After thinking about it for over a year, I finally got my PA on Monday of last week. During the last year I had read dozens of PA postings on BME and been in the shop (http://www.obscurities.com) several times asking questions. The salespeople working there were really friendly and helpful, and assured me they did it all the time and that it was one of the easiest piercings you could get. They were also completely at ease talking about the details of what I considered a delicate subject, and that helped a lot. I was planning to get it done Sunday evening but the shop was crowded and there was going to be a wait so I said I'd come back Monday at noon. That gave me about 18 hours to stew over it, and that's about what I did. On Monday I arrived promptly at noon, signed the release, identified the 3/4" 8 gage captive bead ring I wanted, paid up, and sat waiting for the stuff to autoclave. All I could think of during that time were some of the really bloody and scary PA accounts I had read.
At A Glance Author Steve Contact Steve@bme.anon Artist Chris J. Studio Obscurities Location Dallas, Texas Finally Chris said everything was ready and to follow him back to the piercing room. The room inspired confidence, looking very much like an examining room in a doctor's office with the metal table in the middle and the focussed lights overhead. With Chris decked out in his face mask and rubber gloves, it was beginning to seem like a routine visit to the doctor's office. Chris said to lie on the table, slide my pants down around my knees, and relax while he did the rest. My penis had shrunk to an amazingly small size, as if it were trying to hide. He slipped it through a hole in some blue medical crape paper so that all that was showing was a tiny limp penis on a field of baby blue. He showed me where he had marked the intended position of the exit hole, and it looked like a good place. He said he would tell me when to take a deep breath through my nose and exhale slowly thorugh my mouth (or maybe it was the other way around - I don't remember). Anyway, he gave the signal and I started the breathing exercise. I felt the receiving tube go in, and it was not as uncomfortable as I expected. Then there was a sting, followed immediately by another sting as Chris said he was inserting the jewelry. The whole process from "take a deep breath" to "all done" seemed to take about 7 seconds. Chris said I could take a look before he wrapped it, and I saw a slightly bloody ring sitting there at the end of my penis. As he wrapped it in gauze and slipped a rubber glove over it, he said it looked like it might bleed quite a bit but not to worry about that. He said to buy some unlubricated condoms to contain the bleeding, or some absorbent panty liners to soak it up. Then he said to pull up my pants, lie still on the table, and relax while he went over the aftercare instructions. I finally left with my little bag of antiseptic soap and sea salt and a big grin on my face.
I was surprised that it didn't hurt a bit as I got in the car and drove away. I was planning to go directly home, but since it wasn't hurting at all I spent a few hours doing other things instead. I also stopped by the drugstore and bought some gauze and a box of unlubricated Trojans. When I got home I saw that the gauze Chris put on was pretty much soaked with blood and there was a little pool of blood in the glove. I took off the glove and the gauze and there was blood dripping from the tip. Fortunately I had read other people's stories about *large* amounts of blood, so this didn't bother me very much. I decided I was ready to try the other thing I was really pretty scared of - peeing. That was also a pleasant surprise, because it didn't hurt either. (Well, maybe a little.) The bleading was a little inconvenient on the first day since it was hard to take a shower, etc. without dribbling blood all around. After a shower I wrapped it with a little gauze, rolled on an unlubricated condom, and it felt just fine. The amount of bleeding steadily diminished, and it had stopped completely within 72 hours. I haven't seen blood or even any plasma discharge since Thursday morning.
I discovered that when I pee I can give my penis a half twist so the ring is on top, and the stream comes out pretty straight and doesn't make a mess. (With the ring on the bottom, the stream follows the ring and most of it goes on your pants.) When I get an erection I can feel a nice sensation at the tip end. I haven't gone any further than that yet. Chris said to wait about a week and then masturbate to see how it feels, and it hasn't been a week yet.
This was a thoroughly satisfactory experience. I could kick myself for waiting so long. I've had much worse hurts in the past at the doctor's office. This was my first piercing, and the only one so far.