I got my tongue pierced Saturday December 13th. Not that this is a groundbreaking, unique piercing, but it's an experience I think is worth documenting.
Day 1
After much stress to find a shop to do the piercing for me (my go to shop had a new guy that doesn't do tongue, and my second go to didn't have their guy there that day.) I headed downtown.
She dotted my tongue, I checked the spot, liked it, and sat down.
Funny enough, I hate needles, I can't look at the needles that I get pierced with, I always have to close my eyes. She clamped my tongue with the forceps, and that hurt. No really, it hurt. Obviously, everyone is different, but my tongue piercing was my most painful piercing (out of navel, bottom navel, and nostril), the pain made me cry, but kind of in the same way a nostril piercing makes you cry, all your face parts are connected. After some discomfort she screwed on the balls and I was ready to go.
Initially the bar felt way too long, actually it still feels like that. I can't wait to downsize to a shorter bar. It touches the bottom and the top of my mouth, as the piercer commented, I have a small mouth. My tongue was a little tingly, and less mobile than usual, but it wasn't really painful.
The biggest problem is that your tongue is kind of stuck in place, your tongue is a muscle that you just pierced so using the muscle will be a little more difficult. Also the bar kept me from being able to move my tongue out of my mouth. I couldn't get the long bar past my teeth to take a look at my new piercing but I tried.
I was told to use mouthwash "all the time" after eating anything, or drinking anything other than water with mouthwash, preferably alcohol free mouthwash. And that after three or four weeks I could change it. And to "practice" talking for a few minutes, but mostly rest my mouth.
The next few hours were uneventful, basically just me feeling my tongue get slowly more and more sore, and more and more swollen, by the evening (about three hours after the piercing) it was painful to talk. Ice cold water definitely helped, but it only relieved it temporarily.
Eating was a nightmare, I made the mistake of taking noodles (I was at a Christmas party) thinking that they were soft, so easy to eat. WRONG. The noodles wrapped and got stuck around the barbell, so I gave up and took to taking very small bites of cabbage, chewing them on the sides of my mouth, and looking up to make swallowing easier.
Later that night I had congee, by just placing it on my tongue and swallowing, and taking tiny bites of beef the same way as the cabbage. I also had snow pea leaves (see: cabbage).
I took two advil, brushed, mouthwashed and went to sleep.
Day 2
I was told by my friends that Day 2 is the worst, I woke up expecting the worst with an ice water filled tea tumbler (the ice was still solid by morning, I was impressed, just saying). I actually honestly felt nothing. A little dry mouth, probably from hanging my mouth open all night because of the long bar, but otherwise fine.
It only started to get painful when I got out of bed and started talking to my sister, so I took another two advil (actually one extra strength), and made lunch.
Mashed sweet potatoes, no matter how I ate, it hurt. That's all. I was swollen and sore. Not unbearable, but not particularly pleasant.
My company holiday party was that night, unsure if I'd be able to find anything to eat, I had a protein shake to keep myself full a little better, and before I left for the night, took another advil and packed a few in my bag (and a travel bottle of mouthwash of course).
By the time we were heading downtown to the party, I was feeling no pain and speaking normally (according to my co-workers). At the party, honestly, I was drinking. You're not supposed to drink with a fresh tongue piercing but... yeah. I was told that if you do, it'll burn and sting your piercing but I didn't feel it at all.
Dinner at the party, I ate everything, just slowly. I took small bites and chewed slowly, I was a little sore after, but otherwise fine. (Maybe it had something to do with the alcohol.)
By the end of the party I barely felt like I had a fresh piercing at all. The post party McDonalds was eaten slowly, but other wise fine.
Two advil, mouthwash and go to bed.
Day 3
Woke up with a screaming match with my boyfriend on the phone that left my tongue sore and dry for the whole day. (I blame him).
I was told by my sister that the third day was the worst, when she was the most swollen, the most sore, and had the weirdest speech.
I noticed more a lisp today than ever before. I had to go to work today, I avoided talking on the phone, and having long conversations with customers as much as possible. But I noticed a weird dry tongue feeling all day. I think this is from the overuse of mouthwash I've been going though. But after a quick google search, seems normal.
My tongue feels like the swelling is only on it's way down, and it just feels like I've got a canker sore on my tongue, so it gets a little sore after talking for a long time, but it hurts no more than a canker.
Hopefully the worst is over and I'm on my way to healing, but only time will tell.
