So, I've had a Prince Albert piercing for almost three years. I got it for myself as an 18th birthday present and it has easily become one of the favorite things I have done/gotten done to myself along with my tattoo. Over the years, I have gauged the piercing three times, this experience is about the last gauge I performed; easily the most interesting and...well...most interesting works, so I'll leave it at that.
At A Glance Author Justin Obscure Contact Justin Obscure@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Justin Obscure Studio Dorm Room. Location Hamden, Connecticut Since I've had this piercing I have always wanted it bigger, as in, larger gauges. I was pierced at Rte Nine Tattoo and Piercing in Framingham, Massachusetts by a big dude named Rob who does excellent work and definitely knows the ins and outs of piercing. I was initially pierced with a 10ga needle and fitted with a 1/2in captive bead ring (CBR), soon thereafter I moved onto a much more comfortable 5/8in circular barbell and have stayed with that diameter and only the gauges have changed. I stayed with the 10ga for around 4-5 months before I attempted to gauge to an 8.
The first attempt to step it up to an 8ga was unsuccessful to say the least. I remember, pretty well actually, that I attempted to gauge with no lubricant or anything of the sort, just straight up jewelry and skin. Well, I don't know how many people reading this have ever attempted to gauge a PA like this, but let me tell those who haven't – it doesn't work, nor does it feel 'good' – I use "good" in quotations because as those who travel around the BME site know, pain can sometimes be something synonymous with pleasure; in the case of sticking un-lubricated metal through a second hole in my dick, I'm saying it's painful.
The next time I tried to gauge was in the shower when I got to college a few months later. To say the least, the water was the main difference but obviously time was a factory, especially with the piercing in mind. The next time I gauged was, again, in the shower six months later in the shower and went swimmingly, perfectly, immaculately. So, now I have this six gauge PA and just bought the 4ga jewelry and the showers on...should be a breeze right?
Holy shit; "Holy shit," was what I kept repeating as I tried to get the 4ga in; first try no dice. I go on BME and read here and there that, supposedly, a jump from 6ga to 4ga is one of the harder gauges; I will vouch for this and say, "You're god damn right it's hard". Alright, next attempt a week or so after, same results and now I'm really feeling sore and a little concerned that I am damaging my urethra – the first warning I was given by my piercer immediately after the procedure was done was that I should look into getting a small diameter piece of jewelry because of the possibility of damaging my urethra. Well shit, here I am a weathered patron of the Prince and NOW I'm fucking up, awesome.
I put down the 4ga for a couple of weeks and order some tapers from eBay – I'm going to say it right now, eBay is the place to go for a lot of piercing stuff, I got a good 10ga-00ga taper set (plastic) from Thailand for $11, though it took around 3 weeks to reach me, it was money well spent and a bargain. So I get the taper out and go to the shower yet again, try it out, no dice again. So I'm back in my dorm room, I have the jewelry in one hand and the taper in the other, "No, I'm not just going to admit defeat". I get some petroleum jelly, put that on the taper, sit down and get my self ready to go through with this craziness. I try putting the tape in through the outside, under the glans, to no avail. So, something I didn't think about trying in the shower with the taper, try putting it through on the inside – through the 'traditional hole'. Well, I put it in, pushed a little harder, then harder, then holy shit, it's actually working. I remember how excited (mentally excited) I was when it was happening; I reached for the jewelry and as soon as the tape came out the other hole I was already inserting the 4ga piece and BLAM, 4ga PA.
Before I sat down to try and taper, I put on some music, but when I was tapering, I only remember the feeling of excitement and something else, something much deeper and much more meaningful – I remember the music being completely drowned out by this experience, something I can only describe to myself in my head, something that only makes sense to me – I'm, sure people have had similar experiences, and those who have will definitely know what I'm talking about.
So now I have the 4ga PA and everything is pretty good. Though, as I would expect with a larger gauge PA, the 'showerhead effect' is going strong and I am sore. When I 'use' the PA I am sore for a good couple of days after, legitimately. I think I might have damaged my urethra slightly when trying to gauge earlier, so I am going to have to mellow out on using my PA to the fullest of its/my abilities. My next project will be, hopefully, a self done set of three frenum piercings with a 10ga. I am currently reading experiences and looking into the supplies and safety of such a procedure. As soon as I am done with my healing, I think I will get right to that. I can't wait to see how far this will go.