Okay, from my experience, yes it swelled, but no where near "that" bad. Eating problems only last for a few weeks, but after a certain number of days eating will get better, its the stupid long bar that doesn't help as well. Just take it slow and soft foods and cold liquids, no alcohol or spicy foods, ice, and some ibuprofen for several days and eventually you'll be eating normal in no time. Really though it depends on your body's natural swelling and healing abilities.

As for being overdone, you're a beautiful woman and you should get what makes you happy and not worry so much about what others think. So I say go for it, its a bit of a pain in the beginning weeks, but you'll love the end result if you make it that far. I hope you do, so good luck with whatever you do.

I'm sure the swelling varies from person to person. Yours may not swell that bad. You should still be able to eat just not certain things.

The tongue heals pretty quickly. It just all depends on what your body can handle. I think it would be fine to get since it's a quick healer. It depends on the placement whether it will be visible or not. Mine is more in the center of my tongue so no one knows its there unless I tell them.

Don't worry about what people think about you. Be yourself If you want it go get it!

The swelling is different for everyone. In my experience I think it also differs on the piercer. The one piercer who didn't clamp the clamp down super hard was the one time it didn't swell super bad (3rd time I got it pierced). The first two times the piercers clamped it down so hard it seemed to swell or bruise before the needle was even in there, and I think they were swollen/more sore the next few days then the 3rd time.
The few days after does suck, but it's nothing unbearable. Just kind of annoying because you may talk with a slight lisp for a few days lol.

If you get it done do YOU think it would be overboard? Your opinion is the one that matters most for your body, who cares what others think? Your tongue is only visible on your face if you stick it out all the time.. or play with the barbell a lot.

I live by a high school and see pierced tongues on the young girls all the time. It must not be that painful or I would not see as many as I do. If you do want it don't wait, just go have it done.

Thanks guys. Also the other thing is I can't imagine how it can't hurt that bad! Everyone says tongue piercing is one of the least painful, but if I squeeze my tongue, or poke it with something, it HURTS lol. My friend got hers done and said the initial pain was so bad she would never do it again. It's actually one of the ones I have always feared most because of how thick the tongue seems - see I even got nipple done before tongue!

Go for it! My tongue has to be the easiest piercing I've had done. The pain was pretty minimal, hurt a bit on the entry hole for a little while and for the first few days I could feel it was there and stuff, but it was nothing major. Mine didn't swell too badly either, I went into college two days afterwards so was talking to all my friends and teachers. I ate chips the first night I had it done and within 3 days I ate a whole roast dinner. I stocked up on yoghurt and soup, made ice cubes etc but didn't need any of that.

Be brave, I was sooo nervous about the pain of the piercing and about how bad the next few days would be but it was absolutely fine!

For me, Biting my tongue (or cheek) hurts MUCH worse then getting it pierced.

I Just Got Mine Done On The 20 So 4 Days Ago. It Didn't Hurt No Where As Bad As I Thought It Would It Was Already In And I Looked At The Dude And Said Am I Done! Mine Didn't Swell And Had No Pain. I Was Able To Eat Whole Food On Saterday. Ive Had NO Trouble I Would Say Go For It

OK thanks guys!!

Guess what I have 2 more fears you need to help me get over lol...

1) Biting on the ball and breaking teeth

2) Balls coming undone and being asphyxiated or swallowed

These 2 things REALLY put me off. If I get it changed to the shorter bar after a few weeks I shouldn't chomp down on it should I?

My friend who has her tongue done shares #2 fear with me. Every night when she gets into bed she grasps the balls with her bedsheet and tightens them really tight lol. Whats the chances of the balls coming undone if I check them every few days or so? Pretty impossible?

I was hoping to get a bioplast bar after healing, but she said when she had a plastic bar, the threading on the plastic bar wore out super quick and the ball just spun but didn't tighten, and she got so freaked out she's sticking with metal..

Sorry for all the questions

1)Dental acrylic, bioplast and PTFE balls/barbells can be your tongue's new friends lol.

2)I've swallowed so many balls and barbells and no bad has come from them.. they just went through my system. Thankfully that was only when I was at a 14 gauge, It would be more scary now if I swallowed a ball that it's at 2 gauge..

when I had my tongue pierced, it didn't hurt at all. My tongue was swollen for about 2 maybe 3 days, but it wasn't too bad. Ice will be your best friend for the first couple of days. After that it was all downhill for me. Hope yours goes as easy as mine did. As far as looking to over crowded....I don't think so. Most people won't ever see your tongue unless you play with the barbell alot or stick your tongue out. People will occasionally see it when you talk, but I don't think it will look too crowded. I only had my tongue pierced for about a month maybe a little longer before I took it out, but I never had any problems with the ball coming off. I think you'll love the piercing even more once you get the initial barbell downsized. Just make sure you check the ball every day when you wake up and again before you go to bed and I think you'll be fine. Thats what I did when I had mine.

I never tighten my balls lol...but I haven't swallowed any in like 2 years. I swallowed a couple at first, but I'm still alive!

I had my tongue pierced for almost 8 years now and have only had 1 ball come off in all that time. This includes a dual pierce for about a year (stud in the middle with a ring at the tip). The ring (a curved barbell) was the one that actually came off. Didn't end up swallowing it though. The ball was so small it sat in my mouth for a few days before I finally discovered it, much to my surprise! And I'm no stickler for tightening the thing either!

Even with the larger guages, there's no real chance of asphixiation if you happen to swallow the ball. It will just pass through your system. The danger comes from accidentally inhaling the ball where it passes into your lung cavity. If this happens, you're gonna need surgery to get it removed or it could cause your lung to collapse. But don't worry about this too much. As long as you tighten before going to sleep, you'll be fine.

Pain with both of mine were minimal. Same goes for swelling. Both depend on the person and the piercer.

As far as eating goes, use the first few months to train yourself not to bite down on the bar. This is mainly how teeth get damaged. Also, try not to rest the bar along your gumline or move the ball against the back of your teeth.

Yeah I've only swallowed one once. What I do to make sure that doesn't happen again is that before rinsing with the mouth wash I'll tighten them, twice a day, morning and night. No worries about asphyxiation or swallowing while sleeping or eating. Yes go with Trish's suggestions for jewelry.

Like I said it is painless and you either want it bad enough or you don't, really though I'm telling you that its really not bad at all. After the first week or so it becomes obvious that something is sitting on your tongue so you'll learn its there quickly, I don't even need to think about it anymore. As for checking, you can do it discreetly by touching the top bead to the roof of your mouth to make sure its still on. I still do sometimes.

Ken brings up excellent points too about avoiding tooth damage so yeah, really Shell its an easy piercing and the first few weeks with swelling and a long bar can be a pain, but once downsized its great so you should totally go for it.

Oh! And the same day as my second tongue piercing I had a lovely several course dinner. You just had to take little bites and put the food straight to the back of your mouth rather than moving it with your tongue.

Come on Shell. If you want it go for it. Will it hurt, nothing like your nipple. Will your tongue swell, probably and you will talk like that old guy in Blazing Saddles. You will get over both of those things. If you do swallow a ball three days later you will hear a clink in the toilet. Now trot your cute self to the shop and have it done.

It's most definatly on of the easiest healing piercings I've had. In 5 years I only lost one ball, I was eating and didn't even notice I'd swallowed it until the bar scratched the roof of my mouth. It was definately a rough couple of days when I first got it done, but it was just that, barely a few days. Honestly I would rather heal a new tongue piercing than have a cold Eating will be a bit tough, your tongue will be tender, plus adjusting to that new piece of metal through your tongue. Try and make sure you can get it done when you have a day or two afterwards where you won't have to talk much, you never really realize how much you use yout tongue until it's sore

You guys are SO helpful!!!!! Thankyou everyone!!! Well guess what I was gonna get it done this evening and had my appointment booked, but guess what I woke up with? A cold and aching bones, so I am sick I had to cancel seeing as it wouldn't be the best idea to get a tongue piercing when you have a runny nose, cough etc!

So I will try again next Friday night

Do you guys think that if I get it done then, and have Saturday and Sunday off and I am back to work on Monday.. will I be OK for work on Monday? I work in retail so I serve customers most of the day, so I think my main issue is the whole speech thing lol..

The lady who did my foot tattoo last week told me to use Difflam-C when I get it pierced, she said its an anti-inflammatory mouthwash/spray thing that will greately help, anyone have experience with using this?