circumcision sensation change
August 9, 2011 11:25 AM   Subscribe

A question for anyone out there who was circumcised as an adult: could you describe the change in sexual sensation before and after?
posted by Paquda to Health & Fitness (5 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
I've dated two guys with phimosis - where the foreskin's too tight around the head to retract when erect. So with the foreskin they had pretty low sensitivity because it was over the foreskin, no real contact with the head. The head underneath was, as a result, very sensitive.

One of those guys I started dating about a month after his circumcision. He was a medical resident and had a fellow surgeon resident give him a circumcision, because of complications from the phimosis condition. Because he was never used to contact with the head, it was extremely sensitive, to the point of being pretty uncomfortable. Going from pretty much no sensation to way too much meant he had pretty low interest in sex before and after circumcision. I since broke up with the guy for other reasons, and haven't found out whether the sensitivity problem's improved. I remember looking into other sufferers of phimosis online, and generally it said that you just have to get used to it, it will decrease in sensitivity with time.
posted by lizbunny at 12:46 PM on August 9, 2011


Response by poster: To clarify, I mean to ask about cases where the penis was healthy before, is circumcised, and then heals completely. At that point, how does sensation differ from before circumcision?
posted by Paquda at 1:35 PM on August 9, 2011


Best answer: Slate had a piece on adult circumcision a few years back.
posted by mmascolino at 2:15 PM on August 9, 2011


Several "Ask Me Anything" writers on Reddit have addressed this circumstance. Here's a directory. They vary in quality but you may find some useful information.
posted by carmicha at 2:46 PM on August 9, 2011


Post-circ there's actually far less sensation overall, simply because the foreskin is missing. I was surprised by how much I missed the variety of places for sensation to come from.

A month after my own circ, the scar was still pretty fragile and the stretching caused by erections still caused enough pain to make me actively avoid getting turned on. This caused a certain amount of relationship stress, and took another two months to go away completely. I had certainly been expecting that post-healing sex would end up being more fun due to better access to the glans, and was badly disappointed to find out that such was not the case.

The only part of me that actually is more fun now is the very tip of the urethra. Pre-circ, this had always been sensitive enough to cause sharp pain when touched; it was several years post-circ before I noticed that this was no longer true. Since phimosis is going to restrict easy contact with the glans to exactly that region, that might the same thing that was going on for your guy.

If I had known before having my phimosis treated by circumcision that regular and diligent stretching could also be successful, I would not have gone the surgical route before trying that first. Unfortunately, the doctor to whom I eventually screwed up the courage to reveal my Shameful Deformity™ did not advise me of that option.
posted by flabdablet at 6:30 PM on August 9, 2011


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