asthma and tattooing

i posted about this experience under "what the hell happened? almost fainted" and was suddenly thinking maybe as a person with asthma the tattoo vibrations irritated my lungs? i did not have an attack per se but my chest felt horrible that night and i could not sleep lying down (as happend when i have an asthma attack) and all of the same symptoms returned.... also, does age have anything to do with stamina as far as tattooing goes? anyone notice a difference? i guess this is a no-brainer, but it's only a tattoo! damn! i feel old. It's funny, but my other large piece was done when i was 23, and i did not have a healthy lifestyle, and after 3.5 hours i was fine, and now, at 36, i take loads of supplements and eat well and after an hour and a half i crap out. really strange. i swear i'll put this topic to rest soon. haha

lisa, i don't know about vibrations... but maybe adrenaline or stress had something to do with it. i actually have pretty bad asthma, and had no problems getting my tattoos. BUT, if i get overly angry or scared (usually angry), even if i'm not yelling/screaming/whatever -- i can feel short of breath and sometimes it'll incite an attack. i only notice this though when i'm trying oh so hard to behave -- i think holding my tongue causes me to hold my breath and add adrenaline and BOOM breathing issues. ;) just a theory. as for age and tattooing who knows? i went with my uncle when he got his first (and only) tattoo and he sat fine for 3 sessions of 6 hours (back piece). it was incredibly detailed work (family portrait of all of us and we're a huge clan) that I'll be honest -- i don't know if I could've sat still for all of it.

i should note that my uncle was 64 at the time.

That's awesome of your uncle!

ha not going to lie, it shocked the hell outta me. here's this ultra-conservative man from the old country(syria)... and we have a family reunion -- the first time everyone in our family (that lives in the u.s.) is all in one photo -- and he says "finally". Tells me we're going for a ride, and we stop at officemax where he gets it blown up, then we go to see his 'lady friend' who's son is an artist!!! apparently my uncle had been waiting a long time for that photo. the best was he made me promise not to tell the family, but everyone kept slapping him on the back as they left for the day so he ended up getting a bit cantankerous w/everyone. ;) i love my crazy family.

Sounds like there's a lot there to love Bee!