AndyJ's stricture and scarring rehab

day 154:

A few days ago I had the water in the shower a bit too hot and burned some of the healed areas of my shaft again. What’s “pleasantly warm” elsewhere now results in blisters and scabs. This isn’t the first time, and it’s painful, but it’s hard to overcome decades of what temperature a shower is supposed to be.

I knocked the bottle of DMSO/iodine mix over and it rolled off onto a hardwood floor. The dropper inside broke. Fortunately I had a spare bottle, and made up another batch.

The handle of my Mityvac pump broke. It turns out there are some replacement parts available… but mine dates back to the early 1990s, and is completely different from the modern ones. I’ll pick up one of those brass Harbor Freight pumps to use until I repair or re-make a handle for the Mityvac.

Ordered a 2-1/8” tube. It should be here any day now.

The 35mm magnetic steel scrotum ring came in. The magnets aren’t particularly strong. And I think it’s too small, even though the 38mm silicone was was too large.

It’s been one of “those” weeks… sigh.

I found out there’s a tool called an “orchidometer.” It’s basically a string of wooden beads of increasing size, used by urologists to make a comparative assessment of testicle size. All the ones I’ve found online look exactly the same; prices range from $75 to expensive, except for one vendor on Amazon, who wants $40. I’m tempted. After I replace the pump.

The glans and the corona seem to be completely healed; I can rub, twist, squeeze, and otherwise abuse the area without pain. At least *something* is in my favor lately.

My old Mityvac pump had a pistol-style trigger for the release valve. I got into the habit of making find adjustments in vacuum using the valve. The Harbor Freight pump works well, except the release valve is out at the end under the gauge, and has to be pressed up. It takes two hands or some fumbling to adjust vacuum. I’ll get used to it, but I’m definitely going to repair the handle on my Mityvac now.

One of the scrotum weights arrived; it’s a big chunk of polished steel with a magnetic gate. The oval opening ought to prevent testicle pull-through.
I haven’t been able to try it on yet; it’ll take a lot more pumping before I can get enough room. But now I have a specific goal.

The other weight is still in transit. It’s shaped liked a big asterisk. The page said it’s 68mm in diameter with an 11mm slot. That’s a bit over 2-5/8 outside diameter with a 7/16 slot. No balls slipping through there! With my fat thighs it may be too large for comfortable wear, but I’ll give it a shot.

Last night I resumed the urethral stretching process. Each time I’ve run through the plugs it has taken less time; last night I started with the 7mm. An hour ago I had the 9.66mm plug fall out when I went to the store. I’ll try the 10mm shortly.

The annoying thing about the plugs is that they come out when they’re good and ready, and often at unwanted times. And if it slides *partially* out, it can be very painful as it levers across the meatus. When it took a couple of days per plug it wasn’t a big problem, but now that I’m getting stretched it is a hassle. I put the 9.66mm plug in, and it lasted maybe fifteen minutes. Which is still “yay!” even if inconvenient.

…aaaaannnddd… THE TEN IS IN! It took a while to make the final stretch, and it’s a bit uncomfortable at the moment, but it’s IN!

Achievement: unlocked. “Normal” urethra size is 8.5 to 9.5mm, from the only study I could find online. The Tetherspout retainer is 9mm, but I had a hard time manipulating the bits down inside the urethra, so I decided to go to 10mm to get some more room to operate. Also, I couldn’t get the 9mm vinyl sleeve in, even though the steel plug would go through. It shouldn’t be so tight with a 10mm stretch.

I’m not going to try to ge the Tetherspout in yet. The last two times I tried, by the time I got stretched out far enough. the meatus and the stricture behind it were so sore it wasn’t worth it. But there’s less soreness each time, and pretty soon I ought to be able to feel the Tetherspout bits so I can line them up, instead of feeling being lost in the, uh, “discomfort.”

The 2-1/8” tube showed up. It’s the LeLuv “Eyro” style. The cheap LeLuv tubes are molded plastic with a parting line and an integral 6mm(?) hose barb. The Eyro is two piece, with the mouth heated and rolled over into a full radius, and a separate cap, threaded to take a female quick connect fitting. I guess it doesn’t work any better than a cheap tube, but it sure looks nicer.

The first few days with it were a bit painful, as I tore some more adhesions between the glans and circumcision scar. After some healing time it’s *much* better. This morning the pain level was close to zero and the whole area slid freely up and down, so of course I extended the morning’s pump session to 30+40 minutes instead of 20+20, *and* Kegeled in the tube, and wound up with a fat donut. I’m probably going to pay for that for the next two or three days…

The ampersand-shaped weight showed up today. The outside is nicely polished, but… given the shape, I had expected the weight might be CNC’d. It’s a casting. Nothing wrong with that, but the bottom edges where it would rest against the testicles could have been radiused so they didn’t dig in. The inside groove still shows bits of the casting parting line - it looks like a sand casting - and was crudely smoothed out with a sanding roll. The closure pin is not magnetic; it’s a friction fit, and very tight. Enough that it’s difficult to insert it holding it in my hands; trying to do it on my balls… maybe not.

I have some fine sanding and polishing rolls for the Dremel that can get in there and smooth things out. I’ll try it without radiusing the bottom edges, but I expect I’ll need to do that too. The tight pin, I think I can adjust by bending the outer ring slightly. Even if the pin is loose, once the weight is on, flesh overlapping each side should keep the pin from coming out.

So, if you get the hankering for one of those weights, be aware you may need to do some DIY finish work on it.

Keep us posted.

10-4, Ned.

I’ll admit to a certain amount of burnout now. The early days of pumping stretched the scar and helped things enormously and quickly. I knew ahead of time that progress after that would be slow, but it seems to be going through a cycle. The scarred area will heal up smooth, and then it’ll crack in dozens of tiny places so it feels like it’s covered in tiny pinhead-sized scabs, and those will heal, and then the process starts over again. I’ve managed not to get another infection, but the months of having open wounds on my schlong have got me down a bit. I’d take a break for a few weeks, except I lose ground rapidly after a couple of days as the scar tries to contract.

I’ve only had the 2-1/8” tube a couple of weeks and I’m already packing it hard, right at the scar area. Time to get another 2-1/4” tube. to get some more room for the scar to stretch. I really didn’t expect to need more room so soon.

Day 171 in my log. By PE standards I’m not even started good yet. [sigh]

The old (cheapo) 2-1/4” tube is going to be sacrificed to modification attempt on the Froehle tube. I’m getting a baseball-bat shape now, which is unwanted, but probably due to the trauma/damage below the external scars. I get painful ball wedgies on the 2-1/8” and 2-1/4” tubes unless I hold the tube up hard against the bottom of the shaft while starting the pump, and even then it sometimes shifts and… ouch. That wasn’t a problem with the Froehle, but I can’t get my shaft into the Froehle tube any more unless I’m completely flaccid, and even then it’s only 1.85” inside, which doesn’t do me any good. So I’m going to take the saw and Shapelock and try to cobble the 2-1/4 tube onto the Froehle base. It has taken me a few weeks to reconcile myself to chopping up a tube I paid well over a hundred dollars for.

I mixed a new batch of DMSO solution this morning, moving partway between x10d’s DMSO/iodine mix and Thacker’s mix. The DMSO helped a lot early-on, then I didn’t notice much, quit using it for a while, resumed… in my specific case, I suspect applying two or three times a week would be enough, since more frequently doesn’t seem to do anything. I don’t think two or three times a day is hurting anything, though.

Over the last several months I’ve moved from 0-to-1 in Hg, to 1-to-2, to 2-to-3. I get some leakage in the pump and tube, so vacuum fluctuates as I pump. The limit has been the scar constriction; not just pain, but if I pump too hard, it will tear instead of stretch, and it takes weeks of downtime to heal.

The scar has been stretching steadily if slowly, and a few days ago I moved from 2-to-3 to 3-to-4, which was okay… except after the third session I pulled a blister on the right side of the meatus. I was slightly incredulous - I used to pump a *lot* harder long ago, and never pulled a blister - but there it is. And the sucker hurts, too.

The spot is where one of the problem boils was, and the skin may be weakened there. Aargh. And it’s taking its own bloody time to heal up, too. Unfortunately I’m too much of a wimp to try cutting the blistered skin free, so it’s going to have to heal up all by itself.

In other news, I read Eroset’s “Vein Oil” thread, ordered the ingredients, and mixed up a batch. I figured the oil and penetrating properties might help soften scar tissue. They might, but the smell was too much for me to put up with. If I ever get a thrombosed vein I’ll put up with it, but nothing less.

Partway through the thread someone asked about jojoba oil, and the concensus was it wouldn’t be useful because it soaked in too fast. That sounded like something I could use, so I ordered some with the EVO stuff. I’ve been applying jojoba oil several times a day; every time I go to the bathroom. It has almost no odor, isn’t too “oily”, soaks in rapidly, doesn’t stain white underwear, and while I have seen some minor scar shrinkage and hardening since I had to stop pumping for a while, nothing like what I usually get. I’m very happy with how the jojoba oil is working, though it might not be useful for ordinary PE work.

It has been a week and the blister still hasn’t healed completely yet. More waiting…

Before that happened, the scar was very soft and loose. Despite using DMSO/iodine, jojoba oil, and Lubriderm lotion, it has shrunk and hardened steadily since I stopped pumping.

The scar has shrunk enough to cause trouble with urination again, though it’s not cutting off circulation yet. But months ago it was a large diameter band, quite hard. Now it’s much softer, a bit narrower, and flattened. So there has been *some* progress.

I will use up the rest of the Thacker’s DMSO formula that I have mixed, and stop. The stuff is harsh to the skin, and since I’ve broken loose all the adhesions deeper down, I don’t think it’s necessary any more. That is, I think it has done its job, and there’s nothing more it can do.

Hyaluronic acid, allantoin, and colloidal copper are on the way. Since the deep-down damage seems to be taken care of, I’ll start working on the surface.

The blister healed and I resumed pumping, but I restarted at 0-1”Hg and just in the mornings. I’ll work up from there.

The hyaluronic acid, allantoin, and MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) showed up. I mixed a tiny amount in a 35mm film container, about 1/8”. About 50/50 allantoin and MSM, and as much hyaluronic acid.

My wife thinks it’s hilarious; for some reason Mr. Tongue and Mr. Lips(*) refuse to cooperate to say “hyaluronic”, and I just found that my fingers get tangled up trying to type it…

The acid is a clear, odorless gel, like very thick glycerine. The allantoin (“comfrey root”) and MSM are white powders, also odorless. I dip into the container to get some on a fingertip, then smear it on the scarred areas. It soaks in in about 15 minutes.

Hyaluronic acid is promoted as a “super-moisurizer” that penetrates the skin layers. It’s found in some high-end cosmetics and burn medications. Allantoin is supposed to help with healing; its one of the old herbal remedies. MSM is also supposed to promote healing. I’ve taken it orally to help with arthritis. The healing thing was new to me, but it was worth a try.

After a few days I saw some impressive improvement. The scar wants to shrink unless I keep working at it or pumping, but it doesn’t harden up, and it doesn’t crack open when I stretch it back out. The cracks and scabs that resulted from pumping still happen - I’m a grower, and it makes for a lot of stretch as I fill the tube - but they’re much less, and less painful, than before.

I’ve been applying a bit every time I go to the bathroom. It’s not a miracle cure, but it’s working better than I had hoped.

*) ancient Robin Williams schtick…

Day 199.

I’m packing the 2-1/4” tube now as the baseball-bat shape continues to form. It’s widest right where the main scar ring is, so it’s probably a result of the damage. Gets a good pull on the scar tissue, though. I liked the straight shaft I had, but I’ll deal with the bat, I guess. Some of the hangers and clampers have reported getting a “traffic cone” effect, so I may try that in the future to try to even things out.

Morning wood is still mostly absent, but when laying down to rest in the afternoons, I’ve had spontaneous erections every other day for the last week. I rearranged my schedule and edged for an hour the first time, half an hour the second (interruption), and another hour today. I could have done more, but I figured an hour was enough, and my hand was getting tired. But hey, at this point any wood is good wood, and the ED thing might not be insurmountable. I’m in the right age group for ED, but the current problem might be more from the (healing!) damage than from whatever it is that normally causes ED.

—

Though the hyaluronic acid is supposed to be a moisturizer, it seemed like the scar area got awfully dry once it was absorbed. I was using hyaluronic “serum” with a hefty dash of allantoin and a dab of MSM, until the powders started to settle out of suspension and I had to stir the container with a fingertip before use. I’m using a plastic 35mm film container, which seems to be nearly optimal; it’s watertight, big enough to get a finger in, holds enough for a week of use and it’s small enough to put in a pocket. (*)

Since I’m making up very small batches, just enough for a week or so, it’s easy to make some changes. On a whim I tried adding about as much jojoba oil as hyaluronic acid, with the idea it might help the dryness. Mixing it turned out to be awkward; the HLA and jojoba behave much like oil and vinegar, but the emulsion is stable. That is, after a few days you can still see pinhead-sized jojoba globules floating in the HLA instead of it separating out.

The change helped the dryness a lot without seeming to hurt the effectiveness of the HLA and allantoin. It will still feel dry after a few hours, so next time I may try adding a bit of castor or olive oil. “Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble…”

A few months ago a friend had some major hand surgery after a serious accident. He’ll never play the piano again, among other things. He’s been in rehab, and dealing with scars tightening up, etc. I’ve been so focused on my own problems I never thought to offer him some of the stuff I’ve been using. I’ve made up a CARE package for him; DMSO/iodine/MgCl, HLA/allantoin/MSM, Eroset’s Vein Oil, and some shea butter. I’ll give it to him this weekend. I need to tell him about the rice sock thing too.

—

*) “You put your weed in it!”

I’ve had an “orchidometer” in my Amazon cart since mid-December; I finally ordered the thing. It’s a standard urology tool for gauging the size of testicles. My right one shrank to less than half the size of the left one after the infection, and I wanted to find its current size before resuming ball pumping, and to be able to tell if pumping was increasing the size any.

Anything with “meter” sounds technical, but the device - all of them I found for sale looked like the same from the same vendor, no matter who was selling them - is just a string of painted wooden beads with numbers, like a urologist’s prayer beads. You feel the testicle through the scrotum, then match it to the closest bead.

It’s very low tech, but at least I won’t accidentally stab myself with the dial calipers…

—-

This morning was warmer than usual, and I was able to use the red light. The room I’m sleeping in is unheated, and while it’s just fine with the electric blanket, you have to flip the blanket off and swing the light over, and it gets farkin’ cold. So I got in the tube and pumped up, arranged the rolled towel to block the light from my eyes, turned it on, and was surfing Thunder’s on the tablet. The high intensity light is generally considered safe, but I’m a bit paranoid, so I always put something between my eyes and the illuminator.

I got a cramp after a while and shifted position and knocked the towel off, and got a view of the light and the tube. The tube and my unit were glowing like one of those “light saber” flashlights cops use to direct traffic. The empty end of the tube glowed just as brightly as my shaft; reflections, I guess. It was surprising and pretty cool.

—-

Just before Christmas I finally managed to get the 10mm plug in, which is 30Fr. Then with one thing and another, it has been six weeks since I’ve done any stretching. I used the step gauge to see what plug I should start with, and it slid in to 26Fr, 8.66mm. That means I only shrank 1.33mm in six weeks, and I’m still within “normal” urethra size. (8.5 to 9.5mm) It’s time to see what the stream looks like again; I haven’t tried urinating without the tube for a couple of months. If I don’t have to haul the bag with the tube around whenever I leave the house I’ll be very happy.

This morning I used the gauge spike again. I did a half hour with the spike and the red illuminator. After 225 kegels the spike went in to 28Fr. Kegeling isn’t always possible for me; without *some* wood there’s nothing to push against. The spike makes it easy.

Third day in a row for afternoon wood, 35 minutes edging at 75 to 100%. Yay!

day 215:

It finally warmed up a bit as the Snowpocalypse has passed. I stopped all PE when it got cold, but I resumed today after a bit over a week. The scar band had shrunk a bit, but was doing OK. The “thumb print” area over the circumcision scar had cracked again and was a bit painful, but I pumped anyway, just enough to put some tension across it. It didn’t tear any more, and the area actually loosened up some. I’m not sure what is going on there.

It’s supposed to get into the 50s for the rest of the week, so I’ll be able to resume the IR light.

All in all, I didn’t slide back too much.

I went to reseat the tube - it tends to stick since I’m out of my preferred lube - and though I’d bled the vacuum off I still had a good seal. Tugging on it bumped the vacuum up enough to cause another blister. Fortunately it was very mild and is mostly healed three days later.

Third day in a row with the gauge spike. I made it up to 29Fr, no discomfort. I pushed the Tetherspout and the 27Fr steel retainer in and worked with them until my glans got sore, without quite being able to line the retainer up and push the spout through. No problem, I’ll try again tomorrow. My main problem seems to be that even though my urethra is now expanded to normal size, the glans is small enough that the fossa navicularis isn’t much bigger. I’ll keep trying for a few days, then put the bits back in the box and keep working with the pump, and maybe the Size Doctor. After hurting myself with it a couple of times (learning curve + refusal to acknowledge signs of problems) I had set it aside. Now (hopefully) I know better. Not disparaging the Size Doctor; it’s all my own fault, and would likely not have been problems for someone with an undamaged glans.

Since the meatal damage seems to be mostly corrected now, I don’t *need* the spout, but since I have a sizeable investment in all the bits I want to get some use out of them, even if it’s just as jewelry.

I haven’t pumped for a couple of days; for some reason the ED problem isn’t manifesting itself lately, so I’ve been able to edge instead of pump. The scar tissue gets stretched either way, and no chance of pulling a blister.