After much nervousness and anticipation, I finally had my nipples pierced last week. My husband, Joe, and I both went and we each got both nips done.
At A Glance Author Shannon Contact Shannon@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Henry Studio 23rd Street Body Piercing Location Oklahoma City Joe had has his nipples done before, by a moron at a hole in the wall shop, but they were visibly crooked, and they wept clear fluid for almost a year. He finally gave up and took them out, he was having them redone today. His reassurance that the piercing didn't hurt that bad made me feel better about the pain factor.
We went ahead and ate lunch before we went to get pierced because I had read if you didn't, you were likely to get light headed. We got Thai food, as I was hoping the extra hot spices might get my endorphins going.
We chose a local piercing shop, 23rd Street Body piercing, because it's well known for it's sterile, professional piercings. When we got there, we went to the counter and told them what we wanted, and chose our jewelry. We both chose barbells because they're supposed to heal faster, and they're harder to get stuck on stuff.
The lady at the counter told us about aftercare, had us sign waivers and sold us some sea salt and Satin soap. I had some questions about things I had read online (gauge, placement, etc), and I could tell she really knew what she was talking about, which set me at ease. All the piercings (four nipples all together) were $174.00.
We only had to wait about ten minutes until a piercer was free, which is good because it didn't give me time to get nervous. Our piercer was a guy, but I figured he was a professional and had seen lots of breasts before, so I wasn't too modest about taking my shirt off. I had decided to go first, because I was afraid if I watched my husband's piercing I would freak out and change my mind. The piercer then sterilized his equipment tray and got out the needles, etc. (Side note: I had surgery a few months ago and I swear to god the nurses at the hospital were not as careful about being sterile as my piercer! This place rocks!) I made a point NOT to look at the needle..... I only went 14 gauge but it still looked pretty big to me. (They told me it had to be 14 gauge to prevent migration, otherwise I would have gone smaller, thinking maybe it would heal faster). He then put a dot on each side of each nipple using a sterile purple dye, and checked with me to make sure I like the placement. He had me lay down on the table, and told me he was going to line up the dots, it might feel weird. I felt a tingling and a little sting, and foolishly thought it was over! Then he told me to take a deep breath and breathe out slowly, and I realized I wasn't done. The piercing did hurt, but nothing I couldn't handle. It was mostly a weird feeling, having something go through my nipple. It was definitely not like some people say, that they didn't feel anything, but it was over after a second. (I asked my piercer later why he didn't use a clamp, and he said it was just a matter of technique, both ways are fine. Fine by me, the clamp is supposed to hurt, plus it would have just added prep time and increased my anxiety!)
Next it was Joe's turn. Now, I really wanted to watch, but I started getting light headed and the piercer said I needed to sit down. I felt like a wussy... this was the whole reason we ate lunch! But I would have been really embarrassed to pass out cold. My husband said his hurt a little more than the first time, probably because of the scar tissue, but once again, nothing too bad. He is kind of a freak, he really *liked* the tingling/burning afterward! I don't mind it, but I wasn't excited about it.
I love my piercing! I haven't had any bleeding or discharge at all (not even when it was done), and I have been cleaning it once a day and doing saline soaks; they don't really hurt very much unless I hit them by accident. I am really glad I got it. Once it heals up, I am going to swap out the barbells for some captive bead rings.
I had read a bunch of stories that said it was incredibly painful, I am glad I was brave! I had also planned on taking a narcotic before I went to minimize the pain, but Joe talked me out of it. I am glad because now I don't feel like I copped out.
Now that I see how quickly it was all over, I am thinking about getting a labia minora once my nipples heal... I can't wait!