I'm honestly not sure when it first hit me to get my scrumper pierced. It is one of those piercings that I have admired for years, but never had the courage to actually get.
At A Glance Author Rachel Contact Rachel@bme.anon IAM Reg1123 When Six months ago Artist Derek Lowe Studio formerly of Body Work Productions, Inc. Location Cleveland, OH
Unlike most of my piercings, having a ring in my scrumper is purly for asthetic value. On one hand, the above sentance is true. On the other hand, there is more meaning behind it than that. I had set up my appointment for September 13, 2001 with my piercer Derek Lowe. And as it turned out, this was 2 days after the September 11 tradegy. So I have come to view this piercing as a "reminder" of sorts. One that will never let me forget.
I arrived at Body Works early as usual. Having gotten about 98% of my mods there, I am more than a farmiliar face there. No matter how nervous I am about getting a piercing, the staff always manages to put me at ease. On this particular occasion, I was being accompanied my both my good friend Joe, and my fiance Alex.
After filling out the paper work I proceeded to the waiting room, where I chain smoked and bullshited with Joe and Alex. Inside I wasn't sure what to expect. Pain wasn not something that I was particuarly worried about, but general comfort and rejection was definetly on my mind. Knowing that the rejection rate of this piercing is extremely high definetly made me skeptical of it's worth.
When Derek called me in back, I knew that the moment of truth had arrived. I had selected a 14g CBR for the piercing and it was explained to me that no matter what gague the piercing is performed at, chances are that over time, rejection will occur. Derek made sure that I was aware of this. Particuarly after seeing how sad I was with two madisons rejecting.
For the actual procedure itself I was positioned on my back. After removing all instruments from their sterile packaging, Derek then explained that one of the other piercers, Molly, would be assisting him. While Molly held my lip up, Derek dried of and cleaned my lip, and then positioned both the needle and recieving tube for the piercing. After a few deep breaths, I slowly felt the needle pierce my flesh. Thinking about it now, the sensation was rather odd. I did not feel a great "pinching" or "sharp" sensation, it was more of just feeling the needle pushing through my skin.
The procedure was overall not that bad. The usual light headedness I feel after getting moded wasn't present. Having someone who I have complete trust and faith in also put me at ease. When it was over I admired myself in the mirror and thanked Derek profusely. I then filled out the rest of my paper work and left to show off my new piercing to the world.
After inserting the jewelry I must admit that it took some time to get used to the piercing. Having a CBR inbetween your upper gums and lip truly does take some getting used to. Eating was a slight challenge. For about a week I kept thinking that I had food caught in my teeth. The pain was minimal. There really was none except for if the jewelry got caught or snagged. Overall, it took the piercing a mere month to fully heal.
After care was rather simple. I swished with sea salt twice a day, and used an alcohol-free mouthwash as well. Every once in a while I find myself picking food out of the jewelry also.
One worry that I did have was about migration. During the first few weeks of having my scrumper pierced, you could not see the jewelry unless I physically raised my top lip. However, within the first two months, the jewelry has now moved to the point where you can see it any time I open my mouth. Almost immediatly I thought it was migrating, however it has not moved at all in about 3 or 4 months.
Having my scrumper pierced has been quite an experience. Out of all my piercings, I think that this one definetly gets the most attention. I have had both positive and negative reactions to it, but all and all I have enjoyed it. Other's opinions have not affected me. This piercing was done for myself and myself only.
For those people who are considering getting a scrumper piercing, I must say that it is one of the easiest mods I have ever experienced. Although not everyone has anatomy capable of handling this piercing, and with the extremely high rejection rate, I do feel that it is one of the more "interesting" mods out there. I haven't regretted having it pierced ever.