First off, 16, uncircumcised probably started puberty 1.5 years ago? I know I started late, I can't remember if I was 14 or 15 when all the puberty-symptoms hit.

I was reading some of the other threads here and when they discussed Phimosis and how their foreskin would get stuck and they had to force the foreskin back. I've never had that happen, maybe I've never pulled it back far enough, but my foreskin always goes back by itself.

I can pull back the foreskin as far as I can with my penis flaccid as I can with it erect. Just far enough so that I can see the whole urethra. So that's like 1/4 maybe? The thing I've noticed that looking at pictures from other websites showing the frenulum, it appears my frenulum is attached to the tip of the penis, not along the mid-line/equator. Is this a problem?

I'll try the stretching techniques, in the morning and evening when I shower especially. If I don't notice any results in a few months, should I consult a doctor for cream/drugs that might help the foreskin loosen up?

I can't picture what you are describing regarding frenulum attachment. If you think it is restricting retraction, do this:

If you are faithful to yourself by doing the exercises twice a day as you have said, you will have success in about two months. I see no need for prescriptive drugs.

http://www.foreskin.org/46-33-13.jpg

Look at that picture, see where the urethra ends at the tip of the penis? That's where my frendulum begins. Should that detach after a while or something, because all other guys have frenulums in other places :(

Everyone is slightly different, so there is no right or wrong. Yours is a variation of normal.

I have noticed some more improvement today, I have four quick questions though.

1. I noticed that if I pull back the skin from the base of the shaft it doesn't hurt as much as if I pull from the skin near the head. Is this normal?

2. When stretching, should I just stretch and then see how far it goes back each day? Or should I stretch for a week and try while my foreskin/frenulum has loosened up? Would waiting a week while doing the stretch that you posted and then observing results lower the chance of tearing?

3. My foreskin retracts farther back when my penis is limp than it did before, but when I'm erect I barely notice a difference? Should I only focus on the limp portion and then work to the erection when I can fully retract while limp?

4. I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that when you stretch your foreskin back, the frenulum might pull your glans downward and to prevent this from occuring, to hold your glans. Well, I simply can not do this. I touch my frenulum and it stings. Much like if I touch any other part of my glans. What should I do?

Once again, thanks for this useful forum, I really hope the stretching works for me. :) And assuming it does, once I get my foreskin fully retracted when erect, will the skin stay the same? Or will it become tighter so I will have to continue the stretching daily?

1. This normal for you.

2. If you aren't hurting yourself while stretching, nothing will tear. Stay away from those sites that talk about cutting.

3. Do it whatever way you feel comfortable. The key is persistance.

4. Look again at the picture. By doing that, you will stretch the frenulum without touching it.

I do this for one simple reason, to help in the fight against mutilating the genitals of baby boys. By showing you that you can change the condition that many use as an excuse to cut off foreskins, I am proving them wrong. In saving your foreskin, I hope that you, in turn, will save others.

> I noticed that if I pull back the skin from the base of the shaft it doesn't hurt as much as if I pull from the skin near the head. Is this normal?

It is easier to get a broad-based grip that way - the tension is spread over a larger area, more evenly.

> When stretching, should I just stretch and then see how far it goes back each day? Or should I stretch for a week and try while my foreskin/frenulum has loosened up?

The more things you do, the more effective it will be. Just do it.

> Would waiting a week while doing the stretch that you posted and then observing results lower the chance of tearing?

You really have been reading "male-initiation", haven't you? The skin might tear in two main circumstances - either you put a lot of force on a small area to the point where it is frankly painful and feels as if it's going to tear, or you do so too suddenly; or else you have a skin infection which weakens it and causes it to fissure - which is not quite the same as a tear.

> My foreskin retracts farther back when my penis is limp than it did before, but when I'm erect I barely notice a difference? Should I only focus on the limp portion and then work to the erection when I can fully retract while limp?

Probably.

> I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that when you stretch your foreskin back, the fraenulum might pull your glans downward

Yes, it might well do that. Just focus on stretching the fraenulum by doing diagrams 4, 21, 28 (all basically the same), as often and as long as you can.

> Much like if I touch any other part of my glans. What should I do?

Don't touch your glans. Touching your glans without lubricant is not part of normal sex - but it is what (some) circumcised guys do. They - are not "normal" in this respect, you do not want to imitate them.

> once I get my foreskin fully retracted when erect, will the skin stay the same? Or will it become tighter so I will have to continue the stretching daily.

Heh, I know this won't be my last question, but you guys have so far answered all my questions with great answers, thanks again. Onto the question:

Last night while stretching like the picture shows, I heard and felt a "pop" sound from the head of my penis. Pop kind of like a suction-cup pulling off a window sound, that kind-of pop. It wasn't loud, but I felt the pop. My penis didn't hurt or anything, so I figured it couldn't have been anything bad. Anyone know what the "pop" noise came from though?

Did you have beans for dinner?

Beans and me don't mix, never eaten beans (other than green beans) since I was ~10.

Anyway, the pop sound must have done something good. Today I was able to pull foreskin all the way behind the head/glans. :)

No point to this post, just posting my progress. Thanks again for this site :)

Whatever it was, it must have been good. That's great. Thanks for the report.

I think you had better explain to us, what you were actually doing when you heard this sound?

>> I think you had better explain to us, what you were actually doing when you heard this sound? <<

I was stretching like in the picture while sitting up in my bed watching TV. I felt and heard a "pop" like a suction cup pop and I immediately stopped stretching once I felt the "pop." I didn't experience any pain or soreness or anything, but I was afraid so I stopped my stretching short (I go in 5 min intervals, I think the pop happened during the 2nd minute of the stretch) and went to sleep.

When you take a cork out of a bottle, you often hear a pop sound. I think what you did it to create a little vacuum inside the foreskin, and when you brought your finger out, it popped. Don't worry about it.

My suspicion is that you had some adhesion there, and you've pulled it loose.

In any case, you say it is retracting better now, so given no pain, no bleeding, can't see any problem, must be good.

>> My suspicion is that you had some adhesion there, and you've pulled it loose. <<

Wouldn't that HURT? Oh well, whatever works.

Another question :)

I noticed this while pulling back while I was limp.

I will start pulling back and for about 1/8th of the way, it just slides with ease.

From 1/8th to 1/3rd of the way, this is where the skin starts to turn inside out and this causes a little tension. No pain, it's just like going from 60mph to 10 :)

From 1/3rd to 2/3 is where it gets hard, it feels like that's as far as it will go but it slowly creeps down to the 2/3 mark.

After the 2/3 mark it just peels down by itself. I noticed this while I was stretching it by going as far as it could and holding it there for a couple minutes. Well, as I was watching the clock, I looked down and my foreskin is behind the head. Of course I was like, holy crap. It stayed behind the head without me holding it there, after a few minutes I figured it'd stretched enough and I tried putting it back up but it wouldn't go immediately. I kind of had to massage it's way up and once it hit the head, it kind of went 1/2 the way real slow, it hit the 1/2 mark, stuck there for ~20 seconds, then went the rest of the way really fast.

Is this normal? I mean the tension spots and the way the foreskin recoils itself? I'd assume as long as it recoils, it's fine. But the tension spots get me a little worried, I know after stretching it should just slide down with ease, but for now (Tuesday will mark my 1 week mark) is this normal?

For you, at the present time, it is normal. Keep on tugging for another month or two, and it will no longer be a concern. OK?

In general, the answer is that however slow and faltering the situation is now, as it loosens, it will become quite quick.

I can't help thinking, and you could presumably check this out quite easily, that the friction of the skin is causing some of the slowness. I wonder what would happen if you put some lubricant inside, or onto it after it has retracted, and then see how the dynamics change?

So I've been stretching and I've noticed quite a difference.

One thing that I've noticed is that you said to retract when I piss. So I've been doing that and I notice that if I pull back to 1/3 of the length while peeing and just hold that position, the foreskin retracts pretty much by itself (painlessly and effortlessly) behind the head.

If I try to do this any other time (when I'm not peeing), I notice more tension while pulling back.

I think the thing is that while I'm peeing, I'm not fully concentrated on pulling back, so I just kind of avoid the whole idea that I'm retracting my foreskin back behind the head. Something I just started a week ago. But I don't know, that's why you guys are the experts :)

Oh, one more question. Jim said that it takes ~4 weeks to allow skin cells to fill the voids I've made by stretching. Does that mean there are just voids in the skin now and once those voids are filled with skin cells, will it make retraction easier?

Don't try to analyze every move. Whatever it is you are doing, continue it. It's working, and that's the objective.

As you stretch the skin, yes, there are tiny voids created which will eventually be filled with additional cells. The period of time necessary varies according to age and various other factors. As a young man, you may enjoy faster recovery. Because you are making the opening at the end of the foreskin tube larger in diameter, it will make retraction easier.

The stretching has worked while limp, but I haven't noticed any progress while erect. Which Jim said is to be expected at the stage I am at now. But I have a question for the future:

When I am successfully able to retract the foreskin fully while erect and when I keep doing that, when I get an erection will the foreskin pull back more on its own than it does right now? Or will it only enable me to pull it back when I need to.

As I said, I started puberty very late. Most people it starts around 12, for me it started around 14/15. Now, is there any chance that had I not stretched that the frenulum would have lengthened and the foreskin would have also loosened up by themselves? I'm not saying I'm going to ditch stretching to see what happends, just wondering.

And last, but not least. What exactly do the creams do? As in how do they make it so males can retract with just the cream?

Everyone progresses at different rates because of differences in anatomy and effort. That you have made progress while flacid is still progress. So you have more work to do to get the same retractibility while erect. Rejoice! Don't worry so much about what Jim said, because Jim is not the one who is doing the stretching, OK? Just keep doing the exercises as directed and you'll eventually get there. No one is keeping score, so you still win in the end.

Because of your present condition, my guess is that the problem would not have resolved itself. Those guys who achieve retraction earlier in life have done so with effort, albeit somewhat without conscious effort. Most of their efforts are probably attributable to masturbation techniques. Some may have had coaching in retraction from their parents.

The creams interact chemically with your skin to allow more elasticity. I don't think you need to consider such intervention because you have already shown good progress.

Be assured that you are on schedule. I know you'd like to have the job done, but let's face facts. Your condition has existed all of your life, and you've been trying to change it in a few short weeks. Be patient with yourself.

Crystal ball is broken! Ha! Ha!

Will the foreskin pull back on its own?

Well.

To date, you get plenty of erections. No? Since your foreskin does not retract when you get an erection, as it might do if you had caused it to do so since childhood, it has been stretched to accommodate the full erect length (and remember, most of your erections, you do not know about - they are at night, more often and longer than in the daytime), so even if it could be pulled back, it might have so much length that it would not do so of itself.

Then again, it might be under considerable tension when you do get an erection, and it might pull back if it could. There certainly is a substantial variation amongst adults, between foreskins which are still covering the whole glans (and beyond) when erect, and those (probably the norm) which retract and even look "circumcised" when erect (in other words, it is very often difficult to tell the difference when erect).

Except that erections occur while clothed (or asleep) and these variations provide different degrees of "protection" against chafing and a consequent degree of "desensitisation", this variety does not matter, because in intercourse, the foreskin is almost always going to be retracted by thrusting in (if - it is mobile) and if the vagina is at all tight or dry, then the foreskin will be pulled forward over the receding penis, minimising friction and reducing the loss of vaginal lubrication. That is the specific "normal" function of the foreskin - that it can indeed move, easily, in this fashion.

The interaction between stretch and growth does vary from person to person, just as the timing of puberty does, and it is certainly possible that the timing and sequence of puberty may vary, with different results. As I like to say, if you have studied women's breasts (because "stretching" is very relevant), you will notice all sorts of subtle variations of "tightness" (and yes, they certainly are nice to study!).

If you genuinely found you started puberty later than most - not just a few, but most of your peers, then well - that's what happened to you, but there is a tendency to compare yourself to the "leaders" rather than a true average. In any case, it is hard to say what might have happened if you had done this or that.

What do you mean by "had I not stretched" anyway? I'm confused by that. Frankly, my slant on the matter, which dictates what I advise parents to teach their children, is that childhood (before the age of five) is the time to teach retraction (even if it is not actually possible at that particular age) because the longer you are unable to retract the foreskin, the less likely it is to happen by itself. The last real "opportunity" is puberty, once you are fully developed, it is by no means impossible to make it retract (and that is of course, what we are always advising), but it is quite unlikely to do so without deliberate "exercise".

Some might object that they will as a result, have foreskins that retract instead of being lengthened by erections, and thus end up shorter than they might have been.

And last, but not least, the fluorinated steroid (betamethasone or triamcinolone, not hydrocortisone) ointments, (ointment being preferable to cream,) do not "make" anything at all. Their effect on the skin, is to cause atrophy - that is, breakdown - of the fibres that provide the strength in the skin. In correction to Jim, they do not make the skin "more elastic" at all, indeed the very opposite (you really need to know the definition of "elastic"), they actually weaken it so that - when you stretch it - it actually does stretch a little (more). It then regrows into the stretched state, and if you keep stretching, the stretch becomes cumulative - that is, each bit adds on the last and it really gets longer.

Therein lies a danger - it is possible that if you used the "cream" too much and for too long (and indeed, more likely if you expected the "cream" to work without troubling to stretch), the weakness can potentially become permanent and the skin prone to irritation, infection and injury. This is why I give very explicit instructions to anyone who really intends to use it.