Two years ago, when I was a freshman in college and still fairly new to body piercing, I got a 14 gauge center tongue piercing. The healing was quite a process, but I loved the piercing and gradually stretched it up to a 10 gauge (and have plans to stretch it even further). Eventually, though, I noticed a LOT of other people with center tongue piercings and I started to feel a little less unique. Also, my solitary barbell looked so lonely just sitting there in the middle of my tongue. I came across pictures of the venom placement (two off-center piercings) here on BME and fell in love with them. THAT was what I wanted to keep my original piercing company in my mouth.
At A Glance Author Kristin Contact kmak427@yahoo.com IAM kmak427 When A month ago Artist Sean Studio Jinx Proof Location Washington DC However, reading through the experiences, I was a little frightened by the number of people who had trouble with venoms. Either the actual piercing was incredibly painful, or the healing process was a nightmare, or some other awful complication occurred. This, plus the cost of the piercing ($120 at Jinx Proof, the only place I would consider going in the DC area), served as a deterrant to me for almost a year.
Time went by, and this semester ended up being a really tough one for personal and emotional, as well as academic, reasons. Toward the beginning of November, my parents sent me some extra money, and I decided it was time to go for the venoms. I had the money, and after getting my lip, tragus, and both nipples pierced, I felt much more prepared to deal with both the pain of the piercing, the aftercare, and any problems that might come up. So on Sunday, November 10th, I hit the ATM and hopped on the bus to Georgetown.
Now here is my little warning paragraph: please don't be stupid like me. Looking back, I see that I really should have waited until a less stressful time to get this done. I had 8 hours of class the next day, a doctor's appointment and tickets to the Tori concert the day after that, a hockey game in Philly that Thursday, and one four hours away in southern VA on Saturday. Now really...what was I thinking? But since I am an impatient person and didn't think ahead, I just went for it. Anyway, back to the story.
I walked into Jinx Proof and told the guy behind the counter that I wanted venoms, "you know, the two off-center tongue piercings." He handed me the medical form/waiver to fill out, with all the typical questions like, "Are you prone to fainting or dizziness? Have you eaten within the past two hours? Have you ever experienced excessive bleeding?" and so on. I handed him the form, my drivers license, and $120, and he told me that Sean would be with me in a few minutes as soon as he finished another piercing. I wandered around and looked at the flash on the walls until Sean came out and called my name.
I followed him back to the piercing room and hopped up on the table. He handed me a little cup of Listerine and told me to rinse for 30 seconds. As I sat on the table and swished the Listerine around in my mouth, he set up a little tray with the jewelry, clamps, and needles. He told me to spit the Listerine out, and after doing so I asked him if I would need a longer barbell in my old piercing to accommodate the swelling. He inspected it and said it should be all right, but if I had any problems to come back and he would change it for me.
Then he had me stick my tongue all the way off while he dried it off with a paper towel. He used a marker to place two little dots on my tongue, then handed me a mirror so I could check the placement. I was a little surprised to see that he had placed them slightly in front of my center tongue piercing, rather than behind it as I had envisioned them. I asked if there was any way they could be placed behind, but he said that , because of the way my mouth is shaped, they would probably rub up against my molars and cause some gum erosion or possibly chip my teeth. Although it wasn't exactly what I had planned, I still liked the look of the cute little triangle shape in my tongue, so I agreed to the placement that Sean suggested.
Now it was time for the fun part. He told me to lie back on the table and take a deep breath. I always close my eyes during piercings, so I shut my eyes and began to breathe deeply through my nose. I felt him clamp my tongue, and then a sharp burning pain shot through my tongue. It only lasted for a second, and then I felt the cool sensation of the barbell sliding through and the pain subsided. "Are you OK? Do you need a little break?" Sean asked, noticing that I had clenched my fist and let out a little squeak when the needle went through. "Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, a little breathlessly.
I tensed my back, waiting for the next needle to go through. I kept taking deep breaths, which relaxed me a bit, but I was still nervous. I felt the needle pierce my tongue yet again, with the same sharp burning sensation, but more intense this time. I made another little noise and clenched every muscle in my body as I felt Sean slide the barbell into my tongue. Within a matter of a few seconds, the pain was gone and I sat up.
Sean handed me the aftercare sheet and told me that if I had any problems with severe swelling to come in right away so that he could look at it. He reminded me to dilute the Listerine and that sucking on ice right away might help lessen any swelling. I tipped him $20 and left, feeling relieved that it hadn't been unbearable and excited about my new venoms.
I was prepared for the worst, but the healing process was actually less painful than it was for my center tongue piercing. The swelling was minimal, and I could eat solid food that day (as long as I cut it into small pieces and placed it near the back of my mouth). I had two streaks of bruises down the sides of my tongue, and I definitely developed quite the lisp and drooling problem for a week or so. However, these both went away within two weeks. In addition, my tongue went through periods where it felt very sore or stiff, but that didn't last long. I rinsed with diluted Listerine whenever I had ANYTHING in my mouth for the first two weeks, but after that I got a little lazy and only did it three or so times a day. I also did warm salt water soaks whenever my tongue felt especially sore or cranky.
I have experienced a couple minor problems with my venoms. I tore the left one on my mouthguard at our Saturday game, but that healed quickly once I started using Peroxyl twice a day. I have also developed a chunk of scar tissue on the bottom of the right one, and it seems to have migrated a bit. It also still oozes some lymph from the bottom on occasion. However, I recently changed the long barbells I was pierced with for shorter ones, and the scar tissue has gone down significantly. The migration of the piercing is only noticeable if my tongue is at a certain angle, and it is not severe enough for me to feel the need to have it redone.
Overall, I am extremely happy with my venoms. The piercing process was nowhere near as painful as I expected it to be, and the healing and aftercare went fairly smoothly. They look incredible, and people are amazed and ask to see them over and over. I've also gotten compliments on them from a guy who I..."used" them on, so they are functional as well as beautiful, if you know what I mean. Thanks for reading this far...I tend to ramble on a little, and if you have any questions feel free to contact me!