shooting subutex

[ciccio788]

i am new on this but i feel im at my last resort here so i hope someone has some insite please. i have been clean off shooting subutex for a month now, just got out of rehab but before i left i shot up on time in my right hand and fell asleep that night and when i woke my hand was basically paralyzed and saw a specialist and all he could tell me was i had radial nerve damage but i never missed when i shot up. thank god i got feeling in my hand back. to make a long story short ive fought addiction for ten years and been through 6 rehabs and have never felt like i am done until now because of shooting subutex and what im scared of. ALL my veins are either hard as a rock or gone. i want to know why there are hard or what caused that. i got so bad that i shot ontop of my feet and even though i only did it 2 or 3 times on my right foot it has been over a month since i did but evertime i wear shoes or push on the vein it hurts bad and has gotten no better and i would like to know why??? i was working the other night for the first time since being home and i am a server so i run around alot and when i got home i felt a bad pain in my left leg about my ankle so i felt it and it is swollen a little bit and the vein is hard in that spot and i feel two hard spots im scared its a clot but it doesnt hurt now only when i push on it. i had a similar issue in rehab in my arm 2 weeks ago and they rushed me to the hospital and they did a ultrasound and the doctor could not really even see my veins and found nothing. only thing she said was my veins a blocked off. now im no doctor but the pain is coming from something and ive seen 3 different doctors now and NO ONE HAS A ANSWER all they say is the subutex made my veins hard and maybe they will come back or maybe they wont. I WONT ACCEPT THAT!!!! THERE HAS TO BE A ANSWER AS TO WHY THE PAIN IS THERE AND WHAT EXACTLY THE SUBUTEX HAS DONE PHYSICALLY TO MY VEINS. or if you know if my veins in my arms are hard does that mean my veins or arteries in my heart are hard too? i never had these kinda issues while i was still using, yes i had pain if i missed but never had pain in my veins like this. so please if someone knows what that crap physically does or can do or what doctor could answer these questions please help here and i thank you. and please if you are not a addict or if you are judgemental and want to put me down for what i chose to do to myself please just dont even bother posting. thank you

[toothfairie]

just wanted to say hope you get the answers about the vein thing and it gets resolved ....and congrats on your clean time!  that's great....just keep pushing forward and we are here when you need support  :)

[ciccio788]

thank you too for writting. i didnt read that where it said about 5-10 years so thanks for writting that. i dont know if you meant shooting subutex or just drugs in general. but i have been shooting off and on for 7 years but shooting subutex for a year. but the reality is the damage is done like i said but thank you for saying being thankful it wasnt longer than a year. have a great day

[ciccio788]

thank you for writting that i appreciate that of course its hard but great. and with helping around here with people shooting id be more than willing to write to them at this point i want everyone to know how bad this disease is. thanks again

[ActingBrandNew]

Congrats on your clean time! Great job! Im not sure about the science behind why our veins collapse or clot. I shot dope for many years...never subutex but darn near everything else. Ive seen youngsters lose their veins within months while some people continue to use for decades with no damage to there veins. Just from my experience, its seems the people who either have collapsed or clotted veins had very small veins to begin.

You got some great advice above so I wont repeat any of it. I will add that another doc you may be able to help you is a Hematologist.

hematologist - a physician who specializes in the functions and disorders of the blood.

thrombosis - excess clotting which obstructs veins (venous thrombosis) and arteries (arterial thrombosis).

http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/blood_disorders/blood_disorders_glossary/Pages/index.aspx#V

[ActingBrandNew]

"The thing with that is...MOST likely it wouldn't have made a big difference.  That's one of the key aspects of addiction...that people do things that are risky and dangerous, while being aware of the consequences...yet that still doesn't deter them. "

Very true statement...its how I contracted HCV....I knew it was a risk sharing but did it anyways...

[nursegirl6572]

I'm sure it's hard not to have major regrets, and of course it's impossible not to worry about something like that.


"i wish while i was in active addiction i would have done this research and stopped earlier"

The thing with that is...MOST likely it wouldn't have made a big difference.  That's one of the key aspects of addiction...that people do things that are risky and dangerous, while being aware of the consequences...yet that still doesn't deter them.  While you maybe now have more specific info, I'm willing to bet the info would not have stopped you.  Either way, no sense wasting energy on the "what ifs".  Stay in the here and now, and find out all you can and what your options are.

You should be able to ask your PCP for a referral to a CV surgeon.   That may be the best option.  There are tests that I would imagine would shed a little more light into what's going on, like an angiogram for one.

Really hope you get some answers, that will help your anxiety a lot.  While a year is long enough to obviously do damage, hang onto the fact that it wasn't longer.   Most of the case studies I read through after reading your post involved people who had used about 5-10 years (who had irrepairable damage).

Take care!