Over three months ago on October 21, 2005, I stretched my septum from 10ga to 8ga; the healing went well with no troubles what-so-ever. Actively in my stretching, my girlfriend Diane has been inputting her own thoughts and comments with each stretch. She has been fervently reminding me that, when I originally had my septum pierced, I promised her that I'd keep it hidden most of the time. With the septum retainer getting thicker, wearing it flipped up was becoming uncomfortable. At my 8ga stretch I switched over to a flesh tunnel. Diane loved it since it couldn't be seen and I liked it because it was comfortable to wear and well hidden when I needed it to be (not to mention the fact that, by simply sliding a toothpick through I could "gross out" friends, family, and most onlookers).
At A Glance Author Skip Contact Skip@bme.anon IAM Skip3s When A week ago Artist Sage (I think) Studio Warrior Piercing Location Bucks County, Pa. On January 11, 2006 I purchased my 6ga stainless steel flesh tunnel from Warrior Piercing with the intention of having my septum stretched that day despite the inner feeling of wanting to wait 10 more days till the three month mark of healing. My intentions on seeing the full three months of healing out ended up being kept; they did not have any 6ga tapers in stock that day, and was told to come back the following Saturday as they would have them in from the other shop by then. I was a bit relieved that it happened this way; I'm a bit anxious to have my septum stretched up, and am glad I took the time to wait the full three months I had wanted to wait (especially now with how tender my nose is).
Unfortunately, I was unable to come back the following Saturday and decided to let the three month mark come and go on that date. January 21, 2006 came about pretty quickly; despite the fact I have had my septum stretched before, I still become a bit nervous each time. Knowing that its going to burn as the taper is pushed through doesn't bother me so much as does the soreness I know I am going to experience afterward.
I've never been at Warrior on a Saturday afternoon before, but found the young lady at the front desk helpful. I told her that I had been in the week before and purchased my jewelry, but because there were no six gauge tapers, couldn't have it put in. I showed her my receipt and of course, they honored their free stretching with purchase of jewelry. I waited about five minutes as Sage (I believe it was Sage. I am unsure though, as I've never been there on a Saturday before and unfamiliar with the staff who was there. He did introduce himself however, and apologize for forgetting the name) finished up with a nostril piercing on a female client. She asked him quite a bit of questions about aftercare which he was able to answer for her as well as any follow-up questions. This eased my worries a bit; he seemed very knowledgeable. He came out of the piercing room and asked what I needed. I told him I wanted my septum stretched and he led me back into the familiar chair.
Gloved up and getting the supplies out, he asked when my last stretch was, what gauge I started at and how large I was thinking of going. I was able to answer the first two questions, no problem, but the second was a difficult one. He asked if I had been pulling on it any to help stretch it or playing with the jewelry a lot and told me about his recent stretch to eight gauge. He opened up the packages and removed the jewelry, taper, put a dab of lubricant on a sterile napkin, and changed gloves. Next was the most difficult and time consuming part—removing the o-ring from the eight gauge tunnel that was in my septum.
He stared with a small pair of tweezers and a needle nose pliers and gently began to work the o-ring off. He was very careful not to grab a hair and yank it out along with it. It took a good 5 – 7 minutes to get the o-ring off due to how tight it was on the tunnel's non-flared end. Sage was extremely careful though and made sure he didn't cause any unnecessary pain in the process. It felt weird to have the tunnel which had adorned my septum for three months to be removed. It slid out quite easily and there was a feeling of absence left. It's a bit hard to explain, but much like wearing a piece of clothing and then removing it, you feel lighter and no longer feel the material against your skin. This feeling didn't last very long though as he had the taper lined up pretty quickly. The usual deep breathe in, followed by pressure of steel taper stretching the diameter of the fistula and burning as the taper site there. Soreness was the next sensation that occurred. My eyes water up (as they usually do) which was no surprise; Sage related to his last stretching of his septum again which resulted in his eyes watering even after the stretch.
The insertion of the jewelry went extremely smoothly. The point where the jewelry began its way through the septum could be felt slightly, but there was no additional pain, in fact, there was a decrease at the point of jewelry insertion. With the tunnel in, there was only the o-ring left. It went on quite easily, and was on in a few seconds (which I was relieved about considering the trouble removing the old o-ring was). I sat up and moved my nose around a bit. As I though, it was quite sore. Just touching the tip of my nose caused a good amount of pain increase. There was still a bit of a burning/pressure feeling even if not touching or moving my nose; in fact, the pain spread through my nose into my upper lip (which for me, isn't unusual as I always feel it at the base of my nose and in the surrounding areas for about an hour or so).
By the end of the day, the burning pressure had dissipated; the only pain/soreness which occurred was from moving my nose or touching the tip/underside. The problem which I always dread (and I am sure many others do as well) was the onset of a cold. For the next couple of days, cleaning was a bit of an extreme hassled. Blowing my nose was a bit painful, but necessary; q-tips helped in keeping the area around the tunnel and under the flare clean, which I continue to use in keeping it clean. For the most part however, as I have done with my previous stretches and healing, I've been leaving it alone, cleaning it once or twice a day and letting some warm water run slightly up my nose while in the shower. Overall the soreness has been dulling over the days, and the only real pain was caused by accident one morning when, while still half asleep, I ended up whacking myself in the nose with the back of my hand while shuffling around in bed. The pain was great enough to wake me up instantly, make my eyes waters slightly and get me out of bed. The pain lasted about five minutes and then dulled down slowly until it completely diminished.
Overall, its been as good an experience as my others, and hope that they continue to go well. The only thing different which I noticed was a bit of swelling the day of and day following the stretch. There was a slight curve in the on the underside of my septum directly below the tunnel. It went down and disappeared, as previously mentioned, and I guess it is part of having a larger gauge tunnel in my septum. In about three and a half months, I will be stretching up again to four gauge (as long as there are no unseen troubles) and look forward to another great experience.