Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal:Week One (Third Application) April 7, 2009

The area seems to have dried out. Although a typical scab has not formed a rough skin has. It feels similar to what I remember dried Elmers glue feels like. There is no pain or discomfort of any kind. The skin it tight, and a little area has cracked due to ankle movement from walking.

I am putting lotion on the area daily. I want to get to the store and get some vitamin E lotion when I can.

Application One…………………………Application Two

(One Week)

When in comparison to applications one and two’s first week I see more similarities with the first application. The area is not nearly as red as with the second application. Although, this time around the area doesnt seem as dried out and scabby as the first application.

We will just have to see how the healing process goes from here.

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Day Four (Third Application) April 1, 2009

The area looks pretty nasty. It looks like a big blister, but there isn’t any fluid in it. It does not hurt, but is sensitive to the touch and stings if it rubs up against my pants or bed covers.

This is what day four looked like during my second application (the one that brought trouble):

Right now the outlining area is not nearly as red. Also the whitish lining surrounding the inside of the red line is also not present. What differs this time is the blistery looking skin.

• Currently I am putting neosporin on the area once a day. I will continue doing this until Sunday ( 1 Week) .

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Day Two (Third Application) March 30, 2009

The red isn’t as vibrant today. There is no pain at this point. Last application I was worried right when I saw how red the area was after applying Nuviderm, and that is not the case here, yet anyways. I will do a side by side comparison at 4-Days to show the differences between the previous applications and this one.

I was worried to take a hot shower this morning and the pain that was come from it, but it didn’t hurt at all. This differs from the previous treatments too. During the previous applications, if I covered the area with a blanket it would be somewhat uncomfortable, and warm/hot water running over it was painful; so far so good I think. The changes I have seen already at day two look to be positive.

Update

I think I spoke too soon. It’s been about 5 hours since the last photo. The area is becoming redder and there appears to be slight small blistering.  The area is not painful.

I also included a closer shot of the bottom area of the tattoo. You can see the slight blistering, and the funky texture of my skin currently. The color also seems to be getting darker (as it did with both my previous applications).

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Day One (Third Application) March 29, 2009

I finally broke down and applied the third layer of Nuviderm today. I did the application quite different this time around.  Instead of sticking with 50 some percent strength like before I increased the strength per layer. Also instead of putting on 12-20 layers of TCA I put on 3. Instead of leaving it one for 3-5 additional minutes like before I washed the TCA off after I finished the third layer.

The First layer I applied was 46% strength.

The Second layer I applied was between 46% and 56%.

The Third layer I applied was 56% strength.

Surprisingly the area didn’t really frost when I was applying the TCA. It also didn’t sting much at all when I was applying the peel which was different then the first two application I did. After rinsing the area with cold water the stinging started.

Once I finished the application the area started to slowly frost. I had a hard time getting the legs frosted, similar problem that I had during the second application.

It has been about a half an hour since I applied the solution. The stinging has completely stopped.

Supplies! (Small Glass, Nuviderm, Measuring spoon (don’t know where the dropper went), Vaseline, alcohol wipe (provided by Nuviderm) and Neosporin. I also used Q-tips -Not Pictured-

-I used the Vaseline around the tattoo to help prevent dripping.

*Before Third Application*

The Process:

–The last three pictures were AFTER the application of TCA.

***HAHA I have to share my thoughts on this one!

So, Nuviderm has an ‘official’ wordpress blog now. Apparently they are trying to get everyone to ask their questions to this site. Now, what I find hilarious is I am curious how many of the Nuviderm reps have actually used the product???

Personally, I would rather talk to Joe Schmo who used the product for advice than some corporate employee whose paid to sell their product.

Hmmm…Just had to throw in my two-cents.

And…I did post the ACTUAL directions Nuviderm sent me…I did not just make those up (Previous Blog Entry).

**Thank you everyone who has followed my Nuviderm journey so far!**

UPDATE:

After about 5 hours the frosty white turned to pink. It looks and feels like a bad sunburn. Not painful. The area is warm to the touch.

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Week Three (Second Application) August 7, 2008

Start of Healing (after Doctor’s Visit)—————————————–>

—————————————————————————>

——————————————————————>9/7/2008

I apologize, I missed about a week in between the second to last photo and the most current photo. It wasn’t a very eventful week though, the area scabbed, and this week it started to peel. There is no pain anymore, and the area is completley scabbed, and there is no oozing of any kind this or last week. The area itches. I cant really tell how faded the tattoo has become, but I’m anxious to see the results. I don’t think the area is going to be a huge scar, its healing up pretty nicely, so we’ll just have see.

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Week Three/Day 5 (Second Application) July 26, 2008

***Day 5 With Prescriptions

So far so good.  The picture is kind of foggy, but o well.  The area doesn’t really hurt at all, it does itch, and sting at times.  Not much to share today…Healing is going good…I really hope it doesn’t look too bad once healed completley.

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Week Three/Day 4 (Second Application) July 25, 2008

***Day 4 with prescriptions

Its looking pretty good today. I can tell that it looks a lot healthier than before I went to the doctor. It doesn’t hurt too bad at all, the treated area as well as the area around it itches really bad though.

Free Laser Tattoo Removal?

I just got a comment, which I thought was worth sharing…Especially anyone in the Southern California area.

Ian Says: Hello,
I just found your blog as well. I work for a laser removal company in Southern California called Dr. TATTOFF. If you or any of your readers happen to be in Southern California on Wednesday, July 30, we’re doing free laser tattoo removal all day long for anyone who comes into our Irvine, CA clinic. This is a community service we call Dr. TATTOFF’s Operation INK-OFF which we perform once a year at each of our three clinics, so potentially a person could have their tattoo completely removed for free if they came to each INK-OFF over the course of a couple years, or they could go to the events and supplement them with paid treatments to have their tattoo removed much faster.

Here are the details:

WHO: Any new patients who want free tattoo removal.
WHAT: Up to 6″ sq. laser tattoo removal. Patients treated on a first come, first served basis.
WHEN: Wednesday, July 30, 8am-8pm.
WHERE: Dr. TATTOFF, 15751 Rockfield Blvd, Ste 120, Irvine, CA 92618
WHY: Because everyone deserves something for free!

Feel free to spread the word – it’s our pleasure to help as many people out as possible by providing them with free laser tattoo removal on that day.

For more information, you can call 888-TATT-OFF (828-8633) or visit us online at http://www.DrTATTOFF.com.

If you’d like to be added to our mailing list to be informed of upcoming INK-OFF events and other promotions and news (including where new Dr. TATTOFF clinics are opening later this year and next year) please send a request to info@drtattoff.com

Best of luck with your removal,
Ian

I would just have to say, to keep in mind that one laser treatment will not completley remove a tattoo, be prepared for many treatments.  Second laser tattoo removal also does have a risk of scarring and skin discoloration.  If anyone is able to attend this, and receive free laser removal; you should really share your experience with me, I would love to hear how it went.

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Week Three/Day 3 (Second Application) July 24, 2008

*** Day Three on prescriptions

The area is feeling much better, which I am very happy about. It does also itch really bad. All and all there really isn’t much to blog about today. The bandage this morning looked just like the one yesterday, so I’m not going to post that either. I am going to the doctor again here in an hour, hopefully everything will go fine. I also stopped using the pain killers, they made me extremely nauseous, and gave me headaches.

Update:

I just got back from the Doctor’s office.  I ended up getting a tetanus shot.  I have another scheduled appointment for August 4th.  I have been told to keep up with the silver sulfa for the next week.  I have 3 days left for the oral antibiotics, the nurse gave me 3 more 75mg Levaquin pills to take once I used up my prior prescription.  I was told that next week, if If the burn is looking better I can stop the use of the silver sulfa, uncover the area and let it dry out to scab.  We’ll see how things are looking next week.

A little bothersome though, the doctor recommended a skin graft.  Its more for cosmetic reasons, she’s really worried that my ankle is just going to look terrible after all this.  We are going to see how it looks at the next doctor office, and then we are going to look into skin grafting options.

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Week Three/Day 2 (Second Application) July 23, 2008

***Day Two using antibiotics

I can already see that the area is stating to heal up, and look better. The medications make me completley nauseous, but I think it’s worth it. The pain has drastically decreased , even without the pain killers .

***Bandage: Day two

My wound is still weeping, but it is more brown today than orange like it was yesterday. There is also specks of black mixed in there too.

jdeter Says: July 23, 2008

“The instructions say start at the lowest strength. I started with 17% and I’m on my third treatment. It seems to be working well. I may move to the next level (25%) my next treatment. Beyond itching I have had no problems. I think when you use excessive strength is when you get into trouble – 2 beers is fine but 6 is to much. Like you said, it’s better to do more treatments at lower strength and not be in such a hurry. Eight layers your last treatment was to much.
For my money Nuviderm has been worth it.”

First, let me begin by saying that I’m glad to hear that you are having success with Nuviderm, and past the second application. Do you have any before or after pictures to show your success with the product?

I did post the directions under my first application post. No where in the directions does it say to start at the lowest strength. It says to do a patch test, which I did. My first application I did a little stronger than 50% which healed fine. The directions did say that one should maybe start with only one layer their first application, but than goes on to saying that if the area does not frost, to bump up the strength of the solution. Than I think what is really misleading, is that the directions say numerous times to not let the solution dry, and the keep the treated area wet. By keeping the area wet, wouldn’t that mean adding more layers? The lowest mixing instruction was for 23% also, and then it states that most people use 25%-70%. I know it’s rather simple to mix lesser strength than mentioned on the directions by adding more water, but why not state the lower strengths on the directions? I understand I put on many layers, but I figured I had couldn’t let the solution dry.

I could’ve taken the directions wrong, I am only human… But honestly, I feel the directions are too vague, contradicting, and somewhat confusing.

Nuviderm At Home Tattoo Removal: Week Three (Second Application) July 22, 2008

I broke down yesterday, and made an appointment to see the doctor. I cant even describe how much pain I was in, it was immense none the less. I would elevate my leg, which would make it feel much better, but once I lowered my foot the pain came shooting back, so bad, that I couldn’t even walk on that foot.

I Googled how to take care of wounds and burns, and I couldn’t find a single straight answer, I read that I should cover it, use Neosporin, use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, saline washes, soap; and then of course I read in other places,that I shouldn’t do any of those. I tried all of them over the past 4 days, and none of them seemed to help, the pain just got worse, and my ankle and foot had gotten really swollen.

I sucked up my pride, and got into the doctor the same day. Of course, being in a small town, the nurse looked at me like I was nuts after I explained what I was doing, and looked even more shocked when I showed her my sorry excuse for an ankle. After a very long two hours of sitting in the doctors office waiting for second opinions on what to do, I was given a few prescriptions…and get to go back for another visit this Thursday.

$130.00 worth of prescription drugs later…

• Silver Sulfadiazine 1% (Topical Antibiotic for burns)
• Levaquin 500mg (Oral Antibiotic)
• Darvocet (Pain reliever)

The doctor covered by tattoo with silver sulfa and bandaged it, so I wasn’t able to get a picture of what my tattoo looked like right before using the prescription ointment, but I will keep on blogging the healing process. Just now, keep in mind for the next 7 days I’m on prescriptions. I will try to take pictures everyday, to see what kind of impact the prescriptions may have.

***One Day After Doctors Visit

(Silver Sulfa/Once a Day, Levaquin/Once a Day, Pain Relievers-As Needed)

The Nurse made it very clear that this is going to probably scar terribly. I am going to stay optimistic about it. Funny thing was she asked my if I knew how to post information on the Internet, she said that I really should warn people about the dangers of using Nuviderm…Ha. I am one step ahead of that!

I got to thinking, everyone I have talked to had a lot of trouble during their second application. I honestly haven’t talked to anyone that was on their third or so application, since they all stopped after their second application. I have a feeling that treating the same area twice or more times, is just too much trauma for the skin to handle. I don’t know if maybe waiting twice as long in between applications would help that or not.

On my previous post ‘L’ commented on using colloidal silver bandages; No one in town carries those here, but I think that is a great recommendation for anyone whose in the healing process. I would have to also agree, that 50% is way to strong. I used 46% this last time, and I’m really regretting that. I would definitely recommend using a lower strength…I would personally rather have to do many weak applications, than go through this mess again.

And to think the thought of *hmmm a facial peel might be nice* crossed my mind when I was researching TCA before I purchased nuviderm. I am SO glad that was just merely a thought…Can you imagine putting 12-30% strength on your face…It makes me cringe just thinking about it!

I almost forgot.  What would this post be without a nasty bandage picture?  My tattoo is still oozing.

***Bandage after day one of using Silver Sulfa. The discharge color is orange/brown.