I've been thinking, on and off (mostly off) about getting a second piercing (I got my left nipple done 4 years ago) for a while. My options are a little limited because of where I work, so it was either the right side or putting a hole in what Robin Williams used to call Mr. Happy.
At A Glance Author SeattleMetal Contact SeattleMetal@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Phish Studio Slave to the Needle Location Seattle I'd read enough on BME to know that pain-wise, it would probably be less than what I had experienced with the nipple, but putting a needle anywhere near that area made me a little crazy, as it seems it does to all guys. As it happened, though, a friend of mine was thinking about getting a tattoo done, so we both went to the shop to look around about a week ago. I didn't get it done then, but the thought was pretty firmly implanted in my brain. A week's worth of reading just about every experience on BME confirmed it.
Saturday came, and after my traditional afternoon nap while watching baseball, I got up and knew it was time. As I am an anal-retentive sort, however, I figured I wouldn't want to be walking around a lot, so I took the dog for a walk around the block, then headed up to Slave to the Needle. It is nice for me that they are convenient to where I live, just 6 or 7 blocks, but they also have a pretty well-earned reputation here in Seattle. And they've got Phish, one of the contributors on BME.
On the drive up, I figured there was about a 50% chance I'd back out. Once I got into the shop, however, I couldn't back down. The receptionist was helping someone else, so I cooled my heels for a couple of minutes by pretending to look at the flash. When the way cleared, I walked up confidently, took a breath, and in the course of approximately 1.2 seconds, said "Iwannagetapa". Translated out of non-panic mode, this means, of course, "I would like to pay you to have someone stick a 10 gauge needle into my urethra, and out the bottom of my penis, then leave genitals. I believe this procedure is called a Prince Albert, or P.A."
She smiled quietly, pulled up a clipboard, asked for my ID and had me fill out paperwork. I noticed that the paperwork indicated that the famous Phish would indeed be poking me. Wait, that came out wrong. How about "the procedure would be done by a gentleman named Phish". But first, I would have to wait 10 or 15 minutes while the person in front of me got their thing done.
Phish introduced himself. I said I'd seen him on BME. He recommended a 10 gauge curved barbell. I concurred, mainly because I was the one sitting there wearing Polo underwear, and he...wasn't.
If you've read any experiences here, you'll know that there are several distinct phases to this piercing - cleaning, inserting the receiving tube, the poke, the stretch, and the insertion. Cleaning wasn't bad, although the q-tip into the urethra wasn't something I was expecting. A little weird, but nothing painful there. The tube going down the pee-hole made things weirder still, but I figured I was committed.
>From our conversation, Phish knew that I had a pretty good expectation of what to expect, so I started doing the breathing exercises once the tube went in. Without a word, he was in and through. In conversations with my friends later, they didn't believe me, but all I felt was a little pinch. Getting novacaine from the dentist was way, way, way worse, and I'm scared of the dentist. It was much easier than the nipple piercing...
..or so I thought, because the last thing that he did was to stretch the little hole (12 gauge, I guess) into a bigger hole (10 gauge). I think he said something about this before we started, but I wasn't thinking about that, and had just begun to relax when the stretch took place. In a way, that was good, because I was relaxed. It was bad, because I thought it was over. Regardless, it was another of those weird feelings that I'd been having since I walked into the shop 20 minutes previously. Not exactly bad, but not something I'd want to do on a regular basis.
I was then told that I was done, and that because of the pierce and stretch, there would be little if any initial bleeding. He was right about that. With aftercare instructions and my receipt in hand, I walked out to a new day, one in which I had a piece of metal in my penis.
I've been soaking, per instructions, 2-4 times a day in warm sea salt solution, and have only had two minor complications as of 4 days after the procedure. First, during one of the soaks, the jewelry slipped through the top of my urethra, down through the hole, staying in only because the ball was larger than the hole. I quickly washed my hands with antibacterial soap and gently nudged it back into its proper position. A quick phone call determined that this can happen, but was nothing to worry about. Second, I've had a little bit of blood, not even enough to put a spot on my underwear, for a couple of days. That seems to have stopped as of today (the 4th day since).
This has been a really good experience for me - I'm looking forward to being able to play around with it in 8-10 weeks (the recommended healing time), and would say to those who wonder if it hurts - no, it really doesn't.