I've been humming and hawing for awhile about getting a tattoo representing my diabetes status for sometime. I finally decided to give it a go last week and made an appointment, since I'm celebrating my Diaversary of over 1/2 a century. Along with this treat of being inked I'm going on a well deserved break from social media / work this Spring and I thought if I meet up with anyone from Diabetes UK it would be fun to show it off!
The good thing with this holiday treat though is that it's been basically paid off by a few years of purchasing diabetic meds, pump supplies, food, clothing, you name it with a credit card that gives back the most travel rewards. I figure, if I've got to have diabetes, I might as well enjoy some rewards from purchasing all the crap needed to stay alive with a credit card (and yes, I pay off my balance EVERY month especially at the current 19.99% interest rate). So, it's win, win all around with getting to see family / friends overseas - relax on an ocean voyage and not doing dishes for a change of pace!
So, with further adieu ... here's the design that my new best tattoo artist Nat from The Skinwithin and I came up with after she looked over some of the designs I'd come sent to her during the week. She knew I wanted to incorporate the blue circle from IDF, along with my pen name of FatCatAnna which evolved from my diabetic cat Beauduoin (though on hindsight ... I should have asked Nat to maybe tweak the cat to be abit fuller (okay fatter) since this cat looks a bit malnourished ... but as my skin stretches with age ... maybe it'll blimp out <lol>).
All in all, I'm happy I did it, and found out that having it on the left wrist is actually the best place to put a tattoo like this. According to a paramedic, the left arm is where they first go to when checking your pulse, etc. Even with the tattoo stating my being diabetic, I'll still wear my other piece of medical ID from Mediband ... just to be on the safe side. Again, as the paramedic told me, they still look for medical ID over a tattoo when they are performing their work in an emergency situation!
If you're looking for advise on getting a tattoo SAFELY - check out T1D's Chris Clement's blog post at this link. He's got some great tips so you can safely have one done by your fav ink artist. He should know, since I've viewed a few of his up close and personal ;)
Below is how it's looking at the moment, after removing the plastic wrap it was kept in for about 12 hours. I'm using Aveeno baby cream to keep it moist. Luckily, I heal well from cuts, surgeries (due to my being a healthy diabetic probably). Now what will be my next tattoo?
REMEMBER - ALWAYS WEAR A PIECE OF MEDICAL ID - A TATTOO MAY NOT SAVE YOUR LIFE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION!!!
Anna, where did you find the tattooed blue guy picture? lol
ReplyDeleteLOL Richard - like I always do when I compose my #dblogs. I just found him when I'd used some key words (which I don't recall what I used) to find the right picture to post here!
DeleteVery nice... Love the design.
ReplyDeleteKatie - many thanks! Though my Mum and Dad don't think too much of it. They had hoped it was not permanent. I had to disappoint them that ... no ... it was for life ... just like my Type 1 diabetes is LOL
DeleteIs there any risk associated with diabetes and tattoos?
ReplyDeleteThere can be due to how we heal. The most important thing is to go to a good/legit tattoo artist - who knows how to work on a client with autoimmune or health conditions. I know when I first thought of getting a tattoo on my ankle, an artist in California whose work I love told me to avoid any areas on the ankle/feet due to our circulation. She said any artist who would tattoo in those areas was not well educated. I do know of diabetics that have had artwork done in those areas, with no complications. The main thing is to follow the artists recommendations during the healing process, and of course, having good diabetes health with blood sugars not being well controlled, is the most important thing. Are you considering getting a tattoo to reflect your health condition? If so, remember, that in case of emergency, the most recognised form of awareness for EMT's is a medical bracelet. Though my wrist one may stand out, an EMT told me the first thing they look for is a bracelet or necklace.
DeleteThere are some interesting points in time in this article but I don?t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well.
ReplyDeleteDiabetes News Pro
Not sure @Jonathan Cather about the "center to heart", as this is not about heart issues. See my response, above as to the risk that can occur with having a tattoo done, and hopefully this helps you assess what you have written. Please note, I am not a medical professional (as stated in my disclaimer on this page). I am just someone, who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 50 years. Psst, what is FeedBurner?
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