The main reason I'm writing this is to hopefully help anyone new who may be considering getting an amp for the first time. This is a serious piercing, and although I'm no expert on the matter, I still wanted to provide a little of my own insight about getting it and how its been for me. I've actually had two ampallangs. I had the first one from about 1995 to 1997, and the second one from 2005 to the present.

Ampallang No. 1 - Back about 1995 or so I decided I wanted to get my first piercing. I wasn't sure what I wanted, so I did a little web-surfing to see what interested me. One night I was looking around and came across a photo of an amphallang. I wasn't prepared for that! Frankly, I didn't know a guy could even be pierced in that part of our anatomy, but the more I thought about it, the more exhilarating the thought of having one became, so naturally I had to have one. It took me a while to come up with enough nerve to actually go through with it, but eventually the appointment was made at a local piercing studio. Quite a bit of time was spent measuring to make sure the bar would be straight. We went through the whole breathing routine and aftercare instructions. No problem, everything was cool beans. Then, I looked down and saw the needle. It looked evil, cold and menacing, and I knew that in a few moments it was going to be pushed deep inside the most sensitive part of my body. It was at this point that I seriously started to wonder if I was off my rocker for doing this, but I was determined to go through with it. When the time came, I had to watch. I'm sure my eyes got as big as quarters as that needle came closer and closer, until suddenly I felt it's fiery impact. There was a definite sharp sting as the needle began to pierce my skin. It felt like a red hot nail. I gasped, held the edge of the table with a death grip and soon realized my body was as rigid as a board. I didn't breathe, I didn't make a sound, I didn't say a word. After thinking about this piercing for well over a month, it was finally happening, and there was no turning back now. The sharp pain suddenly went away and was soon replaced with the most pleasurable and euphoric pain I think I've ever felt. It was the kind of pain that makes you smile and laugh. I felt a rush that made me lightheaded, but it felt great! Then, as before, the sharp sting returned as the needle began to pierce through my skin on the other side. My bar was quickly inserted, the needle withdrawn, and the ball secured in place. In all, it only took about 10 seconds, but of course it seemed a lot longer. I was given a few more aftercare instructions, and off I went. Kudo's to the piercer. He did a great job, and as a result of his skill and professionalism, he has subsequently done all of my other piercings. All in all it went very well. Like any other piercing, its going to be pretty sore and sensitive for a while. Even more so with an ampallang due to it being so deep. In my own experience, I wasn't in that much pain afterwards. I remember I had to work the next day, and I got along just fine. If I had to rate the pain I was feeling the day after the piercing on a scale of 1 to 10, I would say it was maybe a three, four at the most. It was sort of a dull, throbbing sensation, but it was definitely no big deal. Of course everyone has different pain thresholds, so YMMV. After a week or two, the soreness pretty much went away, but it was still sensitive for quite a while afterward. If you get one, just use common sense. Take care of it the way you were instructed to, and don't go banging your new piercing into anything for a while and you'll be fine. About a year and a half after I got it (maybe a little more, I can't remember), I removed it one night for some reason, and by the next morning the hole had managed to close up. I apparently didn't have enough sense to call Dave the piercer to find out if he could open it back up. It eventually closed up completely, and that was the sad end to my first ampallang.

Ampallang No. 2 - Flash forward to May of 2005. I had zero piercings, although I had experimented with a Guiche which I'll talk about in another blog entry. I decided I wanted to go for another ampallang or possibly an apadravya. I've never really liked the idea of having my urethra pierced though, so I crossed that one off my list and decided to get my Amp back. Like my last one, the bar was to be placed dead center in my glans, just above my urethra. Dave was actually able to see the marks from where my previous Amp was, so it made locating the new one pretty easy. I won't bore you with the actual procedure as it was pretty much the same as the first one. The only thing I will say is that it seemed to hurt less this time. A few nights later, I was checking the piercing when one of the balls on the end of the barbell unexpectedly came right off. Maybe it had just came loose, so I started to screw it back on, but it wouldn't tighten. The threads were apparently stripped out. So here I am holding my barbell at 11PM trying to figure out what to do. I contemplated using anything from super-glue to chewing gum to hold the ball in place long enough to get me through until the next morning when I could go in and get a new bar. Then I remembered I had a spare bar that I had never used. It took a while, but I finally found it, so I carefully pulled the old bar out and slid the new one in right behind it, then threaded the ball on. The new bar is about 1.25 inches across, which is a little shorter than the old one, so this one fits my body fairly snug, but that turned out to be a good thing because I like how the shorter bar looks and feels. With the new bar in, I could finally get to bed.

What about after-care and sensitivity? First of all, you obviously should know that you really do have to abstain from sex to allow it to heal. I know the thought of taking it for a "test drive" right away is tempting, but don't do it. For my first amp, I waited about a month or so. The second one healed a little faster. The best thing to do is simply follow your piercers instructions. Healing times can also vary depending on which style of ampallang you have. Mine is placed just above the urethra, so its one continuous piercing which can take a long time to heal. The other option is a trans-urethral ampallang. Since this style intersects the urethra, you essentially have two shorter piercings instead of a single, continuous one. The trans-urethral style heals a little faster, but there are trade-offs, so again, you need to decide which one is best for you. There are other piercings that might give a male more sensitivity than an ampallang. A prince albert or apadravya for example both pass through some sensitive tissue just behind the glans, however both of those usually involve piercing the urethra as well. One option is to add a frenum. When I originally got my amp, it wasn't for stimulation or sexual pleasure. I got it simply because it just seemed like one of those wild, rebellious, rites-of-passage things you're supposed to do when you're 24 years-old. Ever since getting my second ampallang though, I've come to appreciate those other "benefits," and I have to admit, its worth it. Don't get me wrong, most of the time I don't even notice its down there. It doesn't leave me in a constant state of arousal or make me walk around with an erection all day long or anything like that, but it can still feel really good sometimes. The barbell is stimulating thousands of nerve endings from the inside-out, so something as simple as rubbing against my clothes or even water from the shower produces sensations I can instantly feel all over. When it comes to sex, an ampallang can definitely spice things up and increase the "wow" factor for both the man and woman. Also, depending on the positions you use, amps can be ideal for massaging her G-spot, although an apadravya piercing might work a little better due to the placement of the barbell. On the other hand, some women find amps uncomfortable. One thing that will help is to make sure your bar isn't too long. When fully erect, the only thing that should be visible are the balls on the end of the barbell. You shouldn't see the bar itself. If she still finds it uncomfortable, you can try different ends on the barbell. Other than that, you may have to remove it before having sex. One last thing to mention is that you really shouldn't "surprise" her with your new ampallang. If you're married or in a committed relationship, you really should talk with her first before you decide to get this piercing, or any other genital piercing for that matter. She may not be into that kind of thing, and you don't want to FREAK her out and leave her screaming and running for the nearest door some night when you pull your pants down, LOL!

I'll end this by saying that I love this piercing. If I was given the choice and could only keep one, the Amp is the one I would choose. So should you go get one yourself? Well everyone is different, so I'm not going to simply say "Hell yeah dude, you gotta get one!" But I will say I definitely like mine. If you decide to get one and it just doesn't work out for you, you can always remove it and say you tried, but I'll wager you'll want to keep it.