I've always kind of liked the way tongue piercings looked, but never really worked up the motivation to go in and get it done. My core group of friends is by no means conservative, but very few of them have piercings or tattoos. That played a role too.
At A Glance Author hoss Contact hoss@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Kyle Studio Evolved Body Art Location Columbus, OH Well, for the past several months, my sister (who has two small tattoos and a number of piercings) had been encouraging me to go get it done. So, March 2 I finally went with her to Evolved Body Art in Columbus (www.evolvedbodyart.com), where she gets most of her stuff done. I'd decided that, to me, not getting it if I really wanted it just because of what other people might say would make me a bigger tool than getting it, and possibly getting called one...
So we head down to Evolved. I was pretty impressed when I walked into the place, which was on the second floor. It was extremely clean with modern decorations all over the place; it really looks more like a nice dentist's office with jewelry cases in it than a tattoo parlor and piercing studio. I walked in and the guy at the counter asked how he could help me, I told him I'm getting my tongue pierced and he asked for my ID. I filled out all the forms, looked at barbells and leafed through the piercing and tattoo scrapbooks while I waited.
I got to go back about 20-30 minutes later. The back rooms look just as clean and modern as the lobby – the whole place feels like a medical office/art studio. All the materials came in sealed packages, and he showed me a strip of cardboard that supposedly, as long as it remained black, meant the equipment was sterile. I went through the whole mouthwash and marking routine, and he let me check the placement first. After I approved he pulled my tongue out, and after a moment told me to take two deep breaths, then pierced. It didn't NOT hurt, but it didn't hurt badly. It felt like getting a shot, then it was over.
** Of interesting note is that my piercer, Kyle, didn't use clamps at all on me, and from what I hear neither do some of the other artists at Evolved. In any case, he pierced me dead-center on top and bottom, clamps or not, and for that I was very happy.
I left Evolved and went straight to a friend's house. I had very little pain or swelling for the first two or three hours after the piercing. Later that night it started, and I could tell because closing my mouth for long periods of time left teeth imprints on the sides of my tongue. I could still talk alright though, and even managed to eat a couple chicken fingers the very first night.
The next three days or so were worse than that actual day-of. My tongue was swollen and ached... every time I yawned the bottom ball dug into my tongue... I couldn't pronounce my "S"s right. But now, it has been about 6 days and the swelling is down quite a bit, but not totally gone, and I'm starting to talk normally again. I never had a problem eating solid foods – but now I can eat them almost at normal speed again. I am going back to Evolved in two days to get the barbell downsized. Sounds early compared to other experiences, but they told me to come back in 7-10 days.
Evolved suggested, as aftercare, that I rinse my mouth thoroughly with bottled water after everything I ate, drank or smoked, and that I clean my mouth out with non-alcohol mouthwash and/or sea salt solution no more than two or three times a day. After reading many other experiences on BME, I decided that sounded a little conservative and went with the usual diluted mouthwash after everything (the brand I used was the brand they recommended, Biotene). Ice chips were suggested to reduce swelling and pain, but I really hate sucking on ice for some reason, so I only did it a couple of times. I stopped drinking for the whole first week, smoking cigarettes for the first five days. I only "cut back" on my weed habit. The ice and the smoking may have combined to make my healing period longer.
In all the tongue piercing experience has been about as rough as I expected, maybe a little less. If you are thinking of getting a tongue piercing I would recommend it based on my experience so far, but it is not without its hassles. And it is very important to remember, than no matter how many experiences you read about, every person feels a different amount of pain, and reacts differently to the procedure. It is better to expect the worst that could happen than to go in thinking it's going to be a piece of cake.