I have been interested in piercing and body modification for some time, mostly thanks to an ex I had a few years back. However, I'd never really gone anywhere with that interest until a little while ago. A friend of mine got some piercings done, and this motivated me to go ahead and indulge my private little interest-cum-obsession with the subject. We met up one Friday afternoon, and were debating what to do, so I said I'd decided to get a piercing done, and was met with an enthusiastic round of encouraging comments. This helped me be comfortable with my decision in no small way.
At A Glance Author Zythus Contact Zythus@bme.anon When A month ago Studio Electric Babylon Location Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada So we went to a local shop that my friend had gotten her piercings at. I wanted to get my tongue pierced, but when the piercer asked me to lift up my tongue and let him look at the underside he declared that it couldn't be done after a quick glance. This kind of sat oddly with me, but I shrugged it off and got both my nipples done. Those turned out okay, but that's a different story. A week or so later I wound up at another shop called Electric Babylon with some friends. While they were looking around, I figured 'What the hell, it can't hurt to ask', and decided to get a second opinion on my tongue from the piercer there. She told me that she'd be glad to check, and that if she could safely do the piercing she'd be happy to do it right then and there. I agreed right away, and asked what the process was and about the pain level of the whole thing. She told me it was almost painless, which surprised me, as I had expected it would hurt more than getting my nipples pierced had (which wasn't too bad, but I had definitely felt it).
After explaining the process to me, the piercer had me sign a form and then she took me in the side room where piercings are done. It was exceptionally clean and comfortable, and the piercer let a couple of my curious friends watch the proceeding since they were curious. She put on latex gloves, and then she had me stick out my tongue and she patted it dry with a paper towel. She took a look at the underside, and then felt around the top and bottom of it, and she said that she could feel my veins there and she was concerned about that. My heart started to sink, but then she kept checking and said that she'd found a clear spot a bit further back from where she was originally checking and that she was 'extremely comfortable' with doing the piercing there!
Of course, I was ecstatic, and told her to go right ahead. So she had me swish with some sort of antiseptic mouthwash, and then dried off my tongue again. She marked the top and bottom with dots where she wanted to put the needle through. Then came the clamp, which was uncomfortable but no major issue. Once that was on, she explained to me that she was going to have me breathe in and then exhale hard and that as I did she would put the needle through my tongue. She then told me to keep my tongue well out of my mouth, and to let her know when I was ready. With my clamped tongue I mumbled my assent, and she told me to breathe in once, breath out, in once more, and then told me to exhale hard. As I breathed out she slid the needle through my tongue. I felt a slight pinch but no real pain, even though I had been anticipating some sort of major trauma. Once the needle was through, she removed the clamp and put a barbell through my tongue as she pulled out the needle. She then told me to go ahead and put my tongue back in my mouth, explained the aftercare on my new piercing to me, and gave me some sea salt to make a rinse with and an information sheet. She explained about the swelling and what to do about it, and then told me to come back in three weeks for a downsizing.
The whole experience seemed kind of surreal and overly simple in a way, but I felt rather subtly different after getting my tongue pierced than I had when I got my nipples done. It felt like a 'rite of passage' kind of thing for me, I suppose. Of course, the whole process has given me even more of an interest in piercings and body modifications in general, and I kept finding myself planning what I wanted done next once my current piercings healed.
As for the end results of the piercing itself, my swelling went down to a manageable level in a couple days. I was able to eat comfortably after about seven days, and my tongue seemed back to its normal size after about ten. All in all, I've been eminently happy with my new tongue, even if I constantly play with the barbell through it.