I had wanted my tongue pierced since I was about 13 years old. Like the many other teenage girls, I had only had my ears pierced (when I was 2) and was absolutely terrified of the pain. I have always had a low threshold for anticipated pain, I hate getting my blood drawn and going to the dentist. Finally, on a boring summer day after I turned 18, the excuse of being "underage" finally wore out and my friends dragged me to Electrik Needle to get it over with.
At A Glance Author sublime217 Contact sublime217@bme.anon When A year ago Artist ? Studio Electrik Needle Location Prescott Valley, AZ I'm usually a calm and collected person, but to be honest, I was so nervous that I could barely hide it. The piercer seems in a hurry but said he could "squeeze me in". I sat on the bench trying not to look at the "tools" while he prepared everything, and before I knew it, I had a mouthful of Listerine.
Now I was really nervous. I squeezed my friend's hand the entire time, and I was sweating like a donkey. It was my assumption that at this point, the piercer was supposed to answer my questions, explain the procedure, etc. so that I would be confident that HE knew what he was doing. This did not happen, and was probably the reason the experience could have been much better.
When the needle went through, I winced in pain. People have said their tongue piercing was "painless" but mine definitely wasn't! Getting the jewelry in was just as bad, and pulling my tongue into my mouth for the first time was the strangest feeling. He wrapped up the procedure with another mouthful of Listerine, and for the next few minutes all I did was drool. He briefly explained the aftercare, but did not mention healing times, complications, etc.
The next morning when I awoke, my tongue was SO SWOLLEN! I could barely open my mouth wide enough to brush my teeth. It was impossible for me to eat for the first two days, and I mean impossible. The first reason was that my tongue was extremely sore, and the second (which many people can probably overlook) was that my tongue felt too weird. I never noticed how food moved around in your mouth until this time. Almost every time you take a spoonful/forkful of food, you place it directly where the ring is. When eating normally, this makes contact with the piercing almost impossible. I couldn't handle the feeling of food getting near the ring and inside the hole, so eventually I discovered that I could lean back and drop spoonfuls of pudding into the back of my throat. (My friend who had watched the piercing take place said it went pretty rough, and that's probably why it was super-swollen.)
For the next few days, my diet consisted of chocolate pudding and the guts of Taco Bell burritos dropped into my throat. It seemed like the second that I would forget about the piercing, I was abruptly reminded by the sharp pain from moving my tongue too quickly.
The aftercare was simple, Listerine after every meal and brush the tongue frequently. There were no infections, just the greenish-white ooze coming out of the hole. After two weeks, there was only slight pain while eating and I was able to change the barbell to a standard sized piece of jewelry. For the next few weeks, I slowly regained the full range of motion in my tongue as my body became used to the barbell. After four weeks, it was fully healed.
As bad as that experience was (I've had several piercings since then at another studio and none have been so bad), I absolutely love my tongue ring. I hate to take it out and only do when getting an x-ray. I play with the ring constantly when bored or nervous, and needless to say, my boyfriend loves it.
If you are thinking about getting this piercing but are afraid of the pain, I recommend you do it. I won't say my piercing was painless, but it was absolutely worth it. Everyone I know of with this piercing has had a different experience. Most claim that they barely felt the needle go in, while one of my friends was already eating sandwiches and pizza hours later. Compared with other piercings, it heals very fast and you can easily hide it from your employers by wearing clear jewelry.
Oral hygiene is a must. I found from my experience that no matter how often I brushed the jewelry and my tongue, plaque always seemed to accumulate on acrylic jewelry. For this reason I only wear surgical steel, but I have never broken any teeth or anything of that nature.
If you want this piercing, go for it! Just be sure to find a reputable piercer that will make you feel comfortable and answer all of your questions.