Momma's Gonna Kill Me.. My 2nd Piercing.

At A Glance Author K8str Contact k8strly9@aol.com Artist Chris (I think) Studio 23rd Street Body Piercing Location Oklahoma City, OK

A bit about my fascination...I've wanted a tongue piercing for a long time now, Just like a lot of people on BME have said.. I've kept up to date here on BME reading other people's experience, and now that I have one, I'm including it. My parents wouldn't let me get my tongue pierced, they said they'd take my car away. I made me mad because I'm a good kid, straight A student, Valedictorian, play sports, etc... So instead, my mom allowed me to get my navel pierced. I got it pierced about a month and 1/2 ago. (My navel experience & pic is also on BME, called "My 18th B-day Gift.. My New Navel").. Anyways.... I've been 18 for a long time now, and the temptation of driving by piercing studios was too much....so on my "Fall Break" weekend of school, I decided it was time...

The actual experience...

Well, not to make this long, but I called and called around, and all my friends were busy,so i decided to go alone.. Since I had been to "23rd Street Body Piercing" before, so I knew I could chat with the workers there. So I go in, and talk a bit with a girl there, and finally clue her into my piercing fascination.. So she looks at my tongue, and decides I need a 12 gauge 5/8" barbell. Everyone that worked there said I had a really thin tongue and that I didn't need such a long barbell. I wasn't really nervous, just kinda bummed that no one could come with me. I had to wait because my piercer, Chris I think it was, had to clean my barbell first. I got the papers to sign, showed my ID and paid my $56... So I wait, and a few people come in to get their tongue rings changed. I start to get a little nervous, just because I was excited at the same time. I wondered if it would hurt like my navel piercing did earlier in the year.

So I end up going back in the room, it's just like it was before with my navel, a doctors office type room, cold, clean, and white. So I'm talking non stop with Chris and I sit down, we start talking about how chicks who drive standards are cool. So he though I was cool. =) Anyways. I sit down on the table as he gets out all of his utensils, which are sealed, and brand new, so i'm happy. He makes me rinse out my mouth with listerine for about 30 seconds, then he dots my tongue. He gave me a paper towel in case I drooled too. The dot looked kinda close to the front, but he said that it was as far back as if could be placed, so I was cool with that. Then he dries off my tongue with some gauze, and clamps it. The clamp was just pressure, absolutely no pain though. Then he told me to take a deep breath, and as I exhaled I felt a pinch on the bottom of my tongue, then something cold (duh the needle) in my tongue. WOW! That was it!

I could barely tell, but he pushed the barbell in as the needle came out, this was just pressure.. Honest... Then he told me he was screwing on the barbell and I was done. I put my tongue back in my mouth, hitting my teeth on accident.... It scared me, but I was okay. The first reaction of having metal through my tongue was weird, but cool. Chris went over my aftercare again, told me that taking vitamins like C and Zinc would help the healing process, and I tipped him for being so good and cool with me. I was afraid I'd get queasy, but I didn't... When my navel was pierced I had to lay down after because I felt sick, but I felt completely fine.. Odd huh? I walk out and wave bye to everyone I made buds with.

That Night:

That night I went with a bud to the grocery store like around 1am to get some Listerine, Slim Fast, ice cream, etc., for me to take..... There was no swelling yet. But 1st trying to swallow Ibuprofen pills was fun, I didn't know how to swallow them with a bar going through my tongue. You learn real fast how to though.

Next Day:

I woke up, and my tongue was slightly swollen, but nothing to get huffy over. I had some soup and ice cream.... Later I ate some spaghettio's. My speech seemed to only be slurred after sucking on ice for a long time, but when I would talk more, my speech would become clear, although it would swell up again after I stopped

talking. I ate solid foods on the 2nd day, like chicken, and even

a sandwich from Sonic. It took me a while, but I managed... Parents still had no clue... =) Took more Ibuprofen and drank a lot of ice water. It seemed my tongue was only sore in the mornings, after a long night of no ice (sleeping duh).

3rd Day:

Well, on the 3rd day, I went up to see my sis at school (Oklahoma State University), which was a 1 and 1/2 hour drive from my house. She never knew either until i showed her my tongue. I ate a hamburger and hot-dog that night though ... so solid foods were slowly becoming

easier to eat. Major partyin' took place that night and I had lots of alcohol, I do not recommend anyone to do this during the healing process, but I made sure and cleaned my piercing thoroughly afterwards... Remember to rinse with 1/2 water, 1/2 Listerine after you eat ANYTHING though, it helps a lot i think. Took some more vitamins and pain relievers...It wasn't that there was pain....just kinda sore feeling in my mouth, and If I could have no soreness,

I was gonna take the pain relievers, but it was tolerable either way.

4th Day:

Went to the OSU Homecoming football game against Kansas State... we lost, but oh well... I ate some pizza, and still my parents hadn't found out.. Later I ate steak, with a little trouble, but doing good. The swelling is almost gone. Still rinsing with 1/2 and 1/2 Listerine/Water, and taking vitamins...

Today:

Everything is good. There is some slight swelling, but it's okay... I'm no longer taking pain relievers, because it's just wasting them at this point. I can sing in my car really good now, not that I'm a good singer, but my speech is 98% perfect again.....Just a few letters are off still. In about 10 days I'm going to replace my

12 gauge 5/8" barbell with a smaller, prettier barbell, maybe green, who knows.

TIPS:

Make sure and chose a respectable clean studio; Don't drink during healing process; try to keep talking to a minimum; don't play with new piercing, or it could tear; remember to rinse after eating anything besides drinking water; keep the area cold for 1st few days; taking vitamins like C and Zinc help speed up the healing process; take pain relievers that help reduce the swelling, like Ibuprofen, or Midol, but no Tylenol or anything containing Acetaminophen. That's about it, have fun, and enjoy your new piercing. I sure am. If you have questions, feel free to email me. My story is more in depth, but I've already made it too long here on BME. L8r guys!