help ! pain and swelling in crook of ankle after shooting methadone liquid

[Z]

If it was a miss then pay close attention to it.  The only permanent scarring I have is from missing a methadone injection and have it swell up into an angry tennis ball of pus.  I couldn't imagine something like that on my ankle.  Ouch.

[dizzle]

it doesn't sound like an artery hit to me.


methadone burns like a mofo if you miss it, if you put it in an artery, you'd not have been able to even push the rest of the syringe, it feels like fire under your skin, EVERYWHERE downstream that vein. I can almost say with 100% confidence that you have missed, but not hit an artery.


especially that you said you "felt more pressure" on the shot(s) in question. That just means you were injecting into the interstitial area, not in a vein, not deep in a muscle, just sort of in this area between. I used to be so good at feeling that difference in pressure, I wouldn't even have to pull back on the plunger to see if I was in a vein, I'd know based on the amount of pressure it took to push the plunger down, I would just tap it with my finger, and not even really have to push anything, and if it took more than a certain amount of pressure, I knew I wasn't in and didn't even have to pull back.

All this being said, you should put warm compresses on it, and lightly massage the area, you don't want your body to wall this off and begin attacking it that way, that's how abscesses form. What you want it to absorb it into your body and it won't even have a chance to turn into an infection.


The fact that you're saying it is warm and red tells me the process has begun, so you need to intervene asap. If you can get your body to absorb it, yo'll be fine. If it begins to feel like a little lump, and is tender (painful) to the touch, hot/warm, and begins to constrict muscle movement in that area, you need to hit the warm compresses extra hard, and massage the area, breaking up that lump. You don't, however, want to push that infection deeper into your tissue, so be mindful of that when massaging it.

Draw a ring around the red/swollen area with a marker before you go to bed, when you wake up it should be smaller, if it gets larger thats a problem. If you're going to bed the following night and it's larger than the ring you drew the night before, you're losing the battle.

TL;DR: it's not an arterial hit, it's a miss. warm compresses and massages SHOULD take care of it.



P.S.: I've noticed when in situations like this a few things are critical, eating well so your body has the nutrients to fight the fight, as well as sleeping. Get as much sleep as you can. When you're sleeping your body repairs itself, I've found the best results, ie lumps going down, swelling subsiding, etc, have come from getting a REALLY good nights sleep. Also, DO NOT shoot anything into that area or anywhere near it for a bit, your body doesn't need to fight another fight in that area right now.

[Z]

Advil/ibuprofen has been a real help to me in the past along with everything Dizz said.  It cuts down on the swelling and pain to let the area heal itself. 

[clinton (OP)]

Yep its a missed shot ..a big one ..there was no bubble or intense burn though ..maybe it was an unsanitary shot ?
The ankle hurts less now that I walked on it all day but it's still red and inflamed ..there was redness going up my calf last night but it is gone too ..


It's just not worth it .I looked at my hands and arms and I saw how fucked up I look ..bruises ,scabs from trying to hit and pulling out ..I think of the two huge scars running from the base of my thumb to the middle of my inner arm ...those two veins used to be 100% available ,not any more ..I used to Have a vein that runs from in between my ring and pinky to my wrist ..it was the first I burnt out ..in a few short weeks ! The  veins in the arm lasted a few months ,I thought they'd be there forever ..now I'm hitting along the base of my thumb where the top of the hand and the Palm meet ..or my knees ..or feet ..it ankles ..how long until they're gone too ? Not to mention I don't go to the exchange enough and I've been using the same two tired ass needles ...I'm sure they're festering with bacteria not too mention the damage my 25g needle does after hundred or so injections with it ..it's blunt ! But I keep on keeping on for what ? Ten seconds of euphoria ? Fuck yes it feels good after going without awhile and blasting away but damn it's time to stop or take a break ..I'm tossing my rigs out before I change my mind ..my ankle is red and hurts ..my arms are bruised and bloody , my hands have collapsed veins and needle marks along the thumbs and on top of both my hands are scabs along the veins . .I'm shocked my loved ones don't notice...I have to wear long sleeves in hot  weather to cover up the two massive arm scars I mentioned earlier ..drinking methadone was never an issue before ,in fact it made me feel good like l took a huge dose of oral morphine or poppy tea ...I'm chasing and I need to stop ...I'm not quitting the clinic ..I'll probably be a member for a lifetime but I am done with this damn needle fixation ...

[Zoops]

Get rid of those nasty dull rigs!

[clinton (OP)]

Yep ..I know ...the 25 is so blunt and it leaves bad marks ..and like I said I've used it well over a hundred times ..I haven't disinfected it once ! I just assume I'll be fine ..anything for the blast

[clinton (OP)]

If it's still red and swollen tomorrow night should I go to the hospital ? ..

What fucking excuse and I give my family ..it'll be bad ..girl will be sad ..brother will be sad ..then he'll tell my parents ..Sheesh

[Chip]

Don't panic. it should subside and 'done misses are warm too.

just keep an eye on it ... you can feel the liquid pooling probably ... it's only once ever gone bad on me.

[shoybs]

If it's still just red and swollen you still have some time and a chance that it may go away on its own.

One of the things to look out for is the pain level. Right now it's probably feeling a little sore, right? If so then you're still okay for now. But if it becomes SUPER painful, you'll know it's become an abscess at that point. And you'll definitely know when that happens - abscesses cause excruciating pain, and especially right on your ankle like that.

So if the pain gets to the point of being nearly unbearable, or if any part of the lump turns black, go to the ER.

[clinton (OP)]

I worked on it all day ,I unloaded trailers full of 100 pound fans and tables ..the pain isn't too bad ..just warm and tender ..


Ty all for the support ..

The place is a gold mine

[clinton (OP)]

Well its not nearly as red or tender ..there still a small bit of inflammation but it's decreasing ..it feels and I feel much better