IM Injections

[Slevin]

I work in an ER so these weird things interest me.

Have any of you guys ever had ischemia from your IM injections (intramusclular)? or have you ever injected into an artery/vein?

I suppose with the latter..you might be dead.

Some guy managed to inject some type of steriod into his femoral artery. Needless to say this caused occlusion and he died shortly after.

Where do you guys learn to inject from? I know it's not trial and error.

I always thought that it might be difficult to find a source to trust.

[BigLittleTim]

You can't die by giving yourself an intramuscular injection of steroids, unless you have an anaphalcatic (alergic) sp? reaction to steroids. This is incredibly rare.

When injecting, pull back a little on the plunger of the syringe to see if any blood comes back up the tube. If it does, you're in a vein. Pull the needle out a bit and try again. When you're not in the vein anymore you can give yourself the injection.

The worst thing that happens if you inject into a vein is you have a TERRIBLE coughing fit! I mean, really... it's like you're gonna cough your lungs up. This is an alergic reaction your lungs have to the gear. It subsides in about five minutes, but you're gonna feel a bit of a cough coming on all day.

There are websites and forums devoted exclusively to bodybuilding and steroid information. You should do LOTS of research before ever even thinking about doing your first cycle. Most guys that I've seen, both here and elsewhere, are no where NEAR ready to start juicing. Maximize your own natural potential before going to the dark side.

Cheers, and good luck, buddy.

-BigLittleTim

[BigLittleTim]

I've submitted your question to the Columbia Graduate School faculty (actually, the boardmembers of Anabolic Review) and will post their scholarly replies as soon as they get back from their weekly lunch & croquet.

-BigLittleTim

[Slevin]

Bring back a really old topic while looking for another I started. The medical examiners conclusion was an arterial air embolism. So, just to clarify it wasn't the steroids themselves (or rather the oil base) but the air bubble created and the resulting cardiac/brain damage. It's extremely rare but there are examples in modern medical literature. The amount of air you would need to inject isn't really known. Just thought I'd get back to you before Columbia

[ilimzn]

Originally Posted by BigLittleTim

You can't die by giving yourself an intramuscular injection of steroids, unless you have an anaphalcatic (alergic) sp? reaction to steroids. This is incredibly rare.

When injecting, pull back a little on the plunger of the syringe to see if any blood comes back up the tube. If it does, you're in a vein. Pull the needle out a bit and try again. When you're not in the vein anymore you can give yourself the injection.

If you are doing this you are at risk of various things, worst of them being an 'oil embolism' and scarring being the best. Once you have pierced the surrounding tissue with a needle, you have made a thin incision with the needle, which makes it possible for blood to leak into the surrounding tissue and form a 'bubble'. This will eventually be absorbed but it can leave an abscess-like scarring. If you also inject an oily substance in the vicinity, the pressure will lead to blood mixing with the oil. Depending on conditions oil might leak into the bloodstream. The possibility is lower if the needle was thinner and the area is not subjected to mechanical pressure (such as 'it's not on your butt!'). In any case, there could be trouble, ranging from minor to life threatening.
The proper way to do it if you hit a blood vessel (and I am assuming here you were not crazy enough to inject near any large blood vessels) is to remove the needle, carefully squeeze out the blood (oil will float on it so pointing the needle down and squeezing the plunger will squeeze out the blood), change the needle, and chose another site to inject - after you have applied pressure to the previous unsuccessful site with a cotton swab dabbed in alcohol.
In any case DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE inject if you have drawn blood when aspirating (this is what you call the process of pulling out the plunger to create vacuum and check if you hit a blood vessel), see below.

The worst thing that happens if you inject into a vein is you have a TERRIBLE coughing fit! I mean, really... it's like you're gonna cough your lungs up. This is an alergic reaction your lungs have to the gear. It subsides in about five minutes, but you're gonna feel a bit of a cough coming on all day.

The WORST thing that can happen is that you'll be DEAD. Getting the oil into the bloodstream results in an oil embolism, and you will indeed cough your lungs out, literally. Embolism of this kind is surviveable IF it's treated immediately but it depends on where the bubble of air/oil went. It needs to be stopped and eventually removed. If it gets circulating, it will clog up your lungs and essentially you will die of asphyxiation. The way it works is that veins break down to smalelr and smaller veins ending in alveolae in the lungs, where this fine mesh structure acts as a huge area membrane to permit the exchange of gases. Oil will clog up the ends being too thick to pass and result in necrotism (dying off) of the alveolar tissue. What is worse, the heart will try to pump blood through which it will not be able to do, rising pressure and causing ruptures and/or a heart attack. Sounds terrible? It should! All that's needed to prevent it is a bit of patience as described above.

It should be noted that some stabilizing agents in particular oil-based steroids may cause a fit of coughing and no, this is not embolism. Some trenbolone versions have this problem, and it's usually enough just to breathe in a bit of the 'smell' of the oil, usually left when you push the air out of the needle before injecting. Absorption through the tissues where it was injected also gives some people the cough, but this passes soon enough.

All in all, severe risks from intramuscular injection are actually very very low when it's properly done, and in fact it's not difficult to do properly.
Make sure there is no air in the needle before injecting. Make sure the injection site is well cleaned and sterilized. Make sure you did not hit a blood vessel. Do not wiggle the needle too much and do not inject quickly. And - you are done. Most of the real risks are coupled with improperly sanitizing the injection site, i.e. not maintaining sterility of the skin and needle - so it comes down to infections and abscesses. Obviously, other risks increase depending on the site - an abundance of blood vessels or nerves will do it, whichis why you do not inject just anywhere - and also, why so-called site injections aimed at increasing the size of a particular body part (usually a lagging smaller muscle group) are far more risky. So, once again, unless you plan on becoming the next Greg Valentino, it's really easy to do safely.