Ever since I was about 14 I've always wanted my tongue pierced. Once and awhile when I would get discouraged about it I would change my mind purposely to make myself believe I didn't really want it anyways.
At A Glance Author Tina When A month ago Well I was 16 about to turn 17 in a few days, and I decided that I was going to get my tongue pierced. My mom took me for tattoos when I was 15 and she said she would not sign off for anything else. So I figured...hey lets go to Canada.
On December 16th, 2006 two of my friends and I ventured to Windsor Canada. I sat down in the piercing room all pumped and ready, not nervous one bit, since I was getting other piercings that day, that took my worrying away from this particular one. The guy put a bib on me (you know the kind you get at the dentist) and told me to swish around this green fluid, and to not spit it out until he said so. So it was about a minute, seemed much longer, that I was swishing around this green, strong fluid in my mouth. Obviously it was to disinfect any bacteria. The mouthwash hurt almost as much as the piercing itself, it burned really bad after about 30 seconds. Then I finally got to spit it out.
He had me stick out my tongue and he was looking at it and said "wow, there is hardly any room for me to work with, but we can do it!" I was pumped. He marked my tongue, then marked it again (changing sides underneath). I have absolutely no idea what it is called, (that thing that is under your tongue that goes from below your teeth/bottom of your mouth and connects to the underside of your tongue), well mine goes to pretty much the tip of my tongue. He changed sides on which it was going to go through to make it easier. The ball on the bottom lies right next to that "thing", while most people, it lays right after it (at the tip).
He then had me hold up my bib and told me to stick out my tongue as far as I could and he clamped it. The adrenaline was rushing through my body, I was excited beyond belief. He then proceeded to pierce my tongue. It was very painful to me. Compared to my navel, ears, and tattoos on my hips, it was a 8 out of 10 on the painful scale. Quickly he grabbed the jewelry and put it in place and said alright you're good for that one. I got up and looked in the mirror while my two friends that watched said "TALK!!!." I didn't feel like it :] Of course because no matter whether something hurts or not, I always almost faint... so I had to lay down on the piercing chair/table.
Forgot to mention, that EVERYTHING he got out was completely sterile, closed/sealed packaging, even down to the clamps.
It was an overall good experience. If you think you want your tongue pierced, think very hard about it before you do it. I definitely don't regret it, and it keeps me occupied in school, but the first week of not being able to eat a lot was not fun. I got very frustrated. You have to have a lot of patience and be able to stand going with out a lot of food for a while. My meals for the first week consisted of; mashed potatoes, French fries, soup, soft bread, and chips. I had a very hard time eating because I have a very tiny tongue; it's so small that I really shouldn't have gotten it pierced. And because it is so small it got so swollen that I couldn't stick it out of my mouth.
Don't try to stick your tongue out during the first couple of weeks, you will be using the muscles in your tongue too much and it will slow down the healing process. I also followed the washing out of my mouth after every meal and drink besides water, to a T. My tongue was something I didn't want to mess around with and I needed to take good care of it!
Also because my tongue is very small I think I will have a hard time changing the piercing. I have yet to change my piercing, I had to give it extra time to heal because of how it was pierced (down instead of up). I will be going to a shop to get my tongue ring changed for the first time, and from then on I will change it myself.
Tongue rings are fun, it keeps me occupied in school, and buying rings for it is always fun too! Enjoy!