A number of months ago, a [now] ex-boyfriend made me promise that I would never get more than nine piercings, because 'double digits was just gross'. At the time, I was sitting at a comfortable seven. Shortly after, I got my hips pierced, and loved them. He admitted that they looked pretty cool, but still told me he didn't want me to get any more [as this had made my hole count nine!], and I stuck with that for quit some time.
At A Glance Author Alison Contact Alison@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Ryan Studio Strange City Location Edmonton, Alberta Skip ahead a number of months, and the situation changed quite a bit! We had broken up, and I had found a new boy, who I can't say enough good things about. [It just so happens that they were friends, which has resulted in a whole lot of ugly coming at us from a never-ending parade of stupid.] Now, I'm not sure what made me decide to do it, but I got the bug to get a new hole! So I hummed and hawed over my options, and decided to get my tongue web done. I have one of those families that really look down on body modification of any form, and a father who straight up doesn't want to see, or even know about anything I have done. As I already have my hips, sternum, labret, and a few in my ears, I'm running out of places that I can pierce. Now, I know about a bunch of others, but at the time, I wasn't quite ready to explore genital, I really can't stand naval piercings, I wanted a break from surface, and there was NO way I was going to let anything pointy near my nipples. So tongu e web seemed like a good choice!
Now onto the actual experience!
I thought about it for a couple days, and then decided to go for it. [Afterall, if I didn't like it, I could always take it out, with no real harm done!] I got on the phone, to confirm which piercers would be there, and got my boyfriend to drive me down to Strange City, went directly to the counter, and told them what I wanted. Ryan, who is a very excitable person, immediately started smiling, and grabbed the jewelry [A 10 guage straight barbell]. He went to the back to set up, while I talked to one of the tattoo artists about the piece I wanted. A minute later, I was in the room, and ready to go. He did a very brief overview of aftercare, since he knew that I remembered it, having done three other piercings which all came out perfectly. Once that was over and done with, it was time to get started.
He had all the tools and needles and such in packages still, to prove they were sterile, so he started unpacking while I swished with the Listerine [from hell...] By the time I was done swishing, he was all set up and ready to go. He slathered technicare all over my lips to make sure everything was sterile and clean, and then got out the clamps.
This was easily the most painful part of the process. He used an elastic instead of actually locking the clamp, which I was very thankful for. He pulled my tongue out of my mouth, clamped on, and got ready to put the needle through. With the amount of pain the clamp was inflicting, I didn't even feel the needle. He then followed through with the jewelry. And it was almost done. The only hitch was the second bead, which slipped off as he was threading it on, and fell into the back of my mouth. After the slobbery mess of trying to get it back out, he twisted it on, and all was good. I go up, looked in the mirror, and immediately fell in love. It was perfectly centered, sitting nicely, and was barely swollen. [I swell pretty much instantly, so I knew it would be great]. I went to the front and paid, and was on my merry way.
The aftercare was definitely more involved than I was expecting. I had thought of cleaning, and rinsing, and avoiding any unnecessary agitation, but I hadn't thought of two very important things. One being, even thought it doesn't hurt tonight, doesn't mean it won't hurt tomorrow! I had the unfortunate idea of kissing my boyfriend that night, which seemed to be totally fine, until I woke up the next morning and could hardly move my tongue. Remember that just because you can, doesn't mean you should! Once the adrenaline wore off, and it had a chance to sit, I definitely regretted the additional 'exercise' I had given my tongue. The second thing I hadn't thought of was plaque buildup. As with anything in your mouth, plaque will grab onto the jewelry, and not let go. Since it is pretty tender for the first week or so, the buildup was quite frustrating to deal with. After the initial week of trying to rinse it off with salt water [which really just made it worse] I started someth ing different that worked quite well. Rinsing with a dental rinse designed to break up plaque [Plax] and using an extra soft baby toothbrush got it off with minimal effort, and very little agitation.
So that's my story. Any questions, comments, etc., please feel free to email me! Thanks for reading.