It all started about the age of 10 years old, when i caught a glimpse of tattoos and piercings on a local music video channel, and thought that was the coolest thing that I had ever seen. I researched it, and looked at endless pictures, and drew all over myself all throughout my teen years, but was forbidden by parents to ever get any work done. Along comes my 18th birthday, and the dreaded talk with the parents about how "it was my body" and "I'm an adult now" and other such phrases you've probably heard, or seen 100 times before. My mother decided that if I had my heart set on hurting myself and mutiliating my body, that it would have to be something that she couldn't see. I suggested my nipples, and she agreed after a few days, after she thought that nothing major could go very wrong with them, as I'm a male, and wouldn't have problems with milk ducts and such. I was thrilled! I booked an appointment as soon as i could.
At A Glance Author Alcoholidaze Contact Alcoholidaze@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Eric Studio Soul Survivors Location Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada The next step was a scary one. My uncle has a form of hemophelia, and it was passed onto me. I told the shop I planned on going to about this, and they were more than helpful. The lady on the other end said that she'd call a healthcare professional, and get back to me within the hour. Sure enough, about 45 minutes later, I got a call back from Soul Survivors, and they said they talked to 5 different people, and asked me directly if i had various diseases or syndromes. I told them that i didn't, and it just took me about half an hour, or an hour more to clot then regular people. They then told me that it was alright, and set up an appointment for the 23rd of November.
The wait seemed like an eternity. I frantically read bme experiences, as I often do, and found how painful that everyone said they were, among with the ones that said it was no big deal at all. I figured that this piercing was a black and white area, and different for every person. I was so nervous, but it didn't really hit me until the night before. I could barely sleep. This would be my first piercing, and supposedly the most painful. It was a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, but finally dozed off.
The day of the piercing started off early. I had to wake up really early so get to a job interview. Due to the lack of sleep, and me not eating breakfast, i felt rather sick, and came close to vomiting a few times during the interview. I finally got through it, went outside, and did some last minute christmas shopping. I started to feel better by the mid afternoon, and got home so i could wrap the presents that I recently purchased. My brother drove me into the city because I didn't want to drive home after, fearing the seatbelt would hit my nipples, and that would hurt a lot. He also wanted to come to hear me "scream and cry" like a little girl.
We finally drove in, as i got several pangs of nervousness on the way to the shop. It was fairly cold out, and I didn't have a jacket, so i ran as quick as I could to the shop, and by the time that I got in there, I was shivering really badly because of the cold. Everyone told me to just relax, and I explained that it was due to the cold and not that I was scared. I still doubt that they believe me. I filled out the form, and got stuck on the hemophelia question, but explained my problem with the guy behind the counter. He seemed to understand, and just said that they'd bandage me afterwards just to be safe. I felt really nervous, and just sat motionless on the futon thing that was there, then the shop started to play the misfits and rancid, and i started singing along. That really helped. It made me relax a little bit, because there was something familiar. We waited for a while, and some friends came to see me to drop off money they owed me, and to wish me luck. That perke d me up even more, so by now I was fairly normal, almost calm. My head perked up every time an employee walked by, and finally the big guy said it would be a few minutes, and walked by with some needles and a small glass of what seemed to be salt water. After about a minute he waved me into the room.
I was surprised that the room was somewhat soundproof. I figured that was for people that freak out and scream and such. I was glad, because it gave me a feeling of that it was just me and him. He had a cd player on the wall, and it was playing some sort of weird canadian folk song that he was humming along to, and singing to on occasion. This bothered me because I disliked the music a lot, but I thought "anything that makes him comfortable will benefit me as well." so I just tried to put it past me. He told me to take a seat and relax, and so i did, and the chair was oddly comfortable. He told me how he was going to do the markings, which he said for me to take off my vest, and wrap my shirt behind my neck. I felt that was better than being shirtless. It made me feel less insecure. It took a few seconds for me to manage the shirt over my mohawk, but it was done. He told me to stand up straight with my arms straight down so he could mark it when they were at their regular po sition, and the piercing would be done while I was sitting. He sat on a stool, and put dots on either side of my nipples freehand, which freaked me out for a sec, until he connected the two with a line, sat back and inspected it. He did the same with the other, and tweaked my nipples a bit so they'd stand up. His hands were warm, and it wasn't painful when he did that, just a bit odd to see a big guy like him tweaking my nipples, and the fact that I'm paying him to do so. He then explained the tools he'd be using. I heard the clamp was the worst thing, and he put that on right after I told him what I had heard, and he said that he did this kind of piercing quickly, and it would be just a little prick. This made me happy, and he then told me that he's leaving the clamp on for so long because it would help numb the nipple, and make it harder. This made me even more happy. He then put the needle beside my nipple. I could feel it, and this felt just as I thought it would. Like a regular safety pin, but much thicker. I looked down. BIG MISTAKE. I let out an "oh god" (very macho.) and looked up at the ceiling. He asked if I was ok, and I said yes. He told me to breathe in deeply when he told me to, and I agreed. He then said "take a deep breath" and so I did. There was a sharp pain, reminicent of a hard pinch, but being able to feel the needle through my skin was a new feeling. It wasn't a painful feeling, just different. He gave me a reasurring "all done" and then asked if I still wanted to do the other. I then told him that I was all about the symmetry and he laughed, and moved to the other side. As I knew what I was in for this time, I was really pumped and ready. He got this one done a lot quicker, and it was much less painful. The same reasurring "all done" came out, and he started to tighten the jewellary, and put the balls on.
He was talking about aftercare, and I tried my best to pay attention, because I realized that it was very important, and didn't spend much time looking in the mirror. I took maybe two glances out of the corner of my eye and smiled. I asked him a lot of questions about products, and other such questions I had. He was very friendly, and answered everything that I asked without hesitation. He gave me some benedine and a list of other products I might want just in case I wanted EVERYTHING I could ever want, and a pamphlet on what he explained earlier just in case I needed it. He asked if I was ok about 20 times, and if i was dizzy, and checked to see if I was bleeding or anything. Everything was great, so he just bandaged me up with a tattoo bandage, and surgical tape so it would stick on me, and band-aids are a "no-no" to him, and they felt pretty good too. The bandages made me walk a little funny, but other than that, I was happy. I paid my $70, and gave him a $10 tip because he made me feel so comfortable, and was so nice to me and everything, he really deserved it. He made a note of showing me that he was throwing out the needles, saying the shop had a policy of doing that to make sure the needles were not re-used.
It's now a day after, and it feels just like nothing has happened, except for regular exceptions. Those exceptions are - going out in the cold. It's about -20 celcius outside, and the cold seemed to really really hurt my nipples. I think it's due to the metal, and the contraction, and by logic, warm temperatures should make me feel better. and my god...do they ever....Having a warm shower is a godsend if you have a soft showerhead. Also, bending down to get things pulled on them, and it hurts a bit, and you can feel them hitting you while you walk and such. There is a regularity of pain, but it comes in waves. Every 15 minutes or half an hour, it stings and burns, but goes away in about 5 minutes. When the pain is intolerable, I use epsom salt and water, and that makes them feel better. The most painful thing so far is cleaning. It's more painful that the actual piercing. Having to rotate the jewellary?!?! I can barely touch it (with clean hands of course). I used lots of lu be to do it, but could only get through about half of the recommended amount of rotations. I figured that was good enough, and assumed those guidelines were for piercings that are healed a lot more than mine are, so I'm going to work up to that number soon.
The major thing I had a problem with was the cleaning. I had to do all of these cleaning and rinsing procedures, and found it hard to "douse, soak" my nipples.....I mean really...In what? So for the first time, I did it in the shower. It wasn't so bad, but my shower is a small little cubicle, so it was hard to avoid the q-tips getting wet, and the cleaners washing away before i could rinse. I'll find a better way soon. The benedine stings a lot, and the smell made me want to vomit. I took Eric's directions, and used distilled witch's hazel instead. There was no smell, and it was much milder. That make me a a lot happier.
My suggestion is that you should get your nipples done, the actual piercing doesn't hurt as much as they say it does, it's just the cleaning afterwards. It's really fun to have them, and it's made me much less insecure about baring my stomach and chest. ^_^
*A special thanks goes out to the bme live chatters such as mkat and @narkist and such, they've helped me out through all of this, and I'd be freaking out a lot more without them. Thanks guys!!
Happy Holidays everyone!
-Graeme