Injecting - Help with some tips on getting veins up???

[methadone_lad]

swim is having a few problems with his arms he cant find many veins on the arms and prefers 2 inject on arms (but doesnt really matter) and finds it hard 2 get some veins up and doesnt want 2 miss!!,does anyone know some tips that gets your veins 2 come out and appear clearly??on the arms and that ect cheers

[chillinwill]

Try pumping up your arms. Clenching and unclenching your fists can work as well as running warm (not burning hot but warm) water over your arms. Of course using a tourniquet can be helpful as well. This can be anything such as a belt.

[TheContrivance]

Instead of just running warm water over the injection site, SWIM has found that taking a warm/hot shower helps a lot more for getting circulation going.

Reputation Comments on this post:

definitely

[Solinari]

21 and no veins that is bad. My fiend has been injecting for probably 4 or 5 years on and off, and for over a year every day with multiple injections daily. Today my fiend rarely injects but his veins have never been damaged when he was injecting all the time, he has collapsed a couple of veins and they are certainly nothing like they were before he injected but he can still inject no problem without a tourniquet in many locations from the hand to the elbow.

The only advice i can give is stop injecting, if someone can't get any veins and the groin is the only option then this signals the end of their injecting drug using days. I can't advise strongly enough against using the groin, it really can not end well and it will eventually get infected and cause serious problems. I suggest giving injecting a rest for a few months and see if some veins can recover, maybe ask advice about this from a local drug service.

[methadone_lad]

swim has veins in the arms there isnt too many collapesed veins,just having trouble getting them up good,swim uses belts and that,swim has just started injecting himself by himself not too long ago as his friends done it,but there not about now,swim just doesnt want to miss and hav abbseses

[Ilsa]

Originally Posted by methadone_lad

swim has veins in the arms there isnt too many collapesed veins,just having trouble getting them up good,swim uses belts and that,swim has just started injecting himself by himself not too long ago as his friends done it,but there not about now,swim just doesnt want to miss and hav abbseses

missing doesn't cause abcesses, bacteria do...swim got MRSA once from failing to properly clean the injxn site. swiy's biggest concern, aside from cleanliness obviously, is avoiding issues like deep vein thrombosis--nasty shit. swiy can read more here. deeper pelvic veins are prone to it (so shooting in the groin area is just as risky as the legs), as are leg veins--which some ppl start to use when they've blown the ones in the arms. swim's veins are bad for shooting--small and hidden. she's blown a few, and generally just avoids injecting altogether now. when she does, she uses shorts (to avoid going through, although at the correct angle this shouldn't be as issue), never uses one more than once, and obsessively cleans the area this is a great illustration of the damage done to a needle after just one use--keep that image in swiy's head next time swiy thinks about reusing (if that's somwthing swiy even does). not trying to sound overbearing, but since injecting bypasses the body's defenses and does damage that can't be repaired as fast as new damage is done (generally speaking), harm reduction saves a lot of time, pain and money.

that said, as far as getting veins up, swim has found that a couple sets of push-ups work wonders, as does tying off immediately after. basically anything that gets the blood moving will increase blood pressure, making veins bulge. staying hydrated really helps as well. again, more volume = increased blood pressure. go chug some water

best of luck and namaste

Reputation Comments on this post:

very helpful links and advice

[teddybearpicnics]

this thread should be a reality check to anyone using veins in their groin..swim is hard core and thought he was bad when he tried it in his neck cuz he only had one bag...sticking a needle in the groin...oh my god but it hurts to think about it...
.teddy

[methadone_lad]

thanks everyone for there comments

[Ilsa]

here is something to further clarify the abscess issue...bacteria introduced into tissue surrounding a vein (ie by missing) are what cause the abscess. the 'gunk' injected can also contain toxins from cut or other sources, and this can exacerbate inflammation secondary to infection, but bacteria are the root cause; breaching the body's greatest natural barrier to infection--the skin--gives bacteria an in to warm, moist, nutrient rich subdermal tissue, which is a great environment for bacterial growth. webmd gives a good rundown on the types of bacteria most commonly known to cause abscessing here. with the exception of ppl on immunosuppressant therapy and those with congenital defects like autoimmune diseases, bacteria are the causative agent; a complete list of known causes can be found here, . bacteria introduced into the bloodstream (ie a direct hit) the immune system will usually clear the infection or it will find somewhere to hide--the valves of the heart for example, where it will fester untiil the infection becomes severe enough to manifest symptoms.

not trying to harp on this, but it's relevant and ppl need accurate information concerning injecting--it's risky stuff and knowing the right info can save limbs and lives.

[Junkhead23]

Back on topic and another way of getting veins up is to swing SWIY arms in a circular motion and also the cliche of smacking SWIYarms does actually work too. Heat is the best thing to get the veins to the surface though so even rubbing SWIY arms works. A tourniquet is always the best thing to use though but beware that using belts are sometimes a little too restrictive on the veins and can cause them to pop. A bit of string or a stocking is probably better.

JH

[stephy171072]

Swim has only ever injected in her arms but has just spent over an hour trying to find something there anymore. Swim is about to go insain.

[olduncle]

Pumping up, warm water, a tie off, smacking where SWIY thinks the vein ought to be, and a really bright light are the only choices. If none of these work, SWIY'll have to find another place.

Though just jabbing in a needle in random locations and probing around in hope of registering, and repeating until it works is often done as a last resort, the odds of success before the needle clogs are very low.

[deltakilo]

L Arginine, will make them huge.

[Ilsa]

nvm...sorry, this post is now irrelevant, as the previous post to which i had replied has been deleted.