I hated tongue piercings. I hated the way that every kid that had one played with it. It drove me nuts. A tongue piercing was the last thing I ever wanted to do to my body. After all, didn't I already have "better" and "cooler" piercings than a tongue piercing? Yes! Or so I thought...
At A Glance Author Aeloea Contact Aeloea@bme.anon IAM Aeloea Stardreamer When A month ago Artist Burt [IAM Kaylonsims] Studio 3rd Dimension Location Appleton, WI I began to get into body piercing about a year and a half ago. It started with a nose piercing that I just loved. It was in researching that piercing that I came across BME. I was so impressed with BME that I became a paying member and set up my own little space on IAM. I read article upon article and personal stories. I visited people's pages and made a few online friends. Slowly, I began to understand why people continue to get piercings, like eyebrows or tongues, even though it seems that every other kid out there has it done. I found that even the most common of piercings can be special.
My introduction into body modification started with a nose stud that I thought was very sexy. I began stretching my ears. Soon I wanted my nipples pierced. Then I went more "extreme" with 4g dermal punched inner conches. I had some inner labia piercings done.
Then I stopped with the piercings for a while. Lack of funds was a big reason. I also wasn't sure just what I wanted done next. My boyfriend at the time would suggest to me once in a while to get my tongue pierced. He himself wasn't into piercing but a past girlfriend had one and he really liked how it felt during oral sex. At first I was like "No way!" I didn't want a stupid tongue piercing! "How boring!" I thought. It was about this time I had to take my inner labia bars out. They were not right for my body. Feeling the loss of those labia piercings, (it just felt so empty down there) I decided to get a vertical hood. The vertical hood piercing truly introduced me to the joy of genital piercings. After I got it I proudly declared that it was my favorite piercing. It was then that I really understood how piercings enhance a person's sexual experience. My boyfriend's not-so-subtle suggestions for me to get a tongue piercing started to grow on me. The seed had been planted.
I started my research. I read many experiences on BME. I knew 14g was standard size for this piercing. I imagined a 14g running through my tongue and it mentally felt painful. I didn't want that thin rod cutting into my tongue. Besides, I was going to put this piercing to good use! I knew it was best to go with a larger gauge to avoid damage. Now, what gauge to get? I compared some jewelry that I had. 10g would be good... but gosh it just looked too small. Hehe! I decided to go with 8g.
Things turned for the worse with my boyfriend. We ended up breaking up. I was originally going to get this done for him, but now I wanted it for myself! I had to wait for my tax return, but when I got it, I went down to my piercer and told him what I wanted done. We ordered the jewelry for the piercing and I was all set.
It was around the time I ordered my jewelry that I decided to undergo a fast. I had done several short ones in the past. I had been waiting a long time to do a long term one. With the spring weather starting, my body told me it was time. I need to loose weight and reclaim my body for myself. No more being a slave to food cravings. A fast would help solve these problems. (WARNING! I am on a supervised juice fast program. Please do not blindly attempt a fast on your own. It can be very dangerous.) I decided that I would use my tongue piercing as a boost into starting my fast. I knew my tongue would swell up, hurt and make me not want to eat. What better way to help me through the first few difficult days of a fast! Suddenly this tongue piercing took on a whole new meaning. It went from being something seen as a sex toy to being my boost to help me change myself. My desire to get it done became immense. It now symbolized a reminder, a constant reminder, to be aware of what I wa s eating. For someone who struggles with weight, I couldn't think of a better reminder to have. I was now so excited to have this piercing done. I really surprised myself with how much I wanted this done.
The jewelry arrived and I had to wait to get it done because I had gotten a cold. I waited a week and was feeling better so I set up an appointment for a Saturday afternoon. When Saturday finally arrived, I was nervous. I'm always nervous before a piercing. I forced myself to drink some fruit juice before going so that my blood sugar wouldn't be too low. Driving there I was playing with my tongue, flipping it around in my mouth. I could just imagine what that barbell was going to feel like. I thought to myself that this was the last time I would be without a pierced tongue. My tongue felt naked. It wanted to be pierced!
My piercer, Burt, was eating lunch when I arrived. No biggie. I filled out my form and browsed through some jewelry books, trying to find ideas for new jewelry for my inner conches. By this time I had calmed down and was all ready to go. We went into the piercing room and he and his apprentice started getting things set up. It was a quiet day so even Chris the tattoo artist came in to watch. There was some debate over piercing it at a 10 and stretching to an 8. Burt was slightly worried about excessive bleeding. I told him I wasn't worried about it. My body tends to clot blood fast. That and I really didn't want to have to go through any extra pain that might be involved with stretching a fresh hole. Burt got his gloves on and started opening the jewelry and needle packages. He held up that 8 gauge needle and we all gawked at it. Why do the needles always have to look so big? Haha! He then took a penlight and checked for any major veins that could be in the way. He saw a pot ential trouble spot and marked that area on the bottom of my tongue. He then marked the top and had me stick my tongue out a few times to make sure the placement was right. The clamps were put on and we were ready to go. Burt made a crack about this being his *first* attempt at a large gauge tongue and we all laughed. Burt then grabbed the needle and I grabbed the armrest of the chair. I always need something to hold on to, yet my body was amazingly relaxed this time. Usually I'm tense and start sweating up a storm at this point. But not this time. Burt lined up the needle on the bottom of my tongue. We started the breathing exercises. I closed my eyes. A big breath in and let it out slowly... There was just a tiny pinch of pain as the needle broke the skin. I then stopped breathing. After that I could feel the needle slicing through my tongue, but there was no pain. It felt so amazing. In that moment, it was like time stood still. I winced a bit as the needle poked through t he top of my tongue and that broke me out of my moment of peace. Yet t hat was it, it was over. I started breathing again and realized that Burt already had the jewelry in because I heard him screwing the bottom ball on. Amazing. Burt moved back and said "That was awesome!" He had me stick my tongue out and show it. "That is so hot." he said. I laughed. It felt so cool to have my piercer enjoy piercing me as much as I enjoyed getting it. I stuck it out again and looked in the mirror hanging on the wall. Damn, it did look hot! The placement was so perfect. Two other customers he knew were in the shop and they were peeking in the piercing room door at what was going on. Burt was like "Dude, check this out. I just pierced her tongue at an 8 gauge!" and he held up the bloody needle to the comments of "Holy shit!" and "That's awesome!" Then he had me stick my tongue out at the other customers and I did so with a grin. It felt pretty cool to show it off. He then had me rinse it with a mouthwash/water mix. After that I rinsed it clean with water. The piercing was bleeding just a little bit. Burt handed me a paper towel to wipe up any drool and to sop up any blood. I would say within two to three minutes what little bleeding there was had completely stopped. The bleeding was so light that there were only a few specks of blood on the paper towel. We were finished in the piercing room and went out to the lobby. Burt was obviously quite proud of the work he had just done and I was so happy with it. I stopped for a moment and rolled my tongue around in my mouth, feeling the new sensations.
I was paying for my wonderful new piercing when I remembered the joke Burt made about this piercing being his first attempt. I asked Burt "Was this really the largest gauge tongue piercing you have ever done?" He was like "YEAH!" "NO WAY!" I said! I couldn't believe it. This was by far the best piercing experience I ever had. Burt had pierced me with such skill I could have swore he did it a million times. The fact that he had done such a great job only reinforced the reasons why I always go to Burt for my piercings.
The apprentice went through the aftercare with me. They wanted me to use an alcohol based mouthwash diluted with water but I told them I plan on going with my alcohol free mouthwash. Burt didn't like that idea but I told him if I have any problems I'll come right in and see him. The reason I am going against my piercer's instructions is because I have read over and over again in the BME Question of the Day that you should not used alcohol based mouthwash to heal an oral piercing. Also I know my body heals better when I use a less harsh cleaner on it. So I'm going with my own instincts on healing this out.
My first day with it was quite awesome. As soon as I got home I took pictures. I told all my friends about it. It's not like me to brag about a piercing, but I just couldn't help myself. I was really happy and excited with this one. I know I initially have to have a longer bar to accommodate the swelling, but I can tell that this bar is too long. I can't wait to get the shorter one put in. It won't put pressure on the roof or bottom of my mouth like this one does. It was about two hours later that it started to hurt. I took 600 mg of Advil and broke out the ice chips. This helped a lot with the pain and swelling. The rest of the night went well and I did a lot of ice chip eating to keep my tongue feeling good.
The next day I woke up with a huge, swollen tongue. My piercing hurt quite a bit. It seems the top ball made a nice indent in the top of my tongue. The rest of the piercing is painless, except for there on the top. The tip of my tongue feels strange as well. Almost like it's numb. I have a feeling that is because of it being swollen, not that something went wrong with my piercing. However, the indent on the top concerns me and I plan on stopping in to see my piercer tomorrow.
I found out that I had actually tore the hole a bit. How I managed to do that, god only knows. I may have been playing with it. I try very hard not to do that. The last thing I need to do is accidentally chip a tooth.
My healing time was a bit longer than I expected, but I think that was due to the extra tear I put in it. I was so happy to get a shorter barbell in my mouth. The long one was uncomfortable from day one. This short one has dental acrylic for the top ball, so it's a bit safer for my teeth. It also has a cute picture of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out. I don't really like tongue studs with pictures on them, but this one was too funny and really, a bit ironic in its own way. But being the geek that I am, I love having a picture of Albert on my body jewelry. It's too fun.
When I stick my tongue out at myself in the mirror, I love the look of it. For some reason, it makes me look and feel more complete. For being a piercing that I always viewed as a "kid" or "starter" piercing, it sure has made a huge impact on me.
In conclusion, I've found that this tongue piercing has been the BEST piercing experience I have had to date. Looking back on actually being pierced, the only word I have to describe it is: amazing. This has helped me understand, even more, the importance and impact that body piercing has on me. And all of this coming from a "stupid" tongue piercing.