Planning to have circumcision

Hey, I'm in the exact same situation. I went to the urologist in August last year and I was told the same thing, and was put on the waiting list for circumcision on the NHS. For me, the issue I'm more concerned about is appearance - I'm worried about how it'll look.

Sorry I can't provide help since I've still not had mine, but it might offer some reassurance knowing I'm in quite literally the same situation.

When you went in August were you told how long you'd likely be waiting? When I saw the urologist yesterday he said it would be a couple of months.

I have suffered with phimosis all my life, I finally plucked up the courage to do something about it so I was referred to a urologist and has my appointment yesterday. After looking "down there" he said I basically have two options. One is to carry on as I am with the phimosis or have a circumcision. I decided to go ahead with it as I can barely retract my foreskin at all and sex is frequently uncomfortable for me and my girlfriend.

But now I'm thinking about it I am extremely nervous in regards to pain etc and a general fear of hospitals and being put to sleep under a general anaesthetic.

If anyone has ever been in a similar situation to me I would appreciate some help or advice.

If you have already tried this then ignore me but if not allow me to play devil's advocate.

There is a third option and it's a cream that helps with elasticity of the foreskin. A GP is more likely to talk to you about that than a surgeon but it depends if you have a foreskin friendly GP I suppose.

Have you tried it? They are available in most chemists and online, they are not expensive.

You may need to apply more than once a day to get quicker results but if you have a significant other they could help, could even work wonders for your adult time, and it won't be as quick as the circumcision to fix the issue, but, if you factor in the healing time (which will be weeks) and how swollen and sore it will be and how sorry you will be feeling for yourself when it hurts to pee and you can't get comfy in your pants so have to sit without pants on, I think it is worth considering. Plus you have risk of infection that comes with all surgery. You could avoid all that with the cream and 20 minutes out of your day. Also I guarantee the cream will be cheaper in the long run than how much lube you will need for a five knuckle shuffle post surgery when there is little to no skin to play with. Are you one of those people that hates sticky hands?

Anyway.


My SO foreskin doesn't fully cover his head and sometimes sits fully behind it, and he chafes when he does sport and it can get really uncomfortable for him, sometimes it bleeds. It's worse in wet, cold weather. We are trying a skincare routine at the moment to see if that helps. Honestly I'm close suggesting the elasticity cream to see if we can't encourage his foreskin to sit over the head more. You have to tread gently with men and their crown jewels. I encourage you to try the cream first. I wouldn't wish what happens to his pecker on anyone (and also on their SO because sex is a no-go when that happens. I mean you can do other things but when his pleasure is off the table its not the same. The devil on your shoulder wants what it can't have).

Anyway sorry if you have already tried it.

The 4th option is to do nothing. Which you have done for a long time and you're still here to tell the tale. How much does it bother you? I mean like really? Because doing nothing really is a valid option. You're scared of the surgery and the hospital. You don't have to do it.

This operation is permanent. I'd be sure before you do it. Like over 90% sure.
I've worked in urology and sexual health and honestly so much stress can be saved if people take time to consider before they act, I'm not saying you are not because you clearly are, but what I mean is, be sure in your own mind because whichever option you choose will have its downside but if you can look back and know you made the right choice at the time then it's harder to be hard on yourself.

And I think I'm right in saying we are all very good at being hard in ourselves at the best of times. It's even harder when pain is involved, your brain isn't wired to think straight or be reasonable when pain is involved. It's similar when you're horny too but I digress.

Good luck

Yes I have tried the cream for about 18 months now and it has only made a slight difference, this is why I got referred to a urologist. And I have chosen to go ahead with the op as I cannot leave things as they are, the urologist told me I have extreme phimosis which I always sort of thought was the case as sex is EXTREMELY uncomfortable for me.

Hey there, anon #2 here - I was the first reply. I got my circumcision done on Sunday.

I'd recommend it, to be honest. I got my procedure done under local anasthetic and there was only moderate pain at certain times. Recovery has been totally fine - not very painful at all. I'm much happier with the appearance of my penis and obviously when it's fully healed I'm sure everything will be more comfortable without the phimosis.

Ask me anything you're curious about.

I was told the waiting list is around 3 years. Given, I am in Scotland and NHS Scotland is slightly different from the rest of the UK, so if you're from England that could be a difference. I was told that they still hadn't caught up after COVID.

Just to add on, I am not waiting 3 years. I'm opting to get it done privately because **** waiting 3 years bro