Hello, I am a 42 yr office worker from Australia who has been circumcised due to BXO and phimosis. I tried creams for a few months and nothing was working, the tight ring kept getting worse and my foreskin kept drying and becoming pale white. I used to be able to retract my skin all the way down. I am not a Dr, this is just what happened / worked for me.
Urologist stated circumcision is the only fix and that my condition would get worse. Said it was a quick operation and I would be asleep and be able to go home the next day. So me being me I took the day off for surgery and had then second day as work from home.
As I got closer to the day I researched the operation and noticed its allot longer than one day...
Day 1 (operation day). I was put to sleep and was told surgery takes about 45 minutes. I awoke after the operation to nausea and dizziness, vomited a few times and was sent home. This was due to anesthesia. Dr said I could take off the dressing on the 1st or the 2nd night in the shower. I kept it on and thankful I did as I noticed I got erections on the first night but they were kept at bay due to the tight dressing.
Day 2 Took off dressing in the afternoon – slightly painful like having a small paper cut every now and then. It wasn’t too sensitive but you could definitely feel the stitches rubbing against clothes. I took the dressing off in the shower, soaking it slightly to loosen it for unwrapping – do this slowly as It is still bleeding a little. I also found wearing normal jokes rather than tight boxers suited better as boxers had a seem down the middle or at the bottom where your tip hangs making it uncomfortable.
Night erections happened. Mine were painful but no more than my phimosis when I was hard. It would wake you up but the pain wasn't the worst I have felt. I had a small Esky next to the bed filled with 3 packets of frozen peas. This really helped calm down erections, I also slept in jocks. I am a grower and I was worried about erection pain and breaking stitches. I think the pain from the erections is determined by the stitch type that you get. Mine was two end knots to the side of the frenulum and the thread is stitched around the circumference of my shaft. I didn’t have other stitch points but I could feel the stitch line under the skin. I have seen some online with a few stitch knot points on the shaft and some up the frenulum and I think this is why mine probably wasn’t as painful.
Days 2-3 I worked from home and much the same as above. I told work that it was a personal medical surgery so they didn't complain when i asked to work from home for longer. Urologist letter also helped (did not reveal anything personal other than a urologist was dealing with me).
Days 4-5 I caught a Uber to work. If I did it again, I would take at least a week off from work completely for healing rather than adding stress to the mix. I also recommend DO NOT USE A BUS. If you wear suit pants they are tight and will rub against the stitches so you need to be able to spread your legs like you do in a car. My showers were once a day and quick ie wash body with soap and then let water roll over stomach and onto my penis. I would blow dry on cold setting around the wound just to dry it.
Erections were still there but the ice peas worked. I was swelling too but that is fine as I believe that kept any drops of urine from hitting the stitches.
Days 6-7 I stayed up on day 6 so that the erection would only hit 2 times the night. The next day I was groggy but I believe it helped in recovery. The ice peas stopped working on Day 7 so I ended up getting up and walking at night.
Day 8 I caught the BUS and lucky I waited until this day, it was still sensitive at the frenulum but not as much as the first week so I could squeeze my legs closer when the bus started to get full.
Day 9-12 Erections still waking me up but not as bad. Showers are still short and although the sight looks a bit ghastly still, I am sure it is healing as I am feeling less pain each day. Swelling is still there but has gone down significantly – I think the frozen peas in the first week helped. Frenulum is still sensitive, I got lazy and tried to adjust my member but accidentally touched the frenulum and it hurt.
After about 3 weeks I masturbated. Everything worked but it was a little sore after and my pee seemed to go everywhere. I think the masturbation increased the internal swelling so I stopped for a few days. Also when I walked at this stage it wasn’t sensitive pain but there were times when I thought I felt like peeing but it was just my member rubbing against the material.
I am now week 5 and all my stitching have healed – some minor swelling still there and masturbation no longer hurt. Some minor pain at the frenulum but nothing like the first week.
Some points to note (my personal experience/opinions):
I took Sudafed at the start also but that was to keep erections away, but it kept me in a restless sleep so I stopped them on day 3. No other pain medication was taken other than Nurofen once.
I never put another dressing on after taking it off. When I showered, I used soap and lifted the skin folds to allow the soapy water to clean.
I also took creatine Monohydrate – I don’t know how much this helped but its something I took daily.
I was hesitant due to the fear of being impotent and all other horror stories but the reality is before the operation I wasn’t confident to engage in sexual activity as it was painful. I am very happy now!
Also don’t be concerned about how it looks. It gets better and the main goal is for it to function again. Your other half wont care how it looks as long as you are happy.
I also think the reason many Dr. don't give much advice is they probably never went through it ie had the circ. at birth. I also think they don't want to scare you when the pros far out way the cons.
I personally also think you don't look for the cheapest Dr but rather look for the Dr that has good ratings. Its a one time job so you want it done by someone who is really good at it not someone who saved you some money. I did read reviews on my urologist and i was lucky he was one of the top 4 in my city. If the reviews were poor I would have gone somewhere else.
Lastly the most frustrating thing of all is the healing process. You just have to wait it out, I am at 5 weeks and now think I am around 95% there healing wise.
Hopefully that helps someone and ease the fears.
A
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