Iomfats.org

Started restoring today. The pill tube is easier than I thought to construct, though sanding plastic to remove sharp edges just made the plastic fray. It was a race to apply the tube before natural forces made it impossible. I'm using Micropre hypo-allergenic tape. I haven't yet worked out the trick of concealing it in my clothing, so it's lucky I'm working from home. Having no frenulum means I had no need to make a slit in the side, though. That was easier. I'm starting without weights, leaving the tension on the tube per se to stretch. It isn't "unnoticable" to wear, but not desperately uncomfy either.

So, the first day, the pill tube was in place for 13 hours. 9am - 10pm. I am not sure if I kidded myself, but when I removed it there was some extra slack in the skin. No problems so far with adhesive when removing the tape, though it was a delicate operation.

Oh yes. Important. I have a "tugging buddy". Not someone who tugs it for me, nor even with me. Simply someone else who is restoring too, and is at broadly the same state that I am. We will each help the other to stay on track, and share successes and challenges.

OK, I was kidding myself. the slack has gone by morning. Or has it? I can't tell! It was minimal, but my wife was persuaded to notice the difference yesterday!

This morning I learnt about being too ambitious when taping to the tube. Instead of taping the same small section as yesterday I rolled a lot of shaft skin up the tube and taped that. Then I realised that this is an error. if I do that, all I will do is stretch the hairy base skin that I don't want on the shaft of my penis. So I untaped and retaped yesterday's centimetre. This has to be about patience, not rushing. I have, however, increased pressure on the glans to a level where it is noticable but comfortable.

Logic tells me that for this whole process to work I must stretch the inner foreskin (well the area where one will be when I manage to restore it since I have nothing at all remaining of that), rather than a simultaneous stretching of shaft skin and inner foreskin. This tells me that the process is going to be delicate. I must be careful however much growth I achieve, to locate my stretching devices each day to release skin to the shaft, and to pull the inner skin only.

Since the pull is as equal as possible, but is biased towards the shaft skin by geometry, this means careful thought when taping up each day onto the pill tube. I must remember not to roll too much skin onto the tube. I think I should probably stick with the single centimetre for a good while. Time will tell. There's certainly a lot to think about in the early stages.

Untaping at bedtime the illusion of additional slack skin was there. Immediately on untaping the glans was semi-covered. A good wash and application of moisturiser removed the covering. I still think there is a little more ruffled skin behind the corona. Well it's good to think that!

Second morning in a row that cruel daylight has shown I was kidding myself! No extra skin yet, which, if I use logic, is perfectly reasonable. But I know skin stretching works from previous experience. When I had the skin taken from inside my left cheek (mouth saddo!) to graft into the "vacant" urethra, I could not open my mouth to eat anything fatter than a slice of cucumber. They took a patch at least 2" by 2.5" (2.54cm to the inch if you want to convert). Six months later I could open my mouth wide. So cells divide and grow, and tension, even periodic tension, creates additional slack.

Today I've packed the tube much more tightly with cotton wool. It's still comfy, and it may be the way to go. I'm using comfort as my guide. If I can feel it, but am not in discomfort, then (probably) I am doing it right. I was careful, too, to put tension on the "embryo" inner foreskin, and not on the shaft skin as I drew the "soon to be foreskin" over the tape. I'm getting used to applying tape etc., too. The whole application from picking up the gadgets to being ready to put my boxers on takes about half the time it takes to shave my face, which is pretty much acceptable.

Removal of the tube tonight gave an awesome foretaste. The extra packing had made the glans retreat. The immediate coverage on tape removal was 50%. On washing this vanished, but it gave a taste of things to come. I'm sure I can see a minor difference in the volume of pleated skin gathered in behind the corona. My wife is humouring me about it. The good thing is that she supports the project.

I rigged the pill tube slightly differently this morning. Instead of sticking the tube portion of the tape at the "entrance" to the tube and folding it up the body of the plastic, I stuck it on the body and folded it downwards. I think it may make a difference to the way the tension is put on the skin. I'll know when I take it off. I also started the day slightly more tightly packed inside. This forces the glans back out of the pill tube into the tunnel of skin that is the penis shaft.

When I untaped I wished I'd taped up the old way. It was really hard to peel the skin away from the tube. I also ended up with a pinprick of blood on the skin where the tape had probably pulled a hair out. Ouch.

Reverted to the method of sticking the tape to the opening of the tube and folding it back. I also packed the tube in stages. Remember I am not using weights (yet), and I am tryinig to stretch the embryo inner foreskin, not the shaft skin. So I started by packing as tightly as I could with cotton wool with a good blob of moisturiser on the glans-facing surface (don't know of it works, but it certainly keeps it all smelling sweet!), follwed by a small wad of toilet tissue. This pushed the glans back out of the tube and put reasonable tension on the inner foreskin.

About 15 minutes later the blood supply was relaxed enough for me to replace the small tissue pad with a larger one and not, even totally flaccid, the skin is under good tension. Zero discomfort so far.

On removal the best apparent progress so far. However yesterday's tube taping (so the tape adheres to the tube half way up, and is free at the opening) is better for the greater internal pressure.

This morning the additional skin is visible. I'm allowing myself a cautious "yehaaaaa!". It is visible as a sort of extra bunching of skin behind the corona. The tube is taped today so that tape sticks half way up and the sticky side extends to the opening, and I've packed it tight. The packing at the glans is cotton wool, faced with a good blob of moisturiser, and it is backed by a tight pad of folded and rolled Kleenexe. There's always room for Kleenexe near a penis!

There is sufficient packing in the tube that the packing is longer than the tube, whihc means that the penis skin is being used as a part of the tube per se. This puts good tension on the embryo inner foreskin. I am also adding packing during the day. I find that a sheet of toilet roll, folded into a pad, provides good incremental pressure with only minor initial doscomfort.

No more skin damaged with tape removal. You can bet I'm being more careful since I damaged a bit! Most enjoyable rubbing a load of moisturiser in after removing the tape at night and washing the affected area! I may be foolong myself, but I think marginal additional sensitivity is coming back becuase the glans is protected all the hours it's being taped up, together with the regime of a good dollop of moisturiser on the cotton wool pressure pad.

This morning there is a definite extra set of "ruffles" of skin behind the corona. Yesterday wasn't an illusion. My wife confirms it.

Looking at the description of the pill tube method and the desire to tape at "point of equilibrium" [POE] (where the tension on inner and outer foreskin is equal), I am certain that my modification to major on the "inner" foreskin only is the right one. I say "inner" because in my case the is no inner foreskin. If I had one I would certainly be pulling at the POE, because it would be the right thing to do. In my case I want to create an inner foreskin, and to ensure that hairs do not creep up the shaft. I know I keep saying it, but, to me, this means I have to stretch the inner skin in preference to the outer skin. There will come a point when I am satisfied with the length of the inner, and then tug equally.

Oh, it's getting quicker to prepare the tube and tape up. It wasn't hard anyway, but it only takes a couple of minutes now.

Very definite additional ruffles of skin on the shaft before taping up. I wonder how much "ruffle pressure" there has to be before the skin turns into a nascent foreskin? I suspect that this phase will seem to take ages, and then suddenly the ruffles will turn into a definite overhang. So far it appears to be going remarkably quickly. Mind you it doesn't take much extra skin to make a ruffle!

I'm really writing this diary to keep myself on track. I read a great file on restoration today, and posted it in the resources link. Restoring FAQs is what it's called. I recommend that you save the file and read it at leisure. A great deal of good information, regrettably not too much about the methods I'm using.

The only "problem" I'm hitting is the scar tissue from the urethraplasty. It is not flexible, and is not sore, exactly, but tight feeling. The challenge is that it has to be folded double and taped to the tube. I wish I could meet someone else with a similar scar who is restoring too, so that I can find out how he fared. I'm using loads of moisturiser after I untape, and I take vitamin E supplements to help with minimising scar tissue

Well, I thought that was the only problem until I untaped. Damn. A split in the shaft skin, circumferentially around the skin. Just a small one (about a millimetre), but painful. I've been over ambitiuous on pressure. With my experience fo a scar tissue base phimosis, I know I have to be more careful, so loads of moisturiser, and a good massage! Hey, we all have to have a hobby!

Taped up carefully to preserve the split at the same size with no opportunity for it to lengthen or widen, and applied less internal packing pressure. It started off stinging a bit, so I reduced the pressure. We'll see tonight. I'm pissed off that I let this happen, but I suspect it happens to all of us, and I'm pretty sure it'll happen again.

During the day I learnt that putting too big a gob of moisturiser on the padding is unhelpful. It dissolved the adhesive oin the tape, and I came partially undone. Still, it was near untaping time, so I added extra tape straps to the outside, completely forgetting I had avoided taping over the split! Come bedtime "OWWWW!"

Won't be doing that again!

However, even sitting in a warm bath the "untaping overhang" stayed in place for about five minutes. Mind you, if I'd found somethoing to enjoy during the bath I doubt it would have lasted a single second.

Determined to avoid the split, I reduced the surface area of tape on the pill tube today. I don't want a "rest day", so I have to get this right. I've therefore reduced the quantity of shaft skin taped to the tube, and am also reducing for today the packing pressue inside the tube since it has less resistance to press against form a lower surface area of glue. Even if today is a 50% day it is better than a 0% day, stretching-wise.

Really encouraged today by the bunching of the ruffles behind the corona. Actually I needed a good thing today, because I put my neck out on Christmas day, and have been hurting so much it's been making me cry despite several corrective chiropractor visits. To cap it all I watched 80% of "The English Patient" last night on TV. Oh good grief. Nothing happened. For two hours nothing happened. I kicked the final 30 minutes into touch. Three oscars? For what?

Increased the packing as the day progressed. The key was not to hurt the split, so I used less pressure than previous days. That, together with moving the split out of the pressure zone by careful taping, meant no additional injuries to it.

When I removed the pill tube there was the illusion of 50% coverage of the glans. This persisted until after washing and moisturising, when the shaft lengthened and the skin reverted to ruffles behind the corona. Very encouraging, though.

Before taping up I noticed that the increased "ruffle pressure" was enough to "almost create" a rollover onto the glans, when I sat sort of scrunched forwards. Very encouraging. I taped carefully again to avoid the healing split. That is going to heal nicely, in fact it is mostly healed. I'm back to using full packing pressure today, gradually increasing as the day passes. Again I am aiming for comfort at all times, so I never pack to excess.

When I untaped I found thay he split is almost totally healed, but the new skin there is tender. No real surprise.