34 and Ready to Clean Up my Canvas! - Phoenix, AZ

Hello! I'm officially one day before my first of many Picoway laser treatments. I have two tattoos that I am having removed - one 5 x6 on my forearm and one teeny little cross on my lower back. I'm starting to get a little nervous and have second thoughts about moving forward with the treatments. Is it going to work? Am I going to be stuck with gnarly scars for the rest of my life? How bad is it gonna hurt? All of these questions are blowing through my mind. The tattoos aren't ugly, I just don't want them on my body anymore. I wish I would've thought things through a little more before I jumped on the "I must have ink" train. Oh well, too late now. I will either write more later or tomorrow after the treatment is done... that is if I don't chicken out. Wish me luck!!!!!

Hello! Woo hoo!! One down at least nine treatments to go.

To give you the quick and dirty of the appointment. I opted to go for the Picoway laser at Delete - Tattoo Removal Salon and Laser in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. Mundt is wonderful! She’s super cool and extremely thorough at explaining every step of the process. Her bedside manner is truly one to write home about. If you live in the Phoenix area I highly recommend that you go to Delete. I know it’s only been one treatment but I can honestly say that now that I know what to expect on my next visit I won’t be near as nervous. My appt was on Friday morning so we arrived about 15 minutes early and she was already there and ready to go. My sweetie came along for moral support. He may not admit this to you but I think he was a little excited to see what this ink removal thing is all about.

I opted to use the numbing injections and am VERY happy that I did because I didn't feel a thing. That's right, you heard me. I did not feel a thing other than a few little zingers when she got closer to the outside of my tattoo and closer to my elbow but other than that - easy breezy! I sure hope the rest of my treatments with numbing are as smooth as this one. The whole procedure was done in about 30 minutes. She bandaged my arm and back up with ice packs and we were on our way. I was numb for the next 6 hours and I continued to ice it off and on for the rest of the day. My arm definitely was more uncomfortable as the night went on but I kept up on my Ibuprofen and iced as often as possible. Saturday morning my arm was a bit more throbby but I just kept icing it which seemed to help a bit. I went out Saturday night which I was a little worried about but I played it safe and wore long sleeves. I bumped it a few times which was a little ouchie but mostly just felt like an extremely bruised/tender arm.

So here I am 4 days post opp and I’m back at work. Still a little swollen and tender to touch but I would say I am full committed to get this thing off my arm. I see a few tiny spots that appear to be fading, but nothing major. I know staying positive and patient is going to be the hardest part but with the support of this site and all of you I think I can get through this. I’ll do a update in the next few weeks to tell you if I see any difference – I honestly don’t expect a lot until 3 or 4 treatments but hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.

I’m writing this update quick while on break at work so I apologize for grammar errors and typos.

It's been a week since I had my treatment. My arm has been rather itchy and still a teeny bit swollen and tender. I know that this is going to be the easiest what is ahead because each session is only going to get more intense with longer healing time. Yikes! No true signs of fading yet. Staying positive folks. I've started the process so there's not turning back now.