At A Glance
Author	Kate
Contact	Kate@bme.anon
When	A month ago
Artist	Kari
Studio	Orchid
Location	Edmonton AB

I am definitely not a piercing expert, however I have had a fair bit of experience with them, having several of my own, including my tragus, navel, nipple, and now tongue- which is by far, my absolute favorite piercing.

My boss at work got her tongue pierced and it intrigued me. I am one of those people who gets antsy when they haven't had a new piercing in a while, and it had been about four months since my last one, therefore seeing her new ring definitely gave me that itch. For the next three or four days I quizzed everyone I knew- "Who thinks I'd look good with a tongue ring?" - and so on, did extensive research on BME by reading stories and looking at pictures as well as watching tongue piercing videos on YouTube.

Everyone I knew who had the piercing told me that it wasn't painful at all, even my piercer told me that my tragus and nipple were definitely higher on the pain scale than the tongue. The general consensus seemed to be that I would feel only a pressure and then a release as the needle came out the other end. The pain is always a huge factor in my decisions to get piercings because I'm kind of a wuss.

I woke up late for classes one day and, seeing as how I wasn't going to be on time for any of my courses, spontaneously decided to call my best friend and convince him to meet me at the mall. Approximately an hour later, I was dancing back and forth in front of Orchid Studio in West Edmonton Mall, nervously attempting to back out, as is my custom. After spending about ten minutes hovering near the front of the shop, I dragged my friend with me to the food court and enjoyed a huge fatty meal from McDonalds, (shockingly) calming my upset stomach and nerves and giving me a bit of time to man up.

We went back to the studio where I finally inquired about my tongue at the front. I showed off my ID, filled out the consent forms and was whisked into the back where I immediately started to panic. My piercer was Kari, with whom I was slightly familiar, for she had pierced one of my good friend's nipples a few months back. I always have mini-panic attacks prior to any piercing, even when I know what to expect, and Kari was very good as I stopped her every few seconds. She examined my tongue closely with a flashlight and after a few moments told me that she would have to pierce my tongue slightly diagonally, so that the top bead would be centered on my tongue but the bottom one would be slightly to the right and therefore missing a major vein. I was totally okay with that and then Kari handed me a paper cup full of mouthwash.

I rinsed for a minute and spat into a sink, and Kari dried my tongue off with some gauze. She then pulled out her flashlight and proceeded to mark my tongue. She asked me if I would prefer to lie down, and I elected to remain sitting. I then proceeded to cut off the circulation in my friend's hand while Kari clamped my tongue and placed the cork under my tongue and came at me with the needle.

I shut my eyes and... Everyone lied. My tongue not only hurt, it felt like it was being ripped out. I am a bleeder and was expecting the blood, but definitely not expecting the fountain that eventually dripped out of my mouth and ended up staining my shirt. And the pain was something else. I'm a wimp but I've had piercings before as well as broken bones and... This was the number one most painful thing I have ever experienced.

Kari held some gauze under my lip while she threaded the barbell through the new hole in my tongue, and then we pretty much stuffed my poor aching mouth with it until the bleeding subsided. We did the standard aftercare speech, during which Kari told me that for the next three days, I should limit myself to cold foods only. After the bleeding stopped and I left the studio, my friend and I went back to the food court and while he ordered another full meal, I asked for a cupful of ice, which I sucked on for the next hour or so.

Everyone I knew with a tongue ring- besides telling me it was painless- also warned me that my tongue would swell to epic proportions and that I wouldn't be able to speak or eat properly for weeks. However, I the only lisp I ended up with was due to the size of the barbell, which I couldn't close my mouth around properly, and the swelling was incredibly limited.

I tend to break all the rules of aftercare, and this one was no exception. I came home and ate salt and vinegar chips and chicken wings. The next few days I was a little sore, but I ate popsicles and had slurpies- but afterwards, no problem. All in all, the experience itself was a little freaky but I love my tongue piercing and was very lucky to not have to deal with the supposed impossible to live with swelling afterwards.

I would highly recommend this piercing to anyone who is considering it. It is my favorite by far and was the fastest healing piercing I ever got.