Now I've not always been right into the whole piercing scene, I have a couple of earrings in my ears from when I was a teenager (just pierced with a gun) and I had my eyebrow done about 5 years ago, so I was really quite surprised to have this nagging monkey on my back for the past few weeks about getting a tongue piercing. Usually when I get "the itch" as I like to call it, it's for a tattoo, but for whatever reason I just woke up, and decided that I wanted.. no NEEDED.. a tongue piercing, and the longer that I waited the stronger the urge became.
At A Glance Author Bung-Eye Contact Bung-Eye@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Anders Studio Phat Piercing Location Brisbane, Australia So I've just started a 3 week holiday from work (well deserved, might I add haha) and I figured if I didn't get it done now I never would. I had recently spent many hours browsing stories from other BME readers, and I was quite confident I knew what I was getting myself into. Fast forward a couple of hours and I was chomping at the bit for the shops to open so I could go and see Anders. He had done my eyebrow as previously stated about 5 years earlier, so I knew that I wanted him to do the piercing for me, as I had never had a problem with the eyebrow, and I was more than happy with his ability and experience. A little research revealed that he was indeed still at the same shop where I got my brow done years ago.
I phoned up the shop and made an appointment for that very morning and then the girlfriend and I jumped into the car and went down to see him. I hadn't eaten any breakfast, so we had to grab something on the way as it's a bad idea to get pierced on an empty stomach. Once we got there, Anders greeted us, and asked me to sit down so he could check over my tongue to ensure it was able to be pierced - which it was (obviously). We sat there for a good 10 minutes while he asked me a few more questions, and was sterilizing his equipment. I filled out the necessary paperwork and we were hot to trot.
I paid particular attention to his preparation, and in the 15 minutes I was sitting there before the piercing was completed, I counted him use no less than eight (8) pairs of gloves, which I was obviously happy about. I had suffered trauma to my tongue around 7 years ago when I broke my jaw in an accident, and actually bitten my tongue in half, so Anders grabbed his torch and shone it through my tongue to ensure all the veins were in appropriate spots, and that there was no cartilage as a result of this. Satisfied with what he saw, he took a waterproof marker and made a mark on my tongue where he was going to pierce it, and then asked me to check it in the mirror.
Being happy with the location, we were ready to go, and I was getting a little more nervous. Anders grabbed his clamps, and pulled my tongue out to it's extremity (without hurting me) and asked if I was ready. I told him yes, and took a deep breath as he pushed the needle through my tongue, from the bottom to the top. The sensation wasn't exactly painful, you could definitely feel it, but it wasn't anything like what I was expecting. Half way through I noticed how gross my tongue looked with the piercing needle through it before the bar bell went in, but in a matter of 30 seconds the whole experience was over.
He asked if I was all right, and handed me a glass of cool water to sip on for a few minutes while he tidied up. I have to say that he made the experience very enjoyable, and I would advise anyone in the greater Brisbane area if they're thinking about getting their tongue done to just do it, it's not as bad as people tell you it is.
So here I am, about 5 and a half hours after it was done, and I'm doing pretty well. My girlfriend who had hers done a number of years ago has prepared me for the recovery process (bought me plenty of soup and potato's to mash with gravy (yum!) My tongue has just swollen ever so slightly, however it hasn't impeded my speech at all. Looking forward to the healing process to go by quickly, so I can downsize the initial bar (which feels huge to me), but that's still a good fortnight away yet.
I really enjoyed myself, and I wouldn't have any problems recommending Anders, or tongue Piercings to anyone. Thanks for reading.