My Circumcision Story

westskipper

well done man, the worst is behind you now. Let us know how you're getting on.

Otis Driftwood

Leo11 wrote: »

Hi. Im 18 and i have left school a year. I still live at home and I have a tight foreskin and need to be circumcised. Thing is im only getting 40 euro on the dole a week and so i can hardly even afford the gp! How much does it all cost? I dont want to involve my parents obviously. thanks

I know discussing things like yer junk with the folks can be a bit embarrassing however you really should.Maybe try having a casual chat with yer Dad,at the end of the day,he has a mickey too so it wont be that bad!They may also have some type of medical cover that includes yourself.

rolandweary

ok, 12 days down. Recovery is going pretty good now. I'm still keeping a dressing on when going out, the glans is still pretty sensitive, though it's become more of an uncomfortableness than the sharp shock it was at first.

A few stitches have come out and the ones that haven't have become more prominent so I assume they're working themselves out.
The only issue at the moment is that there is a relatively sizable tarry looking scab/clot between the line of the remaining foreskin and the frenelum. Just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar and is it normal?
Hopefully it'll clear up in a couple of days and the area will heal ok.

All in all I think I just have to wait for the remaining stitches to come out and the swelling to subside and I should be pretty much recovered.

tbh

Leo11 wrote: »

Hi. Im 18 and i have left school a year. I still live at home and I have a tight foreskin and need to be circumcised. Thing is im only getting 40 euro on the dole a week and so i can hardly even afford the gp! How much does it all cost? I dont want to involve my parents obviously. thanks

Paying for it yourself out of your own pocket isn't realistically an option - it's about 3K to get it done privately, plus 150 for the consultants visit. You may be able to get it done publicly, but will face long waiting times. I'd echo Otis' advice - you'll have to talk to your parents, embarrassing as you may think it'll be, it probably won't be tho!

s0781142

Hey lads hows it going? ive been reading this page off and on for the past few months. Have found it really informative. Anyway long story short, Im 25 year old from dublin and have phismosis, i had a look on that circumsicion index guide and id say im a c-9. i went to my GP last september to get referral for urologist, Had to wait 9 feckin months to get an appointment but finally went today.

I'd done a bit of research and decided that if possible i really didnt want to have full circ and if possible to have a partial one or even a dorsal slit knowing that if either of these didnt work out i could still go onto have the full circ later on. As i was explining this to the urologist he was advising about cosmetics and stuff and i said that i was aware cosmetically it mightn't look great but i still wanted to go down that road first.

He seemed to understand what i was saying and be taking my concerns onboard then all of a sudden he said he'd have to double check with another urologist. so he left the room and came back with another urologist who said what i was looking for was cosmetic and the couldnt accomodate me with partial circ or dorsal slit, then he went on to say it was either full circ or no action taken. I said i needed some time to think about it so he made a follow up appointment for 4 weeks time.

im really dissapointed the way the whole thing has gone today to be honest. I dont have private medical insurance and paying to go private isnt really an option. kind of at a loss of what to do. should i just go for full circ or leave it or try and see another public urologist ( wait another 9 months) or just leave the whole thing altogether as i never had any problems up to now, it was just for hygeine reasons that i wanted to get something done.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks

LegacyUser

I am having the same issue as many ppl here.

Im 27 and find it very sore retracting my foreskin and my glans is also very sore to touch, which makes sex somewhat interesting and more or less has killed my sex drive (which my wife aint too happy about).

I really want to get this sorted but also not exactly enthralled about the whole circumcision thing, the other problem is getting to see the doc as i work shifts.

I noticed this back when i was a teenager, and whilst i was sexually active previously it never really became much of an issue till i met my now wife. I've explained it to her but she just kinda shrugged it off.

Are there any alternatives to stretching or circumcision?

s0781142

Hey lads, forgot to ask this in my previous post but if anybody has the name of urologist in the dublin area that has performed partial circ or dorsal slit or even any kind of loose circ could you please message me on their names as i think im gonna try and get a second opinion . Thanks again

Nip The Tip

rolandweary wrote: »

ok, 12 days down. Recovery is going pretty good now. I'm still keeping a dressing on when going out, the glans is still pretty sensitive, though it's become more of an uncomfortableness than the sharp shock it was at first.

A few stitches have come out and the ones that haven't have become more prominent so I assume they're working themselves out.
The only issue at the moment is that there is a relatively sizable tarry looking scab/clot between the line of the remaining foreskin and the frenelum. Just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar and is it normal?
Hopefully it'll clear up in a couple of days and the area will heal ok.

All in all I think I just have to wait for the remaining stitches to come out and the swelling to subside and I should be pretty much recovered.

I had a dark scab on the frenular area for a while too, and the frenulum area took a lot longer to heal than the rest. I read somewhere that's normal

Wibbs

s0781142 wrote: »

He seemed to understand what i was saying and be taking my concerns onboard then all of a sudden he said he'd have to double check with another urologist. so he left the room and came back with another urologist who said what i was looking for was cosmetic and the couldnt accomodate me with partial circ or dorsal slit, then he went on to say it was either full circ or no action taken.

That's daft. Our way or the highway BS. I'd say report them but you'll likely get nowhere. I strongly suspect a lot of these guys haven't performed anything but the full circ, never mind something like a preputioplasty. Or you get the odd one with the "how dar you question me" complex. Why they/he have an issue with a partial circ* that just removes the phimotic tissue is completely and utterly beyond me. Remove that and you remove the phimosis. The actual problem, without removing 2 or three inches of foreskin with it. If you cant go private I dunno what you could do though. It's the lack of choice of doctor that's at issue here and because of that lack of choice yours are limited.







*It seems for a lot of human history circumcisions were actually partial, not "American porn star". Including Jewish people. The Ancient Greeks noted that Jewish men enjoyed competing in the Greek games and rolled their foreskins forward to pass as Greek(the greeks thought circumcision barbaric. As did the Romans, hence its not a requirement in Christianity, a Jewish offshoot). Point is they had them to roll forward. The tight cut came later ad only really took off with Victorians and their attitudes to masturbation and "cleanliness".

s0781142

To be honest from reading some of the posts on here i was afriad that something like this might happen. I really stood my ground and tried to explain where i was coming from but it felt like once the main urologist had had his say there was going to be no movement on their side.

It really didnt instill me with confidence and want to take a general anaesthetic and let these guys at my little fella with a scalpel haha !

Nip The Tip

Wibbs wrote: »

The tight cut came later ad only really took off with Victorians and their attitudes to masturbation and "cleanliness".

:pac: full tight circ didn't stop me choking the one eye'd snake!

westskipper

partial circs are not the answer.

Strangely the only people who will promote partial circs are people who have not been circumcised, never had tight foreskins, frenulum breve and/or painful phimosis and therefore have no idea what they are talking about.
A foreskin which goes half way over your knob will get hurt and snagged on clothing and the sensation will really annoy you. Speaking from persoanl experience, it is in no way an improvement over a full circ, it is worse.
I have no complaints about having a full circ with a fairly high cut, its neat clean doesnt snag in anything and still works perfectly in every way that it is supposed to. I do not feel like i have lots anything of any value, i am still 100% all male.

How people who have not had a circ can profess to be experts in this field i will never understand ??

tbh

Did you have a partial circ done initially?

tbh

+1 by the way to those denying there's a loss of sensitivity. My personal experience - There isn't. I was in my early 30s when I got done and, not to blow my own trumpet - - but I'd have a fair bit of experience before and after. If anything, it's been better since.

westskipper

Hi TBH,
Yes i had a partial (Loose) circ done initially, and i didnt like it one bit. awkward to live with, still had a lot of the drawbacks of a full foreskin, but worse in some ways in that the foreskin now 'folds' half way down your knob in an unnatural way, at a place that it is not intended to fold at, and also it is loose and floppy (ironic, isnt it?) which means it tends to get stuck in clothing. My personal exp is that once you cut a chunk out of the foreskin, you cant go half way and expect that to be the best result, its not. you will end up eventually getting it trimmed back again to a full circ because that fits better and is more comfortable. and thats what most urologists know too, they have seen hundreds of cases.

Wibbs

Nip The Tip wrote: »

:pac: full tight circ didn't stop me choking the one eye'd snake!

No but that's one of the main reason for it's popularity in certain cultures today, mostly the US, but also other parts of the English speaking world from time to time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_male_circumcision#Male_circumcision_to_prevent_masturbation and they may have had a point http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2006.06646.x/full A study in south Korea. Apparently Korea didn't routinely circ their boys until 50 years ago and stand out in the region for the practice. Maybe the US involvement and subsequent military bases in the region? Anyhoo for the phone users: (I'll keep it in small font to save space)

The effect of circumcision on masturbation is interesting, as preventing masturbation was one of the main original reasons often cited for the popularity of circumcision in America. The frequency of masturbation seems to have decreased only slightly after circumcision, but there was a striking difference in the pleasure of masturbation, with 48% reporting less pleasure from masturbation after circumcision, in contrast to 8% who reported more pleasure. We think that this is one of the most important findings of the present study. This is consistent with more men finding masturbation more difficult after circumcision, possibly because of the loss of the foreskin.

Of the 138 men aged >30 years who could compare their sex lives before and after circumcision, >70% (102) reported that there was no difference. However, circumcised men were more than three times more likely to report less enjoyable sex lives after circumcision than better sex lives (28 vs eight men). While decreased sensation was the most frequently cited reason (21 of 28 men) for a less enjoyable sex life, complaints about the physical effects of circumcision on their penises and consequent adverse effects on sex life were also prominent (13 of 28; multiple complaints were separately counted). While this is consistent with our earlier study [7], it suggests that more attention should be given to anatomical alteration of the male genitalia by circumcision. This conclusion is supported by the reports of major scars by ≈ 9% of the circumcised men in the present study.

In summary, we studied the effects of circumcision on sexuality. There were no differences in sexual drive, erection and ejaculation, but circumcised men reported decreased masturbatory pleasure and sexual enjoyment. We conclude that adult circumcision adversely affects sexual function in a significant number of men, possibly because of loss of nerve endings. In addition, ≈ 9% of the circumcised men reported severe scarring of their penises, and this population probably overlaps with those who reported insufficient skin resulting in uncomfortable erections, penile curvature from uneven skin loss, and pain and bleeding upon erection/manipulation.

Further reading and research: http://www.livescience.com/1624-study-circumcision-removes-sensitive-parts.html

Basically, first do no harm. If you can save as much of your function as possible do so. Don't assume "doctor knows best" Don't take the first opinion. As we've seen in this country it can often be a limited one. Or rather if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Take earlier advice and if you do need one maybe look for a cosmetic surgeon. Someone better versed and practiced in the mechanics of skin surgery.

Hey disagree if you like, but maybe change the thread title to "Circumcision support thread". Because when you have posts coming putting the word "intact" in parentheses as if that's not normal or

westskipper wrote:

drawbacks of a full foreskin

while unintentionally funny is just a tad skewed to one side. When an anon post comes along linking to a site claiming all sorts of unscientific BS and linking men with foreskins to peadophilia you do tend to think WTF? I prefer at least some balance.

Partial circ info: http://www.askmen.com/dating/dzimmer_100/127_love_answers.html http://adultcircumcision.dyndns.info/style/partial.html http://www.london-urology.co.uk/circumcision.htm

tbh

Ok wibbs, I take your point. However this is a support thread for people who have been told they need a circ, and it's getting turned into a pros vs cons debate. I've pointed this out several times, so I would ask you - respectfully - to please let it rest now. Feel free to start another debate thread if you'd like. I'm not trying to supress your poin of view but I'd like to limit this thread, from now on, to people's experiences and questions. Fair enough?

westskipper

Mr F. Skin wrote: »

I am having the same issue as many ppl here.

Im 27 and find it very sore retracting my foreskin and my glans is also very sore to touch, which makes sex somewhat interesting and more or less has killed my sex drive (which my wife aint too happy about).

I really want to get this sorted but also not exactly enthralled about the whole circumcision thing, the other problem is getting to see the doc as i work shifts.

I noticed this back when i was a teenager, and whilst i was sexually active previously it never really became much of an issue till i met my now wife. I've explained it to her but she just kinda shrugged it off.

Are there any alternatives to stretching or circumcision?

You owe it to yourself and your wife to get your problem seen to. It will not get better with time, it will get worse, guaranteed.
The more stretching and tearing and infections, the tighter the phimosis will get due to the formation of ever thicker scar tissue.

If you are in the early stages of phimosis, stretching with steroid creams may help, but it is the real experience of many others (and honest urologists) that in many cases this provides at best temporary relief.

It is likely you will require at least some level of surgery, make an appointment to see a urologist (via a GP) or a cosmetic surgeon and see what they say.....you dont have to go along with it, but it is worth hearing a professional opinion.

You may get away with plastic surgery (preputioplasty, frenuloplasty) or you may need some level of circumcision.

You will then have to decide what you are comfortable with having done. try to be practical and objective - dont decide you are not having surgery because you dont like surgery, listen to the advice and then decide what is best for YOU, not other people.

As so many others who have posted here already will attest to, the surgery ain't half as bad as you may think - its a minor thing with no lasting affects and you will live a perfectly normal fulfilled life afterwards - sounds better than where you are at right now to me ??

LegacyUser

I've been contemplating getting this sorted for a few years and I think I need to just get it over with. Do I need to go to the GP for a referral first or can I go direct to a urologist?

scared_silly

Day 12.

After the inital weekend of recovery i went back to work on the Monday. I wrapped the fella up well under my work pants. No real issues just the odd bit of discomfort whent the head rubbed off my jocks but as the week went on that became less of a problem.

I spent most evenings airing the fella out while i lay on the couch, i put vasaline on the cut. So last week as mostly wrapping it up during the day, airing it out at night. Night time erections have become less painful/uncomfortable.

So i went into work today with a very light dressing on so i'm was kinda back to the level of discomfort i was last monday when i had heavy dressing on. It was managable but i was noticably limping in work today which i wasnt doing last friday.

I'm showering with no bandages on the cut at the mo and its fine, i'm very carefull drying.

One thing i've noticed through the whole process is that i've hard very little swelling. I only had very small brusing but i was expecting a lot worse.


The only issues i'm having is finding the right bandages to use. I've only found 2 types. One is cloth type which is very loose and flimsy. Although its comfortable to falls out of place very easily and covers the head so i have to remove it all to piss, so its mostly pointless. The second is a more elasticy types, its very strong and sticks to itself and never moves out of position. Only problem is it clings to the skin and when clinging to the cut its pulls of scab and bits of the stitches off (pulling it off is the worst pain in the world).

Today i've downgraded my bandages to just using these pads http://images.buzzillions.com/images_products/08/64/johnson-hospital-grade-non-stick-pads-large-triple-layer-3-in-x-4-10-ea_8230984_175.jpg i'm kinda rolling the pad around the cut and taping the two ends together. It wont last too much movement but i can take it off and put it on again if i need to piss.


When did people feel comfortable going without bandages under their clothing? I'd say itll be another week at least for me.

Also i'm dying for a **** :(:eek:

scared_silly

rolandweary wrote: »

ok, 12 days down. Recovery is going pretty good now. I'm still keeping a dressing on when going out, the glans is still pretty sensitive, though it's become more of an uncomfortableness than the sharp shock it was at first.

A few stitches have come out and the ones that haven't have become more prominent so I assume they're working themselves out.
The only issue at the moment is that there is a relatively sizable tarry looking scab/clot between the line of the remaining foreskin and the frenelum. Just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar and is it normal?
Hopefully it'll clear up in a couple of days and the area will heal ok.

All in all I think I just have to wait for the remaining stitches to come out and the swelling to subside and I should be pretty much recovered.

Hey rolandweary i just noticed you posted your day 12 status last week so i thought i'd compare my day 12 status to yours.


I haven't really noticed some of the stitches falling out, mostly just loose bits around where they are tied had fallen off.


The only issue at the moment is that there is a relatively sizable tarry looking scab/clot between the line of the remaining foreskin and the frenelum. Just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar and is it normal?
Yup i'm the same i have the same scab on between the line of the remaining foreskin and the frenelum but the elasticy bandages i had on ripped off the scab... that was sore and it probably hindered the healing process a bit.


As for swelling, i have none at this stage. I had a tiny bit the first weekend but nothing major and it was gone in days.

tbh

Your Username: wrote: »

I've been contemplating getting this sorted for a few years and I think I need to just get it over with. Do I need to go to the GP for a referral first or can I go direct to a urologist?

I thought you had to go to a GP but I seem to recall someone on this thread saying they went straight to a consultant with no referral.

rolandweary

scared_silly wrote: »

Hey rolandweary i just noticed you posted your day 12 status last week so i thought i'd compare my day 12 status to yours.


I haven't really noticed some of the stitches falling out, mostly just loose bits around where they are tied had fallen off.


The only issue at the moment is that there is a relatively sizable tarry looking scab/clot between the line of the remaining foreskin and the frenelum. Just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar and is it normal?
Yup i'm the same i have the same scab on between the line of the remaining foreskin and the frenelum but the elasticy bandages i had on ripped off the scab... that was sore and it probably hindered the healing process a bit.


As for swelling, i have none at this stage. I had a tiny bit the first weekend but nothing major and it was gone in days.

Any kind of bad swelling and bruising I had only lasted for maybe a week max after I took the original bandage off. Since then it's been fine. I reckon it's still a bit swollen around the frenelum but that's still healing so I figure that's to be expected. It's not really noticable anyway, just a bit chubby around there.

I'm at day 21 now, exactly 3 weeks. Everything is going grand. I still have a few stitches, considering cutting them off now though. The skin seems to have healed together fine and I recall someone sayin that they can leave holes if they're left in too long.

Still have scabbing around the frenelum but it has pretty much dried up and I expect it'll fall off in a couple of days.

My glans is still very sensitive. I can shower fine and let the water run off it but I still need a dressing around it to wear trousers/underwear and cant really touch it either. I've not had any of the sunburnt look or peeling that others have described so I'm not sure if it's just taking longer for me or if it's going to be an issue.

That said, as long as I have a light dressing on it my movement is fine. I can walk/run/climb with no issues at all.

And regarding your last point in your previous post, I lasted until 17 days and it was quite different (in a good way!)

Zipppy

Well it's T-1...I'm in tomorrow for circ...finally after deferring it earlier in year. Visited consultant again this morning for some reassurance..so it's fingers crossed.. I can retract foreskin fully when flacid and can get it back with discomfort when erect..I'm dredding the whole thing, including recovery, but really cant wait to have it done and kiss good bye to discomfort.. I'll give update..I'll post from phone in hospital too.. lol

Otis Driftwood

Best of luck with it Zippy,do keep us posted.

Zipppy

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

Best of luck with it Zippy,do keep us posted.

Blow by Blow accouint will be provided lol

Nip The Tip

Zipppy wrote: »

Blow by Blow accouint will be provided lol

MMS us on pics of any nice nurses

Zipppy

Nip The Tip wrote: »

MMS us on pics of any nice nurses

I've set up a live video stream of the event... you can access it at http://zipppylooseshisforeskin.com :rolleyes:

westskipper

tbh wrote: »

I thought you had to go to a GP but I seem to recall someone on this thread saying they went straight to a consultant with no referral.

I went to a private surgeon without going down the standard irish route of GP to Urologist to hospital surgical theatre.

It worked for me, i dont know if its the best route for everyone or not, but bear in mind that in many other western countries adult circumcisions and related procedures are rarely done in that time consuming and expensive route, its normally an outpatient procedure in a clinic under a local anaesthetic.
If it costs more than about €600, ask yourself why and is it because the consultant is driving a new 7 series BMW by any chance ? I have heard anecdotally of people paying over €3000 for the procedure, that is insane for such a minor procedure and unnecessary. (and VHI etc rarely pay for it, you will have to pay out of your own funds unless you go down the very slow and antiquated and bankrupt public health service, which could take years if at all.)

PM me if you want details of the clinic I attended, I dont wish to advertise someone else's services for free, and i dont get any referral fees either, but personal experience would recommend highly.

Zipppy

OK I'm done...just home from long day at the hospital....

Consultant was delayed so even though I was in at 7am I didnt go to theatre until 1pm ....
And didnt get out till 8pm as the nurses were concerned that my dressing too tight .. they couldnt get doc on phone so about 8 nurses had a poke until finally they decided to re do the dressing ...Phew

Had a wee peep whilst they re did the dressing and all looks ok

No pain as yet...

Further report after tomorrows bath when I take dressing off and have a good look lol