“It’s Almost Like Having a Tooth Pulled”: What Circumcision for Phimosis Feels Like

Phimosis—a condition where the foreskin is too tight—can cause discomfort and pain. This personal story explores the decision to undergo circumcision later in life, the procedure itself, and the recovery process. A clear and honest account on adult circumcision for anyone considering treatment options.

As a child, I think you assume everyone's body is identical to yours. When did you realize something was different for you?
“I realized from a young age that my foreskin couldn't be pulled back. I remember being about 7 or 8, out with my parents and brother, and we both had to pee by the side of the road. My brother stood next to me and pulled his foreskin back, and my first thought was that he could pee much further because of it. No one made a big deal out of it. I wasn't raised to be modest, so I had seen my father naked before, and I knew he was circumcised. He once told me he'd had the same problem and had surgery at about the same age I am now.”

When did you first get the idea to do something about it?
“I'm not sure when I first realized it was really a problem, but I remember telling my mom when I was 16 that my foreskin couldn't go back and asking whether we should see a doctor. So we went, I got a referral letter for the hospital, and then I did nothing with it.”

Did you only have issues when you had an erection, or also when flaccid?
“Well, I didn't really have any issues. Not with sex, not with peeing, nothing. The only annoying thing was that it was difficult to keep clean. At the end of the day, I sometimes had some itching. Or if I went to a festival and couldn't wash properly, sometimes white stuff would come out. Because I didn't have any real complaints, I didn't do anything about it for a long time.”

Was it something that made you insecure during dates, or when you met a nice guy while going out?
“I only realized that later, when I got a bit older and more sexually active. I noticed that it held me back the first time I went to bed with someone. If I took someone home after a night out, I always wondered how they would react. It's kind of a taboo. Though I've actually never had a bad reaction to it.”

What made you decide to do something about it?
“I was fed up with the insecurity. It held me back in my sex life, and I found it ugly. Not that I necessarily find a circumcised penis more beautiful, you often see a scar from the circumcision. Last year I had to see the doctor for something completely different, and I just brought it up again. He referred me to a urologist, who wanted to take a look, so I pulled down my pants, which was a bit weird because he was quite a hot doctor. He confirmed it was phimosis, and we immediately made an appointment for the procedure, six weeks later.”

What questions did you have when you went to the doctor?
“I had already googled a lot. There was a fantastic site, besnijdenisinfo.nl (unfortunately now offline), a very simple website packed with information. People post their experiences there, including photos of the entire process, and there's a forum too. I had already read enough to know what roughly happens and that there are different ways to circumcise someone: low and high, tight and loose, and combinations. During the first conversation with the doctor, I asked what method they used because I wanted to lose as little skin as possible. I wanted it to look as natural as possible, and he understood that. It was a fairly short conversation. He gave me a brochure about the healing process, and ten minutes later, I was outside again.”

Were you very nervous beforehand?
“Not really, but on the day itself, yes. I had complete confidence in the doctor, and I had prepared myself well, but it is still surgery. Things can always go wrong, and I was especially afraid it would hurt a lot.”

How did the procedure go?
“It's outpatient, so no operating room. If you really want, you can be put under general anesthesia, or get an epidural, but the most common is local anesthetic. When I arrived, I was taken to a room with an older nurse who was very sweet and caring. I had to take off all my clothes but kept my T-shirt on, which felt a bit odd. There was also a medical student about my age. The urologist explained exactly what was going to happen, step by step. Then came the first anesthetic. That hurts the most. Long needles, they have to go quite deep, into the penis itself. The needle goes in, then they move it slightly to the side. That really hurts. After the first two or three injections, they wait a bit for it to kick in, then administer the rest.”

What did you experience during the procedure?
“I asked if I could watch. Everything was completely numbed, so I didn't feel anything, and it almost looked like the procedure was being performed on someone else. My foreskin was pulled out with forceps, then they started cutting. I felt nothing at all. It looked intense but also genuinely interesting. The doctor explained everything to the medical intern, which I appreciated because it meant I knew exactly what was happening. Eventually, they cauterized the blood vessels and stitched up the remaining skin. That area turned out to be more sensitive, and the anesthesia hadn't fully worked there, so they just injected more. Finally, your penis is wrapped in a compression bandage and ends up looking a bit like a broken cat's paw. I found that quite sad and pitiful. They had taped it to my stomach.”

How was the period immediately after the procedure?
“I couldn't walk properly, just hobble. When I got home, I had to pee immediately. The bandage has an opening at the top for that, but because of the swelling, my urethra was pinched from all sides and the pee went in four directions. I had expected it to burn, but it didn't at all. I thought I could go back to work after two days, but that wasn't realistic. My father had warned me, just saying I'd go through hell for a week. He wasn't wrong. It didn't hurt constantly, but it was a nagging, burning pain. Sitting still and doing nothing, it was manageable. Paracetamol helped. The next day I had to remove the compression bandage in the shower, leave everything exposed in my underwear, apply some Vaseline occasionally, and it should be fine. The first night, I suddenly had a stream of blood running out. I called the hospital, they said to apply pressure for thirty seconds, and it stopped. But in the middle of the night, I woke up to blood all over my bed. Applied pressure again, stopped again.”

What about morning erections?
“They hurt a lot. Every morning for about a week, the stitches become very tight. It works itself out because it shrinks once the pain gets intense enough, so it usually lasted twenty to thirty seconds. Long enough to be very unpleasant. Not getting aroused was genuinely challenging because everything turned me on at that point. When you know you can't and shouldn't do anything, everything suddenly has an erotic effect.”

When did you dare to masturbate again for the first time?
“After about a week, the erections stopped hurting as much and the stitches dissolved. There were very intense stories on that forum about the first time after the procedure, so I was curious. Everything online said to wait three to four weeks, at minimum three. I didn't really dare, but I had read you could rub some lubricant over your glans, so I tried that. Very pleasant, a very new feeling, but I didn't climax, so it was mainly a kind of tantalizing torment. A few days later I tried again, same result. Eventually, almost two weeks after the procedure, I tried properly, terrified I might accidentally pull something loose. If the skin has to be stitched again, you apparently get an ugly scar, so I was very careful. It worked. The second time, a few days later, was actually more intense than the first. Masturbating is also quite strange at first because you have to develop a completely new technique.”

And the first time having sex?
“About three weeks after the procedure. I met someone, he asked if I wanted to come home with him, and I did. On the way there, I told him about the circumcision and that I hadn't had sex yet. He said he'd be careful. He was a bit drunk, and it got quite intense. He pulled fairly hard, but nothing broke, and everything went fine. I was mainly just very relieved that everything still worked and hadn't gotten worse. Because I had also read stories about losing all sensation after a circumcision, or climaxing incredibly quickly because the glans becomes so sensitive.”

Do you talk about it easily?
“Beforehand, I only told two or three friends. But I don't think it's such a big deal. It happened, and I'm very happy with it. It's like having a tooth pulled, but because it involves your genitals, people make a fuss. If it comes up, I have no trouble talking about it. I was at a birthday party once, and at some point a friend asked how the procedure had gone. Gradually, every conversation around us went quiet and people started listening. I felt a bit awkward for a moment, but ended up talking about it completely openly.”

To what extent has the procedure changed your (sex) life?
“Mainly in the sense that I no longer feel insecure about it. Though I've also noticed that you always feel insecure about something. It used to be my foreskin, now there are other things. Weird legs or whatever. There's always something. But I'm free from this specific insecurity, at least.”

But would you recommend it to others?
“I'm so happy with it, so yes. Even if you don't have any real issues. It's just much cleaner. I'd wholeheartedly recommend it.”

* the name Dennis is fictitious