally out of his head, but it worked wonders for track-marks.

 

[JessFR]

I have track marks on both my arms too, I reused needles a lot for years.

After quitting for about 3 years they're still noticeable. It's regrettable, and it's easier said than done, but usually I just try to not care that other people might know I was a junkie.

I don't hide my past as a drug addict, the broad strokes details of it that is, from the significant majority of people. It's totally fine if you want to or if you don't care but just don't want the reminders. That's perfectly valid. But personally I try to just accept it.

 

[G_Chem]

Same here, the most notable thing is my entire arms have no visible veins anymore (except somehow my hand veins have made a reappearance recently since I started exercising). Even the lack of visible veins really doesn't scream to anyone I was an IV addict, as not everyone has pipes for veins, although I do miss seeing those damn things. I suppose it's for the best, I'd just obsess over them anyways lol.

I agree though, if OP's use was infrequent and he had no significant infections from injecting, his track marks should fade relatively fast.

After I quit for years I’d stroke my veins in a disgustingly loving way and fantasize about poking them, thankfully nowadays I’m completely back to hating the things.

-GC

 

[Deru]

After I quit for years I’d stroke my veins in a disgustingly loving way and fantasize about poking them, thankfully nowadays I’m completely back to hating the things.

-GC

Same! Except instead of stroke, I’d just mainly fantasize. I’ll admit, though, I used to have a bag of needles and I would take one and touch it to my skin sometimes, and just try to remember and feel the magic it once provided me. At around 3 years or so, the more intense fantasizing and obsessions started to fade. I still notice people who have insanely large veins in public, though, and quickly mourn my poor and long gone veins. It’s insane the power those damn needles wielded over me.

 

[RedRum OG]

Do you have pitting/raised scars or just lines of discolored skin? If you have true scars from abscesses and such, itll be years. Also depends on your skin type and color.

I am very light skinned, and I had long purple lines basically tracing 3 veins on each forearm. They were mostly smooth to the touch other than the nasty collapsed veins beneath them. They took probably 2 years to be 90% faded. One of them is still visible in certain light, 7 years later, but that's about it

Tanning helps, but obviously that's not great for overall skin health. If I were you, I'd let it serve as a reminder until it heals naturally, unless you live some lifestyle where you need to be super undercover

 

[JessFR]

Do you have pitting/raised scars or just lines of discolored skin? If you have true scars from abscesses and such, itll be years. Also depends on your skin type and color.

I never had abscesses, but in spite of that I still have visible scars that follow some of the veins on my hands and arms. Probably a consequence of reusing needles so much (I used to use the same needle dozens of times before replacing it).

Unfortunately these scars seem pretty long term. 3 years in they haven't gone away. I don't bother even trying to hide my past when health care employees need to take blood or whatever because it's pretty obvious I was a junkie.

It's unfortunate, but seemingly just part of the price. You can't entirely erase your past.

 

[mcflurry]

staying sober + vitamin e oil + aha based creams like amlactin did the job. 90% improvement id say. sleeveless summer here i come!