What follows is my account of getting my apadravya, which was written about 3 hours after it was done. At the end of that account, I will write about how it feels/makes me feel now.
At A Glance Author johnnyfailure Contact johnnyfailure@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Chantal Studio Evolution Body Piercing Location Providence, RI
THE PIERCING:
Today, I got my apadravya.
I've been thinking about getting it for over 2 years.
And today, I finally did it.
I took a ride to providence with a friend. I walked around the block, drinking ginger ale to settle my stomach. I still get really nervous about letting someone else inflict pain upon me, though I'm fine with doing it to myself.
We walked around and I told my rather conservative friend about my whole body mod thing. He listened and asked a few questions. I'm really grateful that he came with and I think he's glad he went, too. He's a really good egg - I don't feel judged by him in the slightest.
After the block, I went into the shop. Evolution Body Piercing in Providence, RI. I started talking to the guy at counter...I asked about any differences between an ampallang and an apadravya concerning healing times or aftercare. I was informed there really weren't any. I told him that I wanted an apadravya, to which he replied, "did you want to do that today?"
This is always the hard part.
I said, "yeah, i'm going to do it today."
Verbalizing it is nearly harder than actually getting pierced for me.
But I said it. Now, it was going to happen.
Chantal finally called me in.
My stomach was pretty unhappy with me. I told Chantal I was nervous. She replied with the standard "duh" answer - everyone gets nervous. Which is true, of course...but you're not thinking about other people's reactions when you're on the table.
I lay down on the table and dropped my pants. Chantal started cleaning my penis. I put my hands behind my head and asked if she'd had anyone vomit after being pierced. My stomach was doing backflips with the goddamn flying wallenda brothers at this point. She asked if I felt like I was going to vomit. I said no...my stomach was just being raucous. I know my own gut enough to know that, but this piercing had me doubting my own knowledge of my body.
She then said, "if you're that nervous, are you sure this is the right piercing for you?" she explained the other genital piercings, all of which I'm very familiar with. I told her the truth: I had been thinking about this for a long time, and I'm quite sure this is the one I want.
I thought it was terribly nice of her to make a little extra effort in my own surety about my decision.
But my mind was made up.
She marked the entrance and exit points, and showed them to me. She got the clamp and warned me about the pressure of it, but it was considerably less painful than having my nipples clamped when I had them pierced.
She was ready.
I, honestly, wasn't.
I asked her to give me a minute, which she did.
I took three good breaths. Then I told her I was ready.
I stared up at the ceiling, at the colorful kid's mobile they had hanging over my head. I moved my hands from behind my head to what I thought would be a more apt position - clenched around the sides of the table.
She got the needle in position and said the magic words:
"take a deep breath."
I hate this part. I felt like every part of my insides were trying to get out - my stomach ached, ready to empty itself at both ends.
"now exhale."
This part, I hate even more.
I let my breath out.
And...
BANG!
It
HURT
And I banged my fists into the side of the table, above my head.
Then the part that I hate the most - the needle's in, the jewelry's coming.
I felt it slide into me, and I beat that damned table. Hard. Over and over. This was the first time I've been on the brink of screaming with any mod I've ever done. The five hour tattoo session was a cakewalk compared to this.
I took it all out on that table.
Chantal, sounding like she was talking through feathers from a hundred feet away, said "It's in. You're done. It's over."
Or something to that effect. My memory got a little hazy at this point.
I remember my ass not touching the table for at least a minute. I was taut and bent up off the table like a bow. My entire body was shaking violently.
That part, I like.
But the best is that slow comedown...not knowing whether it hurts or feels good. The whole body high. Feeling like you're flying. Like you're free from your body for the very first time.
That never gets old.
Stomach pain - gone.
After a couple of minutes, Chantal asked me how I felt. I told her I felt great. I apologized for the noise, but she said I wasn't loud. Christ, I thought my banging on the table was enough to wake the dead. She bandaged me up with a rubber glove and an elastic (to catch all the blood). She went through the standard aftercare warnings for the piercing. I stood up and pulled my pants up. I thanked her. And somehow, thanking the people who've pierced me never feels like enough. I always feel like at least a handshake is in order. Honestly, if I had my way, I'd have hugged her. I always feel like a thank you to someone who's just brought all of this sensation to me is a poor excuse for the gratitude I feel.
But, naturally, I just walked back out of the room into the storefront area. My friend was waiting.
We walked down to Trinity (a local brewery) and grabbed a couple of beers. I told him how it went, how it all felt, and how it felt now.
I'm coming off of the insane high now, and figured I'd write it down to look at later, and to publicly post at some point.
ONE WEEK LATER:
It's coming along nicely. I bought boxer briefs, as they were recommended to me heavily, but I found them to be useless. This could be because I'm so damned skinny even small men's underwear is too big. I bled for about 5 days. The worst part of the healing process was the morning after the piercing...I woke with an excruciating erection and looked down to find that I had bled through two pairs of underwear, sweat pants, and the blanket I was sleeping on.
Now, it doesn't hurt at all. Caring for it is more or less a snap. I cannot begin to describe how happy I am that I got this piercing. I am truly glad that I took 2 years to contemplate what I wanted, and that the end result was me feeling a hair closer to complete.