INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Now is not the time for that full sleeve of a koi fish. A smaller tattoo will be much easier to hide, as it will take less effort to cover it. If your parents surprise you and your tiny tattoo is in full view, you can even slap your hand over it so they won't see. Hiding, and taking care of, a large tattoo is much more complicated. A small tattoo shouldn't be extremely detailed, as the fine lines will spread over time and blur the design. A simple and bold design will age better. Think shapes like hearts and stars, arrows, crosses, musical notes, flowers, anchors, or paw prints. Or if you have major hometown pride, ask for a very simple, single-line representation of the skyline of your city. A small tattoo might be easier to accept if they find out or you eventually show them. It might be the "ice breaker" that makes it easier for you to proceed with larger pieces. There are plenty of spots on your body your parents rarely see, and these are great places to hide a tattoo. Keep the seasons in mind when you are thinking about a good spot--if you run around in a bathing suit all summer your back-of-the-shoulder tattoo will be in full-view. Conspicuous or easily hidden spots include the inside of your lower lip, behind your ear, your ribs, your ankle, your foot, the inside of your wrist, your back. Areas like the inside of the lip and bottom of the foot, and hands will fade much faster than other areas of the body, because those areas are constantly shedding cells and regenerating skin. If you have pale, un-freckled skin, you may want to consider a white tattoo. Geometric patterns are especially striking in white, and white ink will be far less noticeable than other colors. It is imperative you get the tattoo where it will see as little sunlight as possible--even with a powerful SPF the sun can cause the white ink to disappear, just leaving some raised bumps and the memories of your rad tattoo. You may be tempted to go the stick-and-poke route, especially if you are under 18, but rethink that notion. Even if you sterilize the needles, you risk a serious infection, from skin infections to hepatitis to HIV. Plus, they rarely turn out very well. Bond with your friend not by giving each other stick-and-poke tattoos (and potentially a staph infection), but by going to the shop together and supporting each other as you get tattooed. Check out the shop online and choose an artist you want to work with, whose style fits with your concept. Go into the shop to make an appointment and speak with the artist. The shop should be clean, and smell like soap and cleaning supplies. If not, go somewhere else. For a small piece, you may be able to get tattooed as a walk-in, but the best tattoo artists are usually booked up well in advance.

SUMMARY: Pick something small. Get the tattoo somewhere hidden or easy to cover. Try white ink. Go to a reputable shop.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The best and most standard test for Addison's Disease is the ACTH stimulation test. This test will gauge how well your dog's adrenal system works and show if the section of the adrenal system that is uniquely affected by Addison's Disease is damaged. The aim of this test is to take a base level blood sample while your dog is at rest to get her resting level of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. She will then be given an injection of synacthen, a hormone used to force her adrenal gland to produce more cortisol. About one hour after this injection, another blood sample will be taken to show her new level of cortisol after the gland was stimulated. If your dog has Addison's disease, the adrenal gland will be damaged, which means it will not respond to the injection. This means that her cortisol levels will be the same before and after the injection, proving she has Addison's Disease. If your vet isn't sure about Addison's Disease, he may want to take a blood sample from your Poodle to run an overall screening panel to check her levels. He will be looking for her overall organ health, specific mineral levels, signs of anemia, and her red and white blood cell count. Addison's Disease can cause a shift in certain mineral levels in her blood stream, including lower levels of chloride and sodium. Any significant shift in the sodium and potassium ration in her blood will help determine Addison's Disease. This test will also help rule out other diseases and point your vet in the direction of Addison's disease. In some cases, your vet will x-ray your Poodle to help rule out other problems, such as a gastrointestinal blockage due to a foreign object, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea. It may also show her heart, which can show if there is a reduced blood volume in her heart caused by the Addison's Disease. This heart shrinkage is due to a reduced blood volume brought on by dehydration and a reductions volume of circulating blood in her system.

SUMMARY:
Have an adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation (ACTH) stimulation test. Get a blood test. Have her X-rayed.