Though this story/experience is filed under the 'ampallang' section, it applies just as much to the 'prince Albert' and 'apadravya sections' – this is my story of getting a 'magic cross' piercing, which is just short for the combination of having an ampallang and an apadravya at the same time.
At A Glance Author dkm Contact dkm@bme.anon When Five years ago Artist Warren Studio Perforations/MetaFlesh Location Brighton, UK I have written all this in a 'single' entry to give more perspective on the 'relative' difficulty/painfulness of all the piercings involved (since this is a question I often get asked).
The motivation/Setup
I had wanted to get this (set of) piercings for a long time, and did a substantial amount of research (including BME!) as to how to position the piercings and where to get them done. These would be my first piercings, and I wanted to make sure that I'd get the right guy to do them. I finally decided to give Warren (Deane) of Perforations/MetaFlesh a call, and discuss my project.
I told Warren I would eventually want to have both an apadravya and an ampallang, and whether it would be possible to get both done at the same time to cut down on healing time and amount of travel. The latter was a bit of a concern, since I lived a good few hours' train ride from Warren's studio, and none of the local piercers came in recommended.
Warren's response was that of course both piercings could be done at the same time, but he would definitely advise against it. He said that from a healing point of view, he would rather first pierce a PA, let that heal for some time, then upgrade that to an apadravya, and then pierce the ampallang later. I don't remember what the recommended wait period was, but I think it was around six weeks between each consecutive piercing.
Doing the piercings
The PA was my first ever piercing, and I must admit that it was rather uneventful. Being based in the UK, my piercer preferred to use a cannula needle rather than a 'blade' for the piercing, and it was done 'inside out', i.e. with the cannula going in through the urethra, then piercing out. So no 'receiving tube' was involved. The piercing went smoothly, and didn't bleed at all. After the cleanup was done, and the mandatory 'rubberglove-on-penis' arrangement was in place, I set off back home, having already made an appointment for the next sitting.
My second session with Warren extended the PA into an apadravya, and this was a much more substantial piercing since it would be all done freehand (i.e. not clamped). After marking the exit hole for the apadravya, Warren used the PA hole to line up the cannula, told me to relax, and started piercing on count of three. The following pain was very intense, but seemed to level-off halfway through the piercing. The needle came out spot on the mark that was made on the glans, resulting in a perfectly placed piercing. Again, there was no bleeding after the bar was inserted.
To complete the magic cross, I finally went back to for the ampallang, and in terms of intensity this piercing placed nicely between the other two. I know that there are various ways of doing this piercing, but Warren's preferred method was to clamp it. Deciding on the placement of this piercing took much longer than the other two, we wanted it to align nicely with the overall shape of the glans as well as the apadravya that was already in place. Prior to clamping the glans for piercing, Warren removed the apadravya bar, and spent a good amount of time making sure the entry and exit holes were perfectly aligned. The piercing itself was over very quickly (since it was clamped), though it did feel a good deal more intense than the PA. Insertion of the jewellery was a bit painful, but tolerable. The bar we picked was well oversized to allow for swelling (though not much appeared right after the piercing).
Overall, all three piercings went very smoothly, and I must say that Warren & the other guys at Perforations made it a very pleasant experience, even for someone with no prior piercing background. We discussed each of the piercings at length first over the phone, and again in person 'on the day', and I always felt that I was in good, safe and experienced hands. If Perforations/MetaFlesh was still around, I'd warmly recommend it to everyone (but unfortunately they've shut down as of a few years ago).
Healing/Aftercare
The advice I received from Warren regarding aftercare was standard: do mild saltwater soaks twice daily, clean the piercing and avoid knocking it. In case of intercourse, I was told, condoms would be essential – which is exactly what every place offering genital piercing aftercare advice tells you.
All the piercings healed smoothly, and there was minimal bleeding – the most I ever got was a bit of dried blood around the stem of the piercing after waking up a day after the apadravya and ampallang piercings. Doing the saltwater soaks was tedious (especially for the three piercings in sequence), but it did work. I don't know whether everything would have healed this well if I'd gotten all three piercings done simultaneously. But if you do have the time to spread your 'magic cross' project over a longer period of time, it would seem sensible to do so.
One thing that did worry me after getting the apadravya was that my glans was feeling 'different to the touch' if compressed lengthwise (i.e. from the tip towards the shaft). I did this to check that the piercing was healing 'ok' (i.e. no excessive pain to suggest infection) and realised that the tip felt a bit more hard than usual. I was a bit worried that this may be the result of some excessive scar growth within the fistula, so I contacted Warren. He told me that most likely this 'hardness' was the result of the compressed tissue pushing against the barbell, and nothing to worry about. After the piercing had healed enough to remove the bar temporarily, I checked that the glans felt 'normal' with no bar in it, and that was indeed the case. So there was indeed nothing to worry about, as Warren had said.
The Epilogue
It's been five years since I got these piercings, and I'm still wearing all of them. All piercings were initially pierced at 2.4mm (12ga), and now have been stretched to 5mm (6ga). The larger gauge barbells have been more comfortable during intercourse, since the pressure is then distributed over a larger area. In this respect, I would also recommend checking for bar length before you start – the bars used for healing the piercing are often intentionally too long, and may be painful both for the wearer and the partner.
In hindsight, the only regret I have is not having visited Perforations for further piercings while they were still open. It was definitely worth the time and effort travel there every time, for each part of the project. I know that some of the guys that used to work there with Warren are still around in the UK, and piercing actively, so I may remedy my 'regret' yet :)