That Was Dumb, So How Do I Live with It - Vancouver, BC

Hey everyone. I guess I am reaching out cause I am in need of a bit of moral support. These past four months have definitely been the worst in my life. My tattoo covers my entire left arm, sleeve outline. I have yet to start treatments because I am really unsure if I can get all the black out. The sad part is I got this tattoo cause everything was going right in my life. And now everyday is a struggle. I go to work, I excersise, I eat well, I only drink at social events, never alone, I am seeing a therapist, but every moment is a painful struggle. I try to stay positive, its a bit better, the panic attacks have gone away, but now I am left with a weighty depression. It makes me sick, a fraction of who I used to be.

Sorry for the negativity, I try to keep my thoughts positive, but I need to reach out and hear, no matter what happens, tattoo, no tattoo, faint tattoo, it will get better.

I'm going to get better. One day. I just....need I guess a little pick me up.

they say its important to take pictures, This is test patch one. In sept we will do test patch two in a larger area. If all good to go then I will start treatment. this gives me until november to know for sure whether or not I am ready to go through all of this. I think its a good time frame, in november I will have had the tattoo for over half a year and know that I am good to go. Randi seems really like she knows what she is doing, had great photos, and is doing my tests for free. She thinks because it is all black and I am pale, with patience, we can pull it off. Plus she is the first clinic who was actually super friendly, non judgmental and welcoming.

I'm still going to go through with concelling as I am still full of regret and saddness. But it feels good to have an action and I have seen some great results on this site with pale skin and black ink. So I am hopeful :)

Fighting with anxiety and depression has definetly not been fun, so I decided to do some reasearch into laser removal in my area. After a couple not so great experiances, today I met with Randi who was wonderful and offered to test patch for free. I was really nervous but honestly it did not hurt nearly as much as the tattoo itself, and she did it on the inside of my arm. She seemed pretty confident with it being all black that I could get it all out with proper treatment, so I may go for it, seeing how the test patches work. If so I'll be looking at starting in september.

SO ADVICE PLEASE. What are some of the best treatments out there? I don't smoke, I can drink way less, drink lots of water, yoga, excersise, keep it out of the sun, any more advice out there? Vitamins, meds etc??