I will start off by saying, overall, I LOVE my nipple rings! Everything everyone says about increased sensitivity and the look is true! But, I will admit that things have been weird.
At A Glance Author stagger lee Contact stagger lee@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist i can't remember Studio Extreme Addictions Location Fayetteville, NC I got them primarily because I wanted them, but it all came to be through a bet I had with my girlfriend. See, she had piercings (both nipples and a VCH) but no tattoos. I had tattoos but no piercings. So she told me that if I got both nipples pierced (had to be both in the same sitting or it didn't count), she would get a tattoo. I had always had excuses why I wouldn't do it, like, "the nature of my job..." or "it's going to hurt...". But then I had reconstructive shoulder surgery. I was already in pain, out of work to recover, and couldn't sleep on my stomach, so I figured, why not? So, I discussed this with her, and she was all for it, so we set off to pick out her tattoo (we figured it would take longer for that then the nipples, and we could save some time by already knowing what her tattoo would be once my nipples were done.). Then we arrived at the studio. I made some small talk with my piercer-to-be; he asked me about my shoulder, things like that.
Then I started "the talk" about what I wanted. He and I came to the decision that straight, 14 ga barbells would work the best. Yes, they're harder to keep clean, but they're not as likely to get caught on anything, which was very important for work.
So off with the top and on to the poking: I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. But I figured, my girlfriend can do it, so can I. He showed me that everything was sterile and autoclaved, put on his gloves, and cleaned my left nipple. Everything was all good until he put the clamp on. THAT hurt. He explained everything that was going to happen, including that it's easier to poke the hole on the exhale, as opposed to holding your breath. He instructed me to breath on his commands, and the barbell was in before I even had a chance to look down. The right one hurt worse, because not only did I know what to expect the second time around, I also flinched when he pushed the needle through. But neither one was as bad as the forceps, so it was over in less than 20 minutes. I paid him, thanked him, received aftercare instructions and left.
The bad part: after about 3 weeks, my left nipple began to absorb the balls on my barbell. It hurt constantly unless it was hard, and looked worse than it felt. So I called him up, and explained to him what it felt like, and he told me to stop by so he could look at it. Sure enough, it was being absorbed, so he set up his booth and swiftly put longer bars with bigger balls in. (7/8" 14 ga over the 5/8" 14 ga original jewelry) And he did it for free!!
About 3 months after that, I had to have surgery again. Having done this once, I knew that the pre-admissions instructions stated that, "all body jewelry must be removed prior to surgery." So I talked to a few friends that had piercings and had to get surgery. One said, "change to acrylic", another said, "just take it out", and yet another said, "discuss it with your doctor beforehand." I went with the last idea because I knew that they weren't healed well enough to change out jewelry and I didn't want to have to get them redone. My doctor was surprised when I told her what I had done since the last surgery, but she was cool and professional about it. She told me that she didn't think I needed to take them out, so don't worry about it. Imagine my surprise, after waking up from anesthesia, that they had been taken out! Right about the same time I arrived at my room, my doc runs in and hands my girlfriend a piece of gauze with my barbells taped to it. She apologized profusely, saying that even though she told me not to worry about taking them out, the attending staff took them out before she came in to operate, and that she would pay for it if I had to get them redone. Not a problem; as soon as there was a chance, my girlfriend put them back in with a little bit of lube on the threads. No one was the wiser, and everytime I see my doc, she apologizes to me.
Knowing what I know now, I would have tried harder to find flesh toned retainers. Most of the ones I found were too short, and the wrong flesh tone. Or I would have tried monofilament or weed eater line, although I think that would have been just as obvious as the barbells. I also would have asked for internally threaded barbells, as mine are externally threaded. Even with the threads lubed, it still hurts to insert or remove them (since I've had them out twice before they were healed: once with the early change, and once with the surgery). I don't even want to think about taking them out without the lube.
The only other problem I've had is that there is a follicular cyst at the inner edge of my left one that comes and goes. Hot saline soaks help, but I wish it would go away.
Overall I love them! I don't know if I would get anymore, because it seems like too much to maintain for something that isn't permanent. I prefer the (relatively) easier after care of a tattoo than all the work of the piercing, but they're still wonderful.