Systems Analyst gets a chunk removed

At A Glance Author Orlando Contact ogle86@hotmail.com Artist Kitten Studio AWARE Location Santa Fe, NM

I am a 27-year-old computer programmer that has recently gotten 'the bug', or more correctly, acted upon 'the bug'. I've thought about piercing for several years but felt the people in my line of work are too conservative and that it was a bad idea. The cool thing about your tongue is the owner's ability to hide it and only let a privileged few peek at it. For some reason I had never given my tongue much thought as regards piercing. After reading about it on BME and other sites, I decided to give it a whirl. I think everyone should try something they think they'd be interested in at least once. How else are you really going to know?

It's the day before I try, for a second time, to get my tongue pierced. There is another tattoo/piercing shop that opened up here about three months ago. I decided to stop by last week to check it out. I walked in and was amazed at how different this establishment was from the previous rat-hole I had my tongue pierced in. Two women, Kitten and Jeff, who moved here from L.A, own the place. So needless to say the décor and ambiance were fantastic. There was a small tabletop fountain on the counter and some delicious incense was burning. The feeling I got when I first walked in the door was very relaxing and professional. This stands in stark contrast to the place I had the first one done, Concrete Jungle. The piercers there have one small room off to the side with all the necessary things. They seemed to be clean enough but very unprofessional. The store sells pipes, incense, lighters, and typical drug paraphernalia. When the piercers didn't show when scheduled, that should have been my sign to get the hell out and not come back. But I was very set on the idea and decided to have it done. I again went against one of my primary rules, 'Don't force it.' But I did and I'm now tongue-piercless and $55 poorer with a lump of scar tissue in my tongue.

Anyway, back to my delightful experience...I spoke with Kitten concerning several problems I had encountered with my last attempt. Some of which were bleeding after a week, constant pain, and an annoying pinching feeling. Both Kitten and Jeff each have six years experience doing piercing, apprenticing with several piercers in L.A., and are associated with that piercing organization (can't remember the name). Kitten went on to theorize that the piercing was done incorrectly and the post, 5/8", was too short for my tongue. I asked several other questions, looked at some tongue jewelry, and said I would be back next week, which is now. I will continue on with my piercing experience after I've gotten it done. If all goes well with this I am planning on piercing my tongue web and after that maybe my lip. I've heard and read about several people finding piercing addictive. I can't wait!

I had planned on doing it over my lunch hour but for some reason, I'm kinda chickening out. I'm not exactly sure why. I've done it once before so I know what it's all about. I feel confident in the piercer's abilities and as I mentioned above, felt totally comfortable upon my initial visit. I need to eat something before getting it done anyhow, so I'll enjoy my last meal of solid food for a week and get it done after work. Until then...

I stopped by after work and had to wait a few minutes. I decided to go with the 10-gauge 13/16" barbell. I think I had 12-gauge 5/8" before. I was taken back to the piercing booth and sent to the bathroom to swish with Listerine. I came back and sat on the table. She marked it and asked me to take a look. I liked the placement and the deed was done. Unlike many people, it again hurt like hell. Which is half the fun anyway! More this time because of the scar tissue she had to go through. After 20 seconds or so, the endorphins kicked in and it felt great. It immediately felt like it had been there all along. As a matter of fact, I ate pizza that very night, and surprisingly, have continued to be able to eat pretty much anything I want. I just take smaller bites and eat PLENTY of ice and Advil. Five days later my tongue really swelled. I think that might have to do with New Year's Eve. I drank like a fish and once my tongue was numb, along with the rest of my body, I probably thrashed it around a bit too much. I never had a lisp until now. I'm a little bit bummed about it but wasn't about to worry about it for New Years! So I'm back to the Advil and ice water on a regular basis. Another odd thing is the piercing itself doesn't hurt much at all. The tip of my tongue has a swollen area on it that hurts more than the piercing. I'm not exactly sure what that is but will probably go to the doctor if it doesn't clear up by the end of this week.

I will repeat what many people have said. Make sure you are comfortable with your piercer! If you get a strange feeling or are uncomfortable about a place or person, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! Always listen to your first impressions of a piercing establishment, they won't steer you wrong. If you're thinking about getting your tongue pierced, I would wholeheartedly say hell yes, do it!