Halfway Through Treatment with Cream

I have been applying the cream twice daily, as prescribed. At first I wanted to document everything on this blog. How my symptoms would go away slowly day by day. In contrast, I have a feeling this is going to be the only post on this topic. I notice NO CHANGE whatsoever. I put the cream on my foreskin before I go to bed and then again in the morning after shower. Day after day. With absolutely no result. My foreskin is still as tight as it was. No change in color patches either.

Since it takes weeks to wait for an appointment with a doctor, I am about to schedule one today. By the time the two-month treatment with the Betamethasone cream is over, I will be ready to discuss my options with the doctor.

….scheduled for January 26, 2012.

First Visit to Nurse Practitioner

Today was my first visit to a nurse practitioner about my tight foreskin. The nurse’s name is Tracy Collins. The visit was standard and short. “Hello.-How may I help you?-Drop your pants for me, please.-I see.”-kinda visit.

After just glancing at me for a moment, the nurse prescribed a steroid cream for my problem. Betamethasone Dipropionate Cream USP 0.05%.

I was surprised that the nurse did not explain me my problem and all possible solutions, given that was my first visit to a urologist ever. Whenever I see a doctor I always want to at least have an idea of what is wrong with me and why this is happening. It is fine if the doctor tries to explain it in lame terms. But at least tries!

‘What is wrong with me?’ I asked.

‘There is nothing wrong with you,’ was the reply.

‘That is good to know, but why has my foreskin become so tight then?’

‘There may be different reasons.’

‘Okay, what do I do about it?’

‘Trust me, just try this cream,’ said the nurse.

‘Okay. I trust you,’ I replied.

I am supposed to apply the cream twice daily for two months. If there is no help, I can schedule an appointment with a doctor to see if he can be of more help.

So… am I satisfied? Yes and No. Honestly speaking, I found out much more about my condition and possible options by searching on the Internet. At the same time, I am glad that the nurse believes that my problem can be solved in two months by just applying the cream to the area. This gave me some hope that maybe I don’t even need surgery (see my previous post) and the least invasive choice is an option.

In Search for Solution

As many of us do nowadays, I started searching for a possible solution to my problem on the Internet. Here is the summary of what I found:

1. Daily Stretching – recommended by about 30-35% of web-sites

2. Circumcision – 40-45%

3. Using steroid creams – about 20%

4. Preputioplasty – <5% of web-sites.

I want to describe my personal opinion about each of the options listed above.

1. Daily Stretching. A lot of guys recommend this method. I was surprised to find that it is recommended even more by commercial web sites that offer stretching devices. Mostly, they are aimed at circumcised guys who want to restore their foreskin. But people say that it helps guys with tight foreskin problems as well. The idea behind is that foreskin is still skin and it has the ability to stretch. If you keep stretching daily, it will become longer/wider. There are thousands of techniques, devices and approaches to stretching. Personally, I don’t like any of them. A) It takes a LONG time for a foreskin to get longer/wider. Sometimes longer than a year. I am eager to see results sooner than that. B) I know I am lazy to do that daily. C) Some devices require that you wear them all the time. No way. I am a swimmer. D). I am not sure it will help in the first place. Everything was fine when my foreskin could stretch. The way it feels now is as if it lost its ability to stretch. At the same time, this is one of the least invasive methods, which is always good.

2. Circumcision. I cannot overestimate the number of guys who recommend this method. The idea behind is, ‘Why dealing with the problem with the foreskin, if you can eliminate the foreskin altogether?’ It reminds me of the famous saying by Joseph Stalin (the Russian dictator), ‘If a person causes a problem, eliminate the person, and you will eliminate the problem.’ I do not want to discuss all pros and cons of circumcision here. I am just stating my personal view. I like my foreskin. It is part of me. Just like my ear. Or my finger. Plus, it adds to my pleasure during sex. I don’t want to just give it away. Also, there is no coming back after circumcision. So, this is my last resort.

3. Using steroid creams. Not a bad idea IF it can help. The treatment period is much shorter than the one for stretching, usually a couple of months. It is the least invasive method, and I combine it perfectly fine with my swimming.

4. Preputioplasty. I couldn’t find much information about this particular alternative, besides a couple of articles here and there that all say the same thing. Not a single personal experience blog. At the same time, I liked the idea behind. It seems to be in between circumcision (the most radical option) and doing nothing. The foreskin is not removed but is somehow surgically widened. The surgery is minor and is not as invasive as circumcision. Cons: it is still a surgery, and definitely is more invasive than options 1 and 3.

I use the Internet as the second opinion ONLY, and the first one ALWAYS should come from a doctor, so I called a local urology department to schedule an appointment. After listening to my symptoms, the lady on the phone told me that I don’t need to see a doctor, and a visit to a nurse practitioner may be enough. I did not like that option since I always try to get the most expert opinion possible, but she explained to me that the waiting time for an appointment with a doctor is much longer (weeks), whereas I can see the nurse practitioner in days. Also, if the nurse practitioner cannot help me, I can always schedule another appointment with a doctor at a later date. I agreed with her reasoning and scheduled an appointment with the nurse…. I am very eager to hear what he has to say.

Hello!

Hello and Welcome to My Blog!

I am a normal guy, and there is nothing really special about me. I also have a problem that is common to thousands of guys. I have a tight foreskin. Unfortunately, I found little to no information about the problem on the Internet. I couldn’t find a single web page/blog that would describe someone’s personal experience about the issue. So, I decided to start this blog in the hope that it may help someone out there in a similar situation.

I am uncut and up until recently I had no problems with my foreskin and liked the way I am. I am sexually active, and my foreskin definitely adds to the pleasure I get during sex. Even though my frenulum on the penis has always been short (and I have been aware of that), I had no problems retracting my foreskin to fully open the head of the penis.

Foreskin is supposed to stretch easily, and it has been the case with me. Over the past year, however, I noticed that a defined ring of foreskin has become increasingly tighter and lost its elasticity. Finally, I reached the point when it became uncomfortable and at times even painful to have sex or to retract it when peeing.

I do not have a picture of my penis more than a year ago, before I started noticing any change, but I guess you can imagine what an uncut guy looks like. Here are pictures of me today. Flaccid…

…and erect (for comparison):

Notice the tight ring of foreskin that I can pull back no further than the head of my penis when I am erect. The ring can become so tight that some of my foreskin can get trapped inside (see the last picture). Even though I am white, my penis has always been somewhat dark. Much darker than the skin on any other part of my body, that is. I know it is normal but I also noticed that the very same ring of foreskin that is now tight has become lighter at the same time. You can easily see patches of lighter skin on pictures above. They were not there one year ago; the colors were pretty much smooth (evenly dark). At this point I don’t know if lightening of the foreskin has anything to do with it becoming tighter. I searched on-line and found that some guys have similar symptoms.

Notice that I am naturally curved down. This is caused by neither my tight foreskin, nor my short frenulum. Again, I know it is normal, and have no problems with that.

If this problem is similar to yours or you have similar symptoms,

Weclome to My Blog!