jitterbug

Wow very cool @jitterbug! Hope all is well and that your baby is healthy

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also I just realized, you have medusa and athena on each calf... you should totally get a atalanta or an arachne tattoo. Both include cool animals like your other two. (Though you'll have to wait until the baby comes)

Thanks everyone! Very early days yet but I'm so excited! Ill have tattoo envy though haha

Love those ideas Delicious. Have thought about incorporating a greek temple into the Medusa tat and other Greek myths like Pandora's box but will have to shelve these for a while

I dont have many tattooes longest ive sat for about 4 hours on my right leg. It wasn't too bad but my left leg was horrible. I could barely manage 2.5 hours, glad I had it done in 2 sessions

I was planning a girl faun tattoo with panpipes on either shoulder/arm or inner calf but I've just found out I'm pregnant! Guess I'll be waiting a while before I can have any more done.

Grow your hair long

The last time I had blood work done the nurse (after seeing my arm) told me that she found it's the people with tattoos who are always most afraid of the needle.

I see a lot of tattooed patients who are needle phobic. A lot of nurses and doctors (usually have no tattooed themselves) can't understand this but there's a big difference in the type of pain. Also, people want to be tattooed, most peopke don't want to get sick and have blood taken.

Stu at Progression Tattoo finished my Medusa last night, I'm really stoked with it!

My left leg is hurting a lot more than when my right leg was done! It's really weird, even getting the tattoo hurt a lot more. Every time I have to put my leg down after keeping it elevated I'm doing it really slowly otherwise it bloody stings! And I have to go back in two weeks to have it finished (groans)

Just had my Medusa done by Stu Pagdin at Progression Tattoo Adelaide. Unfortunately we ran out of time to finish the rest of the coloring but I'm pretty stoked with it!

Will be finished on the 28th.

I'm having a Medusa done ony left calf today by Stu at Progression tattoo. Haven't seen the sketch yet but have asked for her to be holding a hand mirror and some flowers in background. Can't wait!

I looked into this before laser treatment and I read reports that it can leave people with really nasty keloid scarring.

Thanks Mike :)

This is my fourth laser treatment. I'm not getting the dramatic results that Scott or Ian has had but there is some lightening. I reckon it will take a few more sessions before I can even start to think about what to cover it up with.

I struggled a bit when I had my outer calf done. My ankle and the top of my foot was swollen from standing at work and I started getting pins and needles in my toes. I took antihistamines, anti inflammatorys and kept my leg elevated when I could but it still took about a few days before my leg was a normal size again. I'm getting my other calf done in two weeks and know what to expect this time around.

Where I go they don't allow anyone but the customer into the actual studio area. I'm happy with that because I don't want a bunch of strangers watching me get tattooed.

I will admit that I watch my artist preparing and stuff though. Not because I aspire to be a tattoo artist but because I'm an operating room nurse. I want to make sure they use sterile technique because I'm so careful about it myself at work and its kind of ingrained.

First ones I saw were my fathers army tattoos, nautical stars on his knee caps. I still remember him telling me how his army mates got him drunk and tattooed him. He died when I was young so my first tattoo was the same star on my shoulder blade as a memorial.

My first truly spur of the moment tattoo, a late birthday gift from my brother and sister

Gorgeous! Where did you have this done?

I had this ugly tattoo done on my back about 11 years ago and it's been a pretty miserable experience. I hate the way it looks on me, I was young, stupid and had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I'm really embarrassed about posting a photo here because I know how bad it looks but hopefully with patience I'll have an awesome coverup sometime soon and can put this all behind me.

When I first had the tattoo done it needed to be touched up and so I've had a lot of ink put into this tattoo. 6 months after it was done I had a couple of laser treatments that didn't seem to do anything at all and it was so bloody painful I couldn't continue and so suffered with it for a long time. Last year I decided enough was enough and have gone to a different laser clinic with the Q switched laser and have had 4 treatments so far. The previous place took ages to laser over it but this place only takes about 10 minutes which is more bearable. So far I've had some slight fading and there are some white spots in the tattoo which is really encouraging.

After laser treatment it gets red and blistery but the blisters are small compared to some of the photos I've seen here which I'm grateful for.

I have no idea how many more sessions I'll need for a coverup, will be speaking with the artist soon to start planning a coverup. I'm not really sure what I want it covered with yet I'm just focusing on getting it lasered every 6 weeks.

Pre laser:

After 4 laser sessions (last one 7 days ago)

Maybe some of you can give me some pointers on getting some ink on my man then. hehe

Not that I mind at all. If anything it's really fun when people meet him expecting some punk rocker that's covered, and they get a normal balanced individual.

It would just be a bonus. :)

Haha I'm in the same boat with my husband he's slowly coming around to the idea....

Sbhikes- I've had a similar experience with being tattooed. I got my first two tats in my early 20's and they're pretty awful!

I've had self esteem issues with the large one on my back and it turned me off tattoos for about 12 years. Im now in the process of laser treatment and a coverup.

I decided I wanted more despite my negative experience and so glad I did my research and found a decent artist this time around because I love the work he did on my leg and can't wait to get more tattoos! They are definitely life changing and I think it's important for people to do their homework first to make sure they go through a decent artist because there is a lot of crap tattooists where I live.

I'm 33 and still haven't told my mum I have several tattoos. She's very old fashioned (she had me at 46) and has a very negative attitude towards them. I think she has seen the one on my back but chooses to ignore it. She'll probably find out soon because I intent to get more and know she'll probably cry and carry on about it.

Thanks Iwar have read the thread and it's very encouraging, must have been a painful experience. Thankfully mine isn't as large.

If only it was that simple! Laser really sucks. :(

Thanks! The lasering will be worth it, nothing worse than having a large tattoo that I hate.

Stu Pagdin at Progression Tattoo will be doing my Medusa, he did an Athena on my right leg which I was really happy with cant wait for the 14th

I'm a nurse in the public sector and even though management don't approve of tattoos in the workplace they aren't allowed to discriminate. Mine aren't that visible but there's plenty of nurses at the hospital I work at with full arm sleeves. I guess it could be a barrier if I wanted a higher position but I'd rather have the tattoos and be happy than being restricted.

This is my latest by Stu Pagdin. It's Athena with her owl. The owl was inspired by the look of one of Valerie Vargas tattoos.

Scott your new tattoo looks amazing.

I'm going through the process of having a large tribal tattoo removed and so far the experience has been pretty bloody awful. Seeing your coverup gives me hope that someday I'll have an awesome tattoo to cover a mistake I made 10 years ago.