I broke up with my girlfriend. One of the best decisions I'd made in my life. She'd cheated on me after 4 years together, and after another year of "trying to make it work," I cut her loose. Freedom. Sweet Freedom.
At A Glance Author Shawn Contact zephyrx13@wavecable.com When Two years ago Artist Georgina Studio Greenman Tattoo Location West Hartford, Connecticut, USA Anyway, about 1 1/2 years prior (back when I was 20), I'd gotten a PA, and I've loved it from day 1. But, just like stretching my ears, I soon wanted more. Originally I had intended to get two dydoes, placed symmetrically (like all my piercings) on both sides of the glans; however I'm uncircumcised, which poses a big risk of rejection. So I decided on the Apadravya. I'd always thought that it was a very attractive piercing but was totally unsure if I wanted to subject myself to that kind of pain. Of course, if you want something bad enough the pain soon becomes completely irrelevant.
Now only one thing blocked my path: The aforementioned girlfriend. She didn't want to deal with the long healing time. Fuck. Oh well. Maybe someday. Well that day came when I cut her loose and kicked her out. Finally I'm my own man again; it was time to make the appointment.
I called up my regular piercer, Joe, from Pelican Tattoo. His style was decidedly old school, but I know he's very competent, and he's just a nice guy.
Ring Ring. "Hey Joe, I wanna get an Apa done, how's that sound?" There was a bit of a pause before he said "You know I actually don't feel comfortable doing that. But hey let me recommend someone to you."
Wow. That was pretty surprising. This guy had done some pretty unconventional stuff for me previously, including my madison and my original PA. He recommended to me Georgina from Greenman Tattoo. I'd actually already heard a lot of good things about her, just from word of mouth. But I was kinda sketchy on having a female do it. Nothing against women of course, but they just don't have that part. I decided I'd check the place out anyway, at least for a consult.
I arrived and discussed with her what I wanted done. We chatted about how the procedure would go as well as her past experience with this piercing. I'd be the 8th she'd done. I'd originally gotten my PA at a 10g, but was now at 6g. I told her I wanted to get my Apa at a 6g as well, since I'm tired of the whole stretching process. But she cautioned me, and we compromised at 8g. She grabs the jewelry and we proceed to her room. I dropped trow and she takes some measurements and informs me that the jewelry isn't big enough and that she'll have to order it. While disappointed, I was happy with the ego boost. Since she was ordering it anyway, I asked her to get me a blue titanium barbell.
A week passes and I'm back in her room, ready to rock and roll. Up until this point I'd never gotten any piercing at a larger gauge than 10g, and she'd never performed an Apa at anything larger that 10g, so this was a first for us both. She marked up the glans with violet ink and went to remove the needle from the autoclave pouch. I took one look at the needle and managed to mutter "fuck me" beneath my breath. That was a fat, scary looking needle, more so because I knew where it was going. She removed the circular barbell I'd been wearing and slipped the needle through the hole of the PA and positioned it so that it was against the wall of the urethra. I was surprised she was doing it free hand, since I'd been reading stories that featured a painful sounding clamp. Anyway, I ask her to count to 3 before she starts the push. I always ask my piercers to do this for me because it lets me breathe appropriately.
"1..." I inhale normally.
"2..." I take a deep breath and hold it.
"3..!" I exhale in a controlled manner and brace myself.
I'd like to take a moment to point out that with an average piercing the needle is usually through by the time the piercer finishes pronouncing the word "three," but not this time. It seemed like an eternity as she struggled to force that large needle through some particularly resilient flesh. The pain itself was intense, definitely intense, but not at all what I though it would be. I couldn't feel the needle moving through the actual interior of the glans, rather it felt like she was scraping the inside of my urethra the entire time. Between grunts I manage to make out the image of the needle poking through the head. "Is it over?" I ask, fully exhaling my breath. Without response she gives another push until the tip of the needle fully exits the glans. It was finally over. Though it surely wasn't, it seemed like it could have been 30 seconds.
I sat back in the chair, pretty pleased with what I had just done, and waited for the rush of endorphins that I had also read about. They never came. No surge of adrenaline. But no matter, like I said, the pain was totally bearable. In retrospect, my nipple piercings were WAY more painful, as they were done through scar tissue. I invite her to take a picture for her portfolio, she wraps me up, and I'm on my merry way.
For the rest of the day, the pain was pretty non existent, but the bleeding was terrible. I'd smartly taken the day off to accommodate, something I'd neglected to do when I got my PA. That 1st urination wasn't bad, not half as bad as my PA. The bleeding had slowed down by bedtime and I fell asleep rather comfortably.
The next morning I was stuck to my sheets. Even though I'd wrapped it in paper towels it had bled through, completely covering my whole pubic area, and soaking through my sheets. No big deal, they were black sheets. I roll out of bed, and head into the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.
I stand up all day at work, and do a lot of walking around. Because of this, the bleeding was rather profuse all day, which was horribly inconvenient. Paper towels were just not doing the trick. I started taking latex glove and putting that around the paper towel wrap. I would fill up 3 fingers with blood every 30 min. I had to change the dressing very frequently, which made it hard to work effectively. My PA bled a lot, but not this much; I wasn't prepared for this much. I actually pondered going to the hospital, but I soldiered through it. Three times a day I was doing salt water soaks, which I highly recommend, I've never found a better method for healing piercings.
The next day was very similar, so I went out and I bought some tightey-whiteys, and some nice absorbent maxi pads. And I don't care what anyone says, but it worked wonders. I wish I had done that the previous day. I highly suggest that anyone do this. But the next morning the bleeding had fully stopped. In all, I bled about 52 hours straight.
Healing was very easy. Salt water soaks 3 times a day does the trick. Along with my PA, it the easiest piercing I've ever had to heal. A little over 30 days was the first time I had sex. Insertion was pretty tricky, especially since the jewelry I had was too long. A condom definitely made it easier, but I would never recommend that you forgo the condom after only 30 days. And for those curious folk, yes, my girlfriend loved every second of it.
After 3 months it felt very well healed. I hadn't the slightest discomfort during sex, and I felt I might be ready to stretch up to 6g. I bought a taper, a barbell, and a tube of KY Jelly. Great, ready to go. Well, I got the taper about 1/4 of an inch in before I decided this was NOT going to happen right now. Over the next several months I give it a half-hearted try, just to see how it felt. I always listened to my body, and never forced it. Nearly a year later I finally manage to get the taper all the way through. But damn it, I just couldn't get the barbell to follow. I ended up wearing a long taper as jewelry for the next two days, which just plain sucked. But I was then able to slide the jewelry in without a hitch. Finally. I had done it.
And that brings us to the present. I recommend that anyone who's interested in this piercing to just go for it. Life's too short to wonder "what if?" The pain is brief, the healing is easy, and girls totally love it. Whatever it is that's scaring you, I assure you it's only in your head. In the end, I'm very happy with it. I intend to keep stretching, but I'm not sure at what size I'll be stopping. I also intend to get another PA on the other side of the frenum. That said, I recommend that you go into this already having a PA. The piercing and the healing will go that much more smoothly for you. Good Luck, and have fun!