Why get it? Does it mean anything? Did it hurt?
At A Glance Author TheGr8SingingBlade Contact thegr8singingblade@yahoo.com IAM TheGr8SingingBlade When Three months ago Artist Glenn Studio Halo Piercing Location Tucson, AZ I wanted it. It's a tribute to my life and my sensuality. It was a good hurt.
This is a story about a man, his penis, a 12 gauge needle, and a shaft of stainless steel. This is also a true story told and written to inform and entertain. It starts simply. It starts with a wrong click.
I was on bmezine.com and looking for experiences on nipple piercings. "Male genital" happens to be right next to there, and I simply missed my click. Up came a most bizarre word, I couldn't even fathom how to pronounce this word "apadravya." Mind you, I consider myself pretty articulate, so I left it alone.
The story continues in the courtyard of Pima Community College in Tucson, AZ. I was chatting with my good friend John about piercings (he, too, has an apadravya), and complaining that I was feeling the itch to pierce again after my nipples. He asked if I had the balls to get this piercing. I asked which piercing it might be. He informed me. "Apadravya? That sounds familiar." He then explained it to me. Lights lighted and buzzers, well, buzzed. I knew now the name of this piercing.
After reading the experiences that night, I knew I had to get it done. I went to Halo Piercing many moons (a couple months) later to ask if I could get it pierced at a 10 gauge. The results of that conversation can be found in my little journal below.
This brings us to the day of the piercing. One of the most intense days of my life. As of now, my nipple rings are coasting into being fully healed. All my days of planning are bunk. This is it, the climax, the descent, the point of no return (cue Phantom of the Opera music here).
After I paid, they had me go to the bathroom and clean myself off with a benzene pad. Never, ever use this on a piercing. This was to sterilize the UNBROKEN skin. I packed myself up and went back into the piercing room.
My piercer had me sit on the dentist-like chair which had been covered up by the plastic lines papers dentists are famous for using (remember these papers, they come back in the story). I sat, he asked me which side of the frenum I would prefer the piercing to come out on. I told him whichever side he thought would be best. He told me the left had a little more room, so that was the recommendation. Well, that sounds good, let's go.
I believe the tray sitting next to me contained a marking pen, a 12ga needle, clamps, forceps for the needle, some lube for the needle, a 1" barbell, sanitizing solution, and many folds of plastic lined paper.
He held the new marking pen (an Accu-line ultra fine marker) in his hand which had been gloved many times. He held my penis with his other hand and marked it. I was asked to inspect the marks and see if I approved. I asked if the top could be moved left a little. He agreed, saying he wasn't too sure about that placement himself. Another inspection rendered the placement ideal. Glove change.
He sanitized my penis. Changed gloves. He clamped it. He asked if it was too tight. I told him he could make it as tight as he needed. That ended up being unnecessary. I got scared and almost chickened out. Yes, I admit it, I almost chickened out. I mean, this is my penis! This is my instrument of sex, of pleasure, of masturbation, of urination! I mentally slapped myself around and said "Let's go."
He put the needle in the forceps (I think they were forceps), lubed it, and lined it up. He told me to start breathing. One in, one out; two in, two out; three in, three in more, more, three started going out. Apparently I have really tough tissue due to my German and Mexican Indian heritage. It took about 7 years, I mean, seconds to go through. My nipples took 2-3 each, my tongue didn't even hurt. This hurt less than my nipples, but took so long!
Operatic, solo, and choir training came in here. I took all the pain and stress I was feeling and clenched my feet. This was so I wouldn't go tense in my pelvis, where I was feeling the pain and make the pain worse. I screamed. Actually, I sang a loud note (maybe a C# or so?) with all the energy I was feeling. A grunt from the piercer and a rise in my dynamic and the needle was through. I breathed in. As one other writer put it, my penis was shouting "Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman! Strong enough for a man, but MADE for a woman!"
He told me that it was unusually difficult for him to get the needle through due to my tissue being tough. He asked me if I had any Irish, German, or Indian (Native American) heritage. I told him of my Mexican and German blood. That was probably it. Upside, I'll heal faster.
Now came the part where they replaced the needle with the jewelry. It was uncomfortable, but not painful. I looked down, finally. What I saw was beautiful. A shiny piece of steel in my glans. I felt sheer joy, partly from the endorphins, but mostly because I was glad I got it done and went through it. I absolutely love the hot feeling that comes from skin tightening around new jewelry (had this with my tongue and nipples, too). That heat just feels so alive.
He put a new glove on after washing his hands (don't want any glove powder here), took another sheet of the plastic lined paper (remember?), wrapped my penis in it, then grabbed my penis and pulled the glove off around that.
He covered aftercare once I collected myself. No contact with other people's body fluids, avoid drinking while it's healing so the blood doesn't thin, clean it twice a day with sea salt soaks or Provon, try to avoid sleeping on it. I received the aftercare sheet. Then he told me, again, that I would probably heal faster because of how tough my tissue was. I tipped him a good $20. We shook hands, and then I remembered the apprentice piercer had also been there. I thanked him for watching and shook his hand.
I took my sea salt container, my baggie containing condoms which they gave me, my aftercare sheet, my Accu-line pen which they gave me (I'm starting a collection), my mummified penis, and my severe elation and left.
I stopped by Walgreens on my way home to pick up some distilled water and measuring spoons. I had to hold in my urge to shout out "Look at what I did!" I don't feel they would have appreciated seeing a bloody gloved penis.
I got home, took the glove off, soaked myself in sea salt water, dried off the new apadravya (yay!), then wrapped it up in paper. I headed off to karaoke to put my emotions into music. That night was filled with passionate music. So was the next night. The next night was my first time I went to a public restroom with my piercing. I hadn't had anything but water and a soda to drink (healing piercing plus I'm underage), and it had been quite a few hours since I had started on downing 5 very large waters and a Coke of the same size. I went into the stall so no one would see me unwrap my mummy, opened the external urethral orifice (the pee-hole), because it had become sealed shut with some blood, although it had mostly stopped. My first public restroom urination didn't burn at all. It was the most relieving feeling ever.
My urinations have never leaked out of the piercing holes, nor have they ever burned. This piercing bled more than anything else I've gotten. It hasn't changed the way I move in acting or life. It did initially, but now that it's so close to being healed, I have no problems. My bleeding stopped after a week completely, even that one time that a stray thread from my boxers caught on the piercing when I was changing led to no blood. Urinations actually feel different, I can feel the urine pressing on the barbell and moving around it. It's quite an interesting feel.
Sex has changed. It's different, a good different. I enjoy it a lot more now because I can feel more now. This is a great added benefit! Masturbation is also quite different, it took some getting used to avoiding the barbell, but now it's easy.
If you are considering this piercing, think about it. Find a piercer you can trust, make sure you don't have any pressing plans and that you can take care of it. It is a major thing to do to yourself. I feel I have covered everything I meant to.
Please read the following journal. It is quite informal, and tells of what I went through, initially day by day, later whenever something new happened. Sex plays a big part in this because it's what put the piercing through the most stress, but it all ended up good! If you have any further questions, please contact me. AIM: AlmityEdo, Yahoo: TheGr8SingingBlade, MSN: TheGr8SingingBlade@hotmail.com, AOL: SingingSabre, e-mail: TheGr8SingingBlade@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading this long winded entry.
Day -2 (May 14, 2003, Wednesday): I went in to Halo Piercing to see if they'd pierce me at a 10 ga. Brian (apprentice) told me to come back the next day to see Glen, the piercer, and ask him myself.
Day -1 (May 15): Glen told me he would pierce me at 10ga., but I would have to wait for them to get the 10 ga. titanium barbell ordered. I decided on the 12 ga.
Day 0 (May 16 -- D-day): I got pierced. Bleeding was the heaviest I've had with any piercing. Interesting pain. I think the barbell may be a smidgen too short, as it seems to pinch a little when I get erect. Didn't hinder my karaoke abilities at all. Sang "My Way" by Frank Sinatra at karaoke more passionately than ever before!
Day 1: Bleeding has cut down quite a bit. Now it's really just heavy spotting. I'm still wrapping it in paper to catch spotting. It has slightly reduced my range of motion (I'm a very physical person) but I can still work efficiently.
Day 2: Sleeping with a fuzzy blanket has never felt so...damn! I am still sleeping with a towel covering my sheets in case of bleeding (paranoid!). I bumped it by accident at work today, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I can masturbate, but I avoid the glans (head) for obvious reasons. It feels much different in a good way.
Day 3: Spotting is minimal. Sea salt soaks still feel great. Funny, I have never had any pain or burning when urinating, still don't. I can still pee standing up with no problematic spraying or dripping out any holes. There are no scabs around my holes or barbell.
Day 4: Spotting is gone. Erections hurt less. Masturbation is easier and I can softly touch the glans with minimal discomfort, it feels really good but with just enough pain from the tenderness to not feel good, if that makes sense. And I thought I sang "My Way" well before! Tonight was much more passionate at a new karaoke joint, I had not only the added knowledge of a piercing healing well, but I was performing to wow a girl! Ah, women...yet I digress...
Day 5: I showed my girl interest, her adopted sister, and one of their friends my piercing. Explained the difference between mine, a Prince Albert, reverse P.A., ampallang, frenum, Jacob's ladder, dydoe, etc. I think I'm almost ready to give it a test run...patience, grasshopper!
Day 6: No problems. Life is getting easier and easier with this. The initial pain from the extra tough tissue has paid off with fast healing. I feel great!
Day 7: A few girls want to try it out! Wow! I'm flattered. This is so hard to not give it and try it! Luckily, if I give in, Halo gave me a pack of condoms with my piercing. They include some PleasurePlus condoms with extra space in the "receiving" end. Good times! Nothing too special to report...no drainage or blood. Life is good. There has been absolutely no migration or settling in of this piercing, it has stayed put. My guess is because it goes through the urethra. My tongue and nipples both migrated a little before healing, this hasn't.
Day 8: Got to try it out. It hurt a bit at first, getting it into my partner. Once it got going, though, it was as if the apadravya had been there my whole life. She said it was amazing. She couldn't describe it, but she certainly approved in many ways. I hope to use it more! :-D Getting the condom on was interesting, as it didn't have the extra room for a piercing, it was a LifeStyles Lubricated condom. There were no problems. Next time I use it, I intend to use the Pleasure Plus condom with the extra room. Also, drainage has started. Well, it started this morning, before any sex occured. No biggie, just normal lymph.
Day 9: Not sore at all from the piercing. Drainage is unaffected for the most part by the sex. She approved it with two legs...er...thumbs up.
Day 13: Got to try it again. Another huge approval. No problems, again. The pleasure plus was a very nice condom. It felt quite nice. Going to settle down a bit now. Drainage is still no biggie.
Day 18: Drainage is still there. I've learned to make sure it's not clogging the urethra. Sometimes the lymph adheres the tip of the urethra closed, and it makes for a slightly uncontrollable urination. The urine doesn't come out the piercing site, just builds up the pressure to break on through and then explodes out.
Day 35: Learned a few things about condoms with the apadravya a few days ago. The piercing increases the chance of condom breakage. Why is this so bad? Remember that there must be no exposure to another person's body fluids. Provon and/or sea salt would be good to have handy if you're having sex at another person's place. Luckily, I received no problems.