I never wanted my tongue pierced before I saw the beauty and originality which (was) is that of Venoms! I had a few piercings prior to these. Scaffold, labret, 5 lobes, navel and a surface, so I was inexperienced in piercings.
At A Glance Author Libby Contact Libby@bme.anon IAM in_delirium When Six months ago Artist Liz Studio London Piercing Clinic Location Croydon, UK The day I decided to get them done, was the day I had a dentist appointment! Hope aptly chosen! Ironically at the dentist she complimented me on my teeth and was disappointed I would ruin my teeth with my labret piercings, and told me to steer clear of tongue piercings! If only she knew!
I got my mate to come with me to the piercing studio. I was freaking out. It was a pretty random decision, although I had been contemplating it for a few months before hand.
Before I went, there was some under-aged kids with their mums getting their tongues pierced too. They weren't very brave! That put me at ease for some weird reason.
When I was called I was getting really scared, sweaty palms and all. The piercer at this point did not know I wanted venoms and when I went in, she wasn't very confident about doing them.
I really wanted them done, so I said to her, worst case scenario, I have to remove them – do it!!! She agreed so long as I had them done separately a month apart, as I needed to work and speak generally!!!
The piercer marked me up on my left side. I wasn't satisfied with her placement at all, they were very close to the side and the edge, so we remarked, and they had to go a lot further back because of my veins.
The piercer explained to me I had to keep my tongue out at all times, and that I would probably dribble a lot! Freaking out, but determined I sat up on the couch and let her get her bits and pieces together for the piercing. Meanwhile my friend was giggling away at me and getting ready to record the event!
When the piercer was ready, she told me to stick my tongue out, and concentrate on my breathing. She counted to three and put the needle through, from the top to the bottom. It was a rather quick piercing, and I felt nothing. It was a much nicer experience to the right side of my venoms! The piercing didn't hurt at all, although the jewellery was uncomfortable.
The piercer gave me all the after care instructions and warned me that it would take longer to go down in swelling as it wasn't central and it would bash more on my teeth etc.
My tongue swelled up immediately, and I went home dribbling everywhere, speaking with a terrible lisp at half the speed! I ate tomato soup for dinner that evening, it took about 40 minutes to finish! Then, I did the really bad thing and went clubbing! Karma caught up and I had a really bad time! I was in pain, I couldn't talk, swallow or laugh!
It took about 10 days to stop hurting, and I could eat solids very slowly on the right side of my mouth after about 6 days, if I poked about with my finger redirecting the food!
Three weeks later, I was dude to start University up in Sheffield (I'm from London) so I went to the piercing studio and checked to see if I could get the second venom pierced. I was on my own this time as no one was available for moral support this time! The piercer said it would be okay to do and that the swelling was down enough to get an accurate line up (which turned out to be wonky!!)
The right side had to be the slightest bit further back than the left due to the veins on the underneath. It also meant the angle had to be a lot longer, and that underneath they would remain wonky (i.e. one coming through to the outside of your veins, and one coming through to the inside of your veins). I couldn't really do much about it. The piercer hadn't done any Venoms before and neither of us realised how unsymmetrical my veins were when we pierced the left side!
So, line up was sorted and the same procedure as before was carried out. This time I was in agony. The piercer had to do this side a lot slower, and took it from the bottom up through to the top of my tongue, which meant my tongue had to be up and my head back. It was even harder to do as I already had a bar through my tongue!!! My eyes really watered and I dribbled everywhere afterwards, as I couldn't swallow the excess drool! The new venom was pierced with a 22mm bar, whereas the left side was pierced with a 18mm bar!
After the piercing and the same aftercare talk I ran to McDonalds and ordered myself a McFlurry... Without the Smarties! The woman who served me a) couldn't understand me and b) couldn't understand why I would want a plain McFlurry!!!
And once again, I went out that night, drunk. Didn't get drunk and regretted it! One day I will learn my lesson!
Well, that experience was 6 months ago now, and I still have them. I love them to pieces! I've not met anyone else with Venoms yet, so I'm liking the attention if I am honest! At Uni everyone thinks I'm a freak for it, which makes me laugh! I have noticed though, that my alveolar ridge is wearing away which isn't a good sign at all!!! They might not last much longer! I now wear 14mm and 18mm blackline jewellery, but I could go down to 12 and 16mm.
I have had compliments about giving blow jobs, so I think that they must be effective in that department! As mine are quite far back, kissing is just normal and they don't get in the way at all!
Anyone who wants to get them, do! They're really worth it. They hurt like hell with the swelling and generally frustration of not being able to speak or eat, but they're great!!!