Numbing for tattoo?

bounty_hunter

Did everyone think I was a guy? :eek:

And thanks Wilburt, can't wait to get it finished. Just not looking forward to the pain.

amazingemmet

It appears so, you do have a very manly name though.

Also got reminded about another painful ribs piece that was painful for me even though I wasn't the one getting it done. An ex of mine was getting her side done up to her armpit and slightly under the bust and i was holding her hand on that side out of the way and she nearly broke my fingers from squeezing them so hard.

bounty_hunter

Yeah, I desperately wanted to squeeze something but there was nothing in reach except my poor artist and it was probably better not to squish him while he was tattooing me. Gonna bring a stress ball or something next time.

I'm actually reading a bit about people's experiences with Emla and rib pieces now and it's kinda putting me off using it, a lot of bad vibes about it What does everyone else think?

It wasn't me!

Jaysus, sparked off a lot of name debate there due to someone getting the wrong end of the stick. "He" was actually referring to Emmett, and for the record, I did know Bounty Hunter was female, possibly due to past rantings on people's preconceptions.

Will

i found popping 2 nurofen (one before, one after) did wonders for me

bounty_hunter

I did that, had no effect whatsoever. Or maybe it did, and if I hadn't taken them I might have actually died of pain. Who knows!

It wasn't me!

Gorgeous work by the way, Bounty Hunter. Be sure to post pics in the appropriate thread when it's finished, it'll look awesome.

amazingemmet

Find something with codeine in it and take 4-5 times the dose on the package and you'll get close to what the prescription painkillers come with, though i don't reccomend doing that too often or at all

bounty_hunter

I actually have some prescription painkillers but I'm not going to risk taking them, they make me talk like I'm out of my ****ing tree and I don't want to appear disorientated or anything in case they won't tattoo me. It's all very well to say "just suck it up", but I don't think I'm gonna be able to handle finishing the sky up between my boobs without passing out or something, the pain was unreal. Don't wanna end up with half a tattoo either! What to do?

Edit: Sorry for hijacking your thread by the way squiggy!

amazingemmet

If you have the painkillers just go into your tattooist and tell them you're gonna take em, then take them as they're setting up and they should kick in by the time you start.

Crumble Froo

bounty_hunter wrote:

You mean can I show you my boobs?
There's not much to see yet, it's really just outline shading. I only lasted an hour and half in the first session...

It's gonna be a snow scene and the outlines there are obviously mountains. The star will be negative space and is going to be surrounded by starry sky (the big ouch!), and that will eventually continue up to the aurora borealis on my chest. Think I'll be putting that bit off for a long time though after this, ****ing hell. Also my shirt is kinda in the way there, but it curves up around my sides.

that is a very very nice piece.

and yeah, i confess, i totally thought you were a dude too... well, not actively... but it never dawned on me that you were a chick... i guess rule #1 in action... :rolleyes:

sorry bout that...

bounty_hunter

amazingemmet wrote:

If you have the painkillers just go into your tattooist and tell them you're gonna take em, then take them as they're setting up and they should kick in by the time you start.

Hmm, I might do that actually. Just warn him in advance. I'll need somebody to take me home then, in case I get lost or something These things are bloody strong.

I'm still considering the Emla, but I need to do a bit more research on it first. According to pretty much everyone I've talked to so far it's great for half an hour or so, but then as soon as it wears off the shock of the sudden pain multiplied by all the pain you should have got from the start hits you like a ton of bricks. So what I might have to do is just complete the worst bits in half hour sessions.

amazingemmet

What you could do with the emla is apply it in stages so as your tattooing one bit the other bit is covered then wipe it off apply the enxt patch etc, would take time but would work

bounty_hunter

Cool, thanks! What it work if I just applied the whole lot all at once an hour before and only wipe it off bit by bit? I'm aiming for a 2-3 hour session this time if I can possibly stand it. Have you used it yourself and if so what did you think of it? I've used it plenty of times for medical things and it was great, but never in tattooing.

amazingemmet

I've used it for doing implants and other sort stuff but never for tattooing so don't know if it'll work that way tbh.

Thephantomsmask

iirc EMLA has to be kept completely airtight for a minimum of 30min for full effect so if the area being covered is of any size then that would be hard to achieve effectively as the dressings normally used are pretty small, it would make the wiping as you go method hard too since the artist will need plenty of room around each area being worked on. I seem to remember a discussion on IAM about this some time ago and several artists saying that they preferred not to work on numbed skin as it loses pliability, l don't know how true that is but if you are going to try it then definitely give your artist the heads up anyway.

crazy_hayzie

sorry bounty hunter but with that name i thought you were a fella too! go figure!! cool tat though. should be nice when it's done. on the numbing subject, my latest piece is poseidon going on my rib cage from nipple level to halfway down my ass. about 16 inches from head to tentacle. got the outline done in one session(about three and a haf hours) and his torso coloured in another(three hours). and the front of the rib cage was absolute hell! if someone handed me a shot of morphine i would have gladly taken it!!

bounty_hunter

Thephantomsmask wrote:

iirc EMLA has to be kept completely airtight for a minimum of 30min for full effect so if the area being covered is of any size then that would be hard to achieve effectively as the dressings normally used are pretty small, it would make the wiping as you go method hard too since the artist will need plenty of room around each area being worked on. I seem to remember a discussion on IAM about this some time ago and several artists saying that they preferred not to work on numbed skin as it loses pliability, l don't know how true that is but if you are going to try it then definitely give your artist the heads up anyway.

It was actually my artist who suggested it I would assume he's fairly confident with it in that case, so I'm happy with that. One thing I did hear those is that it becomes more difficult to get the ink to stay, and therefore the area has to be gone over a few times and with more force. This would obviously affect the time thing as well. Know if there's any truth to that?
And it has to be kept airtight for at least 60 minutes before, so he's asked me just to pop in early and he'll be applying it for me and clingfilming me up! Thanks for your help.

bounty_hunter

crazy_hayzie wrote:

sorry bounty hunter but with that name i thought you were a fella too! go figure!! cool tat though. should be nice when it's done. on the numbing subject, my latest piece is poseidon going on my rib cage from nipple level to halfway down my ass. about 16 inches from head to tentacle. got the outline done in one session(about three and a haf hours) and his torso coloured in another(three hours). and the front of the rib cage was absolute hell! if someone handed me a shot of morphine i would have gladly taken it!!

Yeah, I know it was a very masculine name to choose. Wow that looks cool!
Yeah the front of the ribs was excruciating, but I found the area between the boobs was by far the worst. I hadn't considered it at the time, but when I examine the area now it's pretty much directly on bone with only a very thin veil of skin and sensitive skin at that, so I can't say I'm surprised

Thephantomsmask

bounty_hunter wrote:

It was actually my artist who suggested it I would assume he's fairly confident with it in that case, so I'm happy with that. One thing I did hear those is that it becomes more difficult to get the ink to stay, and therefore the area has to be gone over a few times and with more force. This would obviously affect the time thing as well. Know if there's any truth to that?
And it has to be kept airtight for at least 60 minutes before, so he's asked me just to pop in early and he'll be applying it for me and clingfilming me up! Thanks for your help.

Ah, that explains things!! Best of luck with it and let us know how it goes, I'd be interested to hear how well it works.

Crumble Froo

heh, i think im gonna have to get some inkage done on my rib area now.. if for NO other reason, but that im really curious about this amount of pain.

heh, curiosity killed the cat...:rolleyes:

bounty_hunter

To be fair I don't think even a full-on masochist could find it an enjoyable pain, it's really not fun.

Reku

bounty_hunter wrote:

One thing I did hear those is that it becomes more difficult to get the ink to stay, and therefore the area has to be gone over a few times and with more force. This would obviously affect the time thing as well. Know if there's any truth to that?

Could be something to do with many over the counter pain killers having a blood thinning effect perhaps?

Will

yeah but they take about 12hours to actually thin your blood and youve to continuosly take em afaik

bounty hunter just grin and bear it thats what i did and im by no means a tough mo fo, youl do fine!

Crumble Froo

bounty_hunter wrote:

To be fair I don't think even a full-on masochist could find it an enjoyable pain, it's really not fun.

i never said id enjoy it... just... really really curious....

Gauge

Aspirin thins your blood. Paracetemol supposedly has the opposite effect. I read it somewhere about preventing blood clots while flying; aspirin reduces the risk, paracetemol increases it. Hmm... Google should have the answer.

acetaminophen (active ingredient in paracetemol/tylenol) is used to reduce pain and fever. Unlike NSAIDs, acetaminophen does not reduce inflammation or blood clotting or cause gastric complications

It increases the effects of other blood thinning medication though if you take them at the same time.

Meanwhile, aspirin has the anti-coagulent effect that prevents clotting and thins the blood. So if you're going to go with a painkiller probably best to avoid aspirin.

bounty_hunter

farohar wrote:

Could be something to do with many over the counter pain killers having a blood thinning effect perhaps?

What are you talking about? I'm taking about Emla, which is a topical anaesthetic, not a painkiller.

bounty_hunter

Wilburt wrote:

bounty hunter just grin and bear it thats what i did and im by no means a tough mo fo, youl do fine!

I really hate when people say that. There's no "grinning and bearing it" involved, I will pass out. And I'm sure my artist isn't going to just carry on while I'm lying there unconscious. I had to ask him to stop last time because I could feel myself blacking out, that's how my body responds to extreme pain. I need to find some way to allow me to finish that one particular spot without that happening. Anyway I've done my research and I'm going to attempt Emla, then call it a day after it wears off if necessary. Wish me luck!

Will

hmm ok when you put it that way, passing out is never good.
bonne chance!

amazingemmet

bounty_hunter wrote:

I really hate when people say that. There's no "grinning and bearing it" involved, I will pass out. And I'm sure my artist isn't going to just carry on while I'm lying there unconscious.

You could just tell him to keep going if you do pass out, might be the easiest way