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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | Eligiu | deficiT

Hopeless Unusable veins, track marks, and blood work.

Y

Youpi

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
58
Hi everyone.

Damn, I never thought I'd end up in the Dark Side...

I'm going to make this short. I've had a period where I used to IV a lot. Now both of my arms all veins are unusable even after a long period. (If you IV stim and are careless/young/dumbass you know how hard it can be to inject when shaking..)
If I put a tourniquet nothing pops up it just gets red. Both of the forearms and crook, never injected elsewhere nor in hands but veins in hands are tiny.
Some of the track marks are more close to black than brown... even if I stopped more than a year ago.

I can't go back in time, but I utterly regret not taking more care when injecting. I know I should have.
I don't even wear t shirts when I'm on my own anymore because I literally can't see those marks, I hate myself.
More than that, I've been depressed for a long time and I wonder if my testosterone levels are right.

But those track marks and unusable veins are stopping me from asking and going to get a blood test.
I know some people sadly lost both of their arms so it must be possible to draw blood from elsewhere but how trained is the regular nurse to that ?

Also, I started motorcycling when I got sober and my biggest fear is crashing, when they will get to the crash place how will they do if they want to inject something and can't find a vein ?

I'm a dumbass, I regret a lot, not being to wear a shirt or see my own arms is a punishment I do not with to my worse enemy.
Could someone explain me what I can do regarding blood tests ?
As for track marks, I know there are threads where some recommandations are already, but is there a way to remove them like a tatoo (laser) or all I can do is heal as much as I can with the help of the creams I'll find using the search function ?

Thanks in advance.
 
Health care professionals ( Nurses, Doctors, EMT's ) all know where to get blood if your normal veins are damaged. They would be able to treat you in an emergency.

As far as getting a blood draw to check all your levels, a phlebotomist knows all the secrets too and SHOULD treat you with respect. There is no shame in past mistakes and you can ease your mind by getting the blood tests that will show anything amiss.

There are some good creams out there that can help you heal them up as far as appearances go. Not sure the name of them but someone else will come along and help with that. Good luck.
 
You have veins all over and phlebotomists and nurses will be able to find a vein faster than most doctors. Most will be trained to find veins on very old people which is significantly harder than someone young who has collapsed veins.
 
Super easy just tell them your a hard stick and the hands work best. Rinse your hands under hot water for a few minutes close before blood draw in a bathroom.

looked into scar treatment.. there is gel and patches that can decrease healing time.

Coke? Nice work at getting out of that !!

Testosterone was a game changer for me.
 
Last edited:
dragonix said:
Are you familiar with a berry known as Sea Buckthorn?
Click to expand...
I've heard its a worthwhile supplement full of vits and antioxidants, never tried it, seen it in the health store, pricey am i right?
So what does it have to do with trackmarks/scars etc?
 
Dude I’ve lost my veins from both IV use and chemotherapy. The chemo was much much worse, and not even a year out I’ve already got some good veins going on the underside of my arm.

You gotta work for it. Those veins don’t just pop up if your not active. I remember when I first started working out again my veins would hurt cuz the pressure was so much.

It takes time but you can and will recover. It takes healthy diet and exercise, mostly exercise.

-GC
 
But ya it sucks getting tolerance with this low of use… I’d honestly use more if my bladder and urethra could handle it. If I overuse (which to most people would be amounts they sweep off the table when they’re done) I get horrible pain these days. Feels like I’m trying to pass a kidney stone or something. Who knows maybe I am. Either way shit scares me.

-GC
 
G_Chem said:
But ya it sucks getting tolerance with this low of use… I’d honestly use more if my bladder and urethra could handle it. If I overuse (which to most people would be amounts they sweep off the table when they’re done) I get horrible pain these days. Feels like I’m trying to pass a kidney stone or something. Who knows maybe I am. Either way shit scares me.

-GC
Click to expand...
Have you been using it tonight? I believe you've posted this in the wrong thread pal.
 
Vitamin E is important for your skin, I know that much. Aloe lotion and things like that help. Like GC mentioned, exercise can go a long way towards repairing your veins.
 
I have the same issue , they usually send me to the hospital . A phlebotomist at the doctor or places like labcorp can only draw from the wrist to your elbow . They could hit your hand veins but there not allowed to . Last time I needed to draw blood I tried at the doc which sent me to labcorp which sent me to the hospital. The hospital was able to draw from my shoulder . It is what it is tho and I’m not ashamed of it . If I could take it back I would but I can’t .
 
They can do a thing called intraosseous catheter if an IV isn't doable. They put a special needle inside the bone (usually leg) where there are blood vessels and they work as well as a classic IV.
Paramedics can place that so don't worry. An IV might not be doable for various reasons in an emergency setting. They're trained.
In hospitals they can use ultrasounds to place an IV in a deep vein if they can't find a superficial one that's usable.

Don't worry about this specific thing!
 
I’ve had to have a lot of blood and other tests lately and I have collapsed veins in both arms and feet. It is almost impossible to get blood out of me and the phlebotomist usually needs 4 or 5 goes at least.

However, since I have health problems that appear to be cardio-vascular (still trying to figure that out for sure) I am totally up front with all medical professionals about my former drug use. I’ve never have a negative reaction from a doctor or nurse and in most cases they seem kind of pleased that I provided that extra information as it obviously makes their job of diagnosing me simpler. Interestingly in most cases they downplay the likelihood that IV drugs ultimately caused my problems. They are actually more likely to blame the mRNA Covid vaccine booster I had a few months back.
 
I got a blood test just last week on Friday after having used Wednesday and Thursday. I'm not a great IV user. My hands shake (essential tremor) so I tend to miss a lot and slip out.

However, I very much needed my blood taken for my hormone levels to be measured.

I told the phlebotomist that I had 'probably made his job a bit difficult' and he responded 'I'm sure I've seen much worse.'

When he looked at my arms he told me that it wasn't anywhere near as bad as he'd seen and not to feel too bad. I told him I'd actually reduced my use from 3-4 days a week to 1-2 a week or fortnight.

At that he told me that he was incredibly impressed and said he hoped I was proud of myself. I told him I was and I'm planning on reducing more.

He explained that he is trained to find veins in all sorts of areas so not to worry about my arms for the moment since they're looking fine anyway. I told him I try to be as safe as I can and I don't use any veins in my arms or feet.

He said that I was smart to do that, and to keep pushing myself to improve my life and leave the difficulties with blood taking to the professionals.

I thanked him for not making an appointment which I was dreading (I was imagining sour expressions, comments about my stupidity, and judgement) into one which made me feel better.

He said my commitment to bettering myself made his day.

Professionals are good at this shit. They know what they're doing and can find veins out of nowhere and not make you feel shit while doing it.
 
99 % of the phlebotomist’s who’ve had to deal with my fucked up veins have been entirely non-judgemental. I’ve never even had one ask about my IV use unless I mentioned it first (which I now usually do). They act like I have naturally difficult veins.

There was one exception a long time ago when the guy taking the sample was a pretty queer filipino guy at least 20 years younger than me. When he had missed 4 or 5 times I told him he shouldn’t feel bad because my veins were fucked from recent meth use. He then spent the next 20 minutes talking about how great the meth was in Manila and complaining about the quality here. He didn’t ask me directly to hook him up but that’s clearly what he wanted.
 
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