At A Glance
Author	AHBroccoli
Contact	ahbroccoli@gmail.com
When	Three months ago
Artist	Allen Falkner
Studio	Obscurities
Location	Dallas, TX

Long and Piercing Account of Apadravyas

If you get nothing else from this article, I want you to know how to pronounce "apadravya." I found it very frustrating that I couldn't find a pronunciation guide anywhere and no one I contacted seemed to know either. I finally asked one of the guys at the piercing studio minutes before I had it done. Ap-uh-draw-vyuh. Now that you know how to say it, we'll move on...

This article is entirely too long. Apologies. I got the piercing done 8/8/2006 and have been working on this article ever since. If you read nothing else, I recommend Apa-Advice. It's pretty short and gives info I didn't find anywhere else. Hole In Your Head is a survey. I sent 8 questions to over 30 people and compiled their responses, trying to show all perspectives. The following three sections are my personal account.

My Motivation
I've always admired people who do body modification. I know all it takes is a drunken evening or a rebellious streak, but it takes some courage as well. Courage not only for the process (needles, pain, blood), but also for the ensuing and inevitable social stigma. I have never been brave enough to endure the disapproving stares and open criticisms I've heard about so-and-so's lip ring and what's-her-name's new tattoo. At age 24, I'm working on my MBA. This means that within a year, I will enter a culture dominated by white button-down shirts, slacks, and highly-polished shoes. "No facial jewelry or visible tattoos" will soon be a condition of my employment, a compelling reason to avoid visible bod mod.

But I still wanted a piercing. I'd wanted one for a while and I wanted it for a number of reasons. 1) I was in kind of a rut and, to quote the old adage made singable by Sheryl Crow, I thought a change would do me good. I think that any change or choice is a show of power, and I wanted to get some power back in my life. 2) I've always been attracted to girls with modifications, but because I lacked any mods, I've always felt a little hypocritical. I thought a piercing would make me feel more worthy of the attraction. 3) Apadravyas are (supposedly) the only male piercing mentioned in the Kama Sutra. I'm currently single and still a virgin, but it never hurts to plan ahead. 4) Apas have the potential to look so darn cute (http://home.earthlink.net/~josephpost/wee.JPG).

Emla + Me = Heart
Worlds of pain and seas of blood seem to be common themes in most apadravyas stories. I am comfortable with blood. Pain, though, by its very nature, is uncomfortable. I'd read horrible accounts of "worst pain ever" and "nearly passed out" and "must be what childbirth feels like." Then I read about Emla, which BMEshop happens to sell. God bless Canada. If not for Canada, I would have been numbing myself with Benzocaine; yeah, the stuff you use if you have a toothache. Not sure how legal it is to ship prescription meds across international borders, but I am grateful that they do. I ordered 5g from BME, and it was more than enough.

The Experience: Yet Another Apa Story
The day of, I was psyched. Thrilled and ready to go. First piercing of my life, here I come. I called ahead to Obscurities to confirm that Allen was in. He was. F*ck yeah. Then it was down to business.

Emla takes 30 minutes to work, and an hour to work well, and I wasn't about to blow $25 and not give the stuff time to do the job. I'd numb during the drive. I gathered my supplies: the Emla tube, saran wrap, and masking tape. I emptied the entire 5g onto my glans and smeared it around all 360 degrees. I wrapped the whole thing in plastic, secured it with tape, and I was ready to go. And then I was struck by my lack of foresight. Every time my parents were about to take me on a long trip, my dad would make sure I did one thing before I got in the car. Always. So, before you apply expensive numbing cream and saran wrap to your penis, please remember what my father would tell you: go to the bathroom beforehand. Otherwise you are going to have to hold it, like I did.

On the drive over, I was still psyched. Psyched, and curious about how the numbing was going. I had ¼ inch of cream, several layers of saran wrap, underwear, and pants between my penis and me, so even under non-numbing circumstances I wouldn't be able to feel anything.

When I got to Obscurities, I went to the bathroom. The Emla worked. 15 minutes later, I was on my back, pants around my ankles, watching another man study my penis. He took a couple of minutes to mark it. We made small talk. The best part of the day was watching (yes I watched) a 10-gauge needle go through my penis. I had been waiting for this moment for nearly a month, and I was still very psyched about it. However, the main reason for my excitement was this: the Emla had worked. I didn't feel a damn thing.

Throughout my readings, people kept referencing the glove, and how it's weird wearing one, or how it fell off on the way to the car, etc. And I'd always thought "a glove?" but never asked about it. Immediately after the bar was in, I found out. Allen wore two gloves on his left hand. When he finished wrapping me up with gauze, he slid the second glove off his hand and around the piercing. Mystery solved.

Less than an hour after the piercing, I went on a date. Thinking ahead, I stowed 400 mg of ibuprofen in my jacket pocket. I don't know exactly when the Emla wore off; I honestly couldn't tell. The thing that hurts after you get it done is direct contact, jarring, etc. I was sitting pretty in ¼ inch of gauze, so nothing touched it. I had no penis-related problems on the date. But when the girl told me (in great detail) about the time she saw a ghost...well, Emla can't fix everything, right?

Later that evening was the moment of truth. I had not peed yet. I was still psyched, but my excitement was tainted slightly. I decided to stall by taking a shower. We've all had cuts and scrapes. Because of this, we all know that bathing immediately after acquiring them is no fun. I was not looking forward to running water near my piercing. And I was afraid about the few "second steam out bottom hole" stories I'd heard. I removed the protective glove and carefully unwrapped my new penis mummy. Once clean, the piercing looked great. I avoided the water, so it didn't hurt much. The only thing that concerned me was the discoloration.

Along the coronal ridge, there were several small spots that were a darker shade of pink than the surrounding skin. Also at the bottom immediately around the piercing was a large purple area. I had two theories.
1) The discoloration on the top was from stretching and clamps and the bottom was a bruise, both probably normal under the circumstances.
2) The needle/barbell was radioactive and had given my penis chameleon-like abilities that had only begun to materialize.
With Theory 1, the discoloration would heal and I would look as good as ever. With Theory 2, my penis would be a freak, but provide me with great party tricks and possible comic/movie rights with Marvel or DC. After 2 weeks, Theory 1 won out. *sigh* Condemned to normalcy.

The piercing was sore the first few days, but I've had worse pain from too much masturbation (which, I understand, is about the same as being sore from too much sex).

It took 6 days before I could have a painless erection and 8 before it stopped bleeding while I slept. 2 weeks later, I still had crusties that would cement skin to metal whenever one of the balls rested against the piercing. To combat this, I would cut a long, thin strip of gauze (maybe 6 inches by ¼ inches) and would wrap it once around the top of the barbell and once around the bottom. That way the gauze collected all of the fluid that normally dried between the barbell beads and the piercing. I recommend this during the day, but certainly not at night (nighttime erections hurt even worse when gauze is trying to force itself into the piercing). After 4 weeks, the crusties still appeared, but for some reason stopped acting in their old role as "my body's crazy glue." After 3 months, the crusties still appear and tend to fortify and regroup every time I go to the bathroom. If nothing else, they are persistent. In spite of them, I am very happy with my new metal friend. I regret nothing.

Apa-Advice

* If you decide to use Emla without a prescription, put some on your arm for half-an-hour to test yourself for an allergy. Neither piercers nor penises take well to allergic reactions.
* Wear briefs when you go to get the piercing done. After wrapping your penis with gauze, the piercer will remove their glove and wrap it around the gauze to collect extra blood. If you wear briefs, the glove is less likely to fall off.
* Since the glove could still fall off or leak, wear dark-colored underwear and pants to the piercing studio. Not only will strangers be less likely to stop and ask if your genitals are bleeding, but you will be more likely to wear the clothes in the future.
* When you take your first shower, have gauze cut and within reach. After my first shower, the piercing was still bleeding, so I walked naked around my apartment, searching for gauze, all the while dripping water and blood. Gross.

Hole in Your Head: A Survey
During research, I sent e-mails to over 30 people who had submitted Apa articles. I asked 8 questions of each. Here are some of their responses along with my own thoughts:

How easy is it to pee standing up while healing? How about afterwards?
Me: The same day I got it done, I could stand up to pee no problem. For the first few days, however, peeing meant removing a condom and 9 inches of gauze, so sitting was more convenient.
Others:
* Forget about peeing standing up. Just don't even pretend that you will be able to.
* Urinating is definitely something you will want to do while sitting after you pierce and even after it heals; especially if you stretch your apadravya.
* It can be done - you just got to push the bar up a bit so the lower ball blocks the lower hole.
* Once you get past the first couple weeks it is easy to pee standing up. Just be careful about drippage. That is a problem that never goes away.
* It takes care and attention to avoid a mess. Like a game of chess, it's different every time and no one method seems to grant universal success. Unless you take extraordinary measures, I promise you'll wet an area you'd rather not.

How much urine normally goes through the piercing holes? Any stream-control issues with the apa?
Me: I have had absolutely no flow or aiming problems and no dripping. I have a 10g, so things may change if I upgrade or downgrade. It's pretty easy to check if standing is an option for you. Just pee in the shower away from the water and see what happens.
Others:
* It doesn't come out the bottom in a stream, just in drops. I found that if I pulled on the top of the bar so that the bottom was tight against the hole it nearly eliminated that problem.
* There is anywhere from a constant drip to a second or third stream exiting the other holes. There is basically nothing you can do about it.
* Mine had the majority of the urine coming out the bottom hole and the urethra with a little coming out the top.
* I don't think any came through the top hole before I stretched it out to 7mm, but now sometimes a bit does.
* I haven't had any problems. A friend of mine who got an ampallang said he missed the toilet on both sides at once before he learned some control, but my apadravya hasn't given me any trouble.

Penises become uncomfortable sometimes and need adjusting. Has the piercing had any effect on the frequency or ease with which you do this?
Me: Yes. Even months afterwards, it is a little interesting adjusting myself. I still get crusties that lightly anchor themselves to the top of the head, so I can't be too aggressive. And every now and then, the bottom of the piercing will embed itself in my scrotum, which is also a little delicate to correct.
Others:
* Maaaybe a little but the short answer is not really.
* Yes, the frequency of adjustments has changed, but only slightly, and (to my satisfaction) towards fewer. However, when discomfort rears its head I have found it to be much more uncomfortable than before I had the piercing.
* Only when it was healing, and even then not much.
* Boy howdy! I had to be very careful initially. One reason the people at work found out about it was when I bent over at the waist to open a file cabinet and had to straighten right back up with tears in my eyes.

Does the piercing ever get caught on anything?
Me: Nope. I'm a briefs man and haven't had any problems.
Others:
* Ok yeah the piercing will get caught on things from time to time. For instance I wear boxers and certain pairs I wear will allow the top of the barbell to poke out some and get caught on them. It's nothin major though, just adjust and go on. The day to day adjusting has never been a problem neither.
* Ha I got it on a string of a girls shirt once. Once or twice on a loose string on a towel. Nothing ever major or that caused intense pain. Just be smart. Boxers briefs helped. It did catch on boxers a few times.
* I don't have that problem most of the time, but if I wear a longer barbell sometimes it will get caught on my boxers when I get dressed/undressed.

How long did it take before erections stopped being painful?
Me: 6 days
Others:
* Not long at all, maybe a month at the most. I've had it redone 3x for various reasons.
* Actually I don't think they ever were... might be too much information but I think I even jerked off the next day.
* I had an erection the first day and no pain. Ejaculating the first few burned...salt and open wound...think about it. But 4th was a charm for me, no pain.

Is sex better for you since you got the piercing? How about masturbation?
Me: Masturbation was amazing during the first week or so, largely because of the fine line between pleasure and pain. Since then there hasn't been any difference. And for some reason, every time I masturbate, I consistently get a little blood mixed with ejaculate come up through the top hole, just enough to clean off with a q-tip. V. strange.
Others:
* That bar rocking back and forth can begin to hurt. Ease into sex. And even then ease into those marathon times. I got my infection because my girl and I were highly active for a few weeks and I didn't wear a condom.
* The first time I had sex was about a month afterward. I was so irritated because when I'd get close to orgasm, the pulling on the barbell was too much and I'd have to back off.
* I honestly felt no difference really...I could tell it was there, but I'd say the first few blows felt better, then it was normal. I could only have sex in certain positions because it hurt my girlfriend occasionally, but never me.
* Masturbation is definitely better. Sex is harder to judge because it depends more on the other person

Was the blood flow heavy enough during healing to stain underwear and bed sheets?
Me: I wore magnum condoms to bed until the blood stopped. Based on the amount of blood in the condoms, though, I suspect I'd have drowned in the stuff if I wasn't wrapped up.
Others:
* Yeah you'll bleed enough to stain your clothes and the bed sheets.
* No, not at all, I don't remember there being any after the first night; and that was hardly any at all.
* I experienced significant bleeding only on the day of the piercing. One pair of shorts were stained, but my sheets were not, as I wore a gauze wrap to bed that
evening. Beyond the first day blood was only evidenced when I would urinate, then not at all after perhaps five days

What is the biggest con of the piercing, aside from the initial pain?
Me: Almost every time use the bathroom, there are crusties around the ball. They come back at an amazing rate. I usually scrape them off with my fingernail if I know my hands are clean.
Others:
* The biggest con of the piercing is that you have to sit while you urinate, but it is definitely worth it.
* The biggest con is that the piercing is completely pointless unless you just want the look of a bar through your dick. My wife hated it. It got caught constantly, and after 2 years it still hurt to move the bar through.
* The biggest con of the piercing is the increased pain sensitivity that I have experienced. Even this morning as I lay in bed I debated whether or not this piercing was worth the trouble. "Morning wood" and other prolonged erections lead to a dull pain, and slight bumping or pressure on the glans when erect can be quite painful.
* Hygiene. Without a doubt. Initially, I followed the recommended ten minute soak in (sea) salt water twice a day as well as using an antimicrobial soap. Even after I stopped seeing any blood, I would still get some degree of crusting on the barbell itself right where it enters my penis. That really hurts if I get an erection. The soak would usually get rid of any deposits. When the crusting abated I depended mostly on my usual showers.

Bandaging Advice
I went the magnum condom and gauze route. This is largely because I am a 5'9 freckled red-head who weighs 135lbs and thought it would be really funny to buy magnum condoms. It was. The cashier was mildly flirtatious. If you decide to go the magnum condoms and gauze route, cut just enough gauze to go around once. Any more and it will be really hard to put the condom on. When you do put the condom on, stretch it out and try to move it over the gauze without touching it.
If I were to do it again, though, I would use rubber gloves and rubber bands rather than condoms. The condoms seemed to irritate the piercing quite a bit going on and coming off, which the gloves would not have done.

Assorted Wisdom from the Masses
This section is full of random insightful e-mail excerpts:

If you get it done be sure to write about it for BME. They get so many photos but I don't think they get a lot of good articles. They gave me 6 months free membership for my article, which tells me they are looking for more good articles.

I would recommend this piercing to be done either when you are not in a relationship or are in a relationship with a partner who is excited by the idea. Dealing with a partner who does not understand your decision during the healing process adds a layer of difficulty to this piercing that physical comfort cannot eclipse.

Worst was after ejaculation you have to remove yourself immediately, because once you start getting softer taking yourself out of a girl becomes a very difficult and possibly injuring task. Beware of that!

If you're a man of anal sex, consider doing it one last time before the piercing...I highly recommend NOT having anal intercourse for a few reasons:
1. Without condom = high risk of infection (getting in through the piercing) and that would be horrible.
2. The ass is very tight...It may cut him/her and/or stretch the piercing hole which may be painful.

My girlfriend was going to get a coil (IUD) a while back, but we realised it actually has a string (well a thread or something) that comes out of the cervix; I think it folds the thing up again if you want it out. We figured the piercing might catch on this and the doctor agreed.

Get a barbell that only unscrews at one end, and wear the not-unscrewing end at the top. This way there's no extra place for bacteria to hide.

I suggest cleaning it pretty quick after sex and also keeping all the extra jewelery clean. It's usually easier to switch jewelery after a warm shower so I like to let the new
jewelery soak in antibacterial cleaner while I shower then put it in once I get out.

It is a great conversation piece in the bar. I showed it off a lot once it healed up to curious females. Some girls are amazed by it and just want to try it out.