At A Glance
Author	Amber
Contact	Amber@bme.anon
IAM	mbr
When	A week ago
Artist	Pat Tidwell
Studio	Puncture
Location	Upland, Ca

I first fell in love with triangle piercings years ago, but after the pain of my hood piercing, I didn't think I would ever be ready to tackle another genital piercing. Then as time went on, I thought more and more of how wonderfully a triangle piercing would compliment my vertical hood. And still I kept it in the back of my mind. I didn't have a piercer I trusted until recently, and I still didn't have the guts. As my twenty-first birthday approached, I had changed plans so many times I didn't know what to do. I decided that my birthday present to myself would be a new piercing.

I brought the idea of the piercing up to a friend who was game, and I called Puncture to make sure Pat would be in. Sunday was the chosen day, and we were off.

When we arrived at Puncture on Sunday, I was nervous, to say the least. I couldn't remember how bad my hood hurt, but I could remember how bad I thought it hurt and how at the time I had said that I would never do that again. And from what I'd heard, triangles were worse.

Pat took me back to the room to check if my anatomy would support the piercing. I almost wanted him to say I couldn't get it, just to have a good excuse to back out. Sadly, I apparently have anatomy that is perfect for a triangle piercing. At that point, I wasn't feeling very lucky. I put my pants back on and went to fill out the paperwork and pay while my jewelry and supplies were being autoclaved. I was to be pierced with a 12g circular barbell. Pat asked if it was okay if Sarah observed, and I was cool with that. The more the merrier, right? It's a good thing I got over being shy a long time ago.

My aftercare was gone over and I was called back to be pierced all too soon. I depantsed again and braced myself for the worst. First, Pat just cleaned up the area and poked around for placement. He used the blunt end of the needle to mark, and that hurt enough for me to get worried. Luckily, Pat can make a scary situation better and put me at ease so well, he's really great and easy to talk to as things are moving along.

Before too long, it was time to pierce. I grabbed my friend's hand and held on for dear life. Deep breath in, and on the out the needle went through. It hurt. I gasped and jumped mid-pierce, and Rich had to talk me down for a second so Pat could push the needle through the rest of the way. That was the worst part of the ordeal- having to go through what felt like two pokes instead of one. If only I had just held still... Luckily, the piercing still turned out perfect. The barbell was pushed through with minimal cringing, and lucky for my friend, his hand remained unbroken.

I had heard this piercing bled a lot, and I had been warned, but I had no idea how bad it was going to bleed. Pat was mopping up blood. He told me to drink some apple juice or eat some Jello when I left while I got dressed and had me sanitize my hands before I went up to sign the rest of my paperwork, walking very carefully.

The area throbbed for a few minutes after the piercing, and with every bump in the road that evening. It was not fun at all.

My friend and I went out to dinner, and by the time we got to where we were going, I had already bled through the gauze in my pants. This was worrysome, and I continued to bleed heavily throughout the evening. By midnight, the bleeding hadn't let up and I was beginning to feel really tired and woozy. I was also starting to freak out, so I went and laid down with my pelvis elevated and some ice, which didn't feel that great but within an hour the bleeding had slowed significantly and I didn't feel disoriented anymore.

I did a lot of things wrong that night. I should have listened to Pat and dealt with the apple juice or jello (both of which I hate, so didn't get any). When the bleeding didn't let up, I should have done something to try to stop it sooner. I had had a couple drinks the night before thinking that it wouldn't make a difference, but I think it may have caused my blood to be thinner. I definitely should have taken that into consideration. I wasn't used to being a bleeder, and so I didn't expect to have a problem with bleeding this time. But not every piercing is the same.

The second day, it bled off and on. School was uncomfortable. Walking was uncomfortable. The third day the bleeding was minimal, but it was still really tender. I couldn't sit up straight at all because of the pressure on the piercing. The fourth day was much better. There were trace amounts of blood and I could finally cross my legs without pain, and mostly sit up straight. It's well on the road to healing.

Because of my school schedule, I've been doing one sea salt soak at night (it's recommended two a day but the piercing seems to be doing fine with one) followed by wash and rinse with Satin soap in a hot shower. After the first day, it's really been smooth sailing. The piercing itself looks amazing, I'm very happy with it. I'm happy with how it's healing, and I'm very pleased with the people who were there to perform the piercing and to hold my hand through it all. I'm glad I finally decided to get this piercing I wanted, after all these years. Now I just have to wait to test it out...