Session #5

This is the fifth treatment I received at Medermis about three weeks ago.  It blistered pretty bad this time, and my ankle was swollen for the first week.  The next week, it started to itch incessantly almost making it hard to get a full night's sleep.  After the third week, the top layer of dead skin began to peel away, and now it's a tender and red.  It still itches, but not nearly as bad as the week before.  My next appointment is scheduled for January 2013.

It's been a while since I posted...a lot of life changes happened. I started a new job, moved, and ended and began new relationships. I've had two treatments both of which I will describe now. The third treatment occurred in Jan of this year. It was quite uneventful. They used a new laser to treat the blue and green only. The goal was to make enough dots to swell and fill the area. This is the before and after of the third tattoo laser removal process:

Yesterday, I visited Medermis for my fourth laser treatment. Since my skin reacted well to to the blue/green laser "test", I was able to get an extensive treatment with three types of focus-all over, pink, blue/green. To begin, we numbed the area with direct application of the ice pack for ten to fifteen minutes. This is critical because the laser burns. They have a nice wand that blows really cool air during the treatment to help ease the pain. It is much more painful the the tattoo itself. I think it's the nature of a burn...

Unfortunately, this is my right foot, so as soon as I got in the Texas heat and started driving, the cool wore off and the blistering and throbbing began. A lot of Advil, ice, and elevation really helped. After a few hours, I felt good enough to limp around. I left the bandage on until this morning.  The instructions are to use mild soap and water to keep it clean.  Here is the before and after:

As you can see, there is a lot more tenderness and bruising.  I'm hoping for good results from the intensity this time around. The next treatment will be in at least 8 weeks from now.  I'll keep posting on the healing process.
Xoxo
Bbb

6 days later...

It has been almost a week since my second treatment, and my ankle is healing at a much faster pace than last time.  I'm looking forward to the "before and after" photos when it is all over, but in the meantime I'm happy to see so much has faded.   

Before

6 days after 2nd treatment

Session 2

After 16 weeks, I finally got the second laser treatment in my tattoo removal process last night.  It took a lot longer than expected to heal after the first one, and I was afraid that this time would be just as bad.  I was pleasantly surprised when I took the bandage off - there was NO blistering!! It's red, a little swollen, and the coloring appears darker.  I am confident I will be ready before my next appointment in 8 weeks. 

After bandage removal

Immediately after 2nd treatment

Almost ready for Round 2

It's been a month since my butterfly was zapped with the laser, and I'm nearly ready for round 2.  The last of the scab came off today, but it is still tender, red and a little swollen.  I've decided to wait two more weeks for my next session in order for it to heal completely.  I'm really happy with the results so far.  The yellow is no longer visible and the black lines have faded significantly.  There is still a lot of ink left though.  Hopefully, the next treatment will not be as bad as the first. 

Going through changes

‘All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another.’

— Anatole France

My butterfly tattoo has undergone quite the transformation the past few days.  It is no longer a swollen blistery mess, and the only time I experience pain is when I bump my ankle against something or accidentally get kicked (you know who you are).  I can see areas where the ink has faded, and am hopeful once the scab sloughs off there will be even less ink underneath.

Here are pictures from days 12 & 15:

Now, if I can only keep myself from scratching the inexhaustible itching!

Lake H20? Hell NO!

The 4^th of July holiday weekend was traumatic - for me and my butterfly.  Friday afternoon, I left work and headed to the lake for the long weekend.  Somehow, I managed to cut my toe on what I can only assume was a rusty fishing hook, locked my keys in the trunk with the high tech security enabled, got lost on a boat in the dark without lights, and could not even set off my own fireworks due to the dry conditions. 

My butterfly had it worse though.  Even though I tried to avoid the stagnant lake water Saturday (day 5) with my swollen, oozing ankle, it was impossible with 100ºF+ temperatures and blazing sun.  The third or fourth time I jumped in the water, all the skin from my blister peeled off exposing the tender skin underneath-ouch!  I washed it with warm soap and water every time I got out of the water and reapplied sunscreen to avoid infection and hyperpigmentation, but it was really uncomfortable. 

Yesterday (day 8), the swelling and redness were so bad that even the smallest step was painful.  I was certain I had infected the area with some flesh eating bacteria and I would have to have my leg amputated.  As it turned out, I was just overreacting as usual.  It’s just the beginning of the next phase – the scab.