Thursday, September 3, 2009

The first procedure: August 27, 2009:

Well, I must admit when going to see doctors and the like I am not one to ask too many questions, so it was no surprise when consulting with the dermatologist's office about getting my tattoo removed, I did not ask any questions. Basically, when can I do it? An important question would have been, does it hurt? Luckily, PA Allison remembered after our consultation to tell me that I would get anesthesia. However I took this to mean I would get a topical kind of some sort but still feel it. So the day of the procedure, I was nervous. As I laid down in the chair, I started to get super nervous. My heart raced. My hands started shaking, and I started holding my breath which is exactly what I did in anticipation of the pain when I got my first tattoo. I almost passed out eleven years ago, so it was easy for me think of the ways in which I was going to fade out this time.

The anesthesia came and to my surprise it was injections or local anesthesia. The anesthesia had epinephrine in it, so if you are sensitive to caffeine, you may want to prepare for a good buzz. (My tattoo eraser told me later to have a good meal before hand which would be good advice if you get nauseous from nerves). I got a lot of the injections, and before the treatment even started, the PA checked my "awareness" with a poker of some sort to see if I could feel anything. So needless to say, I couldn’t feel much during the treatment. I maybe felt 10-12 of the “pops” on the edges of my tattoo. Considering I was so very well anesthetized, I doubt I really “felt” those in full intensity anyway. I got two lasers one was the laser for black and the other was the laser for the red and green. The only difference was the “green” laser came off a little hotter. I guess I felt this from the neighboring nerves but I had not sensed any heat from the “black” laser. The procedure itself took maybe 20 minutes, and the majority of the time was really spent numbing my skin.

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