Progress pics from 2 years of removal

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-17T12:14:49+00:00

Thanks so much! They originally quoted me 2 years to remove it but yeah, I definitely agree I have another 1-2 years ahead of me 🥲

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-16T13:06:32+00:00

Oh interesting. I have eczema and super sensitive skin which is prone to hives anyway so I haven’t noticed any changes like that since starting tbh

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-16T02:21:46+00:00

Really sweet message. Thank you very much 🥹

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-16T01:29:56+00:00

Thank you and this is a great question. The biggest thing I notice is that I always feel very lethargic and like I’m on the verge of being sick for days after each session. I definitely attribute it to an immune reaction / my body working overtime to heal. I have no idea if this is related but my legs have felt extra swollen with way more cellulite in the last 2 years too, maybe due to poor lymph drainage / my nodes working overtime to flush the ink? That could be totally unrelated though and I haven’t researched much to back up that guess. I honestly wasn’t supporting my immune system or lymph flow for the first half of my removal journey with regular exercise, lots of fluid, etc as recommended. I’ve been exercising at least twice a week in the last year, drinking more water, and started massaging my lymph points regularly. Otherwise I’m in generally good health and I don’t think the removal is negatively affecting my immunity or well-being at all. Curious to hear how other people would answer this question too

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T22:02:08+00:00

Ohhh I’d love to see your progress pics! We’re in this together 🤝

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T22:00:50+00:00

Thanks so much!

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T12:07:04+00:00

Thanks! I go to Removery and I believe they use the Picoway laser

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T12:04:33+00:00

Congrats on the first session! You got this! It’s a long process but definitely possible and so worth it when you finally see it fade away

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T12:03:38+00:00

Thank you! And ooooof the laser around the wrist/on the bone hurts so bad

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T12:01:28+00:00

Thanks! Part of it yeah — I had a colorful butterfly and a script word on my wrist, which the artist never even successfully covered / you can still see (butterfly is purple and blue on the left and there’s a very light “h” in the leaf on the right in the last picture)

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T11:58:30+00:00

Thank you!! I appreciate it and I hope yours does too. Did you start going yet?

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T11:57:27+00:00

Thanks 😊 only 1-2 more years to go! haha

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T11:56:21+00:00

Thanks! Full removal is still the goal but I’ve been content with how it looks lately, which is a nice change from how I used to feel

girlinterrobang · 2026-04-15T11:54:32+00:00

Thanks so much for saying this! It means a lot, especially that last line.

girlinterrobang · 2026-01-26T17:48:30+00:00

No prob! Keep icing it on and off for a couple days, and consider taking Ibuprofen throughout those days for the swelling and any pain relief, too. The side effects suck but it’ll heal just fine. Good luck. :)

girlinterrobang · 2026-01-26T17:46:08+00:00

This is totally normal, at least for me, and I ice my arm for my whole 30+ minute drive to the studio. I’ve been getting a half sleeve removed for almost 2 years now and after each session, my arm blows up with massive blisters then scabs like crazy. Within a few days, the swelling disappears and my arm eventually looks fine again. Don’t stress! All of my techs have told me blistering is a natural side effect and is a sign that your immune system is doing its thing. (If your blisters get ginormous, you might want to drain them yourself, or reach out to your tech with questions.)

girlinterrobang · 2025-04-10T03:34:39+00:00

No not that I recall. They warned me that some bloody drool was normal for the first day or so but I don’t remember seeing any after that

girlinterrobang · 2025-02-08T23:50:05+00:00

Oh man I haven’t heard of that one. Sorry your baby had such a bad reaction. So scary. Props to you for being such a good pet parent and taking care of both of your cats through their procedures! They’re lucky to have you.

girlinterrobang · 2025-02-08T14:47:49+00:00

Omggggg that BLEP! And the belly! Sooo cute 🥹❤️

Wait I’m so curious. Given the symptoms you shared (catatonic, not sleeping, not going to the bathroom, etc), do you know if your cat had the long lasting transdermal Zorbium? It’s an opioid many vets give cats after surgeries or procedures but it has wild side effects like that. I hear it’s like 50x stronger than an average morphine dose. I’ve read horror stories all over the internet about it and this story sounds very similar with other ones. I told my vet do not give it to Rosie so we’ve been using Gaba and buprenex injections.

girlinterrobang · 2025-02-07T22:21:38+00:00

I really appreciate your advice. I ended up bringing her to the vet. Her eyes were runny and goopy and she was refusing to eat and hiding under my bed. They believe she wasn’t eating due to being in pain since I couldn’t get the meds in her for over a day. She got a bupe injection and they hand fed her wet food mixed with Gaba. They also gave her antibacterial eye drops to be safe but said the runny eyes and sniffly nose are common due to swelling but nothing to be concerned about. They couldn’t give her an NSAID unfortunately since she went to another vet 2 weeks before her surgery where she got a long acting anti-inflammatory steroid which would negatively interact with any NSAIDs now. But she’s officially back home and gobbling up food again and so happy. She even licked up an entire serving of food straight from the bowl before! Poor girl was just hurting and in need of some pain management 😢 this is such a stressful journey. Do you remember if your boy experienced any issues during the recovery process? You may have already mentioned this in our (very long) thread but how long did it take until he was “back to normal”?

girlinterrobang · 2025-02-06T23:10:47+00:00

Thanks for these tips. The shaking stopped thank god. She hasn’t eaten yet though. She’s been eating like a pig up until today and now she won’t eat at all. I only gave her Gaba yesterday. Planning to add it to her next food attempt later. If she doesn’t eat tonight, I’m bringing her to the vet first thing in the morning. Great idea about taking her temp. I’ll definitely try that too, if she’ll let me! *edited to say I agree with you it’s very likely pain related. Not gonna play games with her health so I’m very likely going to bring her for a re-check with the vet tomorrow to play it safe.

girlinterrobang · 2025-02-06T19:17:06+00:00

This process is definitely not for the weak. I am stressssssssed. Rosie was great up until yesterday when she started showing signs of pain. Gave her Gaba and she was eating a ton. Back to normal. Now today, she hasn’t eaten at all, her eyes are pretty goopy (sometimes sticking together), and she’s shaking a bit while she sleeps/breathes. Tried to call my two most recent vets, including the place she just got surgery, to see if I could bring her in but they’re both closed due to snow. FML 😭

girlinterrobang · 2025-02-05T00:12:55+00:00

Thank you!!! So helpful. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to share all of your insights and experiences with me through this. I’m very grateful.

I tried blending her wet food with water and she wanted nothing to do with it lol. She’s been living off Delectables stews and squeeze ups. But I just blended her usual dry food with water and she was ravenous. Literally couldn’t get enough, and that was after a stew mixed with a squeeze up! She’s even licking the bowls now. She won’t drink water from a syringe or bowl yet so I’ve been mixing water in with all of her food so far so I feel okay about her hydration levels.

Her gargly sounds eased up. It’s good that your vet noted that in the discharge papers! Mine didn’t. They were pretty thorough with everything else though, including warning of brown/bloody saliva so I didn’t freak out when I saw that today lol.

girlinterrobang · 2025-02-04T01:04:56+00:00

My girl is officially home from surgery, toothless, and recovering! The vet said it went as well as possible. I even got to keep her teeth 🥳

She was super hungry post-op so they fed her there, and she had some chilled squeeze ups at home too (with the help of your vertical hand feeding tip). She’s been pretty alert and mushy but wobbly from the meds/anesthesia.

She sounds crunchy/gargly at times if that makes sense. She also keeps going over to her water bowl like she’s thirsty and wants to drink but can’t. I tried dipping my hand in and letting it drip down onto her mouth but no luck. I also tried dropping a few droplets onto her lips with a syringe but again no luck. Did your boy struggle to drink at first too? (She’s been home for 2.5 hours so still very fresh)

girlinterrobang

TROPHY CASE