Ryan's Circumcision Experience

Ryan recently sent in photos of his circumcision. He went to Dr Neil Smith. Ryan is now 31 and has kindly attached before-and-after photos for everyone to benefit.

I have attached the email and photos below. Cheers mate

Hi there!

I've been following your blog with great interest, and I am also a fellow Gold Coaster who now sports a circumcised penis as well!

My op was done on 19 March 2010 when I was 27, and even back then most of the internet sites were anti-circ and usually only about infants/children.

I always thought about doing a blog about my experience, but it never eventuated. However seeing your latest blog post with the opportunity to tell my story, I thought I should.

As a back story, I spent 27 years of my life with an uncircumcised penis that was for nearly all of the time, perfectly healthy and normal. I did have a relatively long foreskin (when flaccid it over-hung the head by about 1-2cm) and it was never tight or inflamed.

That was until Friday 15 January 2010 when strangely enough I had my wisdom teeth removed. Probably one of the worst experiences in my life, whilst I was recovering in bed and feeling sorry for myself over the weekend, I had forgotten to have a shower for possibly 2-3 days and during that time my foreskin became red, itchy, and tight right at the tip.

Pulling it back to urinate was very sore, with the skin cracking and bleeding, and it began to develop a white "scar ring" at the tip of the foreskin.

I went to see the doctor, and he said I had phimosis caused by BXO (Balanitis xerotica obliterans) and referred me

see a urologist (Dr Neil Smith in Southport).

I got an appointment about 2 weeks later, to which by that time the condition had settled down but the tight, white scar ring remained and it would crack the skin regularly causing small ulcerations.

He confirmed it was BXO, and basically said the only effective treatment was circumcision.

At this point, I was actually a little excited as I've always fascinated about being circumcised.

I even remember standing in the shower a few months earlier, looking at my penis thinking "will I ever experience life as a cut man" but always dreaded that if I decided to do it and I didn't like it, it'd be the worst decision of my life. So I always put the idea of getting circumcised is the back of my mind.

Now that I actually had a legitimate medical reason to have it done, and no longer enjoying my foreskin (as it was always sore), I had the perfect opportunity to have it done.

I agreed to proceed and booked in for day surgery on the 19 March 2010, and had it performed under general anesthetic.

I can honestly say, your recovery experience and stories are almost identical to mine.

Pain? It was not painful AT ALL. Yes, a little uncomfortable, but easily manageable with paracetamol and that was only for the first day or two. A paper cut is worse than a circumcision!

Erections? No real problems there, sleeping in the fetal position helped with the nocturnal erections.

Showering/bathing? I had read some conflicting information about this (because of the dissolvable stitches). Some said 'no baths' or don't even get it wet, some said just a trickle in the shower, some said soak in a bath. I ended up having a bath every night for about a week or so, with salt and Dettol added to the water. I think it really helped keep it clean (especially when getting the bandages off, just let them soak) and it never got infected.

Stitches? I had dissolvable stitches, and after about the 6th day, they started coming out by themselves (well,

one got stuck to the bandage). I had read previously that stitches should not be left in for more than 7 days otherwise you can end up with skin tunnels or 'train tracks' resulting in a poor cosmetic appearance. So when that first stitch came out, I "encouraged" most of them out as well. One of them though wouldn't budge and didn't come out till around day 8-9, and it did end up leaving a very small stitch tunnel, but it's tiny and barely noticeable. In hindsight, I'm glad I did do the nightly baths (which would have softened the stitches earlier) and encouraged them to leave on day 6-7, otherwise I think I would have gotten train tracks.

Healing? I'd say it went well as I didn't have my frenulum removed and there was only the circumcision scar/ring (no extra cuts for vein removal like yours). However, at the back of the penis about 1cm down from the scar, I can feel a small lump under the skin that is quite hard and moves around. This is apparently the end of one of the veins that was clipped/stitched and has a little scar tissue on it. It mostly doesn't bother me, but I can feel it when I'm getting oral.

Swelling and bruising? Yep, definitely had both at first, I was quite surprised at some of the bruise patterns - it must have been rough! But it all went away after the first week. I also had the 'puffy mucosa' for a while, I used to keep a bandage applied for a few weeks afterwards to keep it compressed and reduce the swelling. After about a month or two, it was mostly gone - I think the compression bandage was a good technique (it was a fine art trying to get the bandage on whilst it was flaccid before it thought it was "play time", and at the right pressure so I could still pee comfortably!) It's all good now, only puffs up slightly if it's been used a little too rough ;)

Time-off? I had a week off work, and could have easily gone back after 2 days (but I really wanted some time off and work wouldn't allow annual leave at that time, so it was a good opportunity!)

Sensation? Yes, it feels different. It's hard to describe in words (and only someone else who's gone through it knows). But it's not worse - I think it feels way better now.

Head now exposed? Given that I was always able to retract my foreskin, and that sometimes I would purposely tape it back (to see what felt like to be cut) I didn't have much of feeling over-sensitive feeling or pain by exposed and rubbing on my underwear. It felt good actually. Maybe a little too good at first! Every time I walked or moved, I was immediately notified by my penis "hey I'm rubbing against something, I'm going to get erect now" and would need to stop and readjust to avoid an awkward moment! But eventually it realized this was normal and it's just like how it felt before. Unless I'm thinking about how it's feeling, it doesn't tell me either!

Masturbation? It was a new learning curve, especially the first time! I think i had just passed the 2 week mark when I couldn't hold back anymore! One tip for the first time - use LOTS of lube, take it slow and gentle. You won't need much encouragement after 2 weeks of abstinence and direct head stimulation. After that, I was using lube to masturbate for a while - but it stopped me from being able to just "beat one off" whenever I wanted. I tried using my remaining foreskin to move up and down the shaft and over the head, but that resulted in 'super puffy penis' for a few days and made the skin feel sore inside. Plus I missed the direct head stimulation. I eventually found my technique for 'dry masturbating' by holding part of of the remaining foreskin below the scar in the lower part of my hand, and using the top part of my hand (with variable pressure) to rub/glide over the scar and head. This works well and it my primary method - but only once per day. Otherwise the skin gets abrasions.

Sex? Way better now! I can actually feel everything, it's a much better sensation. Before my circ, i was over-sensitive in my head and sex would actually hurt because it was so sensitive. After the cut and head exposed and "toughened" - it's actually enjoyable to have sex now. And I because its not over sensitive, I can last longer and the orgasm is WAY more intense and enjoyable.

Other things? Well, one thing that was a new experience - either when a little pre-cum leaks out or the shake at the toilet didn't quite get out the last drop, I'll now get a little wet dot where my head is directly touching my underwear! And you can feel it too!

Second thoughts? No, definitely no regrets in having it done. It feels fantastic, no more pain, no more smell! I wish I had it done earlier!

One thing I wish I had done (and learnt more of first) was the style of the circumcision. Because of the BXO and the placement of the diseased skin that needed removing, I had to get a low cut (i.e. less inner foreskin remains). However, in regards to how tight or loose the circumcision was, I left that up to the urologist - and I ended up with a fairly loose cut and to me it's not what a "cut cock" should look like. Plus on a cold morning, it looks like I never had it cut at all!

So, it's now crossing my mind - should I have another circumcision to get the look and feel that I'm after? And that's why I came across your blog researching Dr Read to determine if I should get a second opinion on a second cut.

Anyway, that's my story. I've attached some pictures too. I'd love to hear your comments on my experience, and the same from your readers too - please feel free to share it on your blog if you wish.

If you wanted to refer to me in the story, I'm now 31 and you can use my first name.

Thanks, looking forward to hearing from you!

Cheers

BEFORE