[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Ivan at 30 Jun 2003 20:49:26: Re: Natural...
As an answer to: Natural... written by AJ at 30 Jun 2003 13:37:58:
>>about 6-10 months ago i started stretching as i could not retract my foreskin and it loosened up a bit and i could retract it when flacid without any major squeezing or pain, but it was still tight. it did not improve very much beyond there, and i stopped stretching. i am wondering what to do from here?
>>is this natural?
>Yes. Stretching sometimes works, but not always. The anti-circ folks here will say it works everytime, but, sadly, they are wrong.
>>do i have phimosis and do i need to get surgical treatment?
>That's up to you. Some guys adjust to having phimosis and if it's not painful are happy to live with it, despite the drawbacks. While some guys opt to get surgery.
>>is there anyway i can remove this problem through stretching? i have read about some steroid creams, do these work?
>Stretching has a much better chance of success with steroids.
>>and if so, what should i tell my physician (i havent discussed this with him)?
>Discuss it with him. If he's not clued up - get a second opinion.
>>i do not want to get surgical treatment and lose my foreskin because it is a very sensitive area.
>>thanks,
>>lv
>Hope that helps.Hey, Hey, AJ - this is a really decent well-presented comment. Very fair all around indeed - even your disdain of the 'it works for everybody' position was expressed but not overstated.
I just wanted to emphasize what you said about going to another doctor if the first one he goes to is not 'clued in.' A competent and knowledgeable doctor, even if he sees nothing wrong with circumcision (alright guys don't blast me on that being a contradiction - I just mean he has blinders about the deleterious effects), will never start with surgery as the first choice for phimosis. He will know about the use of betamethasone as a skin-stretching aid and if he is particularly well-informed, he will know about stretching exercises. Only a doctor who is fully conversant with both conservative treatments (they are complentary in fact, i.e. you can do both together or each separately) is worth discussing the issue with. Otherwiae it's like talking to an orthopedic surgeon who has never heard of arthroscopy. You always want the least invasive, least destructive treatment - it protects the options and the functionals. If the conservative treatment does not work, you can consider the radical treatment, but not vice versa.