At A Glance
Author	dougm
Contact	dougm@bme.anon
IAM	dougm
When	Five years ago

So you want a 7/16" Gauge (11.1 mm) Apa

This is entirely personal opinion, informed largely by the personal experience of getting, stretching, and living with an Apa for several years.  If you don't accept any opinion below, fine.  Do some research of your own and publish your result.

Are you sure?

• A piercing that big is unlikely to close up completely if you ever take the jewelry out.
• Your partner might not like it. Can you convince him/her to at least give it a try?
• If you are a contender for the ejaculation distance record, forget it
• As do all piercings, an Apa requires some maintenance – clean the jewelry once in a while, plan and execute stretches, deal with the occasional scratchiness, etc. If you aren't prepared to do this stuff, think twice.
• You will have to start smaller and stretch several times (a little time, effort, and money). I got mine pierced at 6 gauge, which is the largest I have heard about.  That required stretching to 4, then 2, then 0, then 00, and, finally, 7/16". It took roughly 18 months.

Once you are sure

• Go home, whack off, and measure top to bottom at about where the piercing will go (about half way between the opening of the urethra and the crown of the glans) while you are hard – range is about 7/8" to 1-3/8". This is not hypercritical, as the initial barbell will need to be a little longer to accommodate swelling immediately after the piercing. You can decide from it what you want in the long run – some like snug, while others want a little slop
• Find a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) with whom you get on well; if one is not available in your town, ask for personal references or go visit a number of shops. Talk to the piercer, not the counter boy/girl. Talk to him [Note here: If you find a female piercer, just substitute feminine pronouns below. I've just never gotten comfortable with the 'unisex' stylistic locutions] about your desires, needs, and concerns. He should fully and calmly answer all of your questions; if not, run!
• Reassure yourself about the shop's dedication to cleanliness. Everything that comes near you should have been through the autoclave, and it should be regularly checked for effectiveness (spore tested).
• Ask how many Apas he has done.  What's the largest gauge?  Does he have or has he had one, himself?
• Tell him about your goals.  If you really are a gauge queen, he should know how far you plan to stretch, as it may affect his choice of placement.  If you plan to get a prince's wand, let him know as he will want to make the piercing perpendicular to the urethra.
• Get him to answer all of your other questions.
• The jewelry for an Apa is usually a straight barbell.  Negotiate from his initial 14 to 10 gauge toward your initial 6 gauge.  Can you live with the compromise as a starting size?  Agree on 8; if he insists on 14 or 12, you can go elsewhere, if you wish. My advice is that small-gauge apas exhibit the cheese-wire effect --that is, they cut and pinch as you move.  Note that getting the piercing at 6 gauge will not hurt significantly more than 14; the needle is just scarier!.  There are rumors (myths?) about larger initial piercings causing nerve damage, but they do not seem to be objectively verifiable (see the APP website under FAQ). 
• Decide on titanium or stainless steel – lighter and less likely to cause an allergic reaction vs. cheaper and heavier.  Titanium comes in a rainbow of colors, if you are into that sort of thing.  If you decide on SS, be certain you are getting implant grade (a misnomer but one widely used) or 316LVM stainless; lesser grades contain nickel, which is a frequent cause of adverse reactions.  The jewelry absolutely must be internally (as opposed to externally) threaded.  Anyone selling externally threaded barbells should be castrated then boiled in oil.
• Tell the piercer about your size measurement.  Together you will decide how much extra to allow.
• Pick a date when you will have the following day free and make an appointment with your new friend, giving him time to order your barbell if your size and material is not in stock.

Prep

• Buy a small pack of women's self-adhesive panty liners, just in case you have some discharge or bleeding.
• My advice is comfortably roomy briefs, not the boxer-brief or slingshot kinds and not too snug, at first, to provide support and contain things. You will get 8 opinions from 6 people about this.
• Eat a square meal within 4 hours of the appointment and don't do drugs or alcohol.

Sign in

• Be prompt.
• Sign the release.
• Read and thoroughly understand the aftercare instructions.  If you aren't going to strictly follow the instructions, go somewhere else for the evening.
• If they aren't going to give you any recommended supplies, like hypoallergenic soap, buy them.
• Pay the fee.
• Be prepared to tip your piercer.

The Event

• Go into the surgical suite.  If you want to bring friends or a cameraman, check with your piercer; he'll surely agree.  He might also want to have an apprentice observe if you agree.
• Take off your pants and shorts.
• Hop on the table and put your feet up.
• Listen to your piercer.   He will explain each step and guide you.  He will be warm, friendly, and professional.  He's seen and heard it all, so don't be bashful.
• He will clean you up, perhaps with iodine.
• He will mark the top and bottom hole locations with a brand new Sharpie or some such.  Be sure that when he offers to let you check the spots, that you do so to your satisfaction as you can't move a piercing at all easily.
• He will squeeze and/or clamp your glans.  This will not hurt at all.  (Some piercers freehand the job.  That's OK if you are in agreement)
• He will tell you to take a series of smooth, deep breaths.
• On about the third, he will do the piercing.  This will be the most astounding sensation that you have ever experienced—many call it pain, but I thought it was really cool.  It will last 1 to 2 seconds.  Then, of course, he will have to do the other half.  Seriously, it may take from one to three pushes for him to get the needle all the way through.
• He will insert the barbell.  Some find that this is painless; others find that it ranks up with the piercing.
• Bleeding varies from negligible to, rarely, profuse.  In the latter case, your piercer knows how to stop it.
• All done.  He will let you admire your new hardware then wrap it in absorbent material and, usually, a rubber glove.
• He will make sure that you are in good shape.  If you are going to pass out, do it now not later at Starbucks.
• Dress, shake hands, tip, smile, go.  Enjoy the endorphin rush for the next hour.

Later

• Pissing will not be a problem. Do not be fearful.
• If there is blood in the glove, follow the aftercare advice to clean up.
• Noticeable bleeding is not uncommon.  Follow the aftercare instructions.

The next day or two

• Resist the urge to masturbate; you'll just reopen the wound.
• Follow the aftercare instructions.  Do the prescribed salt-water soaks (1/4 tsp. per cup of warm water).  Keep doing them!
• Bleeding, if any, should stop.  A clear, pinkish discharge may continue.

After a few days

• Oh, go ahead, but very gently!
• You will begin to get the 'crusties'.  Material from inside the piercing sloughs off to make space for the barbell.  When it comes to the surface, it tries to make a scab.  This feels like broken glass if it gets back into the piercing.  You will need to rinse it off two or more times a day; plain water on a square of TP works just fine.

Healing

• Everything you read says to wait until the piercing is fully healed before doing anything serious.   So, what is fully healed?   In my book, it is when the barbell stops catching and slides easily if you try to move it.   Also, the crusties should be gone or negligible.  That signifies that the sloughing off has ended and the fistula (hole) has formed skin around the barbell.  This will take a few weeks to several months.
• A crater or cup may form under the upper ball of the barbell.  This is normal and will be reduced as you stretch up to barbells with larger balls.
• If you started with a small gauge, such as 14 or 12, you may find that stressing the piercing at all causes a cutting sensation, if not real cutting.  This is usually called the cheese wire effect.   The only solutions are great care or stretching to a larger gauge, which will provide smoother contours and, thus, eliminate the problem.  Larger gauges are much easier to live with.
• During this period have sex only with protection.  This is not about STDs; it is about simple infection by your partner's common germs into what is, truly, an open wound.  Also, it will lessen stress on the healing tissue.

Stretching

• Finally, you've healed and it's time to start toward that huge gauge you want.  Do not rush.  If you do, you will be right back to healing a new piercing.
• Do not attempt to skip sizes.   The added trauma just is not worth it.  Jewelry gauges go up by twos – 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, then by adding 0's -- 00, 000, 0000, then by fractions of an inch, starting at ½"; some systems eliminate 000 and 0000 in favor of 7/16".
• You can go back to the piercer and have him do it.  He will get it done in a short period, and you don't have to hurt yourself.   The down side is that he will do it in a short period, likely increasing the trauma that will have to be healed away.
• Or, you can order an insertion taper and the new barbell.  This time, you can choose exactly the length you want.  Have the shop autoclave them to be safe.
• Some people swear by a hot bath to soften the tissue. I don't know
• Sit back, relax, put your feet up.
• Take your current barbell out.
• Lube the taper with your favorite –KY works, but the silicones, such as Wet or Astroglide, don't dry out.
• Press the taper in.  If over half of the conical part slides in easily, you are likely to be able to complete the stretch.   If not, you might want to consider waiting.
• Press until it gets seriously uncomfortable but not seriously painful.  Wait a minute or two.  You should feel the fibers around the taper going sproing as they adapt.
• Advance the taper a minute amount.   We are talking about 1/32" at a time, or so.  Wait for the sproinging to stop.
• Do it again, repeatedly.   Once in a while, impart a twist to the taper as you push. This process is, for me, seriously uncomfortable but not what I would call painful ; pain tolerance does vary quite a bit.
• You will be so pleased when the shoulder of the taper finally goes through!  This may take a few minutes to a large part of an hour.
• This is an option! I just wait overnight before proceeding. This allows the tension around the taper to relax and makes the next steps easier. It's entirely your choice.
• Position the top of the taper so that just the flat base is exposed.
• Remove one of the balls from the new barbell and apply a little lube to the shaft (of the barbell, ninny).
• Position the exposed end of the new barbell flat against the taper and centered.  There should be a feeling of a solid connection.
• Hold the two-piece construction solidly, avoiding letting the joint open, twist, or separate.   I just hold a thumb and finger against opposite ends and press firmly.
• Without moving the metal structure, slide your piercing from the taper onto the barbell.   This way of doing it avoids having the joint between the taper and barbell come adrift during the insertion; if that happens, it smarts quite a bit and you just start over from the beginning.
• Screw on the ball.
• Take two Aleve.
• Done.  Congratulations!  The adaptation isn't healing but, rather, accommodation, so it will be quick and easy.  Figure on a day at most.

Knowing when to Stop

OK, you've started stretching and have found out what a gauge queen you are.  Congratulations!

Whoa, there is a limit.  Doug's rule is: 

The largest reasonable Apa is at least one gauge smaller than the largest sound that you can accommodate easily.  

If you don't know about sounding, it is the practice of sliding smooth cylindrical objects (mostly) into the penis.   If you can sound a 1/2" diameter piece, then don't go over a 7/16" gauge Apa, for example.  Why?   With reasonable sizes, you won't have the trouble pissing that guys with Prince Alberts have.  However, if you go too large, then the barbell effectively plugs your urethra and pressure builds up behind it.  Where does it release?   Why, out the top and bottom, around the barbell, as well as out the end.  Messy and hard to control!

Of course there is no limit to what you might accomplish in time. There's a guy in Germany who can shove a personal vibrator through his Apa. I believe he says it took him five years to do the stretching.

Getting along

• Putting one drop of vitamin E oil in the piercing each day acts as a lubricant and skin softener.   Don't overdo it, as the fistula needs to be tough enough to withstand movement of the jewelry.  
• Buying the taper for each stretch, whether or not you do it yourself has a benefit.   If you choose to remove the barbell from the piercing for weird sex, medical exams, or whatever, you may have trouble getting the blunt end of the barbell back through after more than a few minutes.  If so, have the taper handy; it will go in easily.  This avoids emergency trips back to the piercer, which make you look like an idiot.
• If you get dripping around the bottom ball when you piss, use the upper ball as a handle to help seal the lower one against the fistula.
• Piercing metals will not set off walk-through metal detectors.  They won't.
  I've only been wanded once with one of the new, sensitive hand units. It whined when passed directly over my nipple bars. I have no clue how far away an Apa would have to be to avoid detection since the guy never went near mine. If you do get detected, simply tell the wander about your piercing. He's heard it all and will have you outta there in seconds.
• If you need medical work, retaining the piercing will require some tough negotiation, especially if you need an MRI.   Piercing materials are non-magnetic, but try to convince your imaging technician of that. When I had minor surgery, after a minor flap they let me keep my piercings in with the doctor's approval. The stated reason for the concern is that metal jewelry will cause severe local burns if the surgeon employs cautery, which, I gather, is unpredictable in some procedures.   The best plan is to see your piercer as much in advance as possible for a non-metallic temporary replacement. With all of that, you will likely have to remove everything and spend the ensuing period doing some serious re-stretching.
• Most observers will ignore your toy.   A few will not know what to do with their eyes.  Every once in a while you'll get a beautiful vaudeville double take.  Once in a blue moon, someone will be enchanted and want to know all about it, perhaps with the idea of getting one himself.   I have yet to have any sort of negative confrontation. If, on the other hand, you tell someone, either male or female, about your toy, and they express interest, offer a viewing. If they are enthusiastic and the situation permits, whip it out--don't be bashful, since, after all, you brought it up in the first place. 

Reading

• The Piercing FAQ.  This is document by Anne Greenblatt was last updated in 2000 but is still a good source for all things piercing.  Unfortunately, the only site that currently has it, http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bodyart/piercing-faq/, has it broken up by chapter, so you can't print all 269 pages in one swipe. Sections 1, 2A thru 2E, 3, 5, 6, and 7 are the most relevant, as the others are lists of piercers and manufacturers, which are likely to have changed, and personal experiences.  Section 9 is an extensive list of media resources, which may still be partially accessible.
• The Association of Professional Piercers Website, http://www.safepiercing.org/, has an excellent FAQ and information on locating their members.
• www.bmezine.com is the well for personal piercing experiences and images, and an encyclopedia of body modification terms and risks, as you have discovered if you are reading this. There are a few photos available from the front page under What's New > New Images. For more, you will have to get a membership.
• The usenet group rec.arts.bodyart is very clannish; much of the content is just messaging among the standing members.   If you ask a dopey question or one for which there are readily available answers, you will get flamed.   It is best to lurk for some time before exposing one's naivety.  On the other hand, well stated, original questions may get answered, but do due diligence with your search engine before posting a question to RAB.   They also periodically publish a FAQ, which can be found on the Usenet archives at http://www.google.com/grphp?hl=en&tab=wg&ie=UTF-8 as
  "rec.arts.bodyart: Welcome & Netiquette FAQ".  
  The British version, uk.people.bodyart, is friendlier, but even less focused. 

Doug