[ ARC forum 2 ]

Re: hey me too!

Written by Roddy at 13 Nov 2000 10:55:23:

As an answer to: Need help with steroid application! written by Victor at 11 Nov 2000 20:15:22:

hi victor, i am in exactly the same state as you at the moment, i also got the 0.1% betamethasone - have been using it twice a day at night and in the morning for just over 1 month now and have noticed that the foreskin does seem to have loosened but i am now worried i may have a short frenulum in addition to phimosis, as it seems to be very tight and i don't see how it could ever let the foreskin go back. the other people are using 0.05%, not 0.5% as you say, ours is double the strength of this, and the only different effect should be that it works twice as fast, as i have heard that there are no negative effects from this concentration. what you have to do is stretch the skin as well as simply applying the cream, and i was told from a fellow sufferer that the best method of application is to pull the foreskin back until you can see the paler whitish tight ring area, and put the cream around that and backwards from the tip for maybe 2 or 3 centimetres, i always try to avoid getting any on the glans itself (although apparently it is fine) and hold back the skin until it soaks in - which helps to stretch it as well (takes a couple of minutes). please tell me how it goes for you - as my 'adventures' are so similar to yours i can't help learning something, i guess all we can do at the moment is wait and see how it unfolds (no pun intended!) and i wish you all the best. Roddy.

>Hello, everybody,
>Not so long ago I was diagnosed with phimosis. My urologist told me that the only cure is circumcision. However, I decided that I would try everything else possible before going ahead with a circumcision. I heard about the treatment with steroids from the Internet, so I got my urologist to give me a prescription for betamethasone valerate cream. Obviously, I didn't get any directions how to apply it. I tried to get some advice from dermatologists but they don't want to deal with that and just keep sending me back to urologists! It's really frustrating. By the way, does anybody know a good doctor in Los Angeles area who could help with this?
>Anyway, I've been applying this 0.1% cream for about 3 weeks now, twice a day - after taking a shower in the morning and before going to bed. I put it mostly on the outside, starting from the tip over about 2 cm long area. So far, I see no apparent result. From some other messages in this group, I figured that people use 0.5% cream. Does that mean that it will take me 5 times longer to see any result? Or is there something wrong with my application technique?
>I would really appreciate any response!
>Thanks,
>Victor