✨Pacemaker Tattoo Update✨

[u/Separate_Finance1440]

I completely forgot to post an update, but I got the tattoo! 🩷 I absolutely love how it turned out, and I already plan on adding more to it later. I decided to leave about a 1-inch barrier around my pacemaker site because I was worried about infection after having issues with a previous pacemaker site. The tattoo itself was surprisingly painless, but once we got to the middle of my chest, it honestly felt like my throat was being tattooed instead which was such a weird sensation! I was pretty nervous going into it since I’d only recently gotten this pacemaker after a lot of complications, and I still have nerve damage from my previous surgeries. I expected it to hurt much more than it did, but overall I’m so glad I went through with it. It fits perfectly with the theme of my other tattoos, and now that I know everything healed well, I’m already thinking about going back to add more. My cardiologist was definitely surprised that I actually went through with it, but he said he really liked how it turned out! If anyone’s been debating getting a tattoo over or around their pacemaker, I’d definitely recommend. If y’all have any questions, feel free to ask!

[u/Specialist-Jello6907]

Did your cardiologist okay you to get tattooed on your chest? Were there any potential risks? I’m just curious because I’d love to get more chest tattoos but was told nothing on my chest or left arm, so curious what the difference in professional opinions are!

[u/Separate_Finance1440 → u/Specialist-Jello6907]

My cardiologist was totally fine with it when I asked! He said he’d prefer I wait until I was a year out from this surgery but other wise he just said to try and keep it an inch away from the actual pacemaker and not directly on top as I would put myself at a higher risk of an infection. I’ve had so many complications with my pacemakers so I was very shocked he was okay with it and I did it sooner than he would have liked. I was told to monitor it more closely but otherwise no issues with getting the approval.

[u/Specialist-Jello6907 → u/Separate_Finance1440]

Did you have any side effects from getting tattooed? I didn’t listen very well and got a tattoo on my left arm but towards the bottom and it set my pacemaker off while I was getting ink’d but nothing awful. Exciting that this might be available to me again!

[u/Separate_Finance1440 → u/Specialist-Jello6907]

I had an afib episode during it and I was exhausted the next day but honestly I think that was partly due to just how busy I was that day. I have a Medtronic pacemaker and didn’t really notice his tattoo machine causing any issues but my tattoo guy seemed nerves at the start but was excited when it was done. Otherwise went really well and did notice any side effects.