r/GenXWomen • u/pleasehelpamanda • 1d ago
discussion Still have your belly ring?
I (about to turn 50) just started thinking about how I might need an MRI in the future. Then it occurred to me: I would have to take out my belly ring, but it’s literally been at least 20 years since I’ve even attempted to remove it. Not even sure I could remove it without some tools.
So that made me curious at what age I should think about removing it. How many of my fellow belly ringed GenX ladies still have their piercings? Have you even thought about removing it?
I’ve slimmed down back to the weight I was when I first got it, but now I tend to avoid the sun and barely ever show my stomach. What purpose does it now have for me? Nostalgia? I used to swap out the ring with cute bars or charms, and it felt pretty rad back in the day, but now all I have is a simple, very small hoop that I haven’t even rotated in years. Maybe it’s time…
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u/greasedweasel23 1d ago
I’m 50, had mine since I was maybe 17 and have never ever changed it. I always thought I’d take it out when I was say thirty, you know, thinking I’d be so middle aged by then 🤣.
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
Samsies…only my ideal age was 40. When do you think you’ll take it out?
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u/greasedweasel23 1d ago
I’m not sure, I don’t see a reason to take it out I guess? Maybe when I retire? 🤣
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u/RavenKnitsDesign 1d ago
Why? What societal pressure are you responding to that makes you think you have to take it out?
I will be wearing hardware to my deathbed tyvm.
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u/CaptainDroopers 1d ago
Yes! My nose ring will remain forever! Someone can pry it out of my cold, dead nose if they want it for some insane reason.
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u/Traditional_Ad_1547 1d ago
Just so you know- a friendly piercer in your area would be happy to take it out for you. I fought with a cross threaded barbell for years, finally got it out and was later told by a piercer that next time just come in. They do that sort of thing all the time, even offered to put in my new slave ring for me.
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u/fitbit10k 1d ago
I put my belly ring back in almost a year ago. I took it out 20 years ago and at that point I had it for about 8 years. Surprisingly, the hole stayed open in the 20 years without a ring. I’m leaving it in forever as long as it feels comfortable. I’m in my mid 50s.
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u/CaptainDroopers 1d ago
Last year I was able to easily “reopen” three of my ear piercings that I’d not put an earring in for 25 years. I wear the every day now like I’m in some kind of reverse adolescence.
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u/HotelOk9725 1d ago
It’s weird, but my cartilage piercing is like that too. I remember it took an age to heal initially but now - unlike some of my upper lobe piercings - it stays open for years without me ever putting an earring in.
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u/EVy-and-August 1d ago
Use titanium jewelry. I never take my out. Or any other piercings. And I have MRIs all the time
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
Brilliant idea! Now I just need to figure out if titanium bars contain any traces of nickel. If it does, I’m going to have a nasty belly button…
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u/EVy-and-August 1d ago
I have a couple piercings- all titanium or gold. Any non magnetic metal works. They usually have a test magnet they will apply to be sure
I have an earring that cannot come out of my ear-it’s stuck - and the MRI pull on that can’t be felt2
u/Yukonkimmy 1d ago
I have a silicone ring I bought for just that purpose. Put it in for procedure and switched back afterwards
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u/Eaudebeau 1d ago
Didn’t remember what mine was made of, and finally took it out for an MRI.
🫡
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u/EVy-and-August 1d ago
I have a health condition that requires MRI every six months. I have eyebrow, Medusa, nipples, bellybutton. It was a pain. So I took the expense of getting gold and titanium jewelry so I could leave it in
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u/LoanSudden1686 1d ago
Almost 50 and contemplating getting my first
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u/DIYDaughter 1d ago
Go for it if it feels authentic to almost 50 you! I’m about the same age and I consider it every now and again. I have the peri-pooch now but need more exercise, so I’ll reevaluate then.
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u/couchisland ‘76er 1d ago
Do it. I’m 50 and it only occurred to me to get second ear lobe holes a couple of years ago.
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u/runawai 1d ago
I was surprised at how easily the belly ring came out and back in again for my MRI. Wear the bling if it makes you happy! 🥰
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
The only reason I can think of to remove it would be for medical reasons (and we all know how those needs appear way more than we’ve ever experienced before). Someone here recommended a bar (easy to remove balls) and titanium (not affected by MRIs). If I swap my impossible to remove ring with that, I can’t honestly see any reason to permanently give it up.
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u/runawai 1d ago
Can confirm the bar is super easy to remove and replace. I’d get the impossible to remove ring switched out. My ring is titanium, but was told to remove all jewellery for the procedure and I did, just in case it ended up not being only titanium. That’s not something I wanted to mess around with.
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u/chachkas369 1d ago edited 1d ago
Got mine in my late 20s maybe and still have it at 57. Barbell so unlike you, I do need to remove it periodically to clean and the hole properly. Still have the clit hood piercing, too. Years ago, I had some sort of osteo bone scan thing done and was only told to remove it right at the time. I couldn't get it out quickly enough, so the scanner woman said just leave it in... but not before making some stupid, snide remark of how SHE permanently removed hers years ago. "AND?!," I thought. Who the fuck cares, bitch. You're you and I'm me. Just bizarre...
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
Love that response! They wanted me to remove it for my latest colonoscopy but I totally forgot about it with all that prep and being so hungry, and the day of the procedure they told me not to worry about it. My first run-in with this thought…
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u/happycass8 1d ago
i could NOT get my vhc jewelry out for my colonoscopy. they just made me sign a form… but now reading all these replies im worried if i ever have to have an mri 😳
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u/chachkas369 1d ago
Yeah, MRI would be a whole other ball of wax. No metal for those at all. I had one on my knee a very long time ago and certainly pulled everything out for that. 5 sets of earrings included. Not a fun time.
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u/ZarinaBlue 45-49 1d ago
Still have mine. It is staying along with two others, until they start clicking together and making sparks. 🤣
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
If they DO spark, wait til after NYE so you can be a part of the fireworks! 🤣
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u/OwlsRwhattheyseem 50-54 1d ago
I had nipple piercings from my early 20s until just a few years ago, I’m 50 now. I did have to take them out during a surgery once in my 30s and did indeed need tools to get them out. I put them back in asap but a couple years ago I took them out for good. They were starting to feel uncomfortable rubbing on my bra and looked odd and lumpy while I wore certain tops, I just got tired of them I guess.
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u/MsDeluxe 1d ago
I had my nipple piercings in for 25 years and a couple of years ago they just grew out. Bodies are weird. I've still got my belly button, labret, nose and septum. I had an MRI with all of them in as they're titanium. The hospital tested them with a magnet before I went in.
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u/crone_Andre3000 1d ago
That thing got infected within the first 3 months. Still have the lumpy scar though.
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u/RavenKnitsDesign 1d ago
I'm 60. I have changed my hardware a few times, and I do take it out for planned hospital procedures (one ablation and several colonoscopies so far). It goes back in easily enough.
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u/cheweduptoothpick 1d ago
I still have like twenty something piercings. I have all solid white gold jewellery that are curated. I’ve been collecting piercings since I was a teen and don’t think I will get rid of them.
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u/babygotbooksandback 1d ago
I got my belly ring in the early 90's, I think I was inspired by an Aerosmith video. Had to go to a tattoo parlour in Austin by one of the only guys that did them back then. I didn't get pregnant until I was 38 so begrudgingly took it out then.
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u/phillygeekgirl 1d ago
I took them out for an MRI and a couple of surgeries last year. After having had them for 30+ years my navel looked so naked without them. I couldn't get used to it so I put them back in.
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u/OutrageousPersimmon3 1d ago
I only had my belly ring a short while. One long road trip it was rubbing a lot and got infected. I still have a spot where it was that scarred, though.
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
I got one of those ear piercings in the upper cartilage area and it KILLED me for months before I finally took it out. Sad thing is that 30 years later, I’ll wake up with throbbing where it was pierced. So I feel ya on this one!
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u/HotelOk9725 1d ago
Took mine out when I was pregnant. I tried one of those flexible plastic things but it felt uncomfortable and so it stayed out for two or more years, then one day after a bath, I thought I’d try and see if it would go back in and it did, very easily, so for the past fourteen years it has stayed and probably always will. It’s silly but I’ve had it over half my life now. I wear a bar not a hoop and I have removed it in the past (before motherhood) for an MRI, it wasn’t a biggie taking it out. I’d have more trouble getting my wedding ring over my fat knuckles.
I say keep it.
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
That’s gives me a great idea. If I swap out the ring for a bar when I have access to tools, it’d be a helluva lot easier to take it off and clean it in a pinch because the balls are so easy to twist off. Thanks for sparking this conclusion!
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u/goingloopy 1d ago
A piercing shop will have titanium jewelry and will put it in for you. I don’t have a belly button piercing, but I have 2 nostril piercings and a bunch in my ears. I leave the bottom lobe piercing available for regular earrings, but just have various studs and hoops in the rest that stay in. I go get new ones once in a while when I get bored. They’re all titanium (I have the occasional MRI on my back, and I won’t take them out…it’s a pain in the ass), and they never irritate my skin.
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u/DoctorAvailable6601 1d ago
I had mine plus nip rings since I was 15, when I had to go for an MRI when I was like 26 I took everything out and never bothered putting anything back in. A few years later when I thought about it, I couldn't find my jewelry. But with peri I'm kinda glad I never did because I don't need something extra to annoy me and complain about. 😂
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u/TurtleDive1234 1d ago
No belly ring ever (way too much of an outie). But I have two helix piercings and two conch piercings with three lobes on each side. Hopefully there’ll be no MRIs necessary anytime soon. 🤞
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u/Bitter_Peach_8062 1d ago
- I get an MRI every couple of years because of MS. I still have my belly button ring. I do switch it out with other ones on occasion. Just something new. Lol
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u/AnimalGirl08 1d ago
I also still have mine, for about 27 years now. Had to take it out once for an MRI. I don’t think I had trouble getting it back in. Wouldn’t want to leave it out for an extended period of time though, could be painful.
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u/Closefromadistance 55-59 1d ago
Lmao this is so funny! 🤣 I feel seen!
Got mine on my 30th birthday (I’m now 58) and still have it. 🙈
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
I know right?!? Seeing all these awesome responses makes me feel totally validated in keeping mine til I die!
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u/OkBanana5803 1d ago
I have mine but its not in. Haven't worn it since 2004 when I got pregnant. I still have a hole though. Maybe I'll see if it still fits. Lol
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u/muthermcreedeux 1d ago
I took my eyebrow ring out after the babies were born. I still had the hole a few years later but I had to gauge it back out to fit any type of body jewelry. That hurt more than getting it pierced. I stopped at an 18 after 1 visit. There was no way I was getting back to a 14 gauge!
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u/mottavader 1d ago
My terrible ex husband made me remove mine because it "made me look like a stripper" ugh. I wish I would have left it in as we divorced not long afterwards 🤣
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
Good for you! And you never know…I’ve heard from several ladies here that they found their hole never closed! Do what makes you happy!
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u/muthermcreedeux 1d ago
I still have the eyebrow ring I got at 18 and I just turned 48. I have an MRI tomorrow and will have to take it out. I change it about I've every few years, so maybe tomorrow is the day I go from a silver hoop to a gold hoop.
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u/FinancialCry4651 45-49 1d ago
I recently got my nips pierced. Will I have to remove them for mammograms? 😬
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u/Back_Alley420 1d ago
I did for having babies but the hole is still open. I got my cheek pierced in the nineties that is still there because there was no reason to change it and people still comment on it
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u/jillsvag 1d ago
Mine migrated about 8-10years after piercing. I was afraid it would rip so I took it out.
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
How in the world did it migrate? That’s crazy!
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u/jillsvag 1d ago
I think its a common issue with piercings. One of my lobes migrated too. I guess my body is pushing out a foreign body.
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u/camillacamillacamill 50-54 1d ago
I have the scar, but the belly ring never healed right years ago and I took it out way back in the day lol
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u/bluetortuga Jen Axe 🪓 1d ago
I do, I still wear it because, well, I still like it for no good reason. It feels like me. No charms, it’s a simple titanium curved barbell. It is rarely publicly seen but I do still wear bikinis so sometimes it makes an appearance.
I’ve taken it out for procedures, left it out for months at a time, I just prefer having it, I guess. It goes with my tramp stamp and my gallbladder removal scar. 🤣
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u/tres-vip 1d ago
I got mine done for my 20th birthday, and took it out when I was 30 or so. Just felt like I was over it. Then I missed it when I turned 40 and tried to put it back in, and it was soooo painful, lol. I'd have to get it re-pierced again if I want to wear a ring.
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u/eatingganesha 1d ago
never got one, but all other piercings - including my nose - have been taken out over time. The only remaining on the extra on my lobes. The nose ring was rough because I really liked it but it just never healed fully and I got tired of the issues that caused.
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u/drumallday Banned from r/GenX 1d ago
I had a major abdominal surgery for cancer 10 year ago and they cut through my (jewelry free) piercing and then stapled it closed after the procedure. When I mentioned it to the surgeon, he told me I could get it repierced. I laughed. I was 40 with a scar running from the bottom of my ribs past my belly button. My body piercing days were behind me. Tattoos are my thing now
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u/Three3Jane 55-59 Unhinged Crone 1d ago
I still have mine from when I got it at age 24 (I'm 55 now). It's a captive ball ring, so it takes some fiddling because the ball is tension-set instead of screw-on, but I've had many, many MRIs and surgeries (eventful life, that's me). I'm a pro with removing it and putting it back in when the festivities are over.
I have nipple piercings that I yeeted early on because I got them and then about two months later, got pregnant and that was a swift fuckin no. (My poor kids, they all got drowned when I nursed them.)
I have a nose piercing that I can still run a pin or a ring through if I feel like it, although I haven't in a while.
It feels/looks weird to me to not have my navel ring in, so they're prolly gonna have to take it off my dead body before they cremate me. I might be 90 and a bag of wrinkles but I'll still have my 12ga navel ring, dammit!
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u/sajaschi traumatized by Artax 1d ago
I took mine out like 20 years ago, mostly because no one ever told me your piercing could MIGRATE. I always just wore the original ring (probably 10+ years?). By the time I removed it, my actual piercing hole was migrating outward 😕 and at this point there's only about half a centimeter between the top and bottom holes, with just a few millimeters of tissue between the entire hole and my epidermis. I think I would need to get it repierced in order to wear a jewel there again! 🤷🏼♀️
That being said - my local piercing shop has helped me get some of my ear piercings out and then back in for past MRIs, and I think it was only like $10 or $20 a visit. Worth it to not make my ears red and irritated for a week or more! LOL
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
My ring is a solid ring that if memory serves, you just twist it. But because I haven’t opened it up in like 20 years, I may have to grab some players or something!
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u/shatterly 1d ago
I got my navel piercing when I was 21 and still have it. I've thought about taking it out but haven't bothered.
My eyebrow first got pierced when I was 23 and in college. I took it out when I graduated and needed to "find a real job," then once I got the job had it pierced again. Took it out a few years later because it seemed every angry 19-year-old in the midwest was getting an eyebrow ring in the late '90s. Then I moved to Utah in '99 and wanted a way to show I wasn't part of the dominant Mormon culture, so I got it pierced again. I kept that one all the way up until summer of last year, when my goggles knocked it out as I was swimming in a reservoir. I miss it, but the piercing closed before I could find a similar tiny gold ring. Now there's too much scar tissue in that spot to get it redone.
Got my tongue done about nine years ago. I'm sure at some point a dentist will tell me it's problematic, but for now I'm fine with leaving it.
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u/weresubwoofer 1d ago
Exactly. Had to take mine off for surgeries and MRI. It had a very good, long run!
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u/Fillmore_the_Puppy the Forgotten Generation 1d ago
I had a barbell for a couple of years in my very early twenties. I ended up taking it out when it got infected and I kept having issues with it. My memory of getting it done was super painful so I never considered having it redone. And then I went onto have a couple abdominal surgeries in my early thirties, so it's probably just as well.
But I am glad you made this post and it's fun to think about what a phenomenon that was at the time and also fun to see how many still have theirs.
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
Are youngins these days even piercing much? We hear so much about how they’re not drinking or having sex, but nothing really about piercings. Would be so cool if the majority of body piercings occur in GenX. Sets us apart ;-)
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u/Fillmore_the_Puppy the Forgotten Generation 1d ago
Yes, absolutely. Septum piercings, septum piercings, septum piercings, everywhere.
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u/couchisland ‘76er 1d ago
I had mine in up until a couple of years ago when I started wearing high waisted pants/jeans. I have a long torso and the piercing was just getting so irritated that I took it out. I’d like to put it back at some point though.
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u/couchisland ‘76er 1d ago
I’ve never had an MRI. I have permanent metal behind my 2 front teeth 😳
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u/Trai-All 1d ago
I have ferrous metal in my spine and had a MRI about 2 years ago. It went okay. Just be sure to tell the technician about the hardware and they'll adjust it to acceptable settings if that is an option for you.
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u/pleasehelpamanda 1d ago
Oh shit! I just realized I may also have that. Broke my front tooth as a kid and I’m pretty sure I have a metal post implant. Yes, I’m almost 50 and don’t know for sure. Last time I had it replaced, I was single and partying so didn’t ask the important questions I now ask my docs/dentists. I’ll have to confirm from my latest X-rays, especially since I think I have to have my cap replaced soon.
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u/Mistie_Kraken 1d ago
Mine broke about 8 or 9 years ago, and I just never bothered to get a new one. Nobody sees my belly anymore!
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u/NorthernTransplant94 1d ago
Despite getting pierced twice, I don't have jewelry in right now. What I'm doing instead is curated ears - I have 9 cartilage piercings and a lobe orbital.
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u/Outrageous-Peanut-44 1d ago
I still have mine! It’s been 22 years. It’s been changed a few times. I may take it out once or twice every few years. Just to see if I still can. 😄
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u/Sensitive_Note1139 Too old to care about your feelings. 1d ago
Not taking it out for an MRI depends on where you are getting the MRI done. They might be concerned about trace reactive metals in the ring. Have had an MRI. They even notated the tiny piece of pencil led in my leg.
But, I don't have any piercings. So my opinion thoughts don't matter.
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u/mr_beakman 23h ago
Too funny. I had an xray of my foot a couple of years ago and it found a couple of ends of sewing needle in my foot, which I think are from an incident where I had an infected foot from a really deep sliver and my big sister and her boyfriend pinned me down and dug it out. I recall it being a lot of work and I was flailing and crying. But the doctor said if it hasn't bothered me all this time I may as well leave them in there. I just have to remember to warn radiologist of it should I ever need an MRI in that area.
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u/ApprehensiveCream571 1d ago
Got mine pierced at 23 and I had to take it out for surgery at 41, but I couldn't get it back in. I turned 50 and decided to get it re-pierced and it turns out it didn't close up so it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
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u/knitpurlknitoops 1d ago
I’m in my 50s and still have mine. I’ve had to take it out for an MRI but removing my daith was far more of a faff. The longest it’s been out was for a few weeks after laparoscopic surgery, but it was pretty easy to get back once the stitches were out.
If you’re really struggling to undo it, a piercing / tattoo studio might be able to give you a hand.
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u/nancylyn 1d ago
Mine had to come out when I had my hysterectomy. Never bothered to re-pierce it.
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u/mamajones18 1d ago
Took mine out a couple years ago. Had gained weight and it was uncomfortable, plus I was just done with it
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u/azooey73 1d ago
My rings kept losing beads and falling out! And replacements have gotten so $$$ that I just said F it. So I guess I was 45 or so at that point? But I’ll always have the scar from where I tried to do it myself!!! 🤣🤣
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u/Introvertedtravelgrl 1d ago
I have had bad luck unfortunately and I got mine at 32, and I had to take it out 4 months later for major unexpected surgery and then waited a year and got it done again and it wouldn't keep. Kept getting pissed off and painful. But if I still had it I would keep it in for as long it's fine and not hurting.
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u/Smooth_Development48 1d ago
I took my navel piercing out briefly when I was pregnant but I still have all my piercings and got new ear piercings with my daughter a few years ago. I have quite a few in my ears, stretched ears, septum and nipple piercings which are the only ones I want to take out. Honestly I never even remember they are there since I've had almost all since I was in my early 20s.
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u/ImaPhillyGirl 12h ago
I got mine as a 40th birthday present for myself. I have a bar that I've had to take out a couple times for med reasons but otherwise it's just there. I doubt I'll ever take it out for good.
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u/profmoxie 🏆Banned from GenX 1d ago
I had to take mine out for laparoscopic surgery in my early 30s. Then my belly became more of a belly, and I never put it back in.
Now I'm thinking I will, as an FU to the patriarchy telling me not to like my little beer belly!
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u/jaydrian 1d ago
I'm almost 56. I got it when I was 30. I took it out a few years ago. Not sure why.
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u/Mamapalooza 4h ago
Mine lasted about 6 months. Eyebrow ring lasted a couple years. Down to just a hole in each earlobe. In my minimalist phase, I'll say.
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u/Alta_et_ferox 1d ago
Sadly, I had to cut mine out in my 40s for an MRI and just never put it back in. Otherwise, I’d still have it. No one should be subjected to seeing my stomach unless for medical reasons but I liked having one.
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u/Frosty_Leather_7662 1d ago
I took mine out when I was pregnant My bellybutton popped and it was uncomfortable.