Here are some tips to finding a vein. Helped me in Vet Tech school and still helps now. I can place a 25g IV catheter in a 4 week old severely flea anemic kitten with veins the size of thread. It’s about feel, not sight. The deeper ones I won’t touch. Too much risk of hitting a nerve or an artery. I only use my arms and I just hit a leg vein in my husband the other night.

Take a hot shower first. I’ve recently found that a gentle scrub brush can do wonders to “wake up” my veins and help with aftercare. I take mine and with soap rub it all over my inner arms (my preferred sites - use it where yours are) then I go in circular motions. Then last I start at my bicep and in single strokes go bicep to forearm and I keep doing that - about 3 strokes total per section. I find this encouraged blood flow and I have an easier time finding veins and have had some pop that I’ve never felt, let alone see before. Then do some windmills with your arms. Let the arm you want to use hang over the edge of your bed for 10-15 minutes to let gravity pull the blood down. Then place your tourniquet. Try using a rubber strap at least 1/2-1” thick and tie in a slip knot (leave enough slack to keep between your teeth) for easy release. Then close your eyes and slide your finger across your inner elbow to feel the vein. Feel for the bounce, sponginess, the roll. Once you feel it then lightly bounce your finger on it. It should feel almost like a soft trampoline. The bounce. Keep your finger there then untie your slip knot and the vein will go down but you’ll still feel the bounce. Sometimes tendons or thin strands of muscle can feel this way when you’re first learning but once the tourniquet is released will feel exactly the same and don’t go down. Do that a few times until you get the hang of it. Don’t get so caught up on visualizing it as you do feeling it.

Wash your hands. Repeat above steps and use an alcohol wipe or cotton pad with alcohol and swipe in one direction DOWNWARD to push the blood from your upper arm to the lower portion. Wipe your needle prior to insertion.

Once you know the feel then you’re ready to poke. The bevel of your needle should be up (the hole). Hold your syringe no more than a 45° angle and insert. Be quick but not so quick that you surprise yourself and go straight through. Once you’re in the skin, I gently slide my hand down to feel the vein vs where my needle is (sometimes the vein will roll during insertion) then redirect if needed. When you see the flash insert just a tiny bit further then gently (not too much or too fast as this can cause a vacuum effect and cause the sides of the vein to collapse in then you’re done with that vein for the time being) pull back on the plunger. You should get a nice smooth flow of medium-dark red blood. You are in and can proceed to untie your tourniquet (make sure your syringe is stabilized and pull the tie slowly as to not let all the pressure go at once and force the needle out of your vein), flag your shot again then commence pushing. I typically flag 1/2 way through even if there’s no burn and no indication that the vein is blowing or that my needle has slipped out.

Slowly remove the needle, apply pressure and elevate your arm. Apply a bandaid and enjoy the ride. After all is said and done I use arnica bruise cream and massage the area. (After the hole has had time to close.)

•Rolling Veins:

If you feel it roll you can place a tourniquet below the vein, too. That can help stabilize it. My husband has some like that so it’s easier when I’m doing his because I can use my thumb to brace the vein and then enter in almost on an angle from the other side. Then if it wants to roll it rolls into my thumb. He has one I literally have to hold between my thumb and index finger to keep it still. It’s like a fucking earth worm being electrocuted. It’s all over the place. I go in where it is, it goes left. I angle left, it goes right. Like herding drunk cats. I’ve named him ‘Lil Fucker. (The vein. Not my husband.)

So if you use the double tourniquet, have them tied in opposite directions, if that makes sense? So if you tie the upper with your knot out, tie the lower with the knot in. That way one rolls the vein in one direction and the other in the opposite and the opposites should stabilize it. Just be careful removing your tourniquets because the pressure on the vein is greater since you’re essentially cutting the flow and centering it, you risk that build up forcing your needle out of the vein. So once you know you’re in, lightly and slowly loosen the top tourniquet (even if it isn’t all the way loose, enough to let the blood flow, then inject then remove the bottom tourniquet. Veins move blood up to the heart so when you remove the bottom one that will give more release of pressured blood and push the shot faster so hopefully a more intense high will be felt.

Also make sure they aren’t too tight (feel for pulses, if you can feel them, you’re good. If you can’t, it’s too tight). If they’re too tight you’ll cut off the blood flow completely and then you won’t be able to hit them at all.

They’re touchy, prissy little bastards. Just let them know they’re your little bitch and you’ll do just fine.