I have several piercings and tattoos, and as everyone knows, they are horribly addictive. I was feeling the itch to get something done, so I spent the day looking around at different sites to try and decide on something. I was really looking to get a tattoo but I was not in the financial situation to do so.
At A Glance Author Em Contact Em@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Brandon Studio Atomic Tattoos Location St. Petersburg FL I was looking at the sites for the shops in my area (St. Petersburg FL) and I came across Atomic Tattoos. They have shops all over the area, and I had heard great stuff about them but had never had anything done there. I began to think that if I was going to get anything then it would probably be at Atomic. Now came the time to actually figure out what to get! I already had my nostril done, so I didn't want anything else in my nose because it would look too cluttered, and plus that is really noticeable. I didn't want to get my eyebrow because I wear glasses. Lips and labret was out since I have a horrible fear of gum recession, and I would constantly worry. I already have my navel done twice, and I didn't feel like a "down there" piercing. I originally wasn't even going to get my tongue done, because I wasn't sure if I'd like it and I didn't want to lay down a ton of cash on something that I'd end up hating. I had been toying with the idea for a few years but never went through with it because I was unsure about it and really scared!
That's when I went back to the homepage and saw a special announcement - "Valentine's Day Sale - Put a ring in your thing! All standard piercings $25 single, $40 a couple". This sealed the deal. I knew that the place was a reputable shop so I wasn't going to get some discount hack job done. I figured that for just $25, I'd take it out if I hated it so much. I waited for the boyfriend to get home and talked him into going with me (he refused to get anything done, the pansy. Although now he is thinking of getting his septum done, so keep your eyes peeled for his story) and we headed out.
We got there and there were two girls getting tattoos done and one girl in the waiting area already. We filled out the papers and piddled around for a while until they were all done. Meanwhile, two other groups of people walked in and waited as well. When the tattoo people finally got out of there, it was about 5 minutes to close and we had been waiting about 2 hours. Brandon said that he would stay and do our piercings and the other guy there (I am sorry I can't remember his name but he was super nice as well) left. Everyone in the waiting room was getting their tongue done except one girl! We got her out of the way and there was just us tongue people left. Since we were all getting the exact same thing done, he gave us all the aftercare sheets and told us what to do all at the same time. By this time I wanted to shoot myself since I was so nervous. I kept thinking that it would be hell, since it hurts like the devil when you even bite your tongue, let alone shoving stuff through it the whole way. To add to that, the people in the waiting room were arguing with each other the entire time I waited and talked about how they were going to go out drinking that night, and I wanted to get out of there before my head exploded from their stupidity. They made me go first.
Brandon set up his little tray with everything as I walked back. He said they didn't have any 14g bars ready at the moment so he would have to do it with 12g. I told him that was fine, since that was what I'd rather have done anyways. He gave me some disgusting mouth rinse that I swallowed a little of and a paper towel to hold so when I inevitably drooled everywhere I wouldn't get it all over my clothes and look like an idiot when I left. He told me to hold it at one precise height, and I assume this was so I would think about the paper towel height rather than the metal being jammed through my face. He told me to stick out my tongue all the way and then fold it over on itself between my teeth so he could see where to put the piercing. Then he warned me - "When you stick out your tongue again, I am going to dry it off with a paper towel, and after that you can't talk or do anything. So whenever you're ready". I stuck it out and screamed silently in my brain.
I knew it was going to hurt. He clamped it down and told me to take a breath and let it out while counting to five silently. He did it then. It only took a few seconds for everything to be done but it felt like an eternity. I drooled about a cup of drool all over the place, but I didn't worry about that, I just wanted the clamp off my tongue. I groaned as he did his thing, and then it was all over.
It was the weirdest feeling ever. There was something in my tongue. I didn't want to move it or swallow or anything, because I was afraid it would hurt or be otherwise unpleasant. The bar felt like it was about ten feet long, I couldn't even close my moth the whole way unless I stuck my tongue in the back of my mouth. The annoying girls in the waiting room asked me if it hurt, and I told them yes. After all, how is having something jammed through your tongue NOT going to hurt? We tipped him $10 and headed out.
I tried talking on the way home and I just sounded like an idiot, so I shut up for the rest of the night. The next day I had to go to class. It was wishful thinking that I could just sit there and be quiet - we had a group project that day and I was the leader. I just kept at the talking and now, 4 days later, I am pretty good at it, but I have a teeny lisp still.
Eating - oh God, eating. Here is what I have eaten since I got it done -
Day 1 (piercing day) - cream of mushroom soup
Day 2 - milk shake, chicken broth, tomato soup
Day 3 - macaroni and cheese (swallowed whole), chicken broth, one french fry
Day 4 - milk shake, tomato stew, slice of pizza chopped into tiny bits
Day 5 (today) - slice of pizza chopped into tiny bits
It sucks. Eating is so unsatisfying if you can't chew like you normally do. I plan to be very careful until I can get the shorter bar in since I don't want to crack my teeth on the metal of this one. I have bitten it a couple times already but I am chewing so slow it doesn't really matter. So wish me luck for another week and a half!
I would recommend this piercing to anyone thinking about it, although it is really weird and the days after suck, it looks really good. But if you are going to be an idiot about the aftercare and not do it right, then skip it. The pain was bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Plus, after it's over, you just have a throbbing pain, and there's ibuprofen for that. So good luck to you all who have read this, and enjoy your tongue ornaments!