Out of all the piercings I've ever had or considered having, a tongue piercing was never one of them on the list. I didn't have a problem with them; no personal vendetta or dislike, just not something I particularly had thought about getting. I had braces for a little over 2 years when I was still in school to erase the gaps between my otherwise fine teeth, and messing with a smile I was finally ok with wasn't an idea I was too keen on. Add to that the disapproving sighs of a mother who, although having no problem with piercings, paid for said braces. Needless to say, a tongue piercing never really crossed my mind very seriously.
At A Glance Author she_could_choke Contact xcupcakexcorex@gmail.com IAM she_could_choke When A year ago Artist Smitty Studio Big Brain Productions Location Omaha, NE That is, until about a year ago. I got the urge to have another piercing last fall after not having anything new since my vertical nipples that January. I gave it lots of thought and did my usual research and the only thing I found that really struck me as something I was interested in was venoms. I liked the look of them much better than the single center tongue piercing, but the idea of having 2 barbells to endanger my teeth instead of just one was a bit frightening. And so began my inner turmoil.
I was hired to work in Louisiana for about 2 months starting last October. I decided that since I was going to be gone for a while, I'd get something new before I left to tide me over. In the end, the stubborn part of me won out, and I decided that venoms were what I would have.
October 28th I was leaving home for Kansas City where I would stay for 3 days, then head to Louisiana. A group of my good friends decided that we needed to go out for a night of drinking and debauchery before I left. So the night of the 22nd a few of my closest guys and myself headed out for a night on the town. Being a passenger, I brought up the idea of wanting to stop by Big Brain if it was ok with everyone. James wanted to go, too, so the rest of the guys consented and we made our way to the old market.
The shop wasn't too busy, probably due in part to the chilly temperatures of the late October evening. We stood out front for a while, the 3 guys and myself, and waited for Smitty. When he was done, he came out, gave me a big smile and a hug, and told us to come on back.
We went back to the small piercing room and I sat down in my favorite dentist-esque. James sat on the stool behind me, Adrian stood next to him, and Rick stood outside, leaning in the window. James and I always go together when we visit Smitty, but it seems like we always have someone new with us each time. So it was the first time Adrian or Rick had seen either of us gets pierced. Smitty asked what it was I was going to be doing, and with a smile I said venoms. He had me stick out my tongue, checked the veins on the bottom, and the fun started. He looked it over again and told me that the bottom of them would be off because of the veins in the bottom of my tongue, but the tops of them would be as they should. I didn't have a problem with that. So he gloved up and marked my tongue, decided he didn't like it, and remarked it. After deciding he was satisfied with the placement, he had me take a look. I concurred with his decision and had the guys look as well. After the approval, he clamped one side. I wasn't sure what to expect with a tongue piercing. I'd heard many stories, and they all said it hurt like hell, or it didn't hurt a bit. So, he clamped, and I braced myself for the unknown. He readied the needle, lined it up and...
Nothing.
It was possibly the most overrated 'pain' ever. He put the jewelry in, put the ball on and took a look at it. It was bleeding a bit, so I got up and rinsed in the sink. My two friends who had never been along before just stared in amazement. Rick practically screamed 'Did you see that?? She didn't even blink! How is that possible??' I smiled, Smitty chuckled and said 'We're still trying to find SOMETHING that will at least make her flinch a little.' he got the second needle ready, clamped the other side of my tongue, and (I was expecting it to hurt this time)...
Nothing again.
'SHE DIDN'T BLINK THAT TIME EITHER!' Rick screamed. being a little aggravated that it didn't even sting, I waited for him to put the jewelry in, put the ball on, then I got up to rinse and spit in the sink. Which I did several times due to the blood collecting in my mouth. He told me that my tongue would swell a good deal more than a normal piercing and that if I had any trouble to come back and he would take a look at it. It felt so strange. 2 extremely long barbells sticking up through my tongue. I stood there and rinsed and spit till the blood stopped, then turned to watch James get his septum pierced. It made me giggle to see such a tiny septum after being used to such a big one. We stood and talked to him a while longer until he was told he had more customers. We went up front, paid, and said our thank you's and goodbyes.
From the shop, we proceeded on to the bowling alley. My tongue wasn't swelling much at this point (or so I thought) and I was starving. So, I got fries and a sandwich. At this point, I'd been talking and carrying on, and my tongue was pretty sore. As I started to eat, I noticed that it was indeed fairly swollen. I chewed around my tongue, almost bit it off a couple times, and ate ice like crazy. I had just torn off a bit of bread and took a bite when I noticed the left side of my tongue felt odd. Then I felt the barbell slide up and almost out of my tongue. I made haste to the bathroom and reattached the ball. I decided after that I wasn't too hungry.
I didn't talk much for a few days, and totally avoided talking to my mother. A couple days later I woke up in the middle of the night not being able to breathe because it was so swollen. When I finally did talk to my mom, she just came out and asked. So I showed her. After making the comparison between a snail and my tongue, she just said she hoped I knew what I was doing.
Since the initial piercing, I haven't chipped, broken, or cracked a tooth. At times, it has felt like I broke one when I would bite down on a ball. But changing my jewelry to something smaller has taken care of that problem. Then in February of this year, I stretched them to 10g. They were swollen and sore for a few days, but are totally fine now. I want to end up at an 8g or a 6g, but I'm working on my ears for now. And those are an all consuming project.