About three month ago I decided to get my tongue pierced because I simply get the "urge" to go out and release some pressure by getting a new piercing. I decided that my tongue could be hidden from my parents since they weren't too thrilled when I had come home with other piercings. My best friend went along to share in my experience, and she decided to get something pierced as well. I watched my best friend get her nose pierced with ease, and then it was my turn.
At A Glance Author Sarah Contact Sarah@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Bobby Studio Atomic Location Austin, Texas Everything went fine...at first. Bobby first made me rinse out my mouth with mouthwash, and dried my tongue in order to mark with a pen where the incision was to go. He handed me a paper towel and asked me to hold it below my chin in case I drooled during the procedure since my mouth would be open the whole time. Next came the clamp - this was the part I heard hurt the most from the pressure. Whoever told me that must have lied. My tongue was clamped (no pain at all, just a small amount of pressure so that my tongue didn't slip), checked underneath for veins, and the needle went through - easy as pie! The next part was a little more painful. The needle was removed, and I was asked to relax my tongue so the barbell could go through. For some odd reason, Bobby couldn't seem to get it in! He claimed that the hole wasn't large enough, and he was going to have to put the needle back in my tongue to "stretch" the hole. With my mouth still wide open, dripping with saliva and blood, the needle was reinserted. Holding the needle on both the top and bottom with his fingers, he stretched my tongue. He then placed the barbell in my tongue, and I was free to go.
For the remainder of the night my tongue remained its normal size; however, when I awoke the next morning the swelling had definitely kicked in. I began talking with sort of a lisp, and there was somewhat of a constant pain, but nothing severe. My tongue remained this size for around three days, and then it began to slowly go down. The pain was always a little more in the morning, but it never got unbearable. I followed all the care instructions - mouthwash became my best friend for a little more than a week - and everything went pretty well after I realized that ice took the swelling down. My tongue remained swollen for about a week and a half, and afterward my talking went back to normal. The most pain had been during the stretching procedure (this isn't routine!), and there was a more annoyance with my speech than any pain. I never had to use any type of painkillers, eating was a little difficult at first, but I immediately got the hang of it all. I've heard of pe ople just eating soft foods until everything was healed, but I went right on to a hamburger. Small bites were the key, and I only bit down on the barbell a couple of times during the first day. Eventually it all became routine, and I was able to 'enjoy' my tongue ring.
Things were fine until my mom came to visit about a month after the tongue piercing. We decided to go out to eat, and part of my meal was spicy fries (fries with black pepper). I was told by Bobby that it would only take a month to completely heal, so I thought this was no difficult task. Immediately after taking a few bites, my tongue swelled back up to the size it had been the day following the piercing. Since my mom didn't know about my tongue, this presented somewhat of a problem. I rushed to the bathroom, rinsed out my mouth with water, and kept ice on it for the remainder of our dinner. When we returned to my apartment, I revisited my old best friend - mouthwash! The swelling went down within a few minutes, and I was in the clear.
I have still hidden my tongue ring from my parents, but everyone else who's either seen or felt it has been quite pleased! There is somewhat of a 'slit' in the top of my tongue from the stretching, but it doesn't present any sort of a problem. I don't mean for this to be a piercing horror story, and I don't want to discourage anyone from getting his or her tongue pierced – I merely wanted to share my occurrence. Although my experience was a little more than I bargained for, the pain was completely bearable throughout the entire incident. I recommend this piercing to anyone considering it, and I would definitely do it again if I had to go back because it has surely been fun ever since!