Hey there, welcome to my Tongue-web piercing experience, thanks for reading...
At A Glance Author Gwen Contact Gwen@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Jeremy Studio Hangar 18 Location London, Ontario So I've been wanting a new piercing lately and was kinda stuck for ideas...well, not really - there's so many piercings I want that it was really just a matter of figuring out which one I wanted the most when I woke up this morning. Long story short, I decided that getting my tongue-web done would be the right choice taking into consideration my job and life stuff that's going on right now. So I got up and ready to go and called my studio of choice and asked if they were free to see me within a few hours and they were so off I went. For some reason I got really nervous, to the point where I even felt ill. (Hmm, I must be getting old.) Anyhow, I stalled for a little while at the nearby mall, waiting for the shakes to pass and as soon as they did, off I went (again).
I was greeted when I stepped through the door and was told that Jeremy would just be a minute setting things up. When everything was all set, I walked down the hallway and into a room and sat myself down in the blue chair. Shakes are back! Within no time I noticed that the guy in the next room was playing Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark at the Moon" album, and being a huge Ozz fan, I felt the shakes lessening and my nerves calming. Jeremy came into the room after washing his hands and explained to me just how he would go about putting a pretty little ring under my tongue. I was surprised to hear that he wouldn't be using a clamp - I'd taken the time to read a few experiences in the BME site before venturing out and I guess I was just expecting a clamp to be used. He told me he doesn't like to use a clamp unless necessary due to the stress it does to the area. I was okay with all of this so it was time to begin. The moment was now upon me and my shakes came back...I washed my mo uth with Listerine and prepared myself. Trying to get my tongue positioned the right way lightened the mood, as I couldn't get my tongue to do what Jeremy was saying. He kept telling me to make a face like one of Bart Simpson's, the one where he sticks his bottom jaw out and shows his teeth and flares his neck. It's hard to do when trying not to laugh. I got it soon enough and before I knew it, I had a freehand needle going through my little web. It hurt just about as much as I thought it would...enough to let you know it hurt but little enough to be able to say "naw, it didn't hurt at all" when someone asks you about it. In went the ring, then the bead and voila!
I wiped my mouth afterwards and found a tiny bit of blood...I thought 'big deal' and gargled some more Listerine. My thoughts quickly changed when I opened my mouth for Jeremy to have a looksy. That's when the scare began.
"Man, it hasn't stopped bleeding yet, and it's reallllly swollen...hmmmm" he says.
These are words that you don't want to hear after just having a needle and ring put through something that shouldn't even see the light of day. So I gargled more trying to get the bleeding to stop, all the while thinking 'well at least I can speak fine and my face isn't twitching or sagging, I should be fine - I hope'. I look up and he's on the other side of the room looking amazed and curious while I'm wondering if I should be going to a hospital.
After a couple of glasses of water (ice cold) the bleeding finally stopped and I was ready to go. I wasn't lightheaded at all and felt just fine. I paid the fee and took a card and my aftercare sheet and headed out. I was left with these words, "Call me tomorrow and let me know how it's doing"...way to make someone feel uneasy. I don't know who was more nervous...me or him. Probably me.
It's been a few hours now and I can talk fine and it doesn't hurt much, just the expected tenderness and occasional throb. I really got worried though while I sat in that blue chair, Jeremy suddenly looking worried when looking at my tongue. But writing this and playing the whole thing back in my head, it's kinda funny...maybe one of those "you had to be there" funnies though.
So that's that...yet another story to tell anyone who's willing to listen and laugh, or just looking to kill some time.