So, now a little disclaimer. DONT TRY THIS AT HOME. I am a piercer and I know I went about this wrong, so I don't suggest you do this. I certainly wouldn't do this to a paying customer.
At A Glance Author TheSuicideKing13 Contact Thesuicideking13@aol.com IAM TheSuicideKing13 When Three months ago Artist Myself Studio Spiderbite Location Manchester, NH, USA Moving on. A little back story. I have had my septum pierced for about 8 years. I have had it at a 0g for about 6 of them. I don't remember what exactly possessed me to stretch the hell out of a very sensitive part of my nose, and my recollection of doing so is hazy at best. All I remember is that it sucked more than any other mod I have endured. Funny how pain makes for fuzzy memories. I remember my first BIG jump, from an 8 to a 3. Tunnel vision, nose and eyes streaming, dizzy, lightheaded, all that fun stuff. Don't do it. It sucks. I remember not being able to move my face for almost a month without pain, and I remember almost losing my girlfriend at the time because I couldn't kiss her for weeks. Apparently I didn't remember this enough to prevent me from doing it all over again.
So a few months ago, I had a slow moment at work. There is a pretty hefty amount of "peer pressure" at work for more hardcore normal mod's. A few of my coworkers are real fucking troopers when it comes to piercings, stretching, and cluttering our lovely faces with metal. Jen, my apprentice, had these alleged 00g rings through the flanges in her ears, with the hope that the weight would help her taping habit to get her ears from 1" to 1 and 1/4 inch. She took them out, and someone suggested I try and put it through my septum. I said "I'm sure it won't go, I'm only at a 0"...
But I am never one to turn down a challenge. So I tried it, and it slid right in. I was shocked. I was proud. I was dumb and careless. I took it out, we scrubbed and bagged it, 'claved it, and my mind got onto a track where I wanted a 00g septum piece. A dude down the street was the only person I have met in real life with a septum bigger than mine with a whopping 7/16ths. I figured I could get a little closer. Ha.
A week or so goes by, and I decide to buy a Kaos Software silicone double flared hollow plug for my nose. I figured it would be very comfy (much more comfy than the ass-end of a Bic pen which had been my "jewelry" for years. I don't usually wear anything overtly visible in my nose, due mostly to the fact that it is very difficult to find a tasteful piece in such a large gauge to go in the centerpiece of my face. So I thought this silicone plug would be perfect, which it is NOW. Super comfortable, and flexible. It's great. But DON'T stretch with one.
I buy the piece at cost, and I try to shoehorn the damn thing into my nose. It is double flared, so it's not working very well. I try folding it a bit, but have no leverage to push it into my nose. my nostrils keep getting in the damn way. A light bulb goes off in my head, and I decide to fold it in half, and the half again, but with a pair of mosquito forceps. This may have been the first "Good" idea I had come up with since putting the circular in my nose. If I had good ideas earlier, I may have actually used a gauge wheel to check the size of the ring which made me think a 00 would slide right in. The ring was NOT QUITE a full 00. I digress. I fold it, get it secured, and slide it ever so slowly into my septum, and let go.
POP!
Ever been punched in the nose....from the inside? Me neither. But now I think I know how it feels. It wasn't so bad right after, a little sore, my vision cloudy, nose running. Later that night, as I am downing Advil cold and sinus to try and stop my nose from streaming water, I begin to drink at this warehouse metal show I was attending. It helped. I went home fell asleep, and thought it would be better tomorrow.
Nope. I woke up in blinding agony. My nose and eyes were streaming, my face felt like it had been run over by a truck. I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move my face without additional pain. Anyone who has ever stretched their septum past the point of common sense knows how I felt. I immediately said Fuck this and reached to where I keep the sleeping pills. I downed a few, washed them down with some whiskey, and a hearty slug of Nyquil. I fell back into an uneasy slumber. This habit continued all day at 4 hour intervals. wake up, groan, pills, nyquil and Ol' Grandad, pass out.
The next day I awoke, liver screaming, from my 36 hour rest. this is the only way to go when your face feels this way. Thank god for small favors and no responsibilities. The next few days dragged on, pain barely letting up the entire week. Two weeks in or so, I could finally take the plug out occasionally to remove the gunk that accumulated several times daily and clean the shit. It hurt like hell, but needed to be done. One day, with my two index fingers I carefully reached up into my very, very tender nose, and felt the hole in my septum. I almost crapped myself. The cartilage in the center of my nose on BOTH SIDES was flared out like the fenders on some old, classy American car. It stuck out sideways almost a quarter inch, and was pressing into that super sensitive, nerve-laden mucous membrane skin surrounding it. I wondered if this would ever change, and if there was a way to fix it if it wouldn't take care of itself.
I decided to ride it out. I have heard many, many people claim that they stretched their septum, and "it just wouldn't heal". My opinion was always that they gave up too soon, and I hate to be a hypocrite, so I decided to suffer, (not so silently) until it healed. it took about 6 weeks before it only hurt a little to touch my nose. It hurt to move it, shift it, or make certain facial expressions that stretched my nose. I stretched it about 3 months ago, and it is only just recently become almost completely comfortable even when I fuck with it. Now I am considering going bigger eventually. What's wrong with me?
I got a CAT scan recently for an unrelated problem, and decide to leave my septum "ring" in since it isn't metal. After 15 minutes removing all the other jewelry in my head and 20 minutes getting my x-rays, I got to see the results. In a few of the images, I could very plainly see a huge hole towards the tip of my nose. The f'ing thing takes up almost the entire inside of my nose! It was a proud moment to see what I had done to my face.
The cartilage in my nose still sticks out a little, I'm hoping eventually it will wear down or readjust itself back to "normal". I know I have visibly changed the shape of my nose, but it doesn't bother me too much. I said at the beginning not to try this at home, seriously, don't. Don't stretch with the kaos plugs, don't OD on sleeping pills and booze to sleep though a little while of the pain, and make sure you know what size you are going from, and the size you are going to. But, I will tell you, there is something satisfying about the look on someone's face when they catch a large glimpse of the world through your nose. And the look of admiration jealousy on the faces of those who have tried, and had to stop at a 4 in their own nose. It's my badge of insanity. I wear it proudly. I like to think I'm just a little "hardcore"