I’m strongly considering circumcision because I’m unable to have sex due to the extreme sensitivity and pain of my penis head (under my foreskin) when it’s touched and the fear of getting Paraphimosis again.
I have tried every alternative to circumcision such as steroid cream and stretching excursuses but these have not worked out.
My penis glans/penis head (under the foreskin) is extremely sensitive to touch due to it never being exposed in my 22 years of life.
My issue/fear with getting circumcised is that I’m not sure how I will cope with my penis head being exposed after the operation due to the extreme sensitivity and pain I feel when my penis head is touched.
My question is, does anyone who’s had phimosis with an extremely sensitive head (under the foreskin) and has gotten circumcised later in life (from 15-30 years of age onwards) have any insights or answers into this?
Post surgery:
Does it eventually desensitise to a tolerable/normal level?
How long does this take?
How do you cope with the extreme sensitivity and pain until it desensitises to a tolerable level?
Thanks for reading
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The-musician123
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I had immense sensitivity and it was almost painful to touch the glans up till my recent circumcision. After the procedure , the first two weeks were the most difficult. There was sensitivity but I applied a thin film of vaseline petroleum jelly that helped keep the glans nourished and with the sensitivity issue. Gradually over time the glans will keratinise , as did mine and it will become tolerable and later on you will not notice it much any more. I also had a mild phimosis and short frenulum for which I got it done. Now I am fine ! All the best !
I had the same issue you did. I’m 23 and got circumcised 4 months ago for phimosis. Before getting surgery I tried stretching exercises but ended up cutting my foreskin a little, which ended up getting infected so I also got balanitis.
The first few weeks post surgery are hell and my experience has not gotten much better. 4 months in and my glans is still too sensitive. It gets a little better over time but it’d still be impossible for me to go bare under my clothes, so I still wrap up my penis every day to avoid sensitivity issues.
It’s been the worst 4 months of my life to be completely honest. I’ve never been so depressed and my confidence is at an all time low. My doctor was terrible in that he sucked at communication. I went into this whole thing blind and didn’t get any sort of guidance from him so I had to learn everything on my own.
BUT I’m hopeful and positive about the future. After reading about a lot of other ppls experiences, I’ve learned everyone heals differently and for some it takes more time than others. If you decide to go through with it I recommend you talk to your doctor about everything beforehand in depth.
I am about the same. First 4 months were hell and tons of pain. I had to cut holes in my underwear so my penis wouldn’t touch my hair or skin even though I groom myself often. I couldn’t let it touch the blankets practically nothing. It was too painful. I’m 6months in and finally can work out a run a bit more normal I’d say I’m about 90% back to normal. Most sensitivity is when my penis Is flaccid It still sometimes painful on the tip rubbing on my underwear. But it comes and goes throughout the day. I still feel it getting bette. I just told myself it’s going to take a good year at least to feel fully normal.
I was finally able to masturbate with a lot of lotion last week but it is still so different and a odd sensation (I do miss the skin for that). I have to reprogram my brain to associate the odd feeling with pleasure. The sex is great ( still discomforts and some odd feelings when getting head and some positions) wife loves it and prefers it then before The circ. I am 36 and just had the surgery done in February. 2020. It’s cleaner and doesn’t smell which is a huge plus. The hard part is everyone is different and the Drs. Don’t say this they just say no sex for 30 days. One dr mentioned for most people it will all turn out ok otherwise no one would ever get it done. So that showed some positivity for me. It really messes with hour head for sure. I also couldn’t pull the skin back without pain from phimosis. I do wish I stretched it more (dr gave me some stretch cream that helped a bit but didn’t last). I would of considered a partial circ or a dorsal slit and see how I felt and later if those didn’t work out then do the full circumcision. But can’t look back even though I do sometimes by coming back on this forum.
Good luck bro. Just way it all out and ask questions. The good thing is most people I’ve seen on the Forum say they are eventually healed and are living well. Just for some it takes two weeks and some can take a year or so to fully heal. Im living life again but for the first 4 months I thought I was going to be stuck like that and always in pain. I do miss not thinking about it throughout the day since it’s still uncomfortable sometimes. I know I’ll get there again I’m just not so anxious about it anymore and letting my body do it’s thing. I noticed sleep is the best thing for it too and keeping it dry.
Thanks for this reply, it helps hearing from someone that went through what I’m going through. You mentioned you went for a run, are you wearing any protection at all? I can’t wait to even walk without having to wear protection. I sleep bare and naked every night and still have to guard it from my blanket. But it’s not as bad as it used to be, it just feels like I’m recovering way too slowly. And I’ve also been keeping it dry because it feels more sensitive when it’s moist.
I can run normal without gauze now but I also had to find underwear that felt the most comfortable. Try this brand 2(x)ist feels smooth. Cotton or material that is dry with lint is no bueno not good. Need silky smooth or polyester type something that has smooth feel and not so much friction. The towel touching the penis was weird as f and painful not so much anymore. Hang in there.
Here is the amazon link for the underwear when you are ready.
I also would wrap it before in a non stick gauze and that made my life a lot better until it healed enough for it to be bare again. Peace of mind is better than trying to speed up the process. So do what you can to make it comfortable. I put myself through hell trying to let it rub because everyone said it speeds things up but several drs said they didn’t think it did. So I started wrapping it and started feeling peace again until one day I woke up and felt I didn’t need to anymore. Was probably on 5th month.
Hi man, having a similar experience as yours. The rubbing of penis head with clothing, is it still bothering you? Can you share in which month that you realised that it has normalised?
Wow I am very sorry to hear I hope you get accustomed to it as time goes by 1 question did you put any gauze or oil to help prevent the discomfort of the glans??? If so I highly recommend not to I had phimosis for 23 years (never had my glans exposed) and had to get circumcised and let me tell you I couldn't even walk for the first 2 weeks but now I am currently in week 4 *post Op* and everything is already back to getting normal I can wear anything I want and walk perfectly fine yes a little discomfort but not the same as before *pain and tear feeling* now is just a weird way feelings can't describe it but does not hurt let me tell you that and as days goes by it gets better and better.
Also I masterbated over 4 times since circumcision and that was getting a soft rag or towel and rub intensely around the glans and not once felt any pain if anything felt better than before.
Yess I know everyone heals differently but not making the glans exposed enough *raw* to air are clothing can really make it difficult to adap and desensitize trust me try to push in that pain and avoid using anything to protect you from that feeling much as possible ,your brain will eventually notice that it's not a threat and will eventually become a feeling you'll get used too 😁👍
Wow that’s good to hear and I’m happy you’re recovering very fast! Have your stitches fallen out already? I’m jealous. But yes for the 1st month I used Neosporin 3 times a day as recommended by my doctor. Then someone on here told me not to anymore since it wasn’t necessary so I stopped and instead used coconut oil or sometimes Vaseline. But I haven’t used anything in 3 days now since I noticed it’s less sensitive when dry. And I’ve tried going bare but I walk a lot at work and that would be too difficult for me right now and I wouldn’t be able to get anything done. I’m practicing at home to slowly get to that point though
Your story really saddens me even if you can still be positive about what's coming next. Im 26 days in and waiting to go back to "normal" when it comes to sensitivity. Its gotten much better than the first 2 weeks for sure. Im walking normally but with some discomfort sometimes. I still wear a gauze around the shaft and im really worried of never going back to my comfort zone and not be able to do what I most love : hockey. I can't wait to go back on the ice. Have you reached this "normal" state yet? And what should I expect to come next? Only slow day by day progress, up until one day when its gone? God bless our recovery.
It’s a rough thing to go through for sure since the penis is the most sensitive part of the body, but just hang in there man. I’m still not fully back to normal yet but it’s slowly getting better. I just started riding my bike and exercising again recently and it’s improved my mood and attitude about the whole thing. I feel like it’s just a waiting game at this point. Did you have severe phimosis like me or why did you get the surgery?
Really reassuring, thank you for the reply! Well I had a phimosis case has well ; I could not even retract it when flaccid. It made me have a lack of confidence with girls and for sex because I was so scared of getting a Paraphimosis and the reaction of what my dick was like. I'm happy with how the healing is going right now, but it is surely not comfortable like before... yet. I'm really impatient to go back on the ice like I said and also work out. Maybe in a week or two if everything keeps progressing at the same rate that it has from the beginning.
I’m 7 months in now and I’m about the same. I went to the doctor and they prescribed me hydrocortisone 2.5 cream and told me to use it for 2 weeks. It’s helped with the dryness so it’s not peeling anymore but the sensitivity is still there. It’s not as bad as it was though so it’s slowly getting better. I recommend touching the glans more and rubbing it against your clothes and just be naked as much as you can. When you go out just wear tight boxer briefs to reduce the movement. Hang in there man!
Im starting to believe man. It does get better for sure, but it goes so slowly that I feel like im going to have this for the rest of my days.
Im doing as you mentionned, go to work everyday with thight underwear. Its not so bad but I sometime have some odd discharge down there which makes it really uncomfortable. Im starting to think that its part of the scar healing process with the nerves and all.
Thanks for the encouragement it really does help. And in the end im sure, we'll make it throught man. Don't give up!
Hey man, I’ve finally got my circumcision booked for august. I’m extremely anxious about it.
Just wanted to check in with you and see how you’re doing since you replied to me? Has it become desensitised and feel normal or is it still quite sensitive if you don’t mind me asking?
Thanks for your insight! I’ve got my circumcision booked ye august. I just wanted to check in with you to see how you are with the circumcision today? Do you feel back to normal? How long has it taken to feel normal again? Cheers
Hey man, it’s been a year and a couple months now since I had mine done and I feel better for sure. The scar line is still slightly sensitive sometimes but nothing unbearable. People have different experiences, and mine was pretty bad for over 6 months. Just hang in there and good luck 👍
I'm about month and few days. I am still sensitive but just reading others my best advice lose gauze or protection . Just put on Vaseline and tighter underwear. Best way get use to sensitivity. Last week I could barely touch but now still sensitive but I'm able touch it better. ..
It going hurt and it gonna suck but in long run it will help
I know all these answer might sound crazy and all but mine was cut like 1month ago and its back to normal. Im 16 and the sensitivity has gone away. Its still kinda scary I havent had the courage to get a blowjob because idk if i can do it hahah
You can feel the sensitivity for couple of weeks. After that It should be ok
You need to retract your foreskin and keep it that way in increasingly long periods to allow your penis head to desensitize. It’ll take some time but if you do it gradually it’ll be a lot less of a painful shock than getting circumcised and feeling blindsided with nothing to stop it
I was circumcised at the age of 60 due to balanitis, inflammation of glans and foreskin, after several bouts of this and the embarrassment caused, after discussion with my doctor, circumcision was advised. I ended up with a high tight circumcision, which means my glans is fully exposed. It was very sensitive for several weeks (which was quite pleasurable), but I did wrap my glans in cotton wool to help reduce this. My glans has now desensitised and all feels normal as if I still had a foreskin, but no longer getting any infections which is good.
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