Ampallang stretching
At A Glance Author Dave Contact Dave@bme.anon IAM witte When It just happened Artist myself In august 2002 I had my ampallang piercing done in Antwerp at Wildcat. After the PA I got years before, I knew that one day I'd get what is sometimes called « the ultimate genital piercing '. Well I wouldn't know, but even for someone with a PA it is still a big step. You can read elsewhere my experience of the placement itself (I Dutch) and a second experience (in English) on how remarkably easy the healing was. There are links on my IAM page for those who are member.
The initial piercing was done at 12 G (2 mm). I did get a normal long barbell in it (just over 30 mm long I think). I waited more then a year before stretching it to 9 G (3 mm). I know this wasn't easy, that I applied some lubricant, but no taper, and that it was mildly painful. But I seem to have forgotten the details.
Then about a year ago I tried to get to 6 G (4 mm), but without success; I didn't have the tools, the time or the courage at that time, so I waited.
Last summer (2005) I then went for it : nice warm bath, nice warm bathroom, small chair, good lighting, clean field for the new jewellery, the insertion pin (taper), EMLA cream, Iodine solution, ... I did everything as careful and clean as possible, but the taper wouldn't go past halfway through. It was painful, yes, coming from both sides, but the main problem was the lack of physical force to get it in. The taper "got stuck" and even going backward required real hard pulling. The pain varied from mild to terrible during the procedure (and back), but even after 40 minutes, extra EMLA, extra lubricant, extra dose of courage, I couldn't get it done. I then abandoned the procedure and did slide the old barbell back in. I was not only unhappy, but I also paid the price for my efforts : 3 days of painful miction, and a bad night's sleep.
The old barbell settled, and everything seemed fine. Time for a PA intermezzo : you should know that years before getting the ampallang I had a PA, which I (very easily) stretched to about 1 G (7 mm). I took it out for the ampallang procedure, and once healed started wearing a circular barbell in it again. But I downsized a bit, nit just because I hadn't had anything in for a few months, but also because the tissue separating the PA from "free air" was getting quite thin. I guess it was not pierced very deep. So I went back to about 6 G (4 mm). This was a nice combination. I tried then to make the PA ring go "around" the ampallang barbell on the inside. That was possible using quite a big BCR of 12 G (2 mm), but not with a thicker one; after a few days I would get some internal irritation, forcing me to go back to the smaller 6 G circular barbell.
But OK, back to the ampallang now. After the unsuccessful attempt I didn't feel like trying again soon, because it was quite a difficult episode.
Last week I got a new labret piercing, I finally got my chest bars healing, I replaced my navel ring, so I was in a "piercing mood" this week. I even thought of getting a new hole somewhere (like a vertical nipple, a second navel, or a repiercing of my tongue), but I didn't do it. What I did do was clean up my apartment, and I also spend 1 hour on sorting out my piercing gear. I have plastic containers, all of the same brand (nice and tidy !) varying between 100 ml and 1000 ml contents. I sorted everything (barbells, rings, everything plastic, everything ball stretching, everything labret, everything septum, tapers, ...). While doing so I found the 6 G (4 mm) barbell I had used half a year ago; I first hesitated, and put everything away. This evening however I had to choose : work (yes I have a backlog of work to do), or find a good excuse to do something else. So I went back to the bedroom, got my gear (the same as last time) and installed myself in the bathroom; No warm bad this time. I said to myself : NO MERCY. If was definitely not going to poke around for more than half an hour, just getting into pain for nothing. So I applied generously the EMLA cream. Just a word of warning : this product is normally NOT for mucosal use, but it is clear that it does work. There are water-gel based local anaesthetic products that are better for this. They come prepacked in a sterile syringe. But I didn't have those, so I did stick to EMLA. Absorption of large doses of lidocaïne or other local anaesthetics via the mucosa can have side effects like temporarily altering the heart rhythm, and that is to be avoided.
Ok, I was sitting there ... the old barbell removed, everything cleaned, the taper (10 to 6 G) ready. I tried it from the left ... halfway in. I did breath in and out a few times, and forced it till the extremity almost disappeared in the left hole. Ten I took it out (I needed quite a lot of force again) and did the same on the other side. I hadn't started on the other side yet or some blood started to flow gently. Just a drop or 5. I did rinse a bit, apply some more Iodine solution, and pushed on the right side; same result : until half way without too much effort, then it got stuck and it did hurt; yes, the pain was excruciating, but a bit less then half a year ago. I did then place the barbell against the taper and in one big push entered it. Oof, it was in. The pain was terrible, but there was no more blood. I didn't faint, I felt quite happy in fact. The pain did go down a little bit, but not a lot. I did screw on the ball, and tried to pee. Only one or 2 drops appeared, through the PA hole.
I did rinse with warm water, then gradually colder and colder water until almost freezing tap water (it is freezing outside here). That did calm the pain a lot. I realised that from the start till now I had only "worked" for 15 minutes. I was proud, but wasn't happy yet ... the pain was still hardly tolerable. So I did take 1g of paracetamol and 100 mg of tramadol (that's a serious dose of a painkiller of the morphine type). I'm a big guy, so these doses are not too high (I have taken them before). I kept rinsing with cold water, and within 5 minutes the pain was a lot better. Not because of the drugs (they can act fast but not that fast). I then placed back a 6 G (4 mm) PA circular barbell. I kept rinsing a minute more, and the tried to pee again. A few drops did pass the new barbell (no longer via the PA hole), and to my surprise there was no blood in them.
Next step ... to clean up the bathroom a bit and return to my computer for the work that I had planned. The throbbing feeling in the penis head was a lot better now, and I also started to feel light headed (that's the tramadol doing that). I could pull my foreskin nicely over the new barbell, and it did feel OK. Another half an hour later there was no more pain, just a feeling that "something" had been done down there. Another half an hour later the situation was stable. By then normally the EMLA doesn't work anymore. So I was confident that the night was going to be OK. But when getting up and walking around the pain set in again, but at quite a tolerable level.
Let's say there is a pain scale, from 0 (no pain), to 10 ("I'd rather die now" excruciating deep existential and completely intolerable pain). Then I would rate this procedure as follows :
Getting the taper in : 6
The minute after the real barbell is in : 7
As a comparison : stretching a septum from 6 G to 4 G without EMLA : 7 also.
Nipple piercing : 4. Ampallang piercing : 3. Dental surgery "gone wrong" a year ago : 6.
So I didn't think I was going to die. A few weeks after the procedure I know I'm going to be happy and proud, and I'm going to love the new barbell; but for the time being I rather have the feeling "why am I doing this ... I must be mad to torture myself like that". That's why writing an experience like this is important ... it can help me do make the right decisions before trying to stretch anything else. And it informs other people with lots of courage.
It is now 10 pm, around 4 hours after the stretch. I could wait a few days before posting this, but I'm quite confident that I will have some mild pain over the next 72 hours, and some irritation while peeing for a week. I'll survive, and if not I'll make a second experience.
To conclude : it all went fine technically, but stretching an ampallang can be real painful business. Think before you start. And if you have any questions : contact me via my IAM page.