Today (Jan 12) started off as most vacation days do, I slept in good and late. Today was the day I would get my nostril pierced. Exciting. This is something I have pondered on and off for about five years. (I'm just glad that I didn't end up doing it myself!) So, I called John and waited for him to come over and bring lunch...
 
Back Story...
 
I believe it all started in 10th grade when I first saw a classmate with a nostril stud. I thought it looked awesome and soon desired to have one of my own. I found out that her sister had done it for her at home, but I was too chicken to talk to her about it (she was a senior, anyway) I looked up some information online, I may have even stumbled onto BME. I kind of wanted to do it myself, but thankfully I never got up the courage to do so. So I did the best thing I could, I waited.  
 
Two/three hours later... Ear piercing
 
We're on our way to Cleveland to get my nose done.  
 
We arrived, got the paperwork, sat down. I filled it out, most of you know the drill by now. Back up at the counter, I took at a look at some of the nostril screws in the case. The guy I talked to said that they only had a few in stock at the moment though. I got to choose from a steel disk or a steel dome (half ball). Wow. Huge selection. (sarcasm) Well, apparently they were due a shipment that morning, but of course it hadn't arrived. Oh well, I didn't drive 45mins for nothing, so I chose the dome. I paid and sat back down to wait for my turn...
 
The procedure went very well. Tyson was cool, as always! Since I was just there less than two weeks ago (with my boyfriend to get his ear lobe pierced) he offered to skip through the whole sterilization speech, which I agreed was fine, but I watched as he got everything ready. I was expecting the cleaning of my nose to be strange, but not that it would tickle so much! I burst out laughing each time he swabbed some Technicare inside my nose. It tickled so much I had tears in my eyes.  That was the worst part of the procedure—by far.
 
The placement was marked and checked, and checked, and finally after staring at it for a while I said OK. A nice fat receiving tube up my nose, a deep breath in, and out, and ahh! it was through. Not painless, but not unbearable. Jewelry insertion was a little more painful, but definitely bearable, Tyson was very quick about getting the screw in, I was impressed.
 
A little pressure stopped the bleeding, and I checked it out in a mirror. Cute! I said.
 
Tyson was really impressed that I didn't even flinch. I shrugged. My first professional piercing, and I didn't flinch. He said I "Took it like a pro." A chat about aftercare, a tip for Tyson and I was done!
 
Now the strange part...
 
I don't know for sure, but I think the Technicare was messing with my head. Afterward I felt quite a bit lethargic and somewhat "out there". I tend to get nauseous from hospital-type smells—especially surgical scrub/soap smells.  Even the smell of Satin gets me. I can't visit a Vet's office for more than ten minutes without feeling like I will vomit... Well, Technicare smells a lot like a hospital to me—duh. As far as the whole experience the Technicare was definitely the worst part.  I couldn't stand the smell and it stayed with me for hours.  I felt loopy and tired and strange.  Eventually it did wear off as the scent dissipated, but ugh, I felt terrible, almost depressed.
 
Another unexpected side effect I experienced was the strangeness of facial movements. I didn't want to talk, or smile, or anything because it felt weird, not so much that it hurt; I just didn't want to make myself smile. So, I was pretty darn quiet most of the night, and John kept asking if I was ok....
 
After a while it all wore off, I felt up to eating, and we got dinner at Chipotlй (awesome!).  
 
Aftercare:
 
Tyson explained all the usual dos and don'ts and such.  He said that I should move the jewelry slightly to get the soap in, and then to get it out... However, I don't necessarily agree to move the jewelry until it's had a little chance to heal (I respect the suggestions, don't get me wrong).  He also noted that I should do two salt soaks a day, because cartilage likes them a lot, and that I should only use soap every other day. Basically that's what I do, two salt soaks a day and soap on it in the shower every other day.  
 
First week...
 
I had a little bit of bleeding the first few nights, no biggie. No soreness only if I forgot it was there and tried to scratch my nose!  
 
2 weeks later...
 
I've had no issues with the healing process thus far, and my nose feels great! I've back off to one sea salt soak a day (Getting up early enough to go to class is hard enough!) After a week I started to get crusties, and I still get them, but not very much.
 
Conclusion
 
I heart Tyson! Hehe. (Ok a little girly moment there!) Seriously, I just want to publicly thank him for doing such a great job! Seriously, Body Work Productions is a top-notch shop and I highly recommend it to anyone in Northeast Ohio. I wouldn't go anywhere else.