Hi all.
First off, this forum has been great to refer to for guidance and expectations of the healing process - I have to confess that I was so concerned about the operation that I neglected to consider the recovery... which has been a rollercoaster. And I was kind of calmed by reading that others did the same. I felt very ashamed of myself at first, but when I saw that others did the same, I realised that nothing can really prepare you for the moment you remove the bandage. I am 40 years old and I had a circumcision to solve life-long fimosis and two preputial adhesions.
Week 1 was rough. I just kind of hid in my bed a bit dazed and convinced that everything had gone wrong and that I'd made a massive mistake. I took a picture on the day I removed the bandage and resolved to look at it 7 days later. I'll be honest... I was so upset when I saw my new penis. It looked terrible. My wife, however, was saying it looked really smart and tidy. It was a little thing (her comment), but was about the only thing positive I had in my head. Inevitably, it swelled up massively over the next 24 hours and that's how it's been ever since.
If it reassures anyone, when I looked at the picture of my penis on the first day, even 7 days of healing had seen a massive change in what my penis looked like. It had definitely healed and was far less bruised and bloody. As the week progressed, I did have to go on a course of preventative antibiotics at the end of week 1 because the frenulum stitch was still looking like it was open, it was bleeding a tiny bit, and the surgeon said it was better to be safe than sorry. He checked and said everything was fine and that it was healing really nicely. For him, it's just another clean healing penis. For me, it's my pride and joy... that perspective difference is huge.
For me, week 1 just sucked and I just found the whole thing a massive head f*ck. But at that appointment with the surgeon, he checked me over then asked a nurse gave me a terrifying cold wash. She then gave me some surgical support pants and tonnes of sterile swabs and wound contact layers and showed me how to wrap up to help reduce sensitivity. And suddenly I was out of bed walking around outside, making some Warhammer models at home, chilling out on the couch with my son and wife. It felt so good. That was a step change moment. I felt like I had my mobility back, my mental health was back and the antibiotics gave me peace of mind to just get going and heal while I did it.
Anyway, it's now been just over 2 weeks since my operation (15 days) and right now I feel good in my head and better about my body's ability to heal. My Johnson is still sensitive, I have one scab on the head of my penis left to heal from where the preputial adhesions were. The scar line is beginning to settle down on one side, but is still swollen on the other. It's an exercise in patience, and I know that 2 weeks is still early days for the swelling and settling, and the healing. Sometimes it aches, sometimes it's fine, sometimes it swells up and feels heavy between my legs, sometimes I forget about it, sometimes I get worried, etc. But, it's suddenly all manageable. If something else happens, I'll deal with it and hopefully it'll be okay. Just keeping my routine of a shower a day, keeping the wound clean and dry, wearing my surgical pants and sterile bandage to reduce sensitivity and applying a bit of vaseline when needed. If the routine needs to change, so be it.
And, best of all... I had a night erection last night that went full mast at full stock. I finally had the vision of what my erect penis will look like, and it also gave me the reassurance that I don't have an open wound anymore (because if I did then surely there would have been blood) and the stitches that remain are still holding. It was also the first night erection I've had that didn't hurt like crazy, which makes me think the internal stiches have dissolved already or are just more stretchy. And once I had that stiffy, I couldn't stop them coming... I think my brain/body got a bit carried away. I know the next 6-8 weeks are all about cementing the healing, so I'm not going to indulge in any funny business on my own or with my wife until then. I've not come this far to mess it all up.
I only have a couple of points that I think need sorting... aftercare instructions mostly suck and need to be far better, none of them seem to include any instructions on how to wrap your penis so you can actually walk around. When you leave hospital they should just give you a load of sterile bandages and pants to help you get going at the end of the first week. Also... there should be far more reassurance of the same kind that this forum offers from the surgeons and nurses - they all say to ask questions, but most of us didn't know what to ask in those early hourse, right?
All the best to all the other men going through this right now. We're all feeling the same things at points on this journey. In week 1, I thought this was all going to be shit and I was stuck with sore ugly penis forever, but at the end of week 2 I can see how it's healing and I feel better equipped to deal with any issue that might arise. A circumcision is not just an operation, it's so much more than that.
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