MoonWraith

On 10/13/2021 at 10:06 AM, Jenn said:

Sooo this is helping me out a lot I got my pups portrait large on my forearm I don’t know if anyone is even going to see this since it’s 2 years old LOL but the mouth of my pup looks just like that it’s been 7 days today and I’m freaking out the sharp pain and stinging is unreal! I have no redness around the tattoo but the scabbing color is exactly the same as yours... how did your tattoo make out in the end .. because I’m nonshalantly freaking out

In the end it's a bit patchy in the one spot with the scab. It drove me nuts for a while but I've mostly forgot about it now 2 years later lol. If it's all scabbed up like that it's a shot in the dark: Might be perfect might be a bit wonky like mine was. Some people just get giant scabs and it's no big deal. If you have no redness it's probably fine, I would randomly get huge scabs on my old tattoos and they would just fall off. But in this case I had redness in the area around it and it was actually cellulitis or an allergy (no one knows to this day, two different docs gave me inconsistent replies lol)

Did they use red ink in the area?

On 2/16/2021 at 5:22 PM, oboogie said:

Green and red always end up spotty on me. They always have to be touched up. Nothing to do with my artist because he's done 99% of my tattoos, and those are the only colors it happens on.

It's just weird how tattoos heal badly in some places and not others.

Yeah the green got patchy on mine at the bottom too. Maybe we have the same thing going on? The artist offered to go over it again but I'm not sure I'm going to take her up on it just yet. I think I'm gonna just get some some more blackwork first instead and then see how I feel about reopening this can of worms, lol. It was just so bad the first time I'm afraid to get work done in that spot again.

On 2/15/2021 at 1:20 AM, Dan said:

this happened to me, I had a reaction  to red on my right arm, but many many tattoos later and many with red I have not ever had a bad reaction to red again.

It's so weird how stuff like that happens. Like you can see in the pics that red was totally fine on the upper part of my leg o_O And the artist commented on how weird it was because the red on my arms is also perfect and healed like a gem! So it seems unlikely it's some kind of full-body red ink allergy ... the human body is so weird, I almost seems like different areas can be "sensitive" or "allergic" or whatever you call it while the rest is fine

On 2/14/2021 at 11:27 AM, LizBee said:

I have worked for a plastic surgeon for almost 30 years and much of this issue could relate to the body site itself, possibly combined with the actual technique used to create the particular design (shading and color, with more vigorous application). Reds are notorious, though there is no agreement on which reds, and what people are sensitive to what pigments, etc. The lower anterior (aka pretibial) leg is the worst spot for healing due to the poor blood flow and the fact that the lower leg is under pressure as we walk and support our weight. 

So, if you're contemplating another tattoo I'd wager if it is not located in this area the odds are good that you won't have a similar experience. Considering your good result overall it would not stop me either.

Thank you for the reply! Honestly this is about exactly what I always suspected: When I had the original piece done the artist was . . . Let's just say kind of heavyhanded in that area? She used a lot of numbing spray and she just kept going at it, going at it, layering the ink: So that seems to support your hypothesis of vigorous application, lol. This post makes me feel a lot better so thank you for that. I think if I get another one I'm going to stick to areas I haven't had a problem with in the past like arms, calf, etc. I have 3 large tattoos away from this area (one on calf, two on upper arm) and they all healed like a gem so I really do think you're probably right and it was the "cursed area" 😛

2 hours ago, Hogrider said:

I think I'd follow the doctor's advice. What's your plan if she turns out to be right?

Well the thing is she said one thing and then at the next appt turned around and said something else. First she said "No more tattoos, ever" then later on it was "Tattoos are fine, just no red ink". 

24 minutes ago, SStu said:

It wouldn't stop me. 

I'd suspect that not all red inks are manufactured the same way, either. If you want more red, have the artist use what he stocks to draw a simple hidden line on your skin somewhere a couple of weeks prior to the actual session and see what it does!

Yeah, I have a hard time beleiving it was the red because I have shittons of red all over my body! 3 other huge tattoos with red as a main component. It was right over the shin bone - Really think it could have been an infection and the second doc was dead wrong, especailly since the antibiotics helped

Some of you may remember me from this gem of a thread over a year ago: 

Luckily all is well now, it ended up healing up totally fine (except for a crack down the center from where the scab split 😞 ) 

Now originally when I had this whole mess, no one could figure out what was going on: One doc gave me antibiotics for cellulitis, the other said it was an allergic reaction and gave me some cream. But honestly I haven't had a single sign of allergic reaction since . Zero itching, zero sensitivity to the sun, it behaves 100% like any other tattoo. 

Also keep in mind I have shittons of other red ink on my body: Huge red roses on my arm, a big red moon, hell there's even red in the same tattoo that behaved totally fine.

I don't have much confidence in either doc's analysis since both of them said opposite things. Honestly imo the antibiotics are what helped the most.

 But of course, I must be a raving lunatic, because I'm starting to get that itch again for more tattoos. 😛 This is the big question: Originally the "it's an allergy" doc said I shouldn't get any tattoos ever again!!!! And I was like ... wtf .... but okay. But she later took this back when i visited her again a few months later and she saw I had no lasting issue. She then said it would be fine to get blackwork, anything like blue or green that I haven't had issues with before, etc .. Just stay away from red ink

It kind of sketched me out when she said I shouldn't get any tattoos again then changed her mind?!  Her original rational was that allergies "build over time" and your body's reaction builds up slowly, so maybe although it was fine once it could eventually get more severe (she mentioned an extreme cases where someone had systemic shock). What the hell would you guys make of this? Does she just not know anything about tattoos? If she took back the original advice do you think it's fine to get another?

I'm tempted to get some blackwork in the not so distant future, MAYBE a bit of purple or blue . . . what do you guys think?

Guys I'm seriously so happy, the scab came off today and it looks way better than I thought it would underneath!! 

2 hours ago, t76turbo said:

I feel your pain @MoonWraith literally  

 

I am currently going through an almost identical situation. I had about half of my lower leg/calf done recently. Outline done about 4 weeks ago which worked out perfect and all the color 2 Friday’s ago (8 days ago I guess).  I am a large person. 6’6” and about 270lbs. So half my lower leg is a lot of work. 

Artist used saniderm day of tattoo. It started leaking because there was so much plasma in the area. So I went back to get it rewrapped in saniderm Saturday. He cleaned it very well and applied it again. By Sunday the pressure was very bad like you said. Sitting with my leg straight out was fine but when I stood and the blood and fluids are pulled down by gravity it was excruciating pain. By Monday the new film was leaking so I pulled it off in the shower and cleaned the area with anti microbial soap and started letting it air dry.

 

But the pain just got worse. And it got infected somehow. I also have a weird symptom of red bumps and general redness around only parts of the tattoo.  But my tattoo is mostly red and I am starting to wonder if it has to do with allergies to the red ink  I went to the doctor  a couple days ago after part of the tattoo continued to drain and was very red. He was very concerned about the infection. Gave me a shot of antibiotics and a prescription for a heavy duty antibiotic. Like you said, the antibiotics made a difference in the pain pretty quickly. Some of mine still looks very bad like yours as far as scabbing and obvious fluids. 

I hope yours heals the way you want it. I am worried about mine but reading some of the comments you have gotten and others on this forum have posted, maybe I will just need some little touch ups at the end. 

 

If I EVER do a large piece on my legs again I will break it into a number of smaller sessions if possible. 

Wow, that sucks so much that you're dealing with something similar. Well I know this doesn't help you much in the moment, but I'm so, so happy to say that most of my symptoms are now completely gone. So as long as you get a good antibiotic and listen to your doctor, there's a good chance you'll be fine.

It took me a while to start seeing major improvement from the antibiotic but it worked like a charm in the end. I still had weird fluids coming out of it for days even after starting the antibiotic. Honestly that didn't fully stop until I was almost done with the treatment, which my doctor said it normal. 

Right now I still have the big ugly scab, but it's hanging on by a thread. Check out the pic. I have no pain at all anymore, the redness has gone down, etc. 

Now one thing you're having that I never experienced is the bumps. I didn't get that, so that actually makes me a bit worried you could have an allergy. I also didn't have a ton of redness (only like .... under the tattoo in parts where it's totally normal). But again, that could just be normal wound-healing weirdness. I think it's impossible to tell if it's an allergy until it heals up, unfortunately. 

Right now just try to keep a positive attitude. As someone who went through the exact same nightmare, there's a good chance you'll be fine before long. I know how it is: It seriously felt like it was NEVER going to get better, I was so upset for a while. But it's a huge wound! So the sad truth is it can take almost a month to heal from something like this. 

Just take your antibiotics and think long and hard about getting any more tattoos 😛 

On 9/11/2019 at 5:19 PM, tsuk said:

Medical advices are by nature always in the "extreme" side of things

Components can differ between each inks 

I would always stick to a given medical advice regardless of how extreme it may sound

There are indeed some cases where it goes to shit, altough those reports are always to be taken with a grain of salt unless you have been trained to read a scientific paper AND have some basic dermatology knowledge

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5142484/#!po=5.55556

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4799043/

Take care

Wow, that first one seems like a real nightmare. That's insane! Luckily I think that's some kind of freak thing 😛 But the second one had some good info, thank you. It seems like most reactions are relatively minor which is a relief. But I'm happy to say I haven't had much trouble at all over the past few days. If it even was an allergy (We really think it may have just been an infection at this point) it seems to be dying down pretty fast. But this whole experience definitely made me rethink getting more tattoos, and especially red ink!

Oh, and one more question for you guys: The dermatologist seemed to think at least some of this was an allergy to the red ink? And my artist also mentioned it could be something to do with the red ink being "difficult to heal." 

The dermatologist actually warned me against getting other tattoos in the future and said I could have a "severe systemic reaction" if I did?! Does that sound a little extreme to you? Has anyone heard of anything like this? Either way I'm going to take a break from tattoos for a long while, LOL. I have enough to keep me happy for a long time.

The artist just told me to come back for a touch up, haha. Like even if this was some kind of allergy, can't I just avoid red ink in the future and be good? I've had red ink on a bunch of other spots without issues, even in the same tattoo . . . 

19 hours ago, oboogie said:

I have had big scabby tattoo wrecks and not needed touchups. You may be fine, or you may need touchups. Everyone heals differently.

It actually doesn't look half bad under the scab as it's coming off! Not nearly as faded as I thought it would be. 

4 hours ago, SStu said:

Yep. I hope you post another photo next month so we can see how it actually comes out. 

I'm definitely going to post a pic once it's finally healed! For sure, I won't forget 🙂 

On 9/5/2019 at 4:25 PM, Heatherr said:

I recently had a half sleeve done.  It is my first large tattoo.  The regret, and panic I feel after getting this tattoo has been crushing to me.  I am not an emotional person so this is strange behavior for me.  

Is this normal? Not normal? 

I am trying to reason with myself to find something about the tattoo that I love and I can't.  I feel like I am talking myself further down the rabbit hole and almost into a depression over it all. 

I've never had this happen personally, but I've seen a lot of people online talking about similar feelings. I'm sure you'll get over it eventually. If people can learn to carry on with life after getting an amputation or 3rd degree burns, you can get used to a tattoo. (Sorry if that sounds harsh, but the human brain is surprisingly adaptable.) If you still hate it in a few years, maybe you can get it lasered off? But that's seriously doubtful. 

2 hours ago, bongsau said:

@MoonWraith every post i've read in this thread you were putting something new on it...leave it alone and quit putting lotion, creams, ointments, etc etc.... let it dry heal. it's going to be fine.

legs are difficult to heal, especially for large tattoos where you get hit with the line, black/shade, colour one after the other in a sitting. my whole hand looked like your scab for 6 weeks. it turned out just fine. just relax, and take a breath, what a frantic thread to read 😉 tattoo looks great.

I can admit I can be really OCD with stuff like this. Like my mind gets hyperfixated on something and it's all I can think about. I had really easy heals for all my other tattoos so this whole experience really caught me off guard. that must have sucked so bad to deal with it for six weeks, wow. These big scabs seem to take forever to go away. So you didn't have much fading etc underneath when all was said and done? 

2 hours ago, oboogie said:

I'm glad you're on the mend. My infected tattoo almost instantly got better when I got an antibiotic shot.

A shot?? Wow, that's intense!! I've just been taking the pills. I'm finally starting to feel like there's an end in sight, lol. 

Okay, so since a lot of people here helped me I wanted to post an update.

I ended up going to another doctor on Sunday because the pain was still really bad and I noticed a little bit of green ooze. She examined it really closely and said that based on the redness beneath the planchette, the heat in the area, and the pain: it could be cellulitis. So I got put on an antibiotic and I've been taking it for 5 days. She wasn't 100% sure but said it's better to be safe.

After taking the antibiotic for one day the pain went way down. Currently I don't have much pain at all except for a little surface crap from the scab. It's NOTHING compared to what it was before. Based on how quickly the antibiotic helped I really think it may have been infected. The stabbing pains, extreme pain when standing, etc. is all gone.

My tattoo artist finally got back to me and she didn't think it was infected, but rather that it could be a reaction to the ink. I sent a pic to my dermatologist and she said the same thing. So honestly no one really knows wtf is going on, but THANKFULLY it finally seems to be improving.

I attached some pics from today. I still have a tiny bit of redness in the yellow area surrounding the planchette, and it still oozes a little bit.

It still hurts but it's mostly just normal scab stuff at this point, nothing major.

But the scab is shrinking and the pain is much better.

This really has been a nightmare heal! I'm not putting anything on it anymore, I just use a tiny bit of hydrocortisone around the outside when it gets real dry (at the advice of the dermatologist)

5 hours ago, Runningriver said:

The most challenging healing experience for me was the lower leg/ankle. I've attached a pic of day 2 or 3, this was peak swelling and also when I thought those stabbing pains would drive me insane. The skin heal was easy compared to the actual swelling. I think it took a solid 2 weeks before I could walk/run normally, getting progressively better each day. But i had my entire side leg (hip bone to ankle bone) done over 3 days so I did expect it to swell up like crazy, based on previous experience that involved far less trauma.

Your tattoo looks amazing, by the way!

Wow, that's insane!!!! I can't even imagine. Thanks for sharing your story, it makes me feel better to know other people went through the same thing and I'm not imagining the pain, haha. 

The stabbing pains are getting better slowly but surely. It still hurts but not as badly as it did. I haven't taken an ibuprofen since yesterday afternoon so that's definitely a huge improvement (for a while it hurt so much I basically needed to take ibuprofen at all times)

Update: So the planchette is scabbing pretty intensely now. It's still oozing clear fluid a little bit too. I've been washing it 2x a day and using Cerave. I'm kind of worried this huge scab is going to screw up the tattoo when it heals but there's no way I'm letting a needle near that spot ever again, even for a touch up 🤐

The pain isn't as intense now but still there. It definitely seems to be improving, but very slowly. 

3 hours ago, oboogie said:

I use Dial Gold, too. It's the best thing. just quite slathering stuff on it and keep it clean. Really, it will heal.

It's doing a bit better today. The whole planchette is basically a giant scab but the pain has been better. I can now officially touch it without extreme pain, lol. The scab hurts but at least it's progress. I only washed it 2x today and used nothing but a little lotion after. I think it's finally starting to improve slowly but surely. 

I just got an ankle tat too and mine hurt like hell but never got red like that. Honestly it looks like it might be infected?? I'd get it checked.

36 minutes ago, AverageJer said:

MN State Fair? My god, don't skip that... I'll be there tomorrow myself. Looks ok. Only your body knows if the pain is a serious concern. I have a lot of leg tattoos and some of them hurt pretty bad for a few days but I haven't experienced any kind of "can't walk" pain but also I haven't yet had one single tattoo that large. Get some cheese curds (the good ones up on machinery hill, not the poser food building ones with the long lines) and a few beers and look at the DNR pond and you will be ok. Unless you leg falls off. That would totally suck. 

NY State Fair, not MN. There must be a lot going on all over the country. 😛 I'm sure I can find something just as good at the one here though. I think I'm still going to go but really take it easy and not do a ton of walking, take breaks, etc.

51 minutes ago, Dan said:

what lotion did you put on it ?

 

alot of color will ooze more than B&G,

 

and like I said,try a light coat of aveeno twice a day,

 

and like @oboogie  said,keep it clean,

 

maybe wash it with a anti-microbial soap OTC from CVS or Walgreen,

use the palm of your hand to scrub the tattoo with the soap,

dry it with a clean paper towel and then apply a light coat of aveeno,do this 2 or 3 times a day.

I used Cerave on it a while ago. Honestly it's the best it's felt all day. I went for a walk and believe it or not I barely had any of the stabbing pains. I'll see about Aveeno instead of Cerave when the drugstore opens tomorrow though. Honestly maybe the fluid is a good thing because it means it's pushing some of it out?? Less fluid = less pain 😛

The soap I've been using is Dial Gold, I think that's antimicrobial.

Update: It started to do this after I washed the salve off and put lotion on??  Looks like mostly clear fluid but this has by far been the hardest heal I've had yet. Never had a tattoo ooze this long after getting it done! 

30 minutes ago, Hogrider said:

As opposed to what?

Nobody knows.

You are a week in. If you read your own post, you'll see you're getting better. We all heal at different rates and different body parts heal at different rates. It's unlikely that anything you do at this point will affect it one way or the other.

I'd quit screwing with it at this point and just put a little cocoa butter on it twice a day and let it heal. You've been to a doctor, so it's unlikely you'll get better medical advice on an internet forum.

Thanks for the reply. It definitely seems to improve a little more each day. I just put a tiny bit of lotion on it and I'm going to try to let it breathe without all the salves. It's still oozing a bit of clear fluid but I think it's just trying to form scabs so it can do its thing. I'm just gonna try to stop thinking about it. 

1 hour ago, Hands On said:

"It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy. I'll get a saw."

Honestly at this point I hope it's psychosomatic. XP I wouldn't put it past my brain at all. I just opted for Cerave instead of antibiotic ointment so hopefully it goes up from here.