I got my tongue pierced on February 1st, and boy was it a ride.
Your tongue is a rather personal area. It doesn't matter if you're acting goofy, eating ice cream, or intimate with a partner. Thinking about someone else touching it, unless it's wanted affection--and that means their vulnerable tongue, or more vulnerable part-- there, not their entire hands there. It's understandable to be squeamish.
Plus, if you've seen the Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight movie where someone pierces his own tongue with a gun (never do this)--I sympathize with any of you who have nightmares.
I spoke to the piercer before taking the plunge, (as you're supposed to) from pain to eating to custom jewelry; she was a real expert and very nice and the place was fastidiously clean (all things you should look for when you get pierced).
If you think the piercer yanks your tongue out and stabs it, you're wrong. The process feels silly, actually. For several minutes you'll be sitting, nearly lying down, with your tongue out wrapped in a paper towel. This is to soak up saliva--and it takes a while because your body automatically tries to replenish it when it senses your tongue is dry.
When it's dry enough, the piercer pushes a hollow needle through your tongue and tne inserts starter jewelry.
To me, the pain was the same as getting my ears or helix pierced (yes, I have those too).
The aftermath was a lot more difficult than getting my ears pierced.
First, my tongue swelled up to about three times at the site of the piercing. This is normal, but it makes it VERY hard to eat anything by going around the piercing. I tried putting ice on it, which is recommended. That was a mistake. I tried drinking a protein drink to keep my energy up. That was also a mistake. 1 in 51 people who have had their tongue recently pierced develop a temporary sensitivity to milk liquid, even without lactose.
After 10 days of drinking liquid (I survived on energy tea and non-corrosive caffeinated Gatorade and electrolytes), I could eat again. My food of choice? Quiche. I make good quiche*.
The good news is my tongue healed 3 days earlier than expected (2 weeks). The bad news is not only did I have to wait a few days more to get the piercing downsized, but it came out a day later, and having to wait two days for the only piercer to return to work meant my tongue had fully healed, so there was no way to get the piercing back in and salvage it.
I am actually looking forward to next time--which will be after I get my nose and ears pierced even more.
Pictures next time.
*recipe in a cookbook I will be selling
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