So I have been thinking about getting this done for about 6 years now. Obviously I was way too young when I first started thinking about this. I was also not having sex until I was 19, so in all actuality, I couldn't really see getting this for that brief year when I was legal and finally having sex.
At A Glance Author derek Contact derek@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Kivaka Studio Tattoo City Location Lockport, IL When I did finally hit 19 and had a girlfriend with whom I was having regular sex, this came up and I was told "no." Of course, I didn't bring this up until we were engaged, 8 months after we were dating. We remained engaged for 2 years before we broke up. It was me; I decided that it was best because I didn't feel like I could really be me without making her mad all the time. She's a great person, but not the one for me.
Anyway, to make a long story short, 2 months after we break up, almost to the day, I got this done...which coincidentally was yesterday. So I'm at 24 hours to the minute right now as I right this.
I started really researching when the girl I'm involved with right now was like "why not?" when I told her I might get this done. She said she'd even go with to watch...awesome. So I started looking around again at BME and stumbled across a gentleman named Kivaka. I managed to search for him and found him on the rest of the net working at Tattoo City in Lockport, IL. I started reading some of the stories that were submitted about him. Nothing to complain about and I decided to research him a bit more. Very good reputation follows this guy everywhere I looked. I e-mailed him shortly after I got done reading this stuff (like 2 minutes after) and he e-mailed me back the next day. After a week or so (and timing this w/ my girl/fwb/f-buddy's period) I decided to go in.
I showed up to let him know that I was in town (it is, after all, an hour drive from me) and that I was going to need to get something to eat. I walked in and was immediately hit with an "a salaam a laikem" (gee I hope I got that right...sorry if messed it up folks). I chuckled to myself at this offbeat greeting, but hey, it was cool with me. I told him who I was and he goes, "oh cool, nice to meet you too. Well, to be honest with you, I do want to eat first, I have food coming so it won't be long..." and then the door opened and the pizza guy delivered the shops food. I told him that I was going to run and get something too since I haven't ate since that morning at like 6 am (I work midnights right now...really sucks sleeping during the day, I feel like a vampire). So Amanda and I headed off to Taco Bell for some good food, but alas, this particular Taco Bell sucked.
After heading back to the shop, I filled out the usual paperwork and headed back into Kivaka's room. We talked for a bit as he was trying to help me relax by discussing stuff with me. He asked if I wanted to see the needle beforehand, I told him no, it didn't matter after my previous six piercings. We talked for a bit more before I had to get on the table. I lay down and pulled my pants partially down and pulled my penis through the paper (like the paper they put around your neck at the dentist) and laid back. We started talking about what he was going to do and where the placement should go. He asked what my preference was and I told him that whatever looked like the best place to go with that.
Shortly after that, Kivaka had the forceps ready to go and he probably asked me like 5-6 times if they were hurting at all. By the way, I had been laughing constantly this entire time because of his sense of humor...he is a very funny guy and makes the experience pretty relaxing. Amanda was laughing a lot in the corner too.
Before long, Kivaka has me do those nice breathing exercises we all know about. He asks if I'm ready and I nod and say yes.
Pinch...slow push, tearing a little....I shudder in my breathing as my body raises a bit up off the table, I see Amanda cringing a bit in the corner...then the needle goes through the other side as Kivaka warns me to not hold my breath. It has been done, the jewelry is left. Kivaka says, "Here we go" and go we went. I felt every inch of this as well...but not more discomfort than the needle. Next thing I know, it has gone through and the jewelry is completely attached. He shows me a cotton ball and then goes, "Watch this as I clean up around the barbell." He shows me the same cotton ball, no bleeding. This is a subject him and I discussed for a little while. Every story that I remember reading on BME always mentions bleeding right away. I'm sure that there has to be some that no one bled during, but everything I read the people bled. Before I left that afternoon, I saw a picture of someone who had gotten an ampallang and there was blood everywhere on that paper towel thing...it made me quite nervous. The pain factor I had read about also had me concerned, but I opted to go without EMLA (or ELMA as I've seen it called elsewhere) for numbing it. There was less pain in this piercing than when I had my nipples done.
The gauge is a 12 gauge barbell and the placement is slightly above, but still partially through my urethra. And there is barely any discomfort, just when the barbell has been pressed up against one side of my head. Peeing is not difficult either; it's a bit more pressure than normal, but nothing painful. It has bled a little bit since I left the shop yesterday, but it's nothing horrible. I have a little bit of blood on the one side of the barbell, and I have cleaned it using microbial soap once today, will do again before I go to work later and I will also probably do some sea-salt soaks during my downtime tonight at work (which is nearly all night during the winter, unless its snowing).
After talking with Kivaka a bit more about the care and him cracking a few more jokes, I tip him $20 on top of the $100 piercing. I know that sounds like a lot to some people out there, but believe me it is worth it to not have the pain and blood we all hear about. Plus around here, there aren't a lot of shops that do male genitalia, and I don't really want to go to Roy Boy's. My advice is if you are interested in any male genital piercing...and you can make it to the suburbs of Chicago....go see Kivaka. He is a very cool person and a great pierce. Maybe it's just me, but he reminded me of my friends Jay and Scott and my brother rolled into one person. Very personable and will make you feel relaxed