Hi All,
As an introduction, I am a 28yo Belgian male and I got a huge full back tattoo (with many big black areas) in multiple sessions since last summer.
The first session was extremely painful. Let's not discuss the general concept of pain during getting a tattoo since this depends on many factors and is very personal. Let's discuss possible solutions though since I am sure many persons are searching for this.
After the first session I first consulted with a dermatologist. He recommended the EMLA cream to be applied on the zone to be tattooed before/during the process. Even though many tattoo artists disagree I tried it once and was very unsatisfied with the result. I felt little to no difference.
Idem with OTC pain killers.
Even though I was not a drug user at all, at this point I was open to almost anything to surpress the pain.
After some research I came across Dextrometorphan (DXM), which in low doses is a cough repressant but in higher off-label doses becomes a potentially potent dissociative drug. DXM is OTC prescription free medication is most jurisdictions including USA and most if not all European countries, so it is easy to get and is not illegal.
To learn more about it read the FAQ on Erowid which imo is the best and most complete source about safely abusing 😉 DXM (I am IN NO WAY related to Erowid). I just want to share here how it helped me to surpress the pain during the tattoo process. DO READ that FAQ before using it though, for your own good !!!
At first I obviously tried it at home in different dosages (start low !!!). During my first "trips" I had some dissociative experiences, mild hallucinations, and sensation of pain indeed seemed reduced.
I was aware 100% of the time that whatever I felt was due to taking this product.
The first sessions teached me that it would be safe to use it during the tattoo sessions since I managed to act normal enough while "high" on it. It doesn't make you act more active, to the contrary. When taking it at home it mostly make you lay or sit down, which is exactly all you need to do while getting a tattoo.
At first I took 375mg of DXM during a session and for sure did feel way less pain (it still hurt a lot but DXM undoubtedly had a very positive effect). In later sessions I took up to 750mg, sometimes with redosing with a further 375mg later during the session. Obviously always after having tried whatever dose I took during the session before at home !!!
It was a great help to me ... The sensation of pain is clearly decreased and even though you feel it, it seems to be dissociated to a certain effect (in the sense that it doesn't really seem to apply as it would normally do).
In all cases I managed to act reasonably normal during the sessions. Only "signs" were dilated pupils, being less socialable as normal (partly because saying coherent things becomes more difficult, even though I was lucid enough to not act too weird), and maybe walking a bit in a slightly fucked up way ...
Either way I am sure the tattoo artist would have declined tattooing me if she noticed.
Hopefully my experience can help some of you.
Be wise though and use your common sense ! INFORM yourself before taking anything.
Make sure to only consume PURE dextrometorphan. NEVER use a product which also contains other active substances. Research this online. This obviously depends on what is available in your country.
Always try it first at home, starting with low doses and gradually increasing when the previous "trip" went well, and decide based on your experiences at home whether it is a good idea for you to take during getting tattoed.
Good luck to all and I am very curious to hear similar experiences from other inked persons 😉
VM
