I've never gone through a migration but I found this info, maybe it will help

"The first thing you need to know is what rejection and migration are. Some people tend to confuse the two or think that they are one in the same, but that is not actually the case. So, let's take a look at the two words and define and distinguish them clearly.

Rejection
Simply put, rejection is a cause. Rejection happens when you place a foreign object in your body (i.e. body jewelry) and your body, for one reason or another, considers that foreign object a threat to your health and safety. In order to protect itself, your body slowly fights the object by pushing it and healing the skin behind it to eventually force the object completely out through the skin.

Migration
Migration is the symptom. The process of the movement that slowly brings your body jewelry closer and closer to the skin's surface is migration. If the jewelry is not removed, the process of rejection will cause it to migrate far enough to actually push its way entirely through the skin. Once this happens, the possibility of healing without scarring is very unlikely.

Piercings Most Likely to Reject/Migrate
Piercings that only break through a small amount of surface skin - aptly named surface piercings - are the most likely to become victim of rejection and migration. The less skin there is available to keep the piercing secure, the more chances there are that your body will find a way to push it out. This, of course, depends largely on your body and whether or not it determines that the piercing is a threat in the first place. Some people are much more prone to rejection than others.

The most common surface piercings are navel (belly button) and eyebrow piercings. The surface piercings most likely to reject are those that reside more closely to the skin's surface such as sternum, nape, and madison piercings. An experienced piercer must know how to pierce through enough flesh for a secure hold without causing tissue or nerve damage. However, even the best placed piercing can still reject if your body simply doesn't want it there.

How to Determine if Your Piercing is Migrating
Because migration is a very slow process that can take weeks or months, it may be difficult for you to know for sure if your piercing is actually changing. Here are some of the symptoms of migration:

* Constant soreness and sensitivity
* The skin over the piercing is thin enough to see the jewelry through it
* The jewelry hangs differently, more loosely than it used to
* The hole around the piercing appears larger

I should also mention that a lot of sources will tell you that migration will only happen to relatively new piercings, but this is not always the case. In my own personal experience, I have had all three of my rejected piercings migrate after they were four years old. That seems to be a limit that my body has determined for foreign objects and after that length of time it says, "Time to go!" So, even well-established, healed piercings can reject.

If You Notice Your Piercing Migrating
Unfortunately, once a piercing has begun to migrate, there really isn't anything you can do to stop it. However, you can prevent it from becoming worse. As your piercing migrates, it is creating scar tissue and a hole that will be difficult to conceal if allowed to migrate to completion. The only thing you can do at this point is remove the jewelry (or have your piercer remove it, which would be best) and allow what is left of your piercing hole to heal completely.

Can You Re-Pierce?
Some fear that if their body rejected one piercing, it may or will reject all. This is not necessarily the case. If you desire to try your piercing again, try a different kind of jewelry material like niobium or titanium instead of stainless steel. Or try a larger gauge - very small gauges like 18 or 16 are much more likely to migrate than a 14 or 12. Or try a different location - somewhere that more tissue can be accessed to get a good, secure piercing to begin with. And most of all, be sure that a professional does your piercing to ensure that it is done correctly and follow their aftercare instructions."

Good luck -- I hope everything turns out ok for you.. Thanks Lux for a very informative comment. There's lots to learn here!

hey luxx.thanx man...the piercing i am worried about is my nipple...this is the second time they have been done and i honestly can tell if that is what is happening. I changed jewelery from a ring to a barbell last week and the one side of my right nipple looks higher than it should be. Granted i didnt look at the actual site very close b4 i changed the jewelry so i dont know. i love these peircings though and am afraid to do something that could do permanent damage. i guess from your info all i can do is keep an eye on it for the next few weeks and see if i notice any more change. Thank you again for your help, good to know someone is listening

ty did it...im gonna be one sad girl if it doesnt

Hey used-- I'm just wondering, did this start with the change of jewelry? That last paragraph mentions a change of material. Maybe your body is unhappy with the metal in the new barbells.

hmmmm.thats a good question...maybe i should put the rings back in that one at least??...i just dont know and i hate to mess with it anymore than i should you know?

My pleasure, I hope everything works out ok for you. Keep us posted on how things go.

will do...thanx hun

Hey used! I've had the same thing on my mind lately. Ever since I started stretching my nipples I've noticed one seems to be a bit more shallow than the other. I don't know if it's always been a little shallow and I'm just noticing it with the larger jewelry or if it's trying to work its way out. It sucks so bad!!! Good luck with yours, maybe we can both hang on to our nips.

i hope so queen!! i contacted my piercer and he said there would be hard crusty skin and shallow redness where it used to be, and im not seeing anything like that so i am just hoping that its was pierced higher than i thought it was...bol to you....if mine does start to go im gonna take it out, let it heal , and try again...cuz theres no way i am giving them up!!

I'm with you on that! If this baby comes out, there will definitely be a repiercing!

Wow Luxx,
That's a great article, where did you quote it from? Probably some place with lots of other stuff we all should read. Thanks for digging it up for us.

You know, I know someone who got her nipples pierced when she was barely 18, and didn't have any kind of knowledge or instruction about this, and she had no clue that her piercings were rejecting/migrating until they fell out the front of her nipples in the shower one day.

Hopefully this article will help U & A, and Queen, and anyone else who's wondering. Thanks Luxx

U & A, and Queen and anyone else,
I have one thing to add to this, from things I have read in the forums here:

It is possible for piercings to migrate without rejecting. In this case, the piercing seems to be more like "settling." I only have example right now, that I know the address of, and know how to find quickly enough to cite for you all.

This is Jacobite, whom you may have seen posting around here, mostly in the forums. Here's the address of the forum thread:

http://www.tribalectic.com/Drupal/forum/general-body-piercing-forum-f4/t...

I have seen other examples like this, I just don't know where the addresses are, to cite them here for you guys. I'm sure a forum search might show some results. Anyway, most of the examples I've seen are nipples, and the question is usually something like "My nipples were pierced straight, but one has moved (migrated) and become crooked, if I take it out and have it repierced, do you think it will migrate again?"

I guess my "take aways" from these forum posts are:
•• Watch the piercing to see if it keeps migrating and might reject, or if it just moves a little and "settles in" to a more comfortable place, before deciding whether to remove it.
•• Some peoples' bodies and/or piercings seem to have a "mind of their own" and certain way they like to position themselves. In some cases the repierce heals up straight, but often, it seems to "go where it wants to go," and the person has to decide to accept it crooked, or retire it for good.

This is not meant to contradict what Luxx posted, just to add another scenario that can occur.

Jo, I get a lot of info from:

http://tattoo.about.com/

It has a ton of info on tattoos but also quite a bit of good stuff for all sorts of body piercing. Its always best to have info on every possible scenario when trying to figure out a possible issue. The more sides you have to look at just means the more knowledge you have to figure it out.

I agree Luxx,
I never heard of that site, so I'm glad you found the info there. That's why I also added the bit I knew from the forums here, since not everyone reads them.

I know there's also a ton of experiences, articles and stuff here that I have yet to explore too. Not to mention writing up my experience and posting it.

I thought the very same "migration" was happening to my right nipple. Got very concerned because I noticed it after changing from steel barbell to a titanium ring. I went to my piercer and had them take a look at it. Everything in their opinion was shipshape. I still didn't feel great about it. So what I did was look at pictures of when I first got them done and when I was concerned. Little to my surprise, they were pretty much the same. My mind plays some mean tricks on me and having to remove my nipple piercings was the worst so far. So check out some older pictures and some more recent pictures and judge from there. Hope that helps.

Thanks for all the info you guys. Glad you posted this Used. On my next stretch I'm switching to titanium so maybe that will help a little. That's a good idea about checking out the old pics willy. Will have to do that!