Yeah so, I did. :)
At A Glance Author nikky Contact nikky@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Clay Studio The Tattoo Clinic Location Baton Rouge, Louisiana
I had already gotten my belly done almost a year ago. I was 26 and thought, "26 year olds don't do this", but I felt like I had justification after having three kids and still being able to claim to be the proud owner of a flat belly with no stretch marks, thank you very much.
And then it happened. I was addicted. Who knew?
About 9 months later I went to get my cartilage pierced for a grand total of 3 holes in each ear. I was just walking through the mall and passed by "The Icing" and saw this woman on the floor picking up something, and noticed she had multiple piercings. I asked her, "how many ears have you pierced?" She replied, "A lot." And the rest... you know.
So anyway, about my tongue. I had a pretty stressful day, like, Wednesday of this week. I drove around looking for a tattoo shop. The place I went to to get my belly done was closed. Like, not for the day, there was no sign. They bounced. Moved away. Gone. So I went to another place that I knew of and they were gone too! I was starting to think that maybe this wasn't meant to be, when I turned down another street and ran straight into a tattoo and body piercing clinic. Go figure.
I went in, still kinda wound up, and knew I was illegally parked, which I don't suggest at all, it's just that the place was packed and parking was limited. I asked if there was a long wait and the girl asked what I wanted done and I said my tongue and she said, "You're up!" I looked at all the people sitting waiting... and they all shook their heads like, "we're just here for tattoos! you're crazy!!" I paid, did the paper work, showed ID... blah blah blah, I still get ID'd at 27 years old.
Clay looked up and asked the girl that was helping me, "Did you tell her it's gonna hurt really bad?" I said, "I'll be sure to scream really loud and scare away all the customers." "Good deal." He said. I sat in a chair, all brown and dental looking. He took out his clamp and a barbell that looked way too big, put on some gloves and gave me the run down. Only I wasn't listening because he had his lip pierced twice and I was intrigued by that. I asked about the huge barbell, and he said, "you're tongue is gonna magically shrink..." Then told me the truth about swelling, which didn't sound appealing, but oh well. I rinsed with some mouth wash and he tells me to stick out my tongue and I did. He wiped it dry. I wondered about my breath, I'd just had BBQ chicken, and that little swish didn't seem like enough to do the trick. He marked my tongue with an ink thingy and then got the needle ready. I looked at it and thought, "Goodness that's BIG!" And then came the familiar, "breath in, breath out, breath in...." and I was stuck. But it didn't feel like anything!! The worst part was him putting the balls on. He'd pierced it an angle, the bottom is farther to the left than the top, to avoid hitting a vein, but you really can't tell. I had money out to tip him, but funny, right after he pierced me, I remembered I was illegally parked, bought my seasalt and bounced!
Today is Saturday and I feel pretty good. It swelled pretty bad the first night but it didn't hurt too bad unless I was chewing. I wasn't going to starve myself. I ate. Eating hurts, but it's not nearly as bad as waking up hungry. I stuck to soft foods. (NOTE* seasoned salt is EVIL! Just don't do it.) The seasalt soaks are like heaven, even better than ice in my opinion. I went and bought more today, made a half gallon of the stuff. It's fantastic. It does tend to dry you out a bit though, so drink lots of water if seasalt soaks are going to be your primary source of comfort. I also rinse with mouth wash after every meal.
I suggest getting a tongue piercing if you really want to. I already can't imagine life without it and it's only been 3 days so far. It's not very visible, yet, I hope it stays that way for the sake of my sanity. Also, I plan to change this long bar, ASAP, to a flexible (plastic type) barbell so my teeth won't get damaged.
Oh, the few people that have seen it said, "Aren't you too old for that??" Please!! I'm just starting to live!!
Good Luck!! And happy Piercing!!