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Cleaning Up with Picosure
ORIGINAL POST
I am about halfway through my tattoo removal...
hazelnut2001April 28, 2016
WORTH IT$400
I am about halfway through my tattoo removal treatments and was asked to share my story so here goes.
I have a few tattoos and love most of them but do notams have not liked the last one I got since I had it done. For 8 years I have not been comfortable wearing dresses or shorts without high boots or tights to cover it. The tatt is a blue and black band around my ankle but I always felt it was too high and too dark. So, in September 2015 I started my treatments.
At my first session the doctor went over every aspect of the treatment again (I'd had a consultation previously) and made sure I wanted to go ahead. I have Asian heritage so my skin scars easily and I have moderate pigmentation. This means there is a greater risk of loss of pigmentation and scarring. But I hate my tattoo that much...
I had been asked to come 30 minutes early for numbing cream. It didn't hurt as much as I was expecting - don't get me wrong it hurt but just not as much as I thought. Doing the breathing techniques I used during labour helped. Within five minutes it was all done and I was on my way back to work. Over the next 15 minutes it really started to hurt. It felt like someone had slapped a bad sunburn for about 12 hours. I blistered a bit but after two weeks my ankle had healed well - and was itchy as anything. Do not scratch!
8 weeks later I had my second treatment. There was already some fading and I was really pleased with how it was going. I blistered and scanned again but it wasn't anything too bad. The third treatment happened in January 2016...
On my third treatment the Doctor turned up the intensity very slightly. It was going ok and as with the previous treatments the slapped sunburn feeling kicked in pretty quickly. This time the treatment was at night so I went straight home to bed and elevated my leg. By the next morning my lower leg was a bit swollen and quite sore. The following day I had significant swelling and was blistering. That night (a Friday) I had significant blistering and it was a bit painful every time I put weight on my leg. I called the clinic after hours number and my doctor called me back advising me to pop the blister, wash with saline and cover. I spent the next two days off my feet again, which is hard with a toddler.
It took longer for the blisters to heal this time as fluid just kept building up and they were crazy itchy. To help stop the itching I would lightly tap the ankle instead of scratching like I really wanted to. The fading is still going really well, though I have loss of pigmentation in the skin around the tattoo. It is similar to what I get if I have a scrap and bad scab.
Last night I went in for treatment four. The doctor took a look at the photos of my ankle again and we talked about the various reasons the last reaction might have happened. I did not, and still do not, feel that this happened because of his actions. It was just something that happened. I do not have scarring so he was happy to continue. I was very very happy to continue. After the treatment last night the doctor gave me some anti-inflammatories and put a compression bandage on. So far the pain has been minimal and I have very little swelling. I'm leaving this bandage on for another 24 hours and can't wait to see how it is going. It is already really itchy. Must Not Scratch!
Phew now I have caught you all up I'll post updates more regularly and hope this helps someone else.
I have a few tattoos and love most of them but do notams have not liked the last one I got since I had it done. For 8 years I have not been comfortable wearing dresses or shorts without high boots or tights to cover it. The tatt is a blue and black band around my ankle but I always felt it was too high and too dark. So, in September 2015 I started my treatments.
At my first session the doctor went over every aspect of the treatment again (I'd had a consultation previously) and made sure I wanted to go ahead. I have Asian heritage so my skin scars easily and I have moderate pigmentation. This means there is a greater risk of loss of pigmentation and scarring. But I hate my tattoo that much...
I had been asked to come 30 minutes early for numbing cream. It didn't hurt as much as I was expecting - don't get me wrong it hurt but just not as much as I thought. Doing the breathing techniques I used during labour helped. Within five minutes it was all done and I was on my way back to work. Over the next 15 minutes it really started to hurt. It felt like someone had slapped a bad sunburn for about 12 hours. I blistered a bit but after two weeks my ankle had healed well - and was itchy as anything. Do not scratch!
8 weeks later I had my second treatment. There was already some fading and I was really pleased with how it was going. I blistered and scanned again but it wasn't anything too bad. The third treatment happened in January 2016...
On my third treatment the Doctor turned up the intensity very slightly. It was going ok and as with the previous treatments the slapped sunburn feeling kicked in pretty quickly. This time the treatment was at night so I went straight home to bed and elevated my leg. By the next morning my lower leg was a bit swollen and quite sore. The following day I had significant swelling and was blistering. That night (a Friday) I had significant blistering and it was a bit painful every time I put weight on my leg. I called the clinic after hours number and my doctor called me back advising me to pop the blister, wash with saline and cover. I spent the next two days off my feet again, which is hard with a toddler.
It took longer for the blisters to heal this time as fluid just kept building up and they were crazy itchy. To help stop the itching I would lightly tap the ankle instead of scratching like I really wanted to. The fading is still going really well, though I have loss of pigmentation in the skin around the tattoo. It is similar to what I get if I have a scrap and bad scab.
Last night I went in for treatment four. The doctor took a look at the photos of my ankle again and we talked about the various reasons the last reaction might have happened. I did not, and still do not, feel that this happened because of his actions. It was just something that happened. I do not have scarring so he was happy to continue. I was very very happy to continue. After the treatment last night the doctor gave me some anti-inflammatories and put a compression bandage on. So far the pain has been minimal and I have very little swelling. I'm leaving this bandage on for another 24 hours and can't wait to see how it is going. It is already really itchy. Must Not Scratch!
Phew now I have caught you all up I'll post updates more regularly and hope this helps someone else.
Replies (8)
May 1, 2016
Hi I am also removing a blue ankle tattoo and have undergone 11 sessions with qswitch, however my success rate has been quite low. What wavelength did your doctor use on your blue bits?
May 1, 2016
i can't recall but I'll ask him next time I go in. During the first three sessions he did not change the intensity of the Picosure laser moving from the blue to black. The blue is almost completely gone - if not completely gone already. The black is significantly faded.
May 2, 2016
I have had the exact same reaction to a green and black tattoo I am having removed from my left ankle. It is blistering and swelling so badly that my doctor will only treat it every 6 months. I've had two treatments thus far. I hope it's all worth it in the end. Best of luck to you!
May 3, 2016
That reaction was pretty extreme. My boss (who is also getting an ankle tatt removed) wondered if the reaction may have been due to UV exposure. It was done mid summer and although I kept it well sun creamed before treatment, there had been sun exposure.
May 4, 2016
I've had 2 treatments so far on my ankle, one in October and one in March, both resulting in the same blistering and swelling with absolutely no UV exposure. The pics are horrifying. I'm also getting a tattoo on my neck treated which is all black. I've had three treatments on that thus far and have not had a reaction anywhere near this magnitude. I think the placement of the tattoo as well as the color have an impact on the reaction. Regardless, my doctor did say she has only seen this reaction in a few patients. It is most definitely rare and extreme but I fear this will be my body's reaction with each treatment.
May 4, 2016
I think you are right about the location playing a part. For the fourth treatment the doctor turned the intensity down and although I blistered it was nowhere near as bad as last time. Good luck with your treatments. I hope you are getting good results.
UPDATED FROM hazelnut2001
2 days post
Day 3 post tx #4
hazelnut2001April 30, 2016
This time around my blistering is not so bad. I am already having some major itching, mostly around the tattoo rather than on the tattoo site itself. It is quite red around the blisters but this is pretty normal for me. Please excuse the hairy leg - I can't shave my ankle area for about two weeks after a treatment due to blisters and scabs. It's not a pretty process is it?
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM hazelnut2001
2 days post
Warning: this is pretty gross.
hazelnut2001April 30, 2016
So, here are some pics of the blisters I got after my 3rd treatment. I'm putting these up so if anyone else gets such bad blistering they know they are not alone. If you do - call your treating doctor and take good care of it. If taken care of well blisters like this don't necessarily mean you will scar or that you will have to stop the removal process.
Replies (3)
April 30, 2016
You're absolutely right, it's very important to be careful with blisters and if there is any concern one should follow up with their doctor. Here's a great FAQ that speaks to this: What is the Best Way to Care for Blisters from Tattoo Removal?
May 8, 2016
Wow that looks bad! Why does it blister so much?
May 9, 2016
It may have been event sun exposure, it may have been that the laser was turned up, it may have been not resting it enough... The possible reasons are endless. It didn't actually hurt, it just swelled and blistered badly.
Welcome, I'm thrilled that you decided to share your journey here on RealSelf. Will you be sharing before and progress photos so we can follow along?