This was not my first mod, so I knew some of what I was getting into when I decided I wanted a shaft apadravya. The first step was calling and ordering a special barbell in for the process. I requested my piercer get me a 10 gauge barbell, he decided it should be ½ inch long. When the barbell arrived at their studio, they called me and let me know they would be ready whenever I was. I decided not to dwell on the thought of the piercing and just to do it as soon as possible.
At A Glance Author greasydego IAM greasydego When A year ago Artist Chris Clark Studio Hot Rods Body Piercing Co. Location Pittsburgh, PA The day arrived and I went to the studio. Chris Clark was going to be performing the piercing, one of the 3 APP piercers that reside at Hot Rod's Piercing Company. He took me into the procedure room, which was already set up. I was extremely nervous and already felt my heart rate accelerate, as did my breathing. Luckily, Chris spent the first couple minutes examining my penis for veins, and tissue structure, in addition to general placement possibilities. I originally wanted placement at least half way down the penis but with my vein structure, had to get it done much further towards the head, just behind the foreskin scar. The entire vein outlining process took about 5 minutes, time that left me distracted enough to calm down a bit.
We discussed how the piercing would be done and finally agreed upon a clamp and pierce method. Of course the customary cleaning was done using beta-dine and other industry/medical standards. It took a few tries to get the clamp lined up on the predetermined markings and the inner tissue settled between. Then it happened...
I felt the needle pierce through the first layers of skin, a painless entry. My (at the time) 6 gauge Prince Albert (5/8 inch circular barbell) started falling to the side and landing in the way of the piercer; he requested my girlfriend (and moral supporter) hold my PA ring up while he pierced the rest of the way through. She complied and he continued with the needle. It took about 15-20 seconds to get the needle entirely through the shaft of my penis. In addition to this time frame, it was probably one of the most intense feelings of pain in my life. After I thought the pain would never end, I heard him say, "almost through" and felt the needle start to pierce through the lower part of my urethra, like a Prince Albert, only deeper. That last push of the needle did it and as the needle finished its journey entirely through my penis, I was sure to let out a nice loud, "FUCK" for the enjoyment of those in the lobby.
Chris asked if I would like a brake before we put the jewelry in... I did. The adrenaline and endorphins started charging through my body causing sweating, mild nausea, and a not entirely unpleasant light-headed feeling. I asked for a glass of water to ease my stomach (noting I have other medical problems that upset it easily). After about 1-2 minutes of rest, we continued on to put the jewelry in place of the now corked needle. That went in relatively easy; about 3-5 seconds but still had enough of a pain jolt to provoke my sweat. The second ball was added to the barbell after the needle was removed and my piercing was complete. Chris handed me a Trojan's non-lubricated condom to use as a temporary bandage to collect any blood that would drip out. My hands were quite jerky from all that had happened so I wasn't able to put the condom on myself immediately, so Chris did it for me.
I pulled up my pants and carefully made my way out to the lobby to pay for my recently inflicted pain. After a 100+ dollar charge for piercing and jewelry, I added an overly generous tip and left. I went to the store for sea salts, Provon brand soap, and a few extra condoms because I did not know how long I would continue to bleed for.
Many experiences end here, a person goes home happy and sore with a new piercing.... Lovely.... But that does NOT inform the reader about possible complications like I am about to do.
Healing this piercing was very painful at times. Cleaning was painful in the shower, because movement of the barbell hurt entirely through the piercing. Salt-water soaks were the best feeling thing I could do for my penis. I was unable to lay on my stomach for over 1 month of the healing process. Actually, a lot of things became complicated. I did not have any urine leaking from either the top or bottom hole of the apadravya, but I did have bleeding inside my urethra, indicating the piercing had gone through the urethra, a helpful thing to heal this piercing, and secure it from migration. My biggest problem came when I got my first erection. The barbell was pierced through the outer skin and the internal tissues, holding them in place, where they were pierced. The barbell prevented the inner tissues of the penis from sliding under the skin and stretching it to allow full erection. After 2-3 weeks attempting to heal the piercing, 'as is' I returned to the studio whe re Tim Gerone (owner and accomplished piercer) attempted to correct the problem.
In an attempt to allow normal stretching of the skin, we agreed to try a technique where the barbell would be pulled under the skin, the skin moved to a new predetermined location and then a new hole would be scalpeled through the skin. He did this on top and bottom, moving both holes in the skin to a new location. This was again a guess on where the holes should go, because with the barbell still in, we could not stretch out my skin and determine where the holes would best fit during erection. Luckily, we got it nearly right on the money. Many people reading this are reading it to find out about the pain factor. Although not as painful as the initial piercing, having new holes scalpeled though the skin stung quite a bit... in addition to that, Tim had a difficult time getting the barbell to move under the skin, due to the fact that a scar tissue tube was already forming. Basically moving the barbell involved tearing those old scar tissue tubes to move the barbell.
The old holes in the skin closed after the first evening of sleep, but the old scar tissue tubes under the skin remained for several weeks before they softened to the point they could no longer be detected.
All of this effort however did not resolve all the issues with this piercing, and unfortunately, I had to retire it about 2-3 months later. I knew going into the procedure there was at best a 50% chance of the piercing being successful; sadly, I was the negative 50% this time. Also, as a side note, my girlfriend at the time found this to be an uncomfortable piercing for her sexually, as it was right behind the head of the penis, and rubbed a portion of her inner anatomy in an uncomfortable way.
All in all, while I had it, I loved my shaft apadravya, even though I never got it to heal for me. Further, the time honored question, "Would you do it again?" I would have to say, yes, except I'd want to have it done deeper in the shaft, like I originally wanted it, and use an even longer barbell to allow swelling (yes, there was swelling and bruising) and lastly, know ahead of time how much the skin needs to be moved BEFORE the piercing, to accommodate skin stretching during erections later. Non-erect tissue is much more pliable (stretchy) then erect tissue. My suggestion for anyone considering a piercing of this type: know your anatomy before getting a piercing of this type. Make a marking on your penis where you'd like a piercing while its erect, then when flaccid again, REMARK the penis where the skin has moved to. At time of piercing, move the skin to the place where it will sit when erect and then pierce. Skin is more prone to allow movement when its not stret ched, and not erect. It should sit comfortably when erect and it will allow for the necessary stretching when flaccid. Good luck. (Pictures are available in BME full access genital piercing section.)