I don't know how the idea came to me exactly. I hadn't been really considering getting a piercing. It was between two finals that I cared about, but didn't feel totally prepared for. I had just taken the first and was feeling pretty relieved about how that went but was simultaneously feeling quite anxious about the one I was about to take.
At A Glance Author Pontenegro Contact Pontenegro@bme.anon When Five years ago Artist Not sure Studio Atomic Gardens Location U-District, Seattle I announced to my friends, relatively straight laced engineering students, over some some mediocre Chinese food, that I was going to go across the street to get my nipple pierced. They didn't think I was serious up until the point that I paid.
I was a little nervous climbing the stairs. I explained to the piercer what I wanted and filled out the requisite paperwork. Everything up until this point seemed to go by quickly. From that point on, time seemed to slow down, especially after my shirt was off and he prepared his tools, made the entrance and exit marks, applied and tightened the pliers. And from when he picked up the needle to actually sticking it through my nipple took the longest.
The piercing itself was relatively anti-climatic. There certainly are a lot of nerves in there! I would not describe the experience as exceedingly painful, nor was it extremely pleasurable. I just felt it a lot. I did enjoy a bit of an adrenaline rush. Somehow in the what was probably only 10 minutes or so, I had psyched myself up for a lot more pain. I can't say I was disappointed, but it just didn't feel like I expecting. I emerged feeling powerful, like I'd overcome some terrible challenge. It almost made me feel like I had studied more...
During the ensuing exam the feelings of adrenaline started to wane somewhat, and I there was some actual pain. While it was a little distracting, I made it through okay. The pain was mitigated by the sense of accomplishment. While I don't think getting a piercing immediately before doing something stressful is a universal formula for overcoming anxiety, in this particular case it seemed to work okay.
Now that I am thinking about it thought I am wondering if I should try getting a piercing before this presentation I have to give in several months that I am not looking forward to. I can't really do another nipple piercing, but surely there is something I could try...
The original jewelry was the standard 12 ga hoop and bead. Which was told was the standard thing to get. I was very religious about following all the prescribed after care, but it never really healed. The main thing I couldn't seem to curtail was exercise induced inflammation. At least once a month I would get it caught on some weights or have it start seriously bothering my while jogging. About 12 months in, the very slowly accumulating scar tissue was getting to be unattractive in my opinion. There wasn't a visible infection, just slowly increasing scar tissue.
There was such a size difference in my nipples that I felt like I needed to have the other nipple pierced for some symmetry. This time I opted to use a barbell which I figured would have less opportunity to move around while healing. That piercing went much better, with overall much less scar tissue. At the same time I had the hoop replaced with a matching barbell.
I my experience, the barbell was a LOT less irritating. I theorize this is because of the reduced the likelihood of a snag. Also the jewelry doesn't tend move around when doing things like jogging or dancing. So, things were some happier with the two piercings. But some pain persisted and albeit more slowly, the scar tissue continued to accumulate.
After about 3 years, of never quite totally healing, and many consultations with various piercing professionals about what I should be doing differently, I had the piercings taken out.
I still have fair amount of scar tissue on each nipple with the first one done with the hoop significantly worse. Its too bad because I miss them from time to time. I liked how they looked and enjoyed having ready access to a bundle of otherwise underutilized nerves.
I wonder if my problems really stemmed from my activity levels or if it was something about my biology that rejected the jewelry. Sometime I wonder what percentage of nipple piercings ever really heal. It is a pretty unique part of the anatomy. It is relatively unprotected erectile tissue, and at least in my case is continually making gradual changes in size.
Since it doesn't seem that nipple piercings are really in the cards for me, I have thought sometimes that I'd like a prince albert but I have hesitated because I'd hate to have the same thing happen there, although it does seem like they tend to heal quicker.