I waited for about two months after getting my nose pierced before I gave in to the need for another hole in my head. I had gotten my nose done at a studio in West Texas -- big mistake, they fucked it up by not counseling this piercing virgin about gauge sizes, so I ended up with a 14ga hole in my nose...not the most feminine look, ya know?
At A Glance Author Aiobheann Artist Robin Studio Alien Ink Location Bullhead City, Arizona After I moved about a month later, I took myself and my huge nose ring to Alien Ink in Bullhead City AZ to ask about a custom tat I wanted, and the owner/piercer Robin Baker -- who mightily kicks ass, in my opinion -- not only talked to me about the tat (which the tattoo artist Bob later did, and it looks wonderful), but steered me towards a smaller gauge CBR, which was much more comfortable and looked great.
Since Robin had given me such a positive experience and had made me feel so welcome while I was in his shop, I knew that he would be the one I'd go to for my next piercing...and if you're reading this site, you know how addictive this shit is...I had no doubt there'd be a next piercing, and a next one, and a next...
My husband took me in to Alien Ink this morning, and even though I hadn't been nervous at all about getting my nose pierced, for some reason I was really nervous about my tongue. The longer I had to wait, the more nervous I got. We had gone to the store right beforehand, and picked up Listerine, some Motrin, etc, and the long-ass line in front of me had me going nuts with nerves.
Once I got to the shop and signed the papers, etc, Robin took me into the piercing room. Before I had a chance to ask him which he was going to do first -- pierce my tongue or change the bead in my nose ring, something else I'd planned to do this morning, and for which I had chosen a pretty amethyst bead -- he was handing me a cup of gold Listerine and telling me to swish for a full minute.
Oooookay, looks like I'm getting pierced first.
My husband was taking pictures, and he snapped the first one of me looking decidedly green and nervous right after I hopped up on the bench. Robin had me stick my tongue out for him to look at, and then cleaned it off and clamped it.
The clamping didn't hurt as much as I had read it did, and that was a little comforting. I had some trouble keeping it stuck out as far as Robin needed me to -- understandable, I suppose. I mean, even though I was paying him to do this, he was about to shove a needle through my vulnerable little tongue!
Robin managed to get the needle out without me noticing -- and this didn't bother me, I knew his standards, so there was no doubt in my mind that it was a new sterile needle -- mostly because I was concentrating on the bitchin posters on the walls just so I *wouldn't* see the needle. He positioned it under my tongue without marking it, and I was sort of terrified and relieved at the same time that it would be over soon.
He shoved the needle up from underneath, and I felt it go through -- it didn't hurt too much until it came out through the top layer. Then it hurt like a motherfucker. (Robin showed me the needle afterward, and it had blunted, with the tip bent over, on the way through my tongue! He said I had a nice strong tongue muscle...a fact which my hubby is no doubt thankful for. *grin*)
Robin left the needle stuck through for a second so that my husband could take a picture. Yay. I'm sure I look really happy in that shot.
The worst part was the jewelry insertion -- I grimaced and would have cursed if I had been able to pull my tongue back in. Once I could pull it back in, Robin started asking me if I was okay -- I was pale and sweaty, so he got me a cold, damp paper towel and made me lie down on the bench with my knees up. As much as I hate to admit it, I did feel pretty faint, and even though I felt like a grade-A pussy, it was good to lie down and relax for a bit.
After I'd lain there getting my brain back in order, Robin came back and went through the aftercare procedure with me -- pretty basic, and stuff I knew by heart after reading and doing research here at BME. Then he changed the bead in my CBR, and all I could think about was "Gee, I hope he doesn't drop the bead down my nose..."
He didn't, of course, and pretty soon I was able to sit up and look in the mirror to admire my new bead and the huge fucking barbell through my tongue. It made me feel a little weird to stick my tongue out and look at the barbell, so I left it alone, and tried to keep from looking at it in the car on the way to Safeway, to get ice and some chapstick for my lips -- they were painfully dry.
I did stick my tongue out at the checker and bagger in the store, though -- I couldn't resist. :) When I talked, I sounded like I was talking through a mouthful of mud and gravel.
Once I got home, I tried to drink some water and eat some watermelon I put through the blender -- the watermelon was a no, but the ice water was heavenly, if a little hard to figure out how to drink at first. I took four Motrin -- the muscles underneath my tongue were absolutely killing me, and the bead on top of my tongue freaked me out. I ended up holding my head over the sink and shaking it with my mouth wide open, to make sure the pills weren't still in my mouth -- the top bead made it hard to tell.
That night, I slept with my head propped up, hoping to keep the swelling from getting any worse. My tongue was already swelled up enough to take up all of the space from bottom bead to top. It didn't seem to help, though, and I woke up several times with my mouth horribly dry and a cough tickling the back of my throat.
Day Two, Saturday I got up late and cleaned my mouth out, hoping to get rid of the dryness, and drank a glass of water and a glass of V-8 juice, then smoked a cigarette. Again with the cleaning.
We went to breakfast at Denny's, and while my family ordered mounds of pancakes, damn them, I ordered some hash browns, two eggs over easy, and a bowl of grits. The grits were the easiest to eat, and I managed to eat the eggs and hash browns by mashing them up into a fine mush. It took me almost an hour to eat both eggs, half of the grits, and about half of the hash browns, but Goddess! it was worth it. I'd been so hungry! My tongue was sore and swollen, but I was finally full.
So far, I have seriously doubted my sanity for having someone stick a needle through my tongue, and worried obsessively that I'll never be able to talk clearly again or be able to eat steak or sushi or anything else that doesn't look like it was prepared by the nutritionist at a nursing home.
I know the swelling will go down and I'll get used to it, but right now, it's hard to deal with. I hate not being able to talk properly -- and I never shut up, so being quiet is really hard for me. A friend called on the phone, and I had to explain what I'd done and why I sounded so mush-mouthed, and then listen to her laugh at me. Oh har-fuckin-har. Later on, one of my daughter's friends came over with her mom so that my kiddo could go over and spend the night, and the friend's mother admired my newly-stuck tongue and asked if I'd go with her when she gets hers done -- she's been thinking about doing it for a while.
I told her, as well as I could manage, about Robin and Alien Ink, and I'm looking forward to going along so that I can be the witness to someone else's piercing.
Tonight's supper was mashed-up sweet potatoes. I might as well have just bought some baby food...but from everything I've read, this is the worst of it, and the swelling will go down soon and I'll be able to eat, talk, and enjoy my mouth full of metal. My teeth are feeling a little funny, from the pressure of the bottom bead on the back of my lower teeth, and that's pretty much the only thing bugging me right now, aside from the swelling.
In closing, I would recommend a tongue piercing to anyone who wants one -- life's too short to be afraid of everything! This is the only time you get to live in the particular body you were given, so don't be afraid to play with it, explore it, and mod it until you love the way it looks and feels. Goddess bless! -- Aiobheann