The second piercing I ever got was my tongue. What I did not know was how I was about to further my own complex. I don't remember why exactly I chose the tongue. Perhaps it was because it I felt it would be hidden. My mom was not exactly fond of the idea of me getting pierced.
At A Glance Author aniorange Contact aniorange@bme.anon IAM aniorange When Five years ago Artist Robert Studio Dogstar Tattoo Location durham, N.C. I went back to the place that had done my eyebrow, Dogstar Tattoo. I went in and met Robert once again. Robert was the only piercer there at the time and had done my eyebrow. I of course informed him of my desire to pierce my tongue. Robert took a look at my tongue and chose the proper long barbell for the job. He put it in to be autoclaved and told me the same thing he always tells me. I am going to go have a smoke first. Robert stepped outside and lit up. I waited patiently checking out the shop.
It was not long before Robert was done smoking and the jewelry was autoclaved. He gathered some things in his room and invited me back. I saw him get out his clamps and he told me to stick out my tongue. I remember him telling me a couple of times to stick it all the way out, as if I was not already. He than proceeded to tell me that I had a short tongue. He almost seemed doubtful it could be pierced, but he decided he could.
He had me stick out my tongue again and clamped it down and told me to be still. He got the needle ready and asked me if I was ready to which I attempted to reply, "do it." He shoved the needle through. I only remember a quick sharp pain. I do not remember any difference when he pushed the barbell in. It didn't take him long to get the barbell in, but it took a second to screw the ball on the bottom. However it seemed like a long time to be sitting there with a clamp on my tongue. I think he accidentally dropped the ball once. It was not as big deal I thought. Robert gave me instructions on how to keep it clean. At that time a lot of people where recommending Listerine. He told me to dilute it half and half with water and take a swig after everything, eating, smoking, drinking, whatever. I asked about water. He thought for a second and decided it was not necessary after water. I thought that was funny.
I got the usual "high" I get after getting pierced. It's a great feeling. I was all powered up and feeling kind of on top of the world. This further let to what I jokingly refer to as "the invincibility complex." It's a complex where the more piercings you get the more you want. You easily forget the pain and can't wait for the next one. It's almost as if you are invincible.
I did not take to walking pointlessly around the mall like I did with my first piercing. But I do remember riding down the street with the windows down, hopping up and down in my seat and screaming out the window a little. I was quite excited.
It was not long though that I discovered the difficulty talking now that I had a piece of metal in my mouth. But that was not the worst part. I went home and went to bed. I had to work that night. I slept for probably 4 hours. I worked third shift at the time. When I woke up my tongue was in a lot of pain. It was throbbing in pain. I was hungry and in my infinite wisdom though, hey a peanut butter sandwich is soft and easy to eat. HA, was I wrong. It kept getting it stuck to the roof of my mouth and couldn't work my tongue up there to get it off. I also remember one of the balls coming lose on my barbell and getting stuck in the peanut butter. That was fun, let me tell you. I didn't finish the sandwich. I did not have much time. I had to get ready and get to work for the night.
My co-workers where amused at my inability to speak clearly. The throbbing had subsided a lot but it still hurt and was swollen. For lunch that night I ended up eating soup. Even that was a bit tough. Fortunately I heal quickly. By the next night I was eating pizza. I was so proud of myself.
So to sum up, for me, getting it pierced was nothing. The clamps where probably worse than the pierce. However the next couple of days where difficult from the swelling. It came down over time and I learned to speak again. It wasn't long before I got a shorter barbell and quit having the problem of accidentally biting the barbell when I ate. However that still happened from time to time.