My Circumcision Story

So I figured I'd share my own experience in the hope that helps other randomers. I generally I think people should be more open about health topics, particularly men.

Ive been to a few GPs who kept recommending the thinning cream I didn't but I didn't find it very effective or practical. Even my new current gp said I'd just be recommended getting the cream and even suggested that's all the consultant would suggest.

Decided to push on with it and go private, I was tired of sex just being awkward and it was getting difficult to do simple things like keep myself clean.

Consultant took all of 10 minutes and recommended a full circumscion even after I mentioned a partial one (to help with sensitivity) . I was all on board as I was just happy to have a permanent fix.

Procedure:

Was done as a day case and privately, I had VHI and they covered everything, I got some exception for the excess charge which would've been €100. I would've paid to do it privately as the waiting list to do it public is at least 2 years.

Was brought to the ward, threw on the but-less dress, compression socks and underwear. It wasn't pretty. Did an ECG to check if my heart was ok due to previous potential issue but nothing found.

Lot of waiting, few people on the ward doing ops with the same doctor.

Eventually called to the operating theatre, signed a document and was put to sleep. Took maybe 15 mins for everything to kick in. Nurses and doctors were chatty but I think they were just checking if I was awake.

Surgery took maybe an hour or less but no grogginess experienced when waking up. Woke up in the recovery room and brought to the ward after they felt I was more stable.

Got served toast and it was the only thing I ate till I was discharged at around 4. I think I was held in longer because of low blood pressure but I think I've naturally low blood pressure anyway. I must if had 8 nurses at least, look at and poke my penis but obviously they were all professional.

Prescribed a bunch of medium duty pain-killers and some bandage's.

Just don't think about sex, I did and it was so awkward and way too early on Day 0.

Bit of a long uncontrolled post but will try update as I go.

Stopped having the bandages on after day 5 which was actually yesterday. Doctor didn't really say much about how long to let them on but recommended using vitamin e oil for five days and then give it time to breath. Issue now on day 6 is the head is starting to become a bit rough from rubbing on my boxers.

Other than that everything seems fine. Went to my own doctor yesterday just to have him look at it. Have anxiety at the best of times so for piece of mind just wanted him to look and he seemed very happy with it and even said it's one of the better circumcisions he's seen. Whether he was just saying that or not it helped ease my mind anyway 😂

Still very swollen, especially around the base which makes peeing a bit awkward. No real issues with night time erections waking me up. My sleep ain't great in general so just go in and try pee when I wake during the night.

Will be five weeks this coming Thursday and the sensitivity still bothers me big time. Have to wear briefs or went down a size in boxer briefs because my normal underwear are still unbearable to wear.

Honestly I'd say it has with the change in underwear but still watching how I move in certain situations because the sensitivity is high. Wore loose underwear on day five when I stopped wearing the bandage and was fine but on day six couldn't move wearing loose underwear without it bothering me big time. Tried it again last week and on the second day felt fine till that night.

Might also be the cotton material that's used for those boxer briefs as bought a pair in the same size but polyester and they feel much better. Can go about my days fine but still get the sensitivity issue in certain situations that mostly involve bending. No issue whatsoever with walking around.

But tighter underwear has helped massively in being able to go about doing things without it bothering me too much. Saturday just gone helped my brother clear out a back garden that was like a jungle and full of rubbish while wearing the cotton boxer briefs a size down than I'd normally wear and it didn't bother me much.

It is not unusual to panic a bit after a major decision, especially when the immediate results are not what you expected. It might be worth reflecting on your thought processes on this. It seems that you made the decision based on strong feelings and maybe left your logical mind out of the decision making process. Now you have very strong feelings of regret about the decision. But is this equally based on feelings and leaving logic outside the door? As your doctor said, immediately after an operation is not a time to take a decision on the success of the operation. Look at the reports of people on this thread. It can take weeks and months to get to a stable state where everything is functioning as it should. Try to reassure yourself that it was not a terrible decision you took. Millions of people all over the world are circumcised and their penis functions perfectly well.

You were unhappy with things before the operation and you are unhappy now. Consider if there is something behind this unhappiness. It might be worth seeing a counsellor to talk through your strong feelings on this. Either way, be patient, follow best advice regarding post-operation care and give yourself time to get used to the new form of your penis before making any rash decisions.

Best of luck with the review. I would suggest not doing anything regarding reversal for at least 6 months. Be mindful of the lessons you have described above (having a set view and not listening to contradictory advice from doctor; reacting to being told "no" by absolutely wanting what you have been refused; striving to have something "fixed" even though it isn't really broken). All of these lessons apply just as much to a reversal as they do to the original circumcision.

Also, try not to beat yourself up over what you currently view as a bad decision. You made the decision for good reasons and you cannot know in advance the outcome of your decisions. Be kind to yourself.

Do you have something in mind as the perfect penis? I don't think there is any such thing. Each one is different.

Do you have a partner? What does she/he think of it?

It is good that you are going to a different specialist. That should give you confidence in whatever he says (including if he says that it is a good circumcision). In the meantime, try to focus on other things and think less about the circumcision. You know now that it will be addressed in June.

Is there any part of you that is curious about all this worry?

I have been there also: incredibly worried about something, panicking, wanting to take action straight away to 'fix' the thing, and generally not making very wise decisions.

What is driving this urgency? Why can you not wait until June? What is the worst thing that could happen if you did have to wait until June?

Going from my own experience, i know that it was deeper issues causing that panic, that fear, that obsession. I really benefitted from seeing a counsellor to talk through these feelings. Maybe that would benefit you too.

Do you have other things in your life that you can bring some attention to? Friends, exercise, hobbies, study, a job? Everybody benefits from a balance of things to occupy our minds. Too much focus on one part of our lives is rarely healthy in the long run.

Thanks for the advice

The feel of urgency is from the discomfort, the constant feeling of not being able to do anything with it tbh, not being able to hold it right ,the feel of it ,the shock of how it looks and all the stress building up'. I seen my GP and he said to not see the specialist until the 3 month review as some healing to go yet ,so Il do that. He told me not to think about it aswell.

I do have a job, etc I was on a tough fitness regime before this op, but the way it irritates me Im not in the mood for doing anything much because its like a constant annoyance the way it feels.

Regardless of the healing, I really dont like the style of the circ, its not like anything i expected, but thats for the specialist i guess.

The whole thing that it is so permanent is also hard to fathom, ive been thinking through why I let it get this far, made one rash decision a few months ago, sent an email to the urologist and boom had an appointment with a set mindset without thinking about what I would be like afterwards.

I guess I thought I backed myself into a corner when agreeing to it and then I just thought well il go along with it. That and the fact the procedure was took place just three weeks after the consultation didn't help.

So three months post op here now.

Wish I could say things have got better but sadly it hasn't.

I'm still very unhappy, I was at a specialist for a second opinion , he said it's early days and said it looked like a standard circ but said that only i know how it was , but he did say that I have scrotal webbing

I figured this out myself too, bascially too much skin was taken off and my scrotum was pulled forward, it's a nightmare and it's very uncomfortable all the time. Bascially it's all balls and no penis body as such.

There is zero inner foreskin left , just all outer skin that used to sit at the base of my penis now it's attached to the top.

My scrotum used to sit naturally (obviously) now it's sitting higher on the shaft and smothering me when it's flaccid and when it's erect it's more than half ways up

This isnt practical, how are you supposed to use a condom etc?

I dont understand how this could happen, surely it would of been easy to recognise before performing it to see if there was a risk of webbing.

The specialist said any reconstruction would be huge and results don't be great , but to check back with him in a few months and to use bio oil on the skin.

On top of this I have been getting pains, UTI infection last month and now i have it again. Ironically the pro circ camp say that you won't get UTIs. Now I'm getting them all the time.

I don't know why I'm getting these infections.

To anyone considering getting a circumcision

There's some advice on here saying don't hesitate just get it done etc, it's good it worked out for them, but remember once its done it's done. My advice is don't let anyone near down there, the risks outweigh any benefit

Dr Google can be a dangerous thing. You even have a picture of how you think it would look, ,that it might be glamorous but bare in mind lot of what you see on the internet may have been done from birth. I even messaged someone on here who went to the same surgeon before the op who had a great result. I'm not sure has there been anyone else on here who unhappy with their circ?

For me it has been life changing and I'm miserable.I was the fittest person before this never missed a workout , lifted weights , played sports . My quality of life is zero at the moment. I thought i had a problem before this but it was nothing compared to this.

At the moment I'm too uncomfortable to do anything and don't have any motivation.

What was meant to be a six week recovery for me is looking like a life sentence.

I thought i was getting a bit of skin off the top , not my scrotum rearranged and pulled up.

The foreskin itself is a huge miss, i miss the protection it had, the pleasure etc. Don't get me started on trying to 'use it ' without it.

To be fair to the surgeon, he did advise me not to get it done and said i might not like it. I rushed into it in the end and before i knew it was all over with .

As far as I can see the operation is a barbaric act , it involves guesswork, how can they remove skin when it's flaccid not knowing how it will be when you are erect? It's disfiguring.

I wonder how often does this happen, how many more suffer in silence? problem is I signed consent form which had all these things listed as a risk and stupidly I never asked what all the risks meant.

It was all put on a screen in front of me and i had to sign there and then, at least i thought i did , almost like signing for a package.

In my opinion these should be printed and given to you, there's something insignificant about reading from a screen and signing. If i had it in front of me and took it home to discuss things maybe different. Then again there's a lot of things i would have done differently.

I got a copy of it since and can't believe i signed it with all the risks that we're on it.

I wish I followed my own advise on this thread from a few years back about asking questions to a consultant.

Definitely don't make up your mind on the day.

I'm not sure where i go from here , il see the specialist again , but as the specialist said I cant undo what was done , i just have to optimise what i have. The thought of any further surgery is terrifying but living like this is also miserable.

All these doctor visits and consultant fees add up too money wise,

Sorry for the long read and rant but this is my story. If anyone has experienced similar issues then would be good to know how you are dealing with it.

I agree with @Buddy Bubs. The physical is one side of things, but it sounds like you are already depressed and maybe heading into a deep depression.

I would strongly recommend that you link in with a counsellor or psychologist.

Respectfully, i think that question belongs in a different thread.

Had it done a week ago and is taking its time healing up. I'm 52 so that's not helping but would have hoped to be further along a week afterwards. For those who have had it done how long was it roughy before the wound initially healed up for you?

Just wondering if everyone who got it done is left with these bumps?

Did anyone request a certain style?