Got circumcised 5days ago. Glans is hyper sensitive and stitches are not yet dissolved

[Anxited]

I am 27 and I got circumcised due to phimosis. It’s been 5days so far but my glans is still super sensitive. I can’t sleep, can’t wear underwear or pants, Stitches are not yet dissolved and it is painful when I touch it. I’ve been using gauze and plaster,But it is getting wet due to urine. I am getting tensed and I don’t know what to do :(. How long does it take to recover ? I just took 2weeks off. Now I’m afraid that I won’t get back to normal in 2weeks

[JL__79]

Hello, Welcome to the forum! First up, there's loads of people on here that have had the same experiences as you and they'll reassure you that everything you're feeling is really normal.

Everyone heals at different stages, we're all different and we all deal with things in our own way.

The one thing i'd say is to try and be patient and not push anything. 6-8 weeks is a good time frame to feel normal, but you'll start to feel more and more confident with it every day. I know it feels really weird to begin with, but after a while it feels completely normal and you might wonder why you didn't get it done sooner!

I had phimosis, which led to penile cancer, and I ended up having a circumcision as part of the procedure to remove the tumour.

(I've written about all the things I felt about circumcision here if you're interested - knob.blog/?s=circumcision)

Jon

knob.blog

[Anxited in reply to JL__79]

Thank you mate. I’m more worried about my job. They’ve approved 2weeks leave for me. Already 5days are gone and I don’t think I will recover in next 8days. I’m not able to share my pain with anyone.

I’m having nurse change my gauze dressing everyday and it hurts like hell when he is cleaning my penis.

Due to plasters around dressing, my skin is irritated and became reddish.

I cannot sleep at all since my blanket always touches tip of my penis and I wake up suddenly with sensitivity (or) I wake up with painful erection. I am afraid of sleeping now

Doctor said that stitches will dissolve in skin, but none of the stitches are dissolved yet. I feel pricky sensation when I try to touch the stitches. Two of the stitches have tiny blood clot. Nurse said that it will go away after few days.

I’ve been prescribed antibiotics and pain killers for only 7days. Not sure how to bear the pain after 7days?

All the websites and doctors say that recovery period is 2weeks. With my current situation, I am thinking it might take several months for me to recover

I am just wearing a towel and a tshirt

It would be very very wierd if any of my friends or relatives come to my house

I wish I dont have this stupid foreskin problem. I am hating myself for not being normal like other men

[Hidden in reply to Anxited]

I can’t speak from experience but they say on here it will become easier. If you wrap your penis in gauze does this help? What do you do as a job? Will this harm you healing?

[Anxited in reply to Hidden]

Doctor has suggested daily gauze dressing. I don’t think it is helping me much.

I am a programmer and currently I can work remotely due to covid. But, the problem is- I work in different country. I took leave to get circumcized and came to my home country. Company doesn’t allow me to work in my home country. So, I will need to travel back and start working in 2weeks.

I am thinking to extend my leave for one more week. I am not sure if that extra week would be sufficient or not ?

[Hidden in reply to Anxited]

What country is home and what country is work. Would you get support from the health care in the country you work in. If you travel back to work and able to work from home you should be able to recover there the same as your home country. It may also help take your mind off it.

[Anxited in reply to Hidden]

Work is in Australia.

Yes, I can get health care in the country I work, But I am a single person and there is nobody to take care of me in Work country while I’m recovering.

And how do I travel with this sensitive condition

I cannot wear pants with gauze dressing and plasters

I read that some people use petroleum jelly. But, my doctor is saying not to use it and let it heal naturally (not sure why)

[Hidden in reply to Anxited]

I think if you leave it dry it looses sensitivity quicker. I would say when it gets to l comfortable level then use a moisturiser cream to save it loosing all sensation. As someone else said here 8 day’s is quite a long time in healing. You feel more comfortable to travel etc.

Someone else said that gently touching and rubbing your glans will help you get used to your glans being touched quicker.

[JL__79 in reply to Anxited]

Phimosis is really common, just because people aren't talking about it doesn't mean it's not normal! If we conservatively say it affects 1 in 10 men in the UK, that's about 3 million people. It's not some kind of freak issue, and there's loads of people here that you can share your experience with.

It will settle down and become less sensitive. Day by day it will improve, but sometimes you've just got to be patient. 8 days is longer than you think!

I really wouldn't worry about the tiny clots, clots just mean things are healing. I had a ring scab that was half an inch wide and about the width of a ketchup bottle. When that fell off i had a couple of smaller ones. they bled for a bit and day by day it just improved.

Try and stay positive, sleep when you can. Maybe check in with work now and let them know how your recovery is going?

Jon

knob.blog

[Anxited in reply to JL__79]

Thank you Jon. I’ve been reading your blog since last 30mins and your journey would be definitely an inspiration for other men.

BTW, do you know when the stitches would dissolve ? Is it safe to get them removed manually?

Also there is a tiny white bump under my penis. I just noticed it today. Is it normal or some kind of infection. My doctor is not in hospital today and I’m not able to contact him

[fow36 in reply to Anxited]

Depending on the thread that was used, they can take from 10 days to 5 weeks to fall off. Between the 2nd and 3rd week, if the incision is healing well, you can ask the nurse if it's ok to remove them.

As for the rest, pain, sensitivity, irritation, difficulties to sleep and wear clothes... many, many, many of us are going / have been through something similar. It'll get better, it's annoying and stressful at first, but time and patience are your best allies.

[JL__79 in reply to Anxited]

White sounds pretty normal. I had a white-ish lump underneath where everything comes together, and it calmed back down again in a few days. Infections aren't usually white, they're usually red or even purple. They spread fast too.

I know it's difficult to know at the moment because you're feeling all kinds of different discomfort, but if you're taking antibiotics you're doing what you need to do to deal with the infection risk.

It's different for everyone, but you might have those stitches in doing their work for a couple of weeks yet. They usually just disappear once their job is done.

Thanks for your kind words about my blog! It's not a secret, so feel free to share it wherever and with whoever you like.

Side note; I was told to use petroleum jelly. I slathered it all over the place and it worked great. My doctor is a professor of urology, and I trusted his judgement on everything.. but your doctor might have his own reasons not for recommending it.

Jon

knob.blog

[YumTea in reply to JL__79]

We see the same questions coming from people. I have been answering these same questions for years. I think we should put out FAQs and ask people to read those. It will increase patient awareness and help reduce general questions and allow more time to be spent on real issues and non standard situations.

[Joshh03]

I got circumcised just over a week ago and I still have all my stitches in. They are more of a crown of spikes rather than anything else. And my head is still sensitive I find it difficult to wear underwear but I'm wearing loose baggy trousers . I did get a Infection but I'm on antibiotics to fix this.

[Anxited in reply to Joshh03]

We both are in the same boat buddy

[Anxited]

Are you able to wear pants? On which day did your stitches dissolve ? And how do we know that they are dissolved? Is your sensitivity gone now?

[IIJ4M1E]

It’ll feel sensitive for a fair while. I’m currently about a month post op now and I feel fairly fine, there is still a bit of swelling but sensitivity is more than manageable but I can still feel very very minor discomfort. I’d say about 16 days post op is when you start to feel better again but before then I understand sensitivity is an annoyance. Obviously I know it’s not possible for everyone but since I was working from home I rarely wore clothes so I could avoid discomfort but if you do go out, I find that the gauze definitely helped a lot