Wanting to have a frenum ladder is either a display of great love for body piercing or a sign of insanity, possibly both. Either way, I have no complaints. I have found piercing to fill an unexplainable void in my life, as many other BME readers have, and this experience is just another chapter.
At A Glance Author Air CB Contact AirCB@aol.com When A week ago Artist Bill Krebs Studio Pleasurable Piercings Location Hawthrone, NJ My pre-existing piercing collection is as follows: 16ga earrings, 14ga industrial, 12ga tongue, 12ga nipples, and 2ga Prince Albert. I had been actively planning to start my ladder for months, never mind the years of just thinking about it.
As always, I headed over to Pleasurable Piercings, in Hawthorne, NJ. Upon entering, I was greeted by the counter person I usually see. Now, I hadn't been at Pleasurable for about six months, but he recognized me immediately and knew I was last there to stretch my PA. That's impressive. We spoke a bit about the ladder, and I chose to start with three piercings, each with 8ga 5/8" barbells. I did not want to spend extra money on stretching, so I was happy that there were no problems with getting the 8ga barbells which is my desired size for my frenum ladder.
After paying and a short wait, Bill came out, and recognized me immediately, also, meaning everyone there has great recall or I'm just a really memorable person. I entered the piercing room, immaculate as usual. After some small talk, I dropped my pants and sat on the piercing chair. Bill adjusted the chair, raising me about five feet and allowing me to recline slightly. He then did his final bits of prep work, opening up the sterilized packages. The bottom of my penis was then cleaned and marked, and I concurred on placement.
The first piercing was what I guess you could call the "real" frenum. As expected, the pain was very sharp, but short lived. Since the question of pain is something I've been asked by nearly every inquisitive person I've met from BME, I will elaborate. Bill instructed me to take a deep breath for the piercing, and it was welcomed as I continued to inhale during the process. It is difficult to say more than it was a very high intensity pinch/burn that only lasted for 3 to 5 seconds. Then, I had a cool down period of subsiding pain for another 30 or so seconds. Anything after that was minimal. For comparison, I consider my industrial to be probably my most painful piercing, mostly because of the duration of pain, which lasted much longer than any other piercing I have.
Now, only if pain was the only thing I had to worry about on that first piercing. Seconds after it is completed, Bill tells me that he accidentally nicked a vein. While tending to the running blood, he explains to me that it is difficult to see veins in the frenum area, so hitting a vein is more common. I understand that, but my worries were more on my bleeding, since I bled horribly right after my PA, and I was showing signs of that here, too. It took five minutes of waiting, cleaning, and remarking before my penis was ready for number two.
The second piercing was much less climatic. Pain was more intense here, and the piercing bled slightly but no where near the first. The third piercing was done about a minute later and was the least painful and produced no blood. I was feeling good, and for a moment thought about going for a fourth today, too, but I was not really inclined to spend more after plunking down over $200 for the first three. Bill told me that the ladder would be black and blue for a couple of days and strongly recommended that I put on ice the piercing. I also loaded up tissues in my pants knowing it would still be bloody for a while and then left.
Upon getting back home, I went to give the piercings their first cleaning. I was given Provon for cleaning. Some people feel that it is too harsh on piercings, but I've found that most people over wash and use too much soap. A four ounce bottle of Provon can last months if used properly. As for the first cleaning, it was still a little bloody and awkward, but both were expected. Afterwards, I put ice on the piercings for an hour. At first, I wasn't sure how I would react to the ice in that area, but it proved to be very comfortable. No black and blues had formed at that time, but later in the evening there were three, each near the entry holes of each piercing, and before I went to bed for the night, it spread to form a huge one, extending about two inches in length and about 40 percent of the circumference of my penis.
The first night's sleep was not too difficult. I bled a little more, but not much. The piercings were pretty sore, making some sleeping positions not recommended. Still, the first night after I got my Prince Albert done was more difficult.
The next morning I started my two-a-day cleaning routine: one in the morning, one in the evening. Normally, I'd suggest doing as little as possible to promote good healing for the first few days. However, I was out and about often, so that walking and sitting were sometimes uncomfortable. The entire area was sore, making any tight fitting clothes unwelcome, and it had progressed beyond black and blue to mostly purple and black. It was not a pretty picture.
By day three there were very little changes. The black and blue had improved little and the soreness and discomfort remained. I was happy to see that there had been no additional bleeding and no real visible accumulation of the infamous piercing crusties. That would change by day four, however, with them developing. As expected, they were at their worst right before cleaning. On a positive note, the black and blue had subsided in the area of the ladder, however, two areas of discoloration still were on the sides of my penis. Cleaning has remained awkward. The piercings take up most of my 5/8" barbell, and, combined with proximity and tenderness, the ladder is difficult to clean to my usual standards. To make up for it, I take some extra time and try to flush the area with as much water as possible to remove any crusties or soap.
By the end of the first week, no sign of the black and blue remained. Soreness had reduced considerably and so has the discomfort that I got sometimes when walking or sitting. The only time it felt a little odd was later in the day when I could feel some crusty accumulation. When the barbells begin to lose their shine, they're getting dirty. It is as simple as that.
I plan to continue to clean twice daily for the next five or so weeks. If I see the ladder is staying clean, I'll then drop to once a day cleaning with Provon, which will continue for about another two to three months. After that, it'll just be normal shower cleanings.
And, finally, some stray thoughts:
Placement – I am very impressed with how tightly placed the piercings are. When flaccid, the three piercings' barbell balls touch each other. Sometimes a light clinking can be heard from the barbells hitting each other. When nearing erection, they spread out enough so that they would not interfere with each other. If I choose to expand the ladder all the way down to the lorum (low frenum) area, I could possibly accommodate at total of nine piercings on my shaft. The three piercings are not perfectly aligned, but they are close enough that it does not matter to me.
Masturbation – For those men who cannot go two days without masturbating, a frenum ladder is probably not for you. You'll probably have to be "out of commission" for a good ten days to two weeks. And afterwards, be sure to play nice, after all, they are still healing.
The feel of metal – All of my other piercings do not really allow me to feel the piercing under my skin. Here, I can feel the barbells under my skin, and it is a very good sensation. Upon healing, I am pretty sure that this new sensitivity will translate well for sex (hopefully more on that in a future experience). Also, I am impressed with the increased weight on my penis now. I like that feeling of a little tug on me and am shocked by how well the three barbells have added to the weight of my 2ga PA. Overall, a stellar feeling.
Next piercings – I will probably wait a good six to eight months before doing anything else. I want to make sure everything heals well and to get some mileage on them before going through another healing process. For my next trip to Pleasurable, I will probably add another three or four frenums. The beginnings of a scrotal ladder are still a year or two away. After all, there is no need to rush.
As always, I welcome any comments and questions. You can drop me a line at AirCB@aol.com, and be sure to put something about BME in the subject line, otherwise I may accidentally delete you as another piece of ubiquitous spam.