My first piercing, an Apadravya.

At A Glance Author jr Contact jreed@hooked.net Artist Mick?, too nervous at the time to remember :( Studio Cold Steel America Location 1783 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA. 94117

I don't know what initially attracted me to the whole idea of a piercing. Through a combination of pure chance and dumb luck I came across the bmezine.com website and I instantly fell in love with the Apadravya piercing. I mulled it over for about a month before I actually worked up the courage to stop by a piercing place. The first one I stopped by was Mom's Tattoo Shop on Haight Street in San Francisco. The piercer I talked to seemed really knowledgeable but I just didn't have a good "gut" instinct about the whole place so I went instead to Cold Steel America which was about 4 blocks away on Haight Street. I was immediately impressed by the cleanliness and attractive displays of jewelry in the shop. The people behind the counter were really friendly and seemed to know what they were talking about. I decided right then and there to get the piercing done.

I first asked what the cost was for the Apadravya piercing which they replied was $60.00. That was about twice what Mom's was charging but I felt MUCH better about the facilities so I decided it was worth it. I then filled out a liability and disclosure form releasing them from the usual liability issues related to this procedure. The paperwork took less than 3 minutes to fill out then I was handed a aftercare sheet and some anti-bacterial lotion/cleanser, all included in the $60.00 price. I selected a 10-g barbell for my jewelry and then I was then seated in the waiting area where there was a large selection of Art books, piercing histories and backgrounds, and tattoo books. This was nice since they kept you busy while you were waiting. I waited for about 5 minutes, although it sure seemed longer :).

My name was then called and my piercer introduced himself as "Mick" (I can't remember his actual name because I was sweating bullets at this point, but I think it was either Mick or Nick). We went into a small room with an examination table covered with paper. He asked me to drop my pants and get up on to the table, which I did. Some guys might be leery of dropping their pants in front of another guy but by this point you are so focused on the thought of the piercing that being exposed in front of someone else is almost inconsequential. The piercer put on his first pair of latex gloves. On the table he grabbed my now in full retreat penis and started wiping it with cleaning solution. My penis was trying it's best to hide so don't be embarrassed if you are surprised by how small you appear when the piercer starts cleaning it. After the cleaning the piercer changed to a new pair of latex gloves. Next he drew a couple of dots on the top of my Glans, and at the bottom and checked to see if they were lined up correctly. He showed me the dots and I agreed that they were good and then we proceeded to the piercing part. Oh, one thing to note is that you should not expect the piercing to be perfectly vertical, running straight up and down. You will probably have some sort of off-center piercing depending on your anatomy (blood vessels, etc).

Now we arrive at the most stressful part of the whole piercing process. The piercer changes into another new set of latex gloves. He then puts a second pair over the first, so he's wearing two pairs now. This is to minimize the chances of him getting "stuck" by the piercing needle. He prepared the piercing needle and placed it in his right hand while getting my frightened penis ready in his left. I was on my back at this point staring at the ceiling. During this whole time we were talking about aftercare procedures as well as other stuff like other piercings types, etc. He made me feel very at ease and comfortable the whole time. He was always pointing out what he was doing and explaining everything, so there was no point where I was left with any worries about anything. He then told me to take a DEEP breath in and then to slowly exhale and that he would start the piercing once I started to exhale. So, I took a deep breath in and then paused for less then a second where I contemplated my existence :), and then I slowly and deliberately started to exhale. What I felt can only be described as very sharp intense pinching sensation that also burned to some extent. It only took a 1 second to go all the way through and when the needle was through the "pain" quickly faded. Next, he inserted a "taper" to prepare the piercing for the jewelry. The insertion of the "taper" hurt about half as much as the initial piercing, but it mainly felt like a burning sensation. Now he said he was going to insert the jewelry which felt like a slight burning sensation but nothing compared to the actual piercing. During these three steps, which only lasted about 10 seconds, I only let out a bug "ouch!". That was it. After the jewelry was in he showed me the piercing which I was happy with and then he wrapped it up in some tissue-like paper and he put the now infamous latex glove over my penis and put a rubber band over it to hold it on. At this point I was a little light headed, but nothing serious. He gave me some water and I sat for about a minute collecting myself and then got up and put my pants back on. We went over the aftercare instructions again and he made sure I was feeling alright, which I was. I then gave him a $20 tip and I was out the door. From entering the shop, signing the paperwork, getting the piercing, and then leaving, it only took about 20 minutes.

Aftercare

- Sea salt soak twice a day for 15 minutes or so. (The Real Food Company)

- Shower with Dial ant-bacterial soap. (Walgreen's)

Day 1: No bleeding, no pain, no nothing. I'm on an endorphin high, and I feel really good. So good in fact that I'm slightly shaking. Really weird sensation. Every once in a while I get a "throbbing" sensation in my penis but that quickly fades. Peeing does not burn at all.

Day 2: Minor swelling is starting to subside, so the bleeding has started. Very very minor bleeding, mostly due to erections. I keep a couple of pieces of toilet paper wrapped around my Glans and gently tie it off with a rubber band to keep it in place. No pain to speak off, except for a slight throbbing sensation when I get an erection, or if I bump the jewelry into something. Peeing still does not burn or hurt at all. Had to of course sleep on my back last night, which is the only thing that was negative about this whole experience.

Day 3: Much less bleeding, mainly due to erections. Peeing does not burn. No pain at all in fact.

So, all in all, I am very happy with my piercing experience and I can't wait to get refitted to a smaller bar after about 6 to 8 months. Cold Steel America is a great piercing shop and I would recommend them to anyone.