Want to get a tatoo...

[terified girl]

Ok so its 2 weeks now that I keep thinking about getting a tatoo, but I'm really afraid of the pain, I don't handle it well, and I'm afraid it will be so painful it'll either make me sick or pass out....


Who here has one and would like to share their story.


I want to get it on my lower back....

[sweetfreak]

My best advice: Get it in a place where there is more fat on your body. The less flesh between the tattoo needle and bone, the more it will hurt.

[spilled_milk]

My seventh grade teacher had about 20 tattoos (he was the coolest) and he said that even though it's fashionable for ladies to have tatoos on the small of their back, that's really one of the places where it hurts most. He reccomends someplace with more flesh, like sweetfreak said.


<3 Anya--

[angeltearsMC]

I have two tattoos, one on each ankle. Mine did hurt while they
were being done, I'm not going to lie, because they were both basically
right on the bone. The same is going to be true for the middle of
your lower back, your hip, your shoulder blade, etc. If you're
thinking about getting one on your lower back, I would suggest trying
to get it at least slightly off to the side of your spine if not on one
side of your back instead, it'll be less painful. With all that
said, however, I love my tattoos and it was definitely worth having
them done. [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]
Make sure it is
something you can live with, as you will have it for the rest of your
life (unless you get laser surgery to remove it or something!) Oh
yeah, and I've heard that if you take a few Advil or Tylenol before you
go, it'll help with the pain. DON'T take aspirin though, it's a
blood thinner and you don't want your blood to be too thin to clot when
they do your tattoo (because yes, you do bleed a little.) Also,
it might help to have a friend along so you can squeeze the daylights
out of their hand if it hurts! [img]smileys/smilies_32.gif[/img]


Edited by: angeltearsMC

[terified girl]

I want to get it right in the middle, a long one, and thats the only place I would ever consider getting one because I used to be so against tattoo's before, and I think that on the lower back, it will be easy to hide.


But hearing how its one of the most painful, hmmmm.....Do I want to put myself thru that torture????


Thanks for the advice!

[mitch4133]

I have 9 tatoos all over my body, and I love them! I wouldn't even think about, or worry about passing out or getting sick. I have 3 on my back- one on my shoulder, my middle back, and my lower back. Out of all 3 the lower bac hurt the least. There is pain at first when you get a tatoo, I will not lie, but the longer you sist there, the more numb you become, and the more relaxed you become. It is just the anticapation you have before getting it done. They hurt, but if they hurt that bad, I wouldn't have 9 and be thinking about a 10th. Be brave, and I promise once the tatoo is started it wont be that bad, and once it is done, I guranteee you will want another!


What are you thinking of for your tatoo?

[carmagnet]

The pain won't make you sick or pass out, there is such a thing as adreniline let down, when you get really nervous about something and your adreniline is pumping and there it's not so bad and you don't have any way to let that energy go, your body goes into a sort of shock state, the way to avoid that is to eat a full meal before and suck on candies during. I've never had a problem with getting a tattoo or peircing, and I've always eaten and had candy during. and they really don't hurt that bad, think of it like a scratching more than a pain.

[holly18]

i got my first tattoo this week! i felt the same as you, terrified it would hurt make me sick etc. i had mine on my ankle. im not going to say it doesnt hurt but it isnt all as bad as you would expect. the feeling is more like a hot scratch. it hurts most for the first couple of minutes, after that your body releases enorphines which are natural pain killers. tell the tattoo artist that you are nervous and they will be very carefull and gentle with you. to be honest, the position i had to sit in (twisted on my hip) was more uncomfortable than the actual tattoo. the worse part of my experience was sitting in the chair while the machine and inks were set up, i was so nervous, once he started, i was fine.


if you really want it on your lower back then get it done there, whose to say what hurts more, its different for everyone. also if you decide to change it and have it somewhere else, you might not like it as much.


dont worry about feeling sick or anything, i felt fine. in fact i felt very high and euphoric for hours after lol and its very adictive. i have already chosen the next tattoos im going to get, one of which will be o n my lower back too.


i used to have a phobia of needles and knives etc, so if i can do it, you can too! if you really want a tattoo, go for it. make sure you pick a nice design that you will love. if you want some ideas, i know a lot of websites with tattoo designs you can print off and take to the studio.

[alliecat]

I got myself my tattoo for my 18th birthday, and I got mine on my low low back righ above my buttcrack... and honestly, I thought it was going to hurt a hell of a lot more than it did. Like holly said, it feels like you're being scratched. But to me, its more irritating than painful. Like I wanted to reach back and scratch at it lol. But mine it small so it was over in like 15 minutes. Afterwards, it felt like I had a small sunburn on my low back. That went away after a couple of hours. I want to get another one on the tops of my feet! I say go for it. Don't letpain scare you!


xoxo


Allie

[baseballplaya12]

all of you that lived through the pain of getting a tatoo don;t you think the pain is probably alot worse than v'ing and it last a lot longer than v'ing so if you can deal with thatyou can deal with v too try and think about that...

[abbey_normal]

I would have to disagree with baseballplaya, the pain is self-inflicted....and its really not that painful. Imagine have a really bad sunburn and having someone slap it, that's really the extent of it. I have both a body piercing and a tattoo, neither of which really hurt that bad.


The only advice I have for someone who is getting a tattoo is make sure it is someplace you can cover it up if you don't want it seen. When your in your 60's it won't be as cool as it was when you were in your 20's, so make sure you can hide it when your age starts to creep up on you.


And seriously, its not that bad, I had myself so worked up the day I got mine that it was going to be some horrible pain and when the artist started the first thing that ran through my head was...huh, that's it? Well hell, that's not that bad. Only thing that sucked was having to hold still for about 45 minutes.

[ontariogirl]

I would love to get a tatoo, I want mickey mouse or pooh bear on the back by my shoulder butI am too scared to do it, or too old!

[mitch4133]

Your never too old to get a tattoo!

[carmagnet]

I've been through natural childbirth, because when I had an epidural I threw up, the nurse said it WAS because of the epidural it lowered my blood pressure. I think the pain of child birth versus throwing up was a toss up. If I had to do it all again, I'd stick to the natural child birth. I've also got two tattoos, a black widow on my breast, and my nickname on my arm, Maroni. Like Moroni...on the mormom temples.

[terified girl]

WOW! Amazing feedback! Thanks guys!!!!


I am really going to consider doing this, thanks for the advice about letting them know about my anxiety, and maybe I will tell them to call me into the room only when they are completely ready for me so that I can't observe too much equipment!!!


Again, thank you for the positive feedback....


I was thinking of getting something that stretches out along my back sideways but not too long, and all black, sort of like tribal style but the one I want is a heart shape with another heart inside that one and on each side it looks like it has wings flowing sideways and upwards towards my back, really cool. I am so 50/50 right now.....


I'll let you know if and when its done!


Thanks!

[abbey_normal]

Okay, but one more piece of advice. If you are going for the lower back tattoo, I have heard (from friends who have them) to STAY AWAY FROM YOUR KIDNEYS....they say its not that bad when your on the spine for the brief period having the tattoo done, but I guess going over the tender skin just over the kidneys is miserable. This is only what I have heard, so just be warned.

[helsbels]

Good luck with making your decision. I have a tattoo on my lower back, it's a kind of tribal design, only very small but across the lower spine nevertheless. It did hurt, but I can only agree with everything that has been written here already:


1. Your body releases endorphins so the pain numbs after a while and you get used to it.
2. You will release loads of adrenalin which can't be released so eat something beforehand. I made the mistake of scipping breakfast because I was nervous and I had to ask the tattooist to stop shortly after starting because I felt like I was going to faint. He rushed down to the shop and got me a chocolate bar, I was absolutely fine after that. I can't reiterate this enough... MAKE SURE YOU EAT BEFORE YOU GO! Preferably something sweet just before.
3. Tell the tattooist that you're nervous... they're used to it - lots of people get tattoos these days, especially younger girls who are more prone to nerves, so they should be sympathetic.
4. The outline of the tattoo hurts more than the filling in so once this is done you could ask to take a break, knowing that it's downhill from there.
5. When they tell you to keep it out of the sun and to wear loose clothing, please listen to them. I went back to wearing normal clothes after a few days and because of where the tattoo is, the trousers I wore rubbed off some of the scabs that were forming. These scabs need to form and come off in their own time. If you pick them or they get rubbed off on your clothes then you lose the colour. I had to go back and have my tattoo re-done a year after it was first done and, believe me, you do not want to get a second one done over the top of original scar tissue... OUCH!!


I think that's it... good luck, Hx

[terified girl]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!


Now I want to get this done, just one question agin! Do you guys think its ok for me to take an ativan before doing it, I take it to calm me down when I'm panicking, and when I'm not, it sort of makes me fly....


And all pants will rub on the tattoo? No? What should I wear, jogging pants? At work? LOL....That'll be pretty funny, and for how long should I be cautious with the scarring??


Again [img]smileys/smilies_09.gif[/img]Thank you!


I can't see myself going for surgery. LOL

[terified girl]

Forgot....should I wait for the winter to be over, even though I want it now, because of all the layers of clothing, and what if I get pregnant, will the tattoo look awful afterwards?????

[helsbels]

With the trousers thing, I suppose it depends on where on the spine you have the tattoo, if it's low down, try to wear things with a high waist and vice versa. What you basically want to avoid is wearing something where the waist band is directly over the top of the tattoo, or try and keep it covered. I think this is something you can ask them about when you go in there, everyone's different, they should also give you a cream to keep putting on the tattoo, and this should help it to heal. I'm trying to remember, but I think the first time I had it done I wore trousers the day after which directly covered the tattoo. The second time I wore dresses with no waist band for a couple of days and it healed fine.


Don't know about the ativan, I never take any medication.

[kmarie]

for anyone who think sthey are to old to get a tattoo...this summer my artist did a womans first tattoo....she was 86 years old

[skinnyme]

Rhonda, I have Mickey Mouse on my back!! I got it when I was 18 and regret it now cause when I am an old baggy woman it wont look so hot. Oh well, not gonna spend alot of money to get it removed so I am stuck with it.

[helsbels]

In my opinion it's not worth worrying about it, you wanted it at the time, you got it, you were presumably pleased with it, you can't change it by regretting it now. And if it's any consolation, tattoos are so popular these days that you at least won't be the only 80 year old wrinkly with one coz we'll all have 'em!! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]


With regard to Seasons, I don't think it makes a difference when you get one done, the only thing with the Summer is that you have to keep it out of the sun - so don't get one on holiday unless you plan on sitting there wrapped in a towel for entire vacation [img]smileys/smilies_12.gif[/img]


I always wondered about the pregnancy thing as well which is why I got mine on my back and not my stomach.

[holly18]

it will probably be better to get it done now, then it will be all healed and looking good for the summer. the artist that did mine and my boyfreinds tattoos said it was ok to cover them as long as it wasnt tight clothing. in the summer you will need to put sun block over it to prevent the colours from fading.


mine is really scabbed up at the moment and it itches soooo bad! i so badly want to get my nails into it! lol im worried that i might end up scratching it in my sleep or somewthing.

[kmarie]

you have to be very careful not to scratch or pick at the scabs..i did one of mine (i have six) and i have some bad spots in it now!!

[terified girl]

No scratching young lady!!!!


Holly, how long has it been since you did it, one week???