This experience is actually about nipple piercings but does lead on from when I got my lotus flower tattoo done so I will start from there!
At A Glance Author Ebowlotus1960 Contact Ebowlotus1960@bme.anon IAM Ebowlotus1960 When A month ago Artist Luke Studio Metalworks Location Galway, Ireland About two weeks after getting my lotus tattoo done, I went back to see my artist Gordon as he had asked me for some fully healed pictures for his portfolio and to check if any touch-ups were required. Gordon then asked me if he could add a thicker outline to the piece which I duly agreed to as it would bring out the colours of the petals more. In the meantime the thought of getting some new piercings had been floating around in my head after the endorphin rush from my first tattoo and I eventually decided on getting my nipples done as the idea had always seemed very sensuous to me so when Gordon gave me an appointment for later in the week to do the tattoo work I also decided to make an appointment on the same day to get my nipples done and walked out of the shop with a big dirty grin on my face at the thought of new metal in a rather sensitive area of my body!
I also felt that a pair of nipple piercings would be a good way to celebrate my college graduation which I had attended the week before and the fact that I now had a degree in anatomy only made me more eager to mark the occasion with a new body modification. I could hardly wait for the day to arrive and the money that I had received from relatives to mark my graduation was burning a hole in my pocket to be spent on those new piercings.
Finally the big day rolled around and I arrived on time at 12 only to find that Gordon was running late as the second tattooist Vince was off work with a broken leg. I didn't really mind too much though as I was getting a bus at 3 o clock so I plenty of time to kill and the couches are very comfortable. About three quarters of an hour after I arrived, Gordon came downstairs to get me and got to work on thickening the outline which only took 5 minutes in the chair and after getting my shoulder dressed I toddled off downstairs again to find Luke the piercer.
I found Luke downstairs and we started discussing the details of my piercing such as jewellery to be used and placement. I had already decided on horizontal placement with straight barbells with a view to adding a second vertical pair at a later stage so after paying and receiving my bar of antibacterial soap and bottle of cleaning solution as well as the usual talk and leaflet on aftercare I went into the piercing room to get the job done.
I figured that I'd be pretty embarrassed having to strip off to get my nipples pierced as I'm on the large side and not all that comfortable with my body but surprisingly I was completely at ease, I actually was more embarrassed when I had to show my doctor my blistered left breast a few years ago when a pot of boiling water was spilt over it. Of course my sense of ease was completely due to the conversation that Luke was making and his "no time to be embarrassed, lets pierce you" attitude, he even showed me his own nipple piercings. So by now I was stripped from the waist up and Luke was busy sorting placement with a marker and measuring the barbell size that would be needed and when he was happy with it I got up on the couch. I had been rather worried about placement as my nipples can tend to invert a little from time to time but this didn't pose any problems and of course getting barbells has actually cured that problem.
At this stage the clamp was on my left nipple and was causing me no discomfort whatsoever as it wasn't tightened with a rubber band. I watched while the needle was put in on my exhale and withdrawn leaving the cannula behind and then the 14g 5/8" barbell was in and screwed without any pain. However lets just say that it is true when people tell you that a nipple piercing on your dominant side hurts a damn sight more.
Once again Luke pierced when I exhaled but this time I felt some real pain and tugging. Even though the barbell was in just as quickly it seemed to take a lot longer because the right nipple was hurting whereas the left hadn't but once the jewellery was in place the pain went. I sat up to admire them in the mirror and instantly fell in love. Luke asked me take special note of any swelling as the left barbell was fitting a little more snugly than the right and to come back immediately if I had any problems but to definitely come back in two weeks time for a check up on them and after bandaging my nipples and giving me a supply of bandages to wear in bed the first few nights I left feeling absolutely ecstatic.
I had very little discomfort with the piercings except for a little burning sensation the first time I went out into the cold and a few spots of blood on my bandages when I took them off that night to clean them. That night I had absolutely no problems sleeping on my front and barely noticed the piercings were there as there had been very little swelling. The left piercing was healing a little more slowly than the right for the first week due to the barbell fitting more snugly but this soon righted itself and Peter the other piercer in Metalworks gave me the all clear last week when I went back to get them checked and said that I could have a longer barbell in if I wanted but since I wasn't having any problems with my left nipple and it was healing well then there is really no point in disrupting the developing fistula. I can quite happily say that getting these done was one of the best decisions I have ever made as it has given me more confidence in my appearance to know that I have a piercing that only a select few know about! To anyone in Galway, go to Metalworks, you won't be disappointed.