POSTED UNDER Tattoo Removal REVIEWS
Regretting my sleeve- Sweden, SE
ORIGINAL POST
Ok, here we go. This is my story about...
Ok, here we go. This is my story about tattooregret. I am a 23 y old girl, living in Sweden, and luckily engaged with a great guy- the only problem here is that he has a brother that is a great tattooartist. I have serveral tattoos, which I am happy or just ok with ( all of them have been easy to cover and hide whenever neccesary), so I really didnt expect to ever feel this way about tattoos. I have 2 new additions from this year that I hate. The one I regret the most is my arm- I tried to make my halfsleeve a foullsleeve and I absolutely hate it. Nothing wrong with the work itself, it's just not what Ive expected and I just don't want to have it there forever. I don't want it there for a minute more. Ive fallen back into an old depression, and can't look at myself in the mirror. I am so so dissapointed with myself and this bad dessiscions I made doing my arm- and chesttattoo. I absolutely didnt think at all before I did this, and it feels like this regret is goin to kill me. Im lookin in to laserremoval, which will be both expensive, takin most of my savi gs) and hard too reach. My only shot seems to be the picosure laser, and that is only available in our "neighbourcountry" Norway. Ill post some pics here, of the arm and the chest.
UPDATED FROM Lisapaolina
2 days post
Update #1, considering alternatives, struggling with myself
Feels like Im going absolutely crazy. How do you choose from all the alternatives? I have a shot of removing the red, pink, and brown colours from my arm in Sweden, but will probably have to go all the way to Norway and the Picosurelaser to get rid of the purple, blue and the green. It will take such a long time, and so much energy, money, etc... And I dont even know if I'm possible to get it off me anyway. I've chosen all the hardest colours and patterns. My friends and family says I should keep them until there are new lasers out on the market that can treat all colours, but I really dont want to spend so long time in, what I call it, my "hate-sweater-that-I'm-not-gettin-off". I guess my alternatives are:
1. Start laserremoval at 2 different places, and get rid of most of it, while its still fresh which is a + according to my laserexperts. The last that I dont get rid of, I could cover up until there are better solutions.
2. Wait until there are better lasers out (not really a solution) and remove it later.
3. Keep them, through all mirros out the window and forever hide myself in longsleeves.
4. Try the tatt2away system, which seems to leave horrible scars.
Im callin a very proffessional laserexpert this afternoon, for eventually bookin a consultingappointment, but I really dont know what to do *rippin my hair off*
Also, as you can imagine, I'm constantly beatin up myself. WHY did I do this? Now I've come to that state where I wish I didn't start on my arm at all, and have become to hate even the upper part, a halfsleeve with an owl and a fox, that I've been totally fine with until now. I wish, with all my heart, that I was totally tattoo-free on my arms and chest, and I hate myself for not takin care of myself enough to think this thing through before I acted and booked my first appointment for my arm 1 year ago. Instead of comforting myself with natural methods like training, or doin fun things with other people, or shopping (haha), I comforted myself with tattooappointments when I found myself lonely and sad, livin in a foreign country without my friends and family. I feel so extremely stupid for fallin for that, of course my tattoos didnt make me happier. Instead, one year later, it's the tattoos that are makin me sad.
I've hade a therapist session, which didn't help so much. Will continue though, as I'm gettin sick of my terrible "sad-attacks". Don't missunderstand me, it's not JUST the tattoos on me that are kamin me react so extreme, there are other personal reasons too, but they've become the tip of the iceberg that made everything pour over. I've been able to handle my other problems pretty good, but with adding the problem of hating how I look and the constant feelin of wanting to hide, makes it harder to do so. My mom is getting tired of me crying all the time, and my boyfriend really doesn't understand it.
I'm kind of stuck here. Any help, tip, advice are appreciated.
Love, Lisa
1. Start laserremoval at 2 different places, and get rid of most of it, while its still fresh which is a + according to my laserexperts. The last that I dont get rid of, I could cover up until there are better solutions.
2. Wait until there are better lasers out (not really a solution) and remove it later.
3. Keep them, through all mirros out the window and forever hide myself in longsleeves.
4. Try the tatt2away system, which seems to leave horrible scars.
Im callin a very proffessional laserexpert this afternoon, for eventually bookin a consultingappointment, but I really dont know what to do *rippin my hair off*
Also, as you can imagine, I'm constantly beatin up myself. WHY did I do this? Now I've come to that state where I wish I didn't start on my arm at all, and have become to hate even the upper part, a halfsleeve with an owl and a fox, that I've been totally fine with until now. I wish, with all my heart, that I was totally tattoo-free on my arms and chest, and I hate myself for not takin care of myself enough to think this thing through before I acted and booked my first appointment for my arm 1 year ago. Instead of comforting myself with natural methods like training, or doin fun things with other people, or shopping (haha), I comforted myself with tattooappointments when I found myself lonely and sad, livin in a foreign country without my friends and family. I feel so extremely stupid for fallin for that, of course my tattoos didnt make me happier. Instead, one year later, it's the tattoos that are makin me sad.
I've hade a therapist session, which didn't help so much. Will continue though, as I'm gettin sick of my terrible "sad-attacks". Don't missunderstand me, it's not JUST the tattoos on me that are kamin me react so extreme, there are other personal reasons too, but they've become the tip of the iceberg that made everything pour over. I've been able to handle my other problems pretty good, but with adding the problem of hating how I look and the constant feelin of wanting to hide, makes it harder to do so. My mom is getting tired of me crying all the time, and my boyfriend really doesn't understand it.
I'm kind of stuck here. Any help, tip, advice are appreciated.
Love, Lisa
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM Lisapaolina
2 days post
Scheduled for may 26th
Oy, have been scheduled for my first laserappointment with Fotona laser - with the r20method, to get at the red, brown, pink, and hopefully some of the other colours too.
Nervous, but excited. My mum is fantastic, drivin me 4 hours to the doctor. A little bit concerned about the healthrisks though, does anyone know anything about that? /the risk with getting the ink out in your system
Nervous, but excited. My mum is fantastic, drivin me 4 hours to the doctor. A little bit concerned about the healthrisks though, does anyone know anything about that? /the risk with getting the ink out in your system
Replies (9)
May 15, 2014
For what it's worth, I think your tattoos are gorgeous.
I've heard that the R20 method isn't any more effective than having a normal laser treatment (by normal I mean one treatment, not four in one session), and is needlessly expensive. I haven't done a ton of research on it, that's just what I have heard.
I know waiting for a more effective laser to come out isn't really an option since that might never happen, but have you considered waiting for Sweden to get a Picosure laser?
May 18, 2014
Hi, and thankyou for the tip :) Yes I have, but I have a LOT of colours that the picolaser can't handle, so Im going at them first with the fotonalaser. Im going to call the clinic tomorrow and ask more specific about the r20method, so Im not getting fooled here :)
May 16, 2014
For what it's worth, I think yr sleeve is beautiful and flows very nicely in composition. Although I had a scratch tatt (no quality), I can understand the emotions of regret and confusion in all of this. Like panacabaab said- I don't know if the R20 is best, as I have been told that it is very aggressive (possibility of increased scarring) and has not been proven to be any more effective than 1 treatment...but then again, no conclusive evidence (such is laser). Regarding the ink removal- some say it gets expelled and others say particles remain...again, very inconclusive. I do think the body works wonders though and rids as best as it can the negative elements- just that staying healthy and active during removal is key to aid in the detox of the broken up ink. I know it's hard to decide what to do, but try and remember we often judge ourselves the hardest, esp when we go through changes and trying times. Good luck w/ you consult
May 18, 2014
Thankyou so much for your support and nice words! I've decided to go through with the laserremoval even though the healthrisks are unknown, it will be hard to pay for and will take years. Feeling so depressed as I do now over those tattoos isnt healthy either. Hoping that I will get better as soon as I get to do something about it :) thanks again for ur kindness
May 16, 2014
hi,
like others have said, your tattoos look very beautiful- but that's easy to say when they are on someone else:)! We all understand the shock of placement, size and not what you imagined- it's brutal, but you are at the hardest stage. By all accounts, it gets better over time, with research, understanding and acceptance.
Re. tattoo rmeoval creams- haven't heard of any success only problems and there are definetly health effects there with toxic mixtures applied to skin:(
Re R20- I have read the research modified to only recommend for black ink. 1 pass on color can lead to blistering, swelling etc. Either way, if you start with a small patch test/section, you will take it from there.
Good luck with your decisions!
May 28, 2014
Thankyou so much for your tip's and advices! I've decided to NOT go through with the r20-method, based on what everyone here has been telling me (so again, THANKYOU). Instead, I'm going to Norway for a patchtest/first consultation with the picolaser in a week :) so excited, I got a much better feeling about this than the r20-thing.
May 16, 2014
Hi there. I'm really sorry to hear about how you're feeling at the moment. Granted, it's a very large tattoo and it will take some time to remove it. As others have said though, it's an amazing tattoo so please don't think that everyone else would hate it if you wore short sleeves. Laser is always going to the safest way to remove a tattoo, and it takes time to learn which settings/frequencies/laser models work best for you. I would suggest trying all different settings and a couple of different lasers if you're able to, and hopefully you'll see what works best. We've all been where you are now, and it's a horrible place, but when things start to progress you will feel much better knowing that the ball is rolling. We're all here for you if you have any questions or just need a bit of support.
May 28, 2014
Thankyou so much for your comment/support. This forum has really been great. Looking forward to my first lasersession, I think it all will feel much better once I get to deal with the problem. I'm going with the Picosure laser, and I saw that you're trying that too. I wish you all luck! :)... crossing my fingers for both of us, haha
Replies (7)
Here is a link to our video section, this will help you with learning more about tattoo removal.
Best of luck to you :)
I think part of the problem might be how you perceive them vs how other people see them. You probably see all the detail up close, whereas someone else sees the whole thing from a distance.
Tattoos can often look a bit odd when you see them up close but from a distance they can look quite different. Your sleeve actually looks very nice when you see the whole thing in profile, I don't think you should really feel embarassed about it in any way.
I can see why you may want to have it removed however I think it's perfectly ok to live with it too. Try not to focus on it too much, it actually looks fine.