The Prince Albert was a piercing I had debated for some time now. All in all, I would estimate that I had been seriously considering it for about 3 months, but I always chickened out at the last minute and got another piercing that I wanted.
At A Glance Author Freddy Knockout Contact freddyknockout@hotmail.com IAM xFreddyKnockouTx When A week ago Artist Daniel Studio Arenaline Location Montreal, Qc Finally, I decided that it was time. I sent an email expressing my desire to get this piercing to Daniel, my piercer and friend as well. I've been going to him for a while now, and we've developed a relationship beyond the professional/client one that we originally had. We go out to places, have supper together occasionally, and all in all, in the short time I've known him, he's become one of my good friends.
The next day, I went into Adrenaline, the piercing shop I go to, and Daniel wasn't busy at that moment. So he took me into the piercing room to discuss the situation with me. The first thing he did was actually to tell me a lot of negative aspects about the piercing (difficult to urinate while standing up, possible negative reaction from sex partners, etc.), and I was thankful that he did this. Basically, he was testing me to see how much I wanted the piercing. Genital mods are not something to be taken lightly, and while they aren't as heavy as implants or cutting procedures, they are still a serious decision to be made.
I knew of the problems inherent with PA piercings, having read many stories on the BME pages. So we continued discussions. He asked me why I chose that specific mod. I told him my reasons for choosing the PA, mainly that it just felt right, and I am a firm believer in the "inner-image reflecting outer-self" concept. He was very satisfied with my reasoning, and so he went on to discuss the procedure. He outlined every step for me, explaining why most people prefer a higher gauge for the comfort reasons. At this point I told him of my intention to pierce it at 8g and taper it to 6g right away. I had read a few times that tapering it up helped to control the bleeding a bit, and also I knew that I intended to stretch this piercing up even higher, most likely at least to 2g. He agreed with my reasoning, and seemed enthused at the idea of doing such a large gauge piercing. He told me that he'd never done one that big right away. This didn't make me the slightest bit nervous, becau se I have full faith in his abilities.
We discussed when I would come back to actually get the piercing done. Daniel told me that they normally have the customer wait at least 2 weeks for a PA, in order to be positive that he is sure he wants it done. But I'm a bit of a special case in that shop. Everyone in the shop knows me, and also, Daniel knows that I would never make a decision like that on the spur of the moment. Daniel had the next few days off, and the next time he would be in was 5 days later, a Wednesday. We agreed to set the appointment for 2pm that upcoming Wednesday. He asked if I had any other questions before leaving, I told him I didn't. We shook hands and I left.
The next few days were ones of much anticipation. I told several of my friends about the plans I had made, and the overwhelming response was positive. I was somewhat surprised by that, considering a lot of my friends are not really into the mod scene. Most were blown away by my nipple piercings. So to say the least, it was encouraging to get such positive feedback. Also, I had read that for many people, the most uncomfortable part of the PA process was having the receiving tube inserted into the urethra. So I went to my bedroom and found my 0g taper pin I had used to stretch my earlobes with some time ago. I lubed it up with some K-Y jelly, and slowly inserted it into my urethra. I found this wasn't all that uncomfortable, but I stopped as soon as it didn't feel nice. After a few days, I was able to insert it from the 0g end without much difficulty. I wouldn't recommend doing this to everyone, for there is a chance you could cause some damage to your urethra, or give yoursel f a bladder infection. But it worked for me, and I had a feeling that would help later on.
Finally the day came. I stopped off at a little restaurant, picked up a couple of falafel pitas, a french fry, and an orange juice (the vegan diet is a great one), and ate it all, to the point of over-filling myself a little bit. I knew I was going to be quite a bit early, so I figured I might as well stock up my stomach.
I walked into the shop, an hour early for my appointment, and was greeted by Jen. She said she had a couple of things to tell me before we got started. First, she informed me that while the normal price for such a piercing is $150(Canadian) plus the cost of the jewellery, she had talked to Chris, the owner, about making me a deal. Chris is not generally a fan of making deals, but after pointing out how I am a very regular customer, and how I am always bringing new clients to the store, Jen insisted she could not charge me full price, and they ended up agreeing on a very fair deal on the pricing. I won't quote the price here, but I was very thankful that she had fought for me so adamantly.
The second thing Jen wanted to ask was if I minded if another employee at Adrenaline, Jimmy, could be present during the procedure. He had never witnessed a PA being performed, and it would be a great help for him if I would allow him to be there. I told her I didn't mind one bit. I'm always willing to help them out in any way I can. Jen was very happy about that.
Daniel showed up a little after 1:30pm. He would have arrived earlier, but there was a major snowstorm blowing that day. Once he showed up, I talked with him a little more, I told him about what Jen had said to me, and he was very pleased to hear about the deal I was given, and was excited to be teaching Jimmy a new piercing as well. We discussed the gauge again, and Daniel informed me that they did not have any 6g curved barbells, which was my primary choice for jewellery. So we went with a 5/8" 6g CBR, which in the end was a better choice, seeing as I do intend to stretch this up, it didn't make sense to buy the more expensive jewellery now, it would just mean more money spent in the end.
I paced around the shop while Daniel got everything ready for the procedure. I talked with a few of the personnel in the shop, and everyone seemed pretty shocked at the gauge I was going to. This didn't really faze me in any way. While I was pacing, I seemed to be the least concerned out of everyone there with the upcoming piercing. After chatting a while I had almost forgotten why I was there, when suddenly Daniel tapped me on the shoulder and said it was time.
We walked into the room, and Daniel went over the procedure with me again before we got started. I think it was both for my benefit and for Jimmy's. After he was done explaining, I got up onto the chair, pulled down my fly and pulled out my penis. Daniel gave me a sterile surgical sheet with a hole cut in it to put over my penis, in order to keep any blood off my pants. Then he explained that because I was uncircumcised, I would have to put up with walking around with my foreskin pulled back for a little while, while the piercing healed up a bit. That was fine by me. He then asked which way I naturally hang, as he usually likes to pierce it on the opposite side so as not to create an even more pronounced leaning. I told him left and he nodded, marking the right side of the connecting skin, just under the crown of my glans.
The next part was the insertion of the receiving tube. I told Daniel about the way I had been preparing, and he was impressed with my idea. Jimmy seemed a little queasy at the thought. Anyways, the insertion of the receiving tube was nothing more than a mild discomfort for me, because of course, when I was inserting the taper, I could feel when it was uncomfortable, Daniel could not feel what I felt. But it was nothing near unbearable. Not even remotely. It was now time for the piercing.
I was getting a little nervous, but not overly. Daniel did a great job of calming me while still explaining to Jimmy what was going on. Finally Daniel told me to take in a deep breath, and he'd pierce it on the exhale. I nodded, and took in a deep breath. I closed my eyes, and braced myself for the pain. As I exhaled, I felt the needle go through. I flinched, and my right leg twitched, but it actually didn't hurt that much. My flinch was more a reaction to what I was expecting to feel, rather than what I actually did feel. I let out a nervous laugh, and Daniel asked me how I was doing. I said I was fine, and he told me it was on to the next step. I knew this meant stretching up from 8g to 6g.
Daniel had told me earlier that while it would help cut down the bleeding, it would also "hurt like hell". So I prepared for more pain, took in another deep breath, and as I exhaled, all I felt was a sliding sensation, like sliding lubricated jewellery through a well healed piercing. I figured I must have misunderstood, and that the taper had not yet been used. Then I was told it was time to insert the ring. So I had done it. No problems thus far.
I took my third deep breath, and on the exhale, Daniel inserted the 6g CBR. He put on the ball, made sure it was tight, and asked me how I was feeling. I said I was fine, so he told me to take a look. I looked down, and there it was. Somehow it felt like it had always been there, and I had just never seen it before. As I was admiring it, I noticed Jimmy was leaning against the counter. We asked him if he was okay, and he laughed and said he felt a little light-headed. We all got a good laugh from that.
Daniel then wrapped the piercing up, and put a rubber glove over it to catch any dripping blood. He put an elastic on the glove to keep it in place, and told me that if I got home and there was a finger or two full of blood, not to worry, that it was normal. I got a little queasy at that, but nothing too serious. I had a feeling I wasn't going to bleed too much. We stood around chatting for a bit, and then I thanked Daniel, Jimmy thanked us both, and we all left the room. I went to the counter to pay, thanked Jen again for getting me such a good price, and left. Daniel always gets mad when I try to tip him, probably because we're friends. So this time I just shook his hand and left.
When I got home, I went into the bathroom to inspect the piercing, and, as I had suspected, I had barely bled at all. A few drops on the dressing was all. I definitely attribute that to the immediate stretching after the piercing. I took off the dressing and cleaned the piercing with warm water. I then sat down on the toilet to pee. I had heard this would be the worst part, and that one thing that helps is to fill a cup with warm water and insert the penis into the cup. Then it doesn't hurt so much to pee. So I did that, and let me tell you, if that cut down the pain, I wouldn't want to know how much it would have hurt otherwise. That was 50 times worse than the actual piercing process. I cringed on the toilet seat and suffered through it. The next trip to the bathroom was a bit better, and after that I was fine. I kept the rubber glove on for a couple of days though, because the piercing was slowly leaking blood, and I didn't want to ruin any boxers or pants.
As far as aftercare is concerned, I've mostly been rinsing it off with warm water after any trip to the bathroom, and cleaning it once a day with a mild anti-bacterial soap. The PA is actually one of the easiest piercings to heal, and I've always believed in not over-cleaning piercings, which can cause them to dry out and get irritated, which can lead to infections.
It's really amazing how quickly I've become comfortable with this piercing. It really feels like it has always been there, which is usually a sign of the perfect mod, in my experience, at least. One thing I did learn is that an advantage with this piercing to being uncircumcised is that I can pee standing up without the ring messing up my stream very much. That was helpful, because I am not a big fan of sitting to pee in public restrooms.
I haven't had a chance to try it out in a sexual situation, but I'm looking forward to trying it out once it's done healing. Actually, in about 1 week, I will be ordering a 4g curved barbell from BMEshop to put in once it is done healing. I've been told by numerous sources that curved barbells are the most comfortable jewellery to use. I'll find out for myself eventually, I suppose!
Of course, feel free to email me with any questions/comments.