Labret troubles

Hi!! I've had a labret piercing for over a year now, healed perfectly fine and i've had no issues with it. I had to take it out the other day, though, because i ended up with a pimple right where the ball of the jewelry rested and it was very painful. the pimple is mostly gone now so i tried putting the jewelry back in but it won't go and it hurts badly when i do try. is there any tricks?? i want the jewelry back in so that the hole doesn't shrink too much :(