No One Really Explained to Me About the TYPE of Blisters...- Tyler, TX

I had my first laser treatment yesterday. I had it done at Dermatology Associates of East Texas in Tyler, Texas. I'm very happy with my experience at the doctor's office. The laser did indeed hurt very much but it was fast. The tattoo I'm removing is about 1/2" to 3/4" wide and goes all the way around my ankle. Only the first laser hurt. (There were 3 different ones, had to change protective goggles for each laser.) The doctor went over what was going to happen during healing thoroughly. I guess I just didn't ask the right questions. He said several times, it's going to blister and swell. So I'm thinking...blisters, I got it, no problem. What people doing this technique need to say is, "It will blister like you've never even imagined blistering could be. They will be gigantic blisters like something out of a horror movie." They of course put the dressing on it after the procedure and I went on my way. It was uncomfortable during the first 6 hours after, sometimes twinges of deeper pain, very achy overall. About 12 hours after, I decided to change the dressing and get a look. Wow. Thank goodness I could instantly google and found out this happens to other people because I was freaking out. The picture I'm posting was about 16 hours after treatment. I'm currently 24 hours after treatment. This morning the pain level is much much better. The largest blister popped on it's own and I'm glad it did because any movement, even with the bandage on was really difficult. I assume the other blisters will pop sometime in the next day or so. I recommend not having to work the first day after treatment. I know I couldn't of with my monster blisters. I elevated it, took advil and laid in bed. My tattoo is 25 years old and was somewhat faded already. The doctor estimated it would take 3 treatments total, 4 max. I forgot to write down the type of laser machine they used but it's a new upgrade for this office and supposed to be the latest technology. From what I've read online, 3 treatments is a low number compared to other people. It will end up costing me a little under $1000.00 by the time I'm done. I'm writing this to warn others...the monster blisters are apparently normal, don't pop them and ride it out. I checked "yes" on this review when asked if it was worth it. Since I'm so early in the process, I can't really judge the final result but if this it what it takes to get rid of a tattoo I'm tired of hiding at my job and don't like anymore, then yes it's worth it to me. Last night when I was a whiny mess I wouldn't of thought so but 24 hours in, I'm fine now. The picture also shows how much my ankle was swollen, I'm a 120 pound woman and don't normally have a giant cankle.

I'm now 5 days after my first treatment. Only the largest blister I showed in the photo popped, the others are slowly starting to absorb back into themselves but I can already tell this is going to take such a very very long time to heal. The pain has really set in. If nothing touches it, no pain, but since it has to be covered something is always touching it unless I'm changing the dressing.
I'm a teacher so I don't work in the summer. I can't imagine what people go through that have these wounds on the torso or any place that has to be bent constantly to function. Now that I've read so many of these reviews, I feel like I know so much more than I did before my treatment. My doctor's office had told me their machine was new for them, an upgrade (Q-switched) so in my naivety I assumed it was the newest technology. I wish I had done more research and used a picosure but hindsight is 20/20 right? I have discovered several places just a few hours away from me that use picosure so I've decided to switch practitioners for my next treatment in a few months since I have some green ink. On the picosure cynosure website, there is a place that shows all the lasers in the US and you can put in your zip code to find out which one is closest to you. I'm starting to understand why people get so bummed out about this process. I PAID someone to do this to my skin, pretty masochistic. ;-)

On the plus side, in the area of the former mega blister where the skin is basically raw meat, the black is already gone. A flower that was outlined in black with yellow petals now just has the yellow shapes with no black at all. Hopefully, 2 more treatments once I switch to pico and this will be over. I think my fast reaction is because of a few different things....

1. The age of the ink (25 yrs) since tattoos fade over time.
2. I live in a very hot climate, and am in the sun a lot. I've never fussed with sunscreen on my lower body as much as I do the upper. Sun expose will seriously fade a tattoo over the long run.
3. I really suspect the setting was up too high on the first laser and my mega blisters are because I got a massive dose.

I'll update in a few weeks but since so many posts ask about where the picosures are located, I thought it would be helpful to mention the locator tool on their website. So glad I found realself because other's experiences do make this easier.

I'm really happy with the changes after just one laser treatment. It's hard to tell what the larger image originally was. The entire tattoo looks much lighter. Some of the thin outlines are completely gone and thicker black lines are broken and dotted.