I was 19 when I got my tongue pierced. I had wanted to do it ever since I was 15, but you know how parents are. I had convinced my mom to let me get a tattoo at 17 but she said that she did not like the stigma associated with tongue piercing so she wouldn't sign for it.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Two years ago Location New York, NY
It was the week of the 4th of July so I decided to take a week off from work and went visit some family in the Bronx. Apparently that decision was choice because my big brother decided to make the trip at the same time. My brother and I are really close and we decided to act like tourists for a change.
On the 2nd of July we were bored out of our minds so he decided we needed to just hop the subway and see where it took us. We ended up in the Village. He took me into a piercing parlor and told me he is tired of hearing me talk about piercing my tongue. It was time I actually did it. He was right. No more hiding behind "My mommy won't let me do it". I'm a grown woman who can make her own decisions. So I talked to the guy and he went over how I had to rinse my mouth out after I put ANYTHING in it, not to mention I can't smoke, kiss or give oral for about 7 days. I had to think over the last two but I decided my boyfriend would get over it once he sampled the end result. So I filled out the forms and paid gladly. It's not everyday a dream comes true.
I was feeling really confident at this point. I looked around to make sure everything seemed sterile. I stood and watched as everything was setup. The clamps were taken out of a container filled with some sort of sterilizer. The needle was wrapped in a sealed packet. A gentleman with gloves brought in the barbell. I almost felt like I was in the dentist's office about to have my teeth cleaned. Knowing that everything was clean and sterile was a load off my mind. The last thing I wanted to think about was possible infection. The whole time my brother kept one hand on my shoulder almost trying to reassure me that he wouldn't let anything happen to me.
Once I got in the chair I started to have second thoughts. I mean I worked for a reputable company and dealt with the elite face to face on a daily basis. But I had to be true to me. That and I had already paid the non-refundable $35 bucks. So here I was in the back room of a tattoo/piercing parlor with my big brother, who is supposed to be sworn to protect me, and the guy who was about to stick a needle through my tongue and I'm trying to talk myself out of bolting and saying "Screw the money". Upon sensing my distress Mike, the piercing guy, tells me to close my eyes for a second and relax. That should be real easy. I had a clamp and a blue dot on my tongue and he had a needle in his hands and he wanted me to close my eyes and relax!? So I took a deep breath. closed my eyes and I felt Mike walk up to me. Next thing I knew he was saying "Oops!" followed by "All done". That was it. I didn't feel a thing. Now I felt really sheepish. I made this whole production o ut of nothing, but hey, I did it. There was something I wanted to do and I did it.
So Mike and I talked about how the first barbell is about 12mm to accommodate swelling and about 10 days after the piercing I need to change to a 10mm barbell. I know from friends that some places will change it for you for free but it varies from place to place. I chose to do mine my self because you have to learn some time. I also got a list of dos and don'ts that was very helpful
It did hurt once the swelling started but I'm no worse for the ware. I kept lots of ice on hand. It really wasn't so bad. However, not being able to eat pizza and Chinese was unbearable but I survived that too. You have to rinse out your mouth after you eat, which means carrying a bottle of mouthwash with you. Luckily they come in travel sizes.
Overall, I'd have to say I'm glad I did it and I would highly recommend it. There were times when I wonder what I was thinking. Like the first time I bit the ball while eating. That hurt like crazy. But after a while it gets easy until you almost forget it's there.