Circumcision after balanitis. My concern.

Here's what's been going on. I'm uncut and have been treated for a balanitis infection this past couple of weeks. It was probably induced by a lifetime of not washing myself properly.

I began feeling some pain during ejaculation at the height of my bingeing and compulsion/addiction. I can say that this pain that I felt ended up being one reason why I chose to reclaim my life through a reboot.

I called and asked for a referral to a urologist fearing I had some sort of urinary tract infection.

Upon first consulting with my general practitioner, I was relieved to find out I had a case of balanitis and not something worse. The balanitis has since cleared up quite a bit. However, I didn't actually talk to my doctor until I was well into my reboot. So I will have to wait until it is over to see if pain is still an issue

I still have some discoloration around the ridge of the glans, a purplish red hue. I am not sure how long it has been this color because I usually ejaculated with my foreskin in its normal place and then never inspected myself.

I explained to the doctor I was concerned about the retracted skin being still somewhat tight around the head while erect. He explained there may be enough scar tissue of the skin, which after retracted, forms this ring against the ridge.

The scarring I believe could have been caused or exacerbated by the fact of having a tight foreskin before experiencing vaginal intercourse in my early twenties. It was somewhat painful the first several times; same with oral sex. I used a condom in both cases.

My doctor said I will be contacted by a urologist to take a closer look at me. He said that they, the urologist, could simply "fix" the issue by removing the skin if they think that I will be prone to further infections of this kind. Nothing was ever said to me about other treatments, steroid creams, or even a dorsal slit. The doctor simply rushed me out of his office without giving me much chance to voice any further concerns of mine.


Now before I continue, I understand that due to the nature of this topic it can and will be fraught with debate. I want the doctors involved to respect my wishes. I ask that here too that any discussion be kept seemly and respectful.

I am against the removal of my foreskin which I wish to keep. I do understand that there is some scarring and I intend to discuss the severity of it to one of these urologists when I see them.

I also wish to consider how my practice of prone masturbation TMS, starting at an early age, was a factor in the soreness and discoloration around the ridge. My understanding of TMS is that it oversensitizes the base and desensitizes the rest, but I don't know how it affects inflammation at the tip. I will say that I have not always masturbated prone later in my life.

I would like to believe the discoloration around the edge is due more to the balanitis infection and less so because of any possible hardening of scar tissue forming a constricting ring while erect. There is some banding in the form of dark lines along the length of the upper shaft which presumably is where the formation of a ring would be when the foreskin is retracted. Again we will see how severe until close inspection by the specialist, and then ask myself how much it would impact sexual pleasure from my perspective.

I can say that any discomfort I may feel if at all because of any scarring is not hindering my enjoyment of an erection or sexual activity in general. I believe that by using proper lubrication next time and if I do not continue to feel pain during orgasm, I should be well and in no need of seeking this kind of procedure. I'll reiterate my wish to consider other options first.

So far no one has proven to me of complications that could threaten my life regarding further infections of this kind. Unless this can be done with reasonable evidence, I won't digress. To say that this is my own body should go without saying.

I have chosen to advocate for myself going forward. I also have begun educating myself about these various conditions. I now know there is balanoposthitis where the foreskin is also inflamed. There is also phimosis which I still have a slight degree of. By gently gripping the skin around the shaft I can move the skin back to its normal position while erect. I intend to promptly and properly address the prone masturbation (TMS) as soon as I can.

Aside from the reboot, I am not currently sexually active.

My philosophy concerning something as important as one's sexual functioning is that it is better to overreact than to display over-passivity. This was a long post, but for an introduction, I must say I do feel honored to be among you all.

I am wide open to hearing your thoughts. I specifically want to hear suggestions for questions I should be asking the specialist when I meet them face-to-face.

So, what should I ask?

 

When was the very first time you saw the discoloration?

 

Purplish red yeah. Though now that I think about it the color of the ridge seems to be darker compared to rest of the head which seems to be a whitish color Since I have never observed balanitis on me before and this is the first time I'm aware of having it, I don't know what the "normal" coloration should be at least for myself.

 

Yes. My thinking is this: Say a blind man who has lost his eyesight through loss of his eyes after they have been put out by something. His body may compensate by increasing his other senses. I think that with loss of the foreskin something similar could be happening with the remaining elements that make up the sex organ. My justification is that it shouldn't have to be that way. A man needs his eyesight to experience the world around him in that way so he probably needs as many of the nerve endings or any other benefits the foreskin provides to experience intercourse sufficiently. I wouldn't wish any man to lose any such things with varying degrees of value even though he could still lead a full life without them..

I am mentally ill. Personally if I could have learned the value of proper hygiene before, but am now committed to implementing it, I might have a chance of not having to make such a decision down the road. I do not have all the facts yet.