Conference quark::mennotes-v1

    This is a tough decision!  I would say that you should weigh the
    benefits against the consequences.  As they say, "Ya can't take
    it back!"
    
    I was circumcised when I was 34.  I had an extremely tight foreskin
    and among other things, it put a big cramp in my love life.  It was 
    something I should have had done years earlier but I put it off for
    one reason or another.  Things like, "Maybe it'll get better.", or, 
    "I don't want to take the risk."
    
    I in no way regret the decision to take my "cap" off!  It was clearly
    the right thing for me to do.  No more pain during erection!
    
    But I want to tell you that in the week and a half following the
    operation, I wished I was dead.  It is the most painful thing I
    have ever been through.  I've also had various other operations
    such as hernia and prostate.  You can't wear anything on top of
    it because of the friction.  I remember wearing shorts that were
    four sizes too big during the recovery period just so that there
    was enough room.  And when you sleep!  Ha!  You may not know it,
    but when you sleep you get erections.  And when you even think about
    getting an erection after that surgery it hurts.  Needless to say,
    I didn't sleep very well either.
    
    But don't let me scare you out of going ahead with it.  I'd do it
    again in a second, knowing the benefits.  It's just that it's not
    a very pleasant experence when you're going through it.  It took
    me around a month to heal up enough to think about having intercourse
    again.
    
    Good luck to you. Let us know how you make out!
    
    Louie -- Louie
    

    
    	Re .1:
    
    	Yes, I have had a second opinion.  Both of them said the same
    	 thing, so I guess it's a go.
    
    
    	Re .2:
    
    	Thanks for the info.  My problem is what they call "redundant"
    	 foreskin. (i.e. too much of a good thing)  Once the skin is
    	 pulled back, I have a difficult/uncomfortable time getting
    	 it back again.  Also, intercourse has been painful, once or
    	 twice even involving a break in the skin and some slight
    	 bleeding.  Not fun, and the pain didn't go away for a few
    	 days.
    
    	It's also something I should have done years ago, but I was
    	 (proudly) a virgin before my current girlfriend, so it was
    	 never a problem before.  But better I do it at 24 than wait
    	 and have problems for X years more before attending to it.
	 So I see it not so much as a choice, of `should I?' as one
    	 of `when?'.

	Again, thanks for the comments.  BTW- How much work did you
    	 miss?  I'm in Atlanta F/S, and we stay pretty busy, so I need
    	 to figure out how much time off I'll need before hand.
    
    
    					-Rich
    

    I'd get a third opinion. Try modifying your diet to eliminate high
    acidic substances and drop soda pops. Make sure your body is properly
    hydrated so that your urine is clear, not yellow. The clearer the
    less it will hurt during urination. 
    
    Foreskins give and stretch quite a bit when they are healthty. Give
    it time to heal and eliminate all the aggrivating foods and liquids.
    
    There is also the distinct possibility that the health problem may
    not be yours alone but one that is aggrivated by the both of you.
    Look at that too.  Check your hygenic practices too. You may have
    forgotten something along the way.
    
    I had mine taken off at thirteen. I wish I had it back now that
    I understand more about personal hygene. Hindsight is 20/20.

    Under no circumstances would I do it (if I had it back) unless I
    absolutely had too. It's there for a purpose. It's too easy to remove
    the foreskin and not correct the causes. Please give it a little
    more thought...

    My short hospital stay was 3 days but I can't see why it could be
    a one day hospital stay and 5 days off work. Remember erections
    hurt when you're stitched up.
    
    I've seen much more time taken for hemoroids. 
    
    Good luck.

    As long as this topic has been brought up, I have a couple questions
    about circumcision. Since I and virtually every male friend of mine
    were circumcised at birth, I don't really know the pros or cons...
    
    What I want to know is: Should I have my (hypothetical) son circumcised
    immediately after birth? From the base note and some of the replies,
    it sounds as though I should. Are there any benefits gained by not
    circumcising? (Other than avoiding the risk of a "botched" job)
    
    Thanks in advance for any insights -Alex
    

    There has been an earlier discussion in this conference about
    circumcision in general (note 56), with a lot of heated comments
    on both sides of the fence, and also some rather unpleasant replies.
    
    It might be a good idea to keep this note (238) focused on circumcision
    as an adult.
    
    				Steve

    With some humor to it all one could say to all that are circumcised
    that your a clean shaven type... And despite it all they are not
    throwing away the better part of you.. And in the long and short
    of it all is that once its done that there is more fun!

    
    	Thanks for the input y'all.  I hadn't really thought about getting
    	 a third opinion.  The second Dr. was highly recommended to
    	 me, and I was very comfortable with the exam and explanation
    	 he gave me.  But better to be safe than sorry later on, I 
    	 suppose.
    
    	As far as hygiene goes, both drs. said I was doing everything
    	 right in that department, so it shouldn't be a problem.  They
    	 said that mostly it's just because of too much skin.  But
    	 that's why I entered this note; to get opinions and thoughts	
    	 from those who've had the same problems.
    
    
    				-Rich
    

    	I really know nothing about this, but can't they do a partial
    	circumcision?
    		Linda

    It seems to me that the reaction of an adult to being circumcised usually
takes one of two forms: either the person is happy because the problem has
been resolved and they are happy with the physical change, or they feel a
sense of loss physically and psychologically and miss the way they used to be.
After all, sex and masturbation feel different, and that may or may not be
a pleasant sensation. This has been brought up many times in open forum-type
discussions and medical magazines, and you see both points of view in varying
degrees in this note. I don't think there is any way to find out ahead of time
which way you will feel.  It's rather like predicting whether you will be
happy in a new job. People who end up seriously unhappy sometimes go to great
lengths to reverse the operation, so, like a vasectomy, it's not a decision to
be made lightly. 
    I don't understand how simply having "too much skin" would cause tearing.
If the foreskin opening is tight, it can be easily stretched without pain,
and doing this for a period of time would avoid the need for an operation.
I never heard of "redundant foreskin", but the difficulty in getting it back
again sounds like paraphimosis, which could probably be taken care of that way.
Was bleeding a problem before you began having sex, or did it start then?
There are other surgical alternatives also, like something called a "dorsal
slit", where they slice the foreskin and the scar tissue (I guess) enables it
to heal slightly larger, alleviating the problem, or a partial circumcision.
If it could not be cured without surgery, I'd discuss the different options
with the doctor I trusted most, and choose. 
    If it were me and my naughty parts, I'd make sure that the doctor was more
concerned about taking care of the situation and saving the foreskin if
possible than getting the money for performing the operation. If I sound a bit
apprehensive about doctors and circumcision, it's because we took my son to
three doctors, they all advised for the operation, then 10 years later we
discovered that medical opinion had changed, and that his was unnecessary. 
I also have had a slight problem with occasional tearing over the years, and
one doctor recommended circumcision, another suggested it, and the third said
it was not needed. 
        Good luck with it,
            Tom

    So, what happened?  Have you decided anything?
    		Tom

    If it's not too late, I would suggest a through physical examination
    looking for *anything* that  might be wrong with you.
    
    About 30 years ago, my mother was helping (in a secretarial sense) a
    doctor that was doing research co-relating the need for circumcision in
    adults with heart attacks.  He was finding a high correlation of men
    having a circumcision and then having a heart attack within a month.  I
    don't know what ever happened with this man's research - I haven't seen
    it, but it's an interesting idea nonetheless. 
    
    Elizabeth                                    

    
    	Sorry to be so long in getting back to y'all.  Work keeps
    	 interfering with my noting!.....  :-)
    
    	I haven't done anything about it yet.  My girlfriend and I have
    	 broken up, so there isn't the pressing need to get it taken
    	 care of that there once was. (during intercourse was when the
    	 problem first `presented' itself.  I hadn't any reason to notice
    	 it before then)
    
    	After all the replies here, and talking with a few of y'all
    	 off-line, I've decided to get another professional medical
    	 opinion or two first.  I'd rather not go the circumcision route
    	 if there's any viable alternative. (`don't fix it if it ain't
    	 broke' comes to mind)  As I said, I've had no problems at any	
     	 time other than during sex/foreplay.  It was just when the
    	 skin tore a couple of times that I decided I should check into
    	 having something done about it.  A little more research/precaution
    	 sure couldn't hurt, and I think I'd feel about it if/when it
    	 actually needs to be done.
    
    	Again, thanks for all the info.  Y'all have been really helpful!
    
    
    					-Rich