Well, for starters, let me give a little background information. The experience I am writing about is my third (that's right, THIRD) tongue piercing (jobs wouldn't allow them so had to remove it.) Finally, I land a position where I can have my tongue pierced and won't receive any flack about it, so I decide to go ahead and get 'er redone. I went with some buds to Alan's Skin Grafix here in Augusta, GA to get repierced, and found myself to be last in line behind all my buds (heh heh, I had to get myself pumped up for it ;Þ). I chose Allan's because that was where I had gotten my eyebrow pierced, and was really impressed with them from the start. The place was clean, the people are nice and professional, and ya just feel like you are being taken care of there. Not to mention the fact that my friend's felt the same about it. It always helps to know you aren't the only one that's happy with someone's work. Richard came Highly recommended from my friend Susan.
At A Glance Author BooBehr Contact BooBehr@bme.anon Artist Richard Studio Allan's Skin Grafix Location Augusta, GA When it was finally my turn, I went in and sat on the table, and in comes Richard. After checking out my tongue, we kinda figured out that if we didn't go through the scar tissue, I wouldn't be able to get repierced as it would be too far forward to be done. So through the scar tissue it was... (No biggie right, I mean it wasn't that bad the first two times I got pierced).
When Richard got ready to pierce me, he warned that it was probably gonna hurt, and guess what, he was right :). Richard was quick with it and got a good clean hole (considering that this is the third one I have had, he got it straighter than anyone else has). Handed me my customary glass of Ice Water, and giggled a little at the fact that I was about to break My bud Sin's thigh in half (hey, I had to have something to squeeze). He went over the cleaning procedures and so on just to make sure that they were still fresh in my mind, and then he sent us all on our merry little way.
This part may not seem to have anything to do with my piercing experience, but trust me, a point shall appear. Following the piercing session, we all went to Spinnaker's to get a bite to eat. I, being the flaming idiot that I am, decided to have some Hot Fudge Sunday type of cake and a Mud Slide. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS...I CANNOT STRESS IT ENOUGH. I know what you're thinking. Ice cream should make my tongue feel great right? WRONG...Hot Fudge and a fresh tongue ring DO NOT mix. At first I thought that my tongue was on fire and was about to burn off, but that was then slowly replaced with the overpowering need to slap myself. :) I thought I was gonna end up swallowing my tongue due to the fact that it kept sticking to the roof of my mouth towards the back. So the moral is kiddies: NO HOT FUDGE UNTIL THE TONGUE IS HEALED. This was also around the time that I figured out why they say you shouldn't drink any alcoholic beverages right off. Again with the BURNING. Never again, Never again. I think next time I'll just turn on the stove and hold my tongue to it....at least that way it would go numb eventually. :)
The swelling wasn't too bad until the second day, and even then it never really got bad (nothing a bit of Ibuprofen wouldn't fix at least). I was talking normally from day one (but that's just because I mumble when I talk anyway), eating with no troubles, and was even playing with the barbell later that night. It healed cleaner and MUCH faster than any previous times, and it also didn't make me have that nasty little indent in my tongue. Also, by the end of the first week, I was wearing a 12 gauge 3/4" Barbell ( I started with a 14 Gauge 1" Barbell) cause I wanted something a bit bigger, and since the piercing was still fresh enough, the hold was still at 12 Gauge anyhow. I've gone back to the 14 gauge 1"-er now though. I just like the feel of it better, and I can play with it easier.
So basically, it may have hurt a lot more, but it appears to have been well worth it. The healing, the cleanliness, courtesy and professionalism of the people, and my basic overall feeling about the piercing and the experience are all excellent.