Alright. So I had discussed getting an inverted lobe done right next to my 0g lobe on my left ear. I had gotten a correctly measured barbell and was all excited. I did not think it would hurt at all, not compared to my septum or rook, which both were painful procedures, although the septum had virtually no pain after the initial procedure.
At A Glance Author Michekke Contact xoitoyx@home.com Artist Ian Miller Studio Life Itself Location Barrie, Ontario Ian always gets excited about piercing me, as we live in a relatively small town and not many people get more then basic piercings, and I always come in for weird shit, and know how to take care of things. So I got my ass into his piercing room in the studio, and sat down. We spent time marking my ear, as I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and got ready to put the clamps on. OUCH. Having your half cartilidge lobe pinched real tight with metal teeth creates an INSANE amount of pain. For some reason, this really set me back a step, and I knew I was in for something painful, but I had no idea. So I waited for while to relax myself. After twenty minutes of Ian telling me weird stories to calm me completely as we waited for my boyfriend, we got ready. BAM... the needle went through. This was an unimaginable pain. So bad, that before the barbell gots all the way through, I BEGGED him to stop. Not only that, but blood POURED THROUGH the needle, something he had never seen before, so my boyfriend Geordie, although not into piercings on himself, was completely supportive and put on gloves and held a paper towel to catch the blood.
When the blood eased off, and I said go ahead, the unthinkable happened... it would NOT follow through. The hole was still completely open, but it would NOT go through. So.. we took the barbell out and put it through the bottom. It went nice and smoothly though... until the spot we had stopped at before. Less then a centimetre from the top hole, it would NOT come through. We tried twisting the bar, we tried putting a CBR through the top, which although went through the barbell, the barbell still would not follow through. Now I have a lot of experience with piercings, so I got up, stuck on new gloves, and tried it myself. Well, we got about a millimetre closer, but still.. nothing. By this time, I was ready to pass out, as I get dizzy from piercings quite frequently. We had tried reclamping, EVERYTHING, but still no luck. And, I should mention that this has been atleast a half hour.
We were about to try completely repiercings with a new needle through the top, when the clamps went on, and that was it... if I wasn't relieved from this pain, I would black out. So, being understanding, Ian offered to do it free in my other ear when I worked up the courage not to make him stop, preventing the jewelry to follow though.
We came up with a few possibilities as to why we may have had trouble besides the fact I made him stop, including the fact I had had a normal piercing there, which a friend had done with a safety pin 3 years ago, causing scar tissue, and the fact that my ear had swollen pretty bad.
I don't blame Ian for this, as he's done all mine and my best friends piercings for quite some time, but hopefully, next time, my ear, and my pain tolerance, will be more cooperative.
My ear LOOKED bad afterwards, in fact, it was purple and swelled for that night, but surprisingly enough, it heeled nicely in no time. Its been a few weeks and I dont seem to have scar tissue or any real tender spots, and I didn't even scar. So although I am out a piercing I am ready for another. I know this will look badass when it actually gets completed, so I can't wait. I'm working on a left ear project, which will now have to be divided between my left and right, and I think this will be a great addition. Everyone asks me if it aws really worth the pain...and I know I can safely say, that although I have nothing to show, I have a story that makes people cringe, and a soon to be inverted RIGHT lobe. I honeslty can't say what would drive me to go through the pain again, but I know I'll do it. In the mean time, i may get my left industrial which I've been planning for quite some time, this way, I'll have more time to think it through, and pysch myself for it. Hopefully, things go smoothly...