I think there is a recent thread about this around here somewhere. My short answers. It hurt to do, yes. But not crazy bad. It hurt for a while (few weeks) afterward. Sometimes a good hurt! It took me a long time to completely heal, more than a year. And by heal I mean so you can pull on them with no pain from the piercing. I did feel some loss of sensation, so this is the big tradeoff you might have to think about. Of course I love the way they look.

Good luck.