So, I have always been a fan of body art and modification, but I was never an active participant except for the usual ear lobe piercings and the "rebellious" cartilage piercing (done at age 14 about 4 times by a friend and a safety pin). The reasons for this was that I had an overbearing mother, and the profession that I eventually want to get into is in the medical field, where your elders are your employers and any sort of "self-mutilation" is looked down upon.
At A Glance Author smurfette Contact smurfette@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist wonderful piercer Location Queens, NY The summer before my piercing was one of the worst times in my life. Boyfriend broke up with me after telling him I was pregnant, debating whether or not to have the baby, deciding to have the baby, and then losing the baby either way. So when I went back to school, and everything had occurred, I needed uplifting. (Let me cut the story shorter, look for my nose piercings story for the background info.)
My newly found piercer made me feel comfortable, and after what had happened to my nose ring(s), I decided I wanted another piercing... A different one. I am a Google queen, and I found tons and tons of piercing pictures and came across a scrumper. It was so cute, and just in the right place. So I asked him (my piercer) what he thought of that piercing.. He didn't really like the idea of me getting that piercing, but I insisted. I finally showed up one night to get it done.
We chatted for a bit, he told me that this piercing is often rejected by the body and when it was finally time to get it, I got a little bit nervous. He told me to lift up my lip, so he could see my frenulum (I'm sure that is incorrectly spelled) and told me it was too small. I kept bugging him until he said ok.
I sat down, lifted up my lip, he had me mouthwash, and dry it and then he took out small forceps to hold it with, but they did not fit! So he told me to keep my upper lip up, & hold tight. I felt the piercing needle go in on one side, it didn't really hurt too much, just a sharp pressure for a second. My nose piercings hurt A LOT more. The problem was, he couldn't get out of the other side, and after trying and trying, he finally got it through. (Even when he was attempting to get it through the other side, there wasn't pain, just discomfort and anxiety of him possibly not being able to pierce it.) Once that was done, in order to get the actual jewelery in was quick, but to secure the bearings took forever. His fingers were too big, and the space between my upper lip and teeth too small. It was hard work for him, especially because I begged him to do it although he didn't want to but then I was done!
For about 1 week, it felt like I had braces on again. I also was not allowed to drink alcohol for.... I forgot how long he told me because I didn't listen to him, I drank alcohol with a straw... Right after the piercing, you aren't allowed to kiss.
The piercing did fine for about a month, I cleaned it with H2Ocean and tried not to play with it too much. It was barely noticeable until I laughed or spoke spanish (since I open my mouth a lot when I do either).
Very recently, about 2.5 months after getting it pierced (a few weeks after coming home from school for the winter break), I noticed a white crust around the exiting hole of the piercing. I thought nothing of it and continued cleaning it. One thing I will admit to is that I would always catch myself playing with it with my tongue. Another problem with my caring for it is the very frequent head-butts to my mouth when I come home from school from my dogs. Unfortunately, the irritation was too much for the piercing, I guess it was the head-butts that exacerbated it to the point that it began to get rejected.
I wanted to salvage it, and hard as I try (I did not ask him for help because I knew I would hear I told you so) I couldn't. One day I woke up and my mouth felt weird. When I looked into the mirror, my entire upper lip was swollen! It looked a little bit like Jack from Project Runway (on Bravo, sorry if you have no idea what I'm talking about) when he had to leave the competition because he had a MRSA infection in his mouth.) Well, like a duck, I guess u could say. I cried that day, not because of how I looked, but because I wouldn't be able to keep the piercing. I iced it, the swelling went down but the next day it wasn't getting any better. I removed the piercing, and in a matter of 3 hours, my lip was completely back to normal.
I don't regret getting the piercing, I actually want to get it done again, and maybe next time be more careful with it. Just be careful with it, listen to all of your piercer's instructions, and do not mess around with it so much!
I learned that the hard way, again.