JasonM

@RoryQ thanks, I'll have to post pics now that its healed. Much different and the brush stroke detail is now visible. It was a little tough to digest when I was expecting to do a full back piece and the placement changed, but now I'm glad and like you said the panoramic view works better this way. @nnavarro Overall the experience was much easier then I was anticipating. I think one of the key things is going to a great artist. I didn't scab or have much swelling at all. Healed really nicely. My friend who went with me got a piece done as well which they were struggling to finish on time and really packed the color in. His experience was a little rougher. He ended up using Saniderm for the flight home. I did not. I just applied A&D before we left the hotel. The plane ride was fine other then that nasty oily feeling of A&D rubbing all over your shirt for 16 hours. Once we landed in the US before our connecting flight, I did reapply A&D as it was starting to feel a little dry after the long flight. It was a pain to put the Saniderm on my friend before we left Hong Kong. Took forever and he still has some scabbing. He had piece of mind on the flight that it was protected, but to me, looked pretty uncomfortable and a lot of hassle for not a lot of benefit. You should be fine if you're flying out two days later. Just stay healthy and follow a good after care routine. - - - Updated - - - My only problem now is I'm ready for the next one and all the artist I want to go to aren't taking appointments. But that's a whole other thread. Any suggestions on artist to check out would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to get in with Shige, Jeff Gogue, David Allen, and even go back to Joey Pang but she's not taking appt. right now.

Back from Hong Kong and everything went really well. The design and placement was a little different then I was expecting but overall really happy about everything. 16 total hours over 3 days. The last day was a little uncomfortable but overall the pain was very tolerable. All I ended up taking was Motrin to help with swelling. Not sure if it did or didn't help. Had a good breakfast every morning and unfortunately really didn't get a chance to experience much of Hong Kong. After each session was just ready to get back to the hotel. Attached are some pics. The detail of the brush stokes will be more visible once it's healed.

I've had a lot of dialogue over the past year with the artist, but I know there's a wealth of knowledge here that could help me prepare further. Like: Vitamin C was a great suggestion. I've been taking some now with other vitamins to keep me healthy through the winter months, but I never thought to put more emphasis on Vitamin C during the trip. I was thinking about Ambien for sleeping, but the Advil PM might be better to help with pain and swelling? Good advice. I was of the mind set to get a big meal before hand, but you're right, my stomach will probably be on a roller coaster from everything you mentioned so I should be a little smarter about what I cram in.

Many reasons for the back piece. It's been a long time in the making and in the last few years it all came together. I'm in the midwest and I wanted to connect with David Allen in the future, but he's not taking appointments. I'll be traveling to San Fran often so I'm going to check out some artist there, but really just need to get through what's on the horizon. Thanks for the feedback . . . and I don't think rib tattoo and wuss belong in the same sentence !

I was going to cheap on the hotel but decided on the Intercontinental Hong Kong. They've got what appears to be an amazing brunch buffet. My plan is to destroy it every morning before the session. But we'll see. I'm definitely going to stay away from the street food. It's ashamed, I've always wanted to go to Asia, but you're right, I probably won't be seeing much, but I'll certainly be taking away a bad ass souvenir!

I have one other tattoo on my forearm, but smaller. I understand the forearm is one of the easiest spots but I could have laid there for hours. But I'm not naive and realize 1) The back is more painful, 2) After a certain amount of time the body reacts in ways you wouldn't expect and just says enough, 3) Back to back is going to be even more sensitive and painful, and 4) I realize I'm going to feel like I got hit with the bad flu after my body goes into shock for that week. That's why I asked about the antibiotics to helps counter act that. So . . . am I prepared for this . . . absolutely not, but this is kind of a part of this personal journey. Probably stupid and will do nothing but I've been laying on a bed of nails to build up tolerance to long periods of discomfort. I've been hitting the gym and eating well to get my overall health and immune as good as possible for the trip. Got all my vaccines up to date. Been doing tons of research and I've had ongoing dialogue with the artist and she's pretty confident on the process for the week. Also the design/style will be very spread out, so there's no real concern about going into the same area. But with all that said, I know I'm going to be in for a rough experience. Above it all I HATE long flights!! The longest flight I've been on was about 10 hours. This will be another 5 hours plus the way back with a fresh tattoo is going to be hell! I probably should have joined the forum sooner, but I figured I get the remaining questions out there in these next couple months.

Right now it looks like I'll have my first session on Monday, second on Tuesday, Wednesday might be a break and then the last session on Thursday. So sounds like I should put it on Friday morning before I leave for the airport?

My last session will be on Thursday and then I fly out Friday at 11:10am. So I should be good to follow your suggestion. Should I use the tatuderm during the week too? Or should I save it just for the plane ride? I definitely would like to take advantage of being in Hong Kong so I'd like to check out the sites. Should I use it while I sleep? I read about people getting back pieces waking up and going straight in the shower with their shirt on to get it off. Also, if I did use it the night before, does it make the skin swell more for the next day session? I'm assuming with it locking in more moisture and all the trauma could cause third-spacing and making it tough to tattoo?

The artist is Joey Pang at tattootemple.hk. I'm glad I made up my mind when I did because now she's not excepting new appointments. I'll have to post this in a new thread, but that's a tangent I could go off on. There's another artist I was hoping to work with, but in the time I found him until now he's no longer take new appointments. I'll be pretty drained after Hong Kong (both energy and pocket book) so hopefully when I'm ready again, I'll be able to get in. - - - Updated - - - Thanks for introducing saniderm/tatuderm. Never heard of those but looks like you're right . . . would be a necessity for the plane ride. Now if I could only get upgraded to business class so I could lay on my stomach I'd be in good shape!

Thanks. I'm extremely excited. I wanted it to not just be about the tattoo but the whole experience. The best advice I got was find the artist who's work is exactly what you want then figure out how to get to them. I wrote this whole idea off years ago but it ate away at me. So I booked about two years ago and made it happen. It 's insane I'm less then 3 months from take off!

Thanks for the quick replies. I read the numbing creams can make it feel worse for long sessions. As it wears off the pain feels worse. Also that the ink reacts differently. But again, I've read a lot of conflicting things. Anyone who's been through back to back sessions, I'd be interested to hear how day 2 and 3 are. I think I have as good as an understanding of how day 1 will be, but I'm assuming your skin is swollen and sensitive the next day?

Hello all, I'd like to introduce myself and ask a few questions. I've been a long time admirer of tattoos and spent a long time concepting what I would eventually get. Now in my thirties I got a smaller piece on my forearm to introduce me to the process. I've been on a waiting list for about two years and will be traveling from the US to Hong Kong in a few months for a back piece. I'm scheduled for 3-4 sessions within one week. Length of the session will be dependent on my comfort but I have numerous questions about this type of process. I've read through all the suggested prepping like, get plenty of sleep, large meal, sugary drinks/snacks throughout, etc. But I'm wondering what else I should consider? I understand long sessions will cause the skin to swell and might not take the ink as well. Anything I can do to counter act? I read somewhere someone took antibiotics before a back to back two day session to help with shock and immune being low. But I also read antibiotics can cause the tattoo to heal differently. As far as traveling, anyone have suggestions? I think I'm more worried about the flight ( I hate long flights). Also the 15 hour ride home with a fresh back piece is going to be hell. My plan is to stay hydrated and sleep as much as possible. Anything else? The tattoo artist is a veteran to this type of process and confident on the schedule and nothing out of the ordinary needed for my preparation aside from a typical tattoo. I feel like I should be doing something a little different for this. Especially that second day. What should I expect? I have a feeling the second day will be the worst? Any thing I can/should take? Overall, I'm not stressing too much about the length of the tattoo as I've waited years for this and found the perfect artist. I can't wait to see it finished. I'm sure my feelings will change an hour in though, so anyone with suggestions above the breathe and engage in distractions would be welcomed. Thanks for any suggestions!