Lost Consciousness Today

[rutherford]

This afternoon I went in to get a tattoo. It's a rather large and complicated piece that covers both shoulders and has a centerpiece that comes down between my shoulder blades. It's all areas that I can cover with a shirt, since my job and getting future work requires that I keep a certain image.

I have a rather high pain tolerance, and quite enjoy the feeling of being tattooed. However, I don't do it often and this is my third piece. The last one was around 6 years ago.

Three hours in, we finally had the outline done for my whole back and a third of my shoulders. It was time to switch and start on the front. Everything was going fine, until we reached a certain spot on my neck. Then my vision started to grey out and the tattooist (a good friend) said my face turned pure white. I've been choked out enough times to know what it feels like to lose consciousness, and that's what happened.

We took a breather, and started back up. Five minutes later we were going back onto the base of my neck and the same thing started to happen. We stopped, of course, I ate a chocolate bar to bring my sugar up (I normally hate sweets), and it was at least a half hour before I started to feel calm and relaxed again.

So, I have an incomplete outline. It still looks nice, and I can tell it's going to be a great piece of art, but I'm really disappointed. The pain, while extremely intense at that point, was something I felt I could manage. My body had a difference of opinion.

The parts left undone don't overlap with what's there, so I don't think I'll wait for the whole thing to heal before I get the outline finished. Ah well. It's just going to take longer than I thought.

I'll post some pictures when it's done.

 

[Simon Curran]

Sounds like an interesting tat regardless of your body's difference of opinion...

 

[Rich Parsons]

Rutherford,

Have you had any neck or back issues or injuries in the past? Not being a doctor at all, but that is something I would consider getting checked out ofr maybe a pinched nerve. Just to be safe.

I am looking forward to the pictures later.

:asian:

 

[MA-Caver]

Pain is sometimes the body's way of saying ... "don't even think about it!"
It sounds like to me that the tattooist was hitting a particularly sensitive nerve/pressure point on your body. Your body please note, it may not affect other people, though pressure points are usually in the same place for everyone; people are built differently inside and out. So this might be the case with you. It might not be a bad idea to see a doctor or a neurologist about it.

 

[rutherford]

The two spots that caused me to start to black out are about 2.5 inches apart. Both on the right base of my neck. The second is on a pulse point, and it looks like there's a vein in about the same place as the first, judgeing from the blue line.

I don't believe I have any residual injuries, but it has been an interesting life.

I did take some in-progress shots last night. I'll try to remember to post them when I get home.

I tend to think that being tired and sore from the cummulative effects of the pain just put me over the edge. Kinda like a boxer who finally gets KOed by a fairly light shot.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself. I don't want to have to redraw the design. :uhyeah:

 

[arnisador]

Something like this is always worth asking your physician about. Who knows why it would cause such a reaction?

 

[rutherford]

So, the back1.jpg is the outline that's completed.

The two pieces that are unattached on neck1.jpg are the ones I mentioned.

The pictures aren't very good so it's hard to tell where on the neck they sit. I look at them and say, "Who is that fellow?" because they don't even much look like my body.