I really only started thinking about getting a PA after I got my nipples pierced in February. That was a "seminal" experience for me, so to speak, breaking the ground and diminishing my fears regarding body piercing. While researching the nipple piercing, I became intrigued by Prince Albert piercings. Even though I am a gay man, I had never seen one of these in person, and knew very little about them. I read many of the almost 1,000 personal experiences, and decided to take the plunge.
At A Glance Author Chris Contact wheels@fuse.net Artist Cannon Studio ACME Body Piercing Location Cincinnati, Ohio I went to ACME piercing in Cincinnati, a place I highly recommend. They only do body piercing, they're friendly, professional and low pressure, and the place is very clean. The piercer, Cannon, convinced me to go with a 12-gauge ring instead of the 10-gauge I'd been planning on. He recommended this size for less bleeding in the initial healing period. I'd say that ACME is probably fairly conservative when it comes to this (my nipples were done at 14 ga). I'm one to take advice from the professional that's working on me, so 12-gauge it was.
The main thing about the procedure that you might find of interest is that it did hurt, and was far more difficult for me than the nipples. I understand this is contrary to most guys' experience, and Cannon confirmed that when we talked after the piercing. I attribute this to fear and relaxation. Although warned repeatedly that the nipples hurt, I was able to make myself relax through deep breathing and positive visualization. The relaxation and made it easy enough that I experienced relatively little pain, and was able to hold still for the procedure.
I approached the PA piercing in the same manner, although with considerably more fear than with the nipples. Still, after everything had been explained and my questions answered, I was able to begin my relaxation technique. Unfortunately, this all went out the window when the receiving tube was inserted. I've never been catheterized or had anything else placed in my urethra, and the receiving tube hurt and stung beyond my expectations. This caused me to tense up and focus on the pain, which is exactly what I'd been trying to avoid. Wanting to get it over with, I just laid there, gripping the sides of the table ever harder, trying and failing not to move in the pelvic area. When the needle was close, I must have jumped a bit, and definitely felt the pain. All of this took place in a period of less than a minute, I'm sure, but it seemed like an eternity. I didn't recover my equilibrium until he put a cool pad at the piercing location, after the ring bad been inserted and closed. As a result of my tenseness and movement, the piercing was ever so slightly below where Cannon had made the mark. He pointed this out to me before I took a look. Actually, that was fine with me as it was still centered, and the idea of a little extra tissue between the hole and the tip was good. Again, I was impressed by his patience and professionalism.
The first 24 hours after getting the PA can be summed up as a trail of blood. Now, of course I expected this, but expecting it and experiencing it are two different things. Driving home after leaving ACME, I started thinking about what I had done, that yes I had had a ring placed in my penis. I started to get a full-blown stiffie. Big mistake. The extra blood soaked my underwear enough to stain my shorts. My first urination, and the next six or so, also included some nice little blood clots shooting out of my penis. Once again, it's one thing to imagine these things and quite another to experience them. Bleeding was pretty free for the first 24 hours, diminishing to spots in the next 24 hours and completely gone sometime after that. I had no pain unless I jarred or snagged the ring in my pants, so I kept it wrapped (clean, bleached) socks for the first 3 days. After that it was back to boxer briefs.
In the first few days, I had an interesting sensation in my penis. It felt like it does when you've just taken a leak, and there's still some urine there that needs to be shaken off. Kind of full at the tip, and no doubt due to the metal sitting there. That sensation has decreased lately--too bad because I kind of liked it.
I'm only 2 weeks into the healing, but so far it's been problem-free. No crusties, and from the changing position of the ball, the ring tends to move freely without pain. I took my first test-drive after about a week--very pleasurable with just a bit of pain mixed in. Last night I did it again, placing a little pressure on the ring, and the sensation inside my penis was like nothing I'd experienced before. Incredible. It's strange how the receiving tube hurt so much, and the ring feels so good in exactly the same place.
Doing this has been a powerful experience for me. The PA itself, despite being an "easy" piercing, is very dramatic looking. With almost half the ring inside the head of the penis, it looks much more "tough" than it really is. It's a nice illusion, in my opinion. For me, the idea of a triangle of piercings (both nipples and PA), is also very appealing. I think of it as my piered trinity.
I'll echo what so many others have written--if you are thinking of getting a PA, go for it! Even despite my bad reaction to the receiving tube, I'm 100% glad that I did it. I'm looking forward to up-sizing, hopefully in about a month. I don't know how far I'll get, but zero-gauge is really sexy looking.