At A Glance Author Fax When Two years ago Artist Julie Studio Cold Steel Location Camden, London, UK I've sat there too and read all the PA reviews on BME. I've thought about it, read about it and wondered if it was really for me. Something is very different now though - I've gone and done it. I can't really believe it. My willy really does land us both into some pretty odd kinds of trouble!
First off: were the reviews here on BME relevant? Yep. They're pretty much spot on. However, the problem for you the reader is that you can't really be sure whether you're going be the guy who bleeds all night, the guy who didn't feel a thing or the guy who liked it so much he's already planning his next and his next...
I'll just give you another route through the possibilities, I'm the guy who found the PA experience like this:
I've no idea why the weather is important, but since most reviews on here seem to start off with a bit of scene setting who am I to buck the trend? It was raining. Camden, London, in the rain. My wife and I were on our way to Cold Steel.
Why Cold Steel? Because they're APP; because they make a big thing of their sterilisation procedures; because they have the front to have an article 'death by piercings?' on the waiting room wall; because even the folk at the counter used more gloves in 5 minutes than I did when I unblocked the kitchen sink; because they offered to show me around the place; because their website shows pride in their work. I could go on but won't. I'll just say that I feel like I did the safest thing I could by going to Cold Steel.
It's still raining here in Camden. The stairs up to Cold Steel don't really do the place justice - all they need is a 'model upstairs' notice in pentel pen on A4 and they'd be indistinguishable from a Soho side street. If you think this is a little harsh then remember that it's the only negative thing I can think of to say about the place.
Upstairs things get better very quickly: we were presented with a counter display cabinet full of all kinds of stuff and a few more around the room. All the folk behind the counter were friendly and knowledgeable.
We'd booked an appointment for the PA a few days before, so as soon as we came in I was given the release form to look over. Nothing too terrible - just a list of medical questions and a few boxes for name/address and signature.
The experience quickly got even better when we met my piercer: Julie. I can't really say enough good things about her. She had a excellent and professional manner mixed with a calm and relaxing tone. However all this good stuff was totally exceeded by her sheer skill at performing the piercing itself. I have no hesitation about recommending Cold Steel and Julie in particular to any and all here in the UK.
If you're sitting there reading these reviews, as I once did, you probably want some details. You're looking for things that confirm suspicions that you might have had, similarities between yourself and me and most important of all you want to know just how much it is going to hurt to have a bloody great needle stuck in your cock.
I really don't take to pain very well. I can transform mild CP to pleasure and put up with low level pain and discomfort but, by and large, I'm a total wuss. My dentist had to inject me three times to fill a tooth (boy, did I get high?), my doctor has to keep me talking while taking blood and my wife has to put up with me complaining about every ailment that I've ever had. (I specialise in complaining about past ailments!).
That said, I do know what real pain is: I put my fingers in a lawnmower once and the blade tore through three of my finger tips raising the nails to 90 degrees. I later saw something similar to this at the London Dungeon. I've also had acid (20 Molar HCL) in my eyes.
So, did the PA hurt? Or should I say, did the PA hurt me?
I was prepared (by reading other BME reports) for two sets of pain: 1) insertion of receiving tube, 2) the piercing.
As the receiving tube was inserted I felt the scratchy sandpaper pain - big time. I really did not like this! I've never tried using sounds, or sticking anything down my cock - it's always been far too sensitive. Further, the receiving tube was pretty darn big. However just as Julie had said, once it was in place, the pain calmed down a bit.
The needle was tough. Cold Steel do not use Emla or any other topical anaesthetic because they feel that it would be a risk to their rigorous sterilising procedures. So, I felt every contour of its point as it passed through me. I let out a rasping "Fuuuuuuck!" and then it was done: the pain turned out like a light.
The insertion of the jewellery was something that I wasn't prepared for - I felt it as much as I did the receiving tube: unpleasant, and certainly glad when it was done.
So. I did not like having the PA done but the experience was for me, as good as it possibly could have been. I have no doubt whatsoever that were it not for the skill (and speed) of Julie, I'd have had a much tougher time!
I'd asked most of my questions before lying on the couch so we were up and out of Cold Steel in a very few minutes. I was certainly light headed - so lit up a fag. My wife, realising that this wasn't really a very clever thing to do, started feeding me chocolate and other sweet things - just to make sure that she didn't have to carry me back home. Heh, I told you I was a total wuss. :)
At the time it was done there was only a little blood - something that I didn't expect. However, later when I removed the glove/paper towel wrapping it was clear that the wound had bled a fair amount. Nothing uncontrolled - indeed the bleeding had stopped. I did a bit of cleaning and within moments a few nasty red drips started falling into the sink.
Okay, so the experience had hurt about three times so far: what about the first piss? How was that going to go? I didn't want to take any chances - I drank two pints of water to dilute the urine and waited for them to find their way out. Sitting on the toilet (now desperate to pee) was a real moment of trepidation. I relaxed my bladder and... nothing. No pain whatsoever. Okay, so the urine started out blood red and I had a gooey jelly-clot hanging off the end of my tube but no pain at all. In a very short time the water ran clear and I was left very thankful indeed!
Most reviews end up with something like 'go for it!', or 'you won't regret it' etc. All I'll say is that I found the whole experience very interesting and it's given me a great start to living the life I want to lead. Maybe I'll regret it in the future, maybe things will never be the same again but hey, if nature had meant us to stand still she wouldn't have given us legs.
Epilogue.
This review's been sitting on my compo for a good while now. I haven't submitted it because I've been waiting to see if the piercing would work.
To cut a long story short, the piercing has taken ages and ages to heal up. It's been a busy and stressful time in my life and the darn thing just wouldn't settle. On a number of occasions I thought about taking it out and starting again but heeded just about the best bit of advice I was given before I took the plunge: stick with it.
I followed the sea-salt water bathing routine each and every day but still I couldn't get it to feel 'right'. I wanted it out after the first hour, the first day, after a week, a month, and after 3 months. Notice a pattern? Yep, the time between problems lengthened until a year had passed. It's now totally healed up and is totally fantastic.
What were the problems? First off I was terrified that the ring was cutting its way through my meatus until there was no PA left. This turned out to be totally wrong - it was just the piercing hurting and there was a little blood coming from it which was finding its way out of my urethra. It followed the line of the slit and made it look like the ring was sawing its way through my flesh. It wasn't.
As I got a little more used to the PA I started to worry that the ring sizing was off: I was concerned that the PA was going to fail during a nightly erection or intercourse. I tried three different ring sizes and even a curved barbell. In the end I went back to the original sized ring! D'Oh.
The final problem started between months 2 and 6. All around the piercing the skin was raised like a lump was developing with the piercing at the centre. Was the piercing causing scar tissue build up? Was my foreskin moving the ring and irritating the area? After reading a load of crap information on the 'net I read the excellent rec bodyarts piercing FAQ and went back to see Julie at Cold Steel. As professional as ever she kept an eye on the problem for a good few weeks for me and we decided to hold out and wait some more. After 6 months, yep, 6 months it started going down. It's now disappeared completely and has a flat tiny white ring of healthy scar tissue around the opening.
I had wondered if my intact foreskin would have caused a problem with the PA. It did not.
Clearly the healing process didn't go great for me but then again it was a particularly stressful and tiring time in my life (new baby in the house). However, once again I was glad that I'd gone with Cold Steel. Julie put up with my repeated return visits and charged nothing for her advice and time. Really, C-S rocks!
The process: Well, it did hurt a bit and hey, it did for a few months after, but this is probably only because I'm a sensitive little bunny who really shouldn't be into all this stuff anyway. :)
The end result: a perfect PA piercing, not a drip when urinating (can stand up) and a PA that sometimes makes me wonder if I shouldn't go and get something else perforated.
Fax.