Do you think circumcised men subconsciously MISS their foreskins? (Phantom Foreskin Scenario)

[KGB]

When people have limbs or organs removed, there's typically a sensation called "Phantom Pain" that remains. Basically your body still believes the part that was removed should still be there and your brain still tells you that the missing part hurts or itches.

I also saw Taboo on the National Geographic channel about Misfits. A guy that was suffering from Body Integrity Identity Disorder eventually amputated one of his legs because it felt like it didn't belong there. Basically his brain had a mental map of what his body should look like (from birth), and anything else that deviated from that made him feel incomplete.

So do you think all men have a type of mental "map" in their brains that tells them there should be a foreskin there, and when there's not, would they subconsciously miss it? Could that potentially affect their behavior?

[MommytoB]

I would think that they do miss what they use to have but don't realize they are missing something until they find out for some reason or another .

The wondering what it would be like is like a signal of missing something that was supposed to be there.

[Smokering]

I dunno. They say conjoined twins who are separated in infancy (sometimes very soon after birth) show evidence of having "phantom twin syndrome", as it were - batting at where the other twin used to be, and calming down if they're lain (laid?) down in the same position in which they were originally joined (eg chest to chest). Rather bigger-picture stuff, but I suppose it proves phantom... something... syndrome can occur at least temporarily in very young children.

I doubt it's a widespread phenomenon with foreskins though, TBH. A lot of men don't even realise intact penises exist, and seem to be perfectly fine with theirs before finding out. I've never heard of FGM victims having "phantom labia syndrome" either, even when the procedure is performed much later in life than most MGMs. Does phantom limb syndrome fade over time?

[serendipity22]

A guy that was suffering from Body Integrity Identity Disorder eventually amputated one of his legs

And what disorder was the surgeon who did this completely unnecessary surgery suffering from?

Ive noticed that people who run around getting unnecessary surgery for themselves or for their child (alleged Munchasens by proxy) are deemed to be mentally ill, while the behaviour of the surgeon is deemed acceptable.

Do you think circumcised men subconsciously MISS their foreskins?

Yes, but there is usually no conscious connection.

[KGB]

Originally Posted by serendipity22

And what disorder was the surgeon who did this completely unnecessary surgery suffering from?

Ive noticed that people who run around getting unnecessary surgery for themselves or for their child (alleged Munchasens by proxy) are deemed to be mentally ill, while the behaviour of the surgeon is deemed acceptable.

The man that had BIID placed his leg in a container of dry ice for about 4-6 hours. He was taken to the hospital where they tried to save his leg. He ended up at the hospital for a week until they deemed it unrecoverable and amputated it.

The man said he felt relief once the leg was gone. He struggled with it his whole life. He described it as if a normal person was born with a 3rd leg. It would feel unnatural to us and we would want it removed to feel "normal". His brain was telling him that he should only have one leg. He was not mentally unstable. Here is the link to the video:

http://www.sling.com/video/show/2587...Leg-is-This%3F

That particular story has nothing to do with circs, but it brought up an interesting theory about people possessing a "neuroligcal body map" that tells us exactly what our body structure should be. So it made me wonder if hacking off a foreskin creates a contradiction between the body and the neurological map resulting in a type of incompleteness (phantom pain scenario).

[claddaghmom]

LOL I was just wondering the same thing! We reviewed nerve redifferentation in my class last week and it got me to thinking about foreskins and MGM.

I guess one thing I would wonder....how much tactile sensation was received in-utero? Because if I am seeing this right...the primary issue with amputation is that the amputated body part had differentiated nerves attached to it. So was there enough stimulation of enough nerves while in the womb and immediately before circumcision for there to be phantom pain?

Would the pain of MGM be enough to align those nerves?

[Night_Nurse]

I have no idea. Although I have worked with plenty of amputees (below the knee) to know that they do experience phantom pain. Interesting concept and I do see where it's plausible for foreskin as well, though I'd never thought of it that way until you mentioned it.

[Oubliette8]

I would imagine that if they do, they simply associate it as a normal penile sensation. Without ever having consciously known their foreskin, I don't think they'd realize that the "phantom" sensation was relating to their foreskin. I get phantom pain in a wisdom tooth I had removed a few years back, if I'd never known the tooth, and the sensations it experienced (in this case, pain, it had a large cavity) I don't think I'd make the connection that its a phantom pain- it feels like the tooth that was there, but is no longer, hurts. If I didn't have knowledge of a tooth previously being there, I'd just think it was a strange oral sensation.