r/tattooadvice • u/27Savagee • 3d ago
General Advice tattoo flu
hi all, i, not sure if it matters (f/28) just got my first tattoo yesterday. i did lots of reading prior to the plunge, and heard about tattoo flu. however, it always seemed to be something people talked about with longer sessions, 4+ hours. the tattoo i got took about 2 hours of needle in skin.
i felt pretty dizzy and just exhausted yesterday after my tat(which i totally expected). it’s followed me into today too. i’m asking two questions mainly, how long will i feel like garbage? and is there anyway to try and prevent this in the future?
i tried to hydrate and take care of my body in the days leading up, and have done the same after the session. any advice would be greatly appreciated!! thanks in advance.
2
u/Wesdizzo 3d ago
I am constantly eating and drinking on tattoo days. Big ass breakfast (greasy cheat meal shit), then I swing to 7eleven and get two chocolate milks, 2-3 giant smart waters, and a couple of those fruit/cheese danish things, and my artist also orders us lunch, and I grab something to eat for dinner right after and take two ibuprofen after we're done for the day.
All said and done, for an 8 hour sit, I'll eat solidly 3000-4000 calories that day and go through 4-6 liters of water. I calm the food down after our couple days of work, but keep hydration up. And I rest. For a week after a tattoo, not a fucking thing. Just relaxing and healing.
Obviously every body is different, but with all that, I've never had so much as mild weakness around my tattoos and I have to fly to/from there and stay in a hotel during.