Seven years ago I was a senior in High School. I already had my septum, nostril and tongue pierced. That spring my choir class took a trip to Ocean City, MD. My best friend and I were cruising the boardwalk during some of our free time and we stumbled upon a piercing shop. It's not a place I would recommend to anyone now that I know better, but I was young. It was basically a leather shop (not as in S&M more like cheesey cowboy type stuff) and they had a little section for piercing. I had wanted my navel pierced for a while, so I decided to get it done right then. I told the lady behind the counter and she showed me the selection of jewelry I could choose from. I chose a 12ga CBR and headed into back room with her. She didn't even ask for my ID, which was a good thing because considering I was 17.
At A Glance Author Mars Contact Mars@bme.anon IAM Mars When Five years ago Artist I don't remember Studio I don't remember Location Ocean City, Maryland In the back she asked me to jump up on the table and lay down. I remember it seemed very dark in there. She took out a cork, needle and clamp. After she marked me up she told me to take a deep breath in and out. As the needle went through my whole body lurched up like I was trying to curl into a ball. It literally felt like I had been punched in the stomach really hard. To date it was my most painful piercing. She put the jewelry in and I was on my way. My friend and I went to go eat afterward, but I still had that punched in the stomach feeling, so I couldn't eat. Later I found out that several other girls from my High School tried to get their navels pierced at the same shop, but they all got carded. I can only assume the woman thought I was old enough since I already had a few piercings.
She had told me to clean it with bactine, and since I didn't know any better, that is what I did, for about a week anyway. I noticed it didn't seem to be helping, so I went back to my normal leave it the hell alone method. I didn't think it would ever heal. Over six months later I changed it to a curved barbell in hopes of helping it heal. I don't think I had it even one week when I lost the ball and ended up putting the original CBR back in. After that I didn't have a single problem with it and it healed up very nicely.
Over one year after having it done, I got pregnant. I really didn't want to loose the piercing since it hurt me so much to have done. My Dr said I could try to leave it in and just see what happens. I have an abnormally deep navel, so it never popped out like most pregnant women's navels do. I kept the ring in the whole time I was pregnant without a single problem.
A few years later I got the idea to stretch my navel, but I was nervous because even after having it for so many years, it was a really tight piercing. I couldn't turn it at all unless I was in the shower. After discussing it with several people on IAM, I decided to go for it and headed over to Infinite and bought a 10ga taper and CBR. That night I got in the tub and let hot water run over my stomach for a few minutes. Then I took the old CBR out, scrubbed my navel with soap and slid the taper in without a single problem, then followed the taper with the new CBR. It didn't even flare up a bit in the weeks following the stretch.
Every couple of months I would go back to Infinite and the next gauge taper and CBR, until I got to 4ga when I had to get a circular barbell instead. Angela informed me it would be pretty much impossible for me to get the bead in and out by myself and the guys at the shop said they weren't even sure they could get the bead out and then back in. The 4ga stretch was just as uneventful as the previous stretches. For now I'm happy with the look of the 4ga, but I have had one little problem. Because of the weight of the jewelry it is prone to acting up every couple of months. A good thorough cleaning and some cocoa butter takes care of the problem pretty quick though. I would like to go larger, but I need to find a different type of jewelry that I like first, to help avoid those occasional flare ups