Author Topic: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy  (Read 11278 times)

solon

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Taran Wanderer

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2014, 06:50:59 PM »
Fairly accurate description of events, but maybe a little overblown.  That said, IMO, having four dental implants at the same time is better than a vasectomy.

YK-Phil

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2014, 07:58:52 PM »
What was supposed to take 10 minutes lasted an hour...enough said...

driftwood

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« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2014, 09:42:41 PM »
Had one last week.  I'm 33.  Looks like there are vastly different experiences out there.

Before:  The idea didn't bother me but reading the detailed description at the first apt made me a bit queasy.

Day of:  Took 2 valium and one Percocet as ordered, totally chill through the pretty uncomfortable procedure (20 min).  The local anesthesia needles hurt less than the same done in the gums for dental work.  The only 'chattiness' from the Dr. was him constantly checking in to make sure that everything was numb and I was feeling no pain.  He didn't show me anything.  I didn't look down there to try.  Though I was curious I thought actually seeing it on myself might not be a good idea.  Burning cauterization - yes.  Titanium clamps - no.

After:  Used one Percocet after the numbing wore off.  Another that evening.  After that, no pain meds needed.  Regularly iced the balls with a bag of frozen corn (they got that part of the article correct).  Sore a bit less every day. 

Tomorrow I'll ride to the grocery store, so that'll be the first 'exercise' to see how fast I've recovered. 

Not sure why they think that all guys have a bad experience and then downplay it.  It wasn't fun, it was uncomfortable, but I feel I'm being totally honest about it. 

Kriegsspiel

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2014, 10:23:45 PM »
Dude, seriuosly? My balls are tingling, that sounds awful... Couldn't finish the article.

MikeBear

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2014, 10:30:37 PM »
Worst mistake I ever made back in '98 was getting a vasectomy.

I had Blue Care Network at the time, and they did "stack'em and wack'em" surgery to their customers. They get together all the people that want it, and do all their surgeries on the same day. I ended up with a major infection, TWO hernias due to improper cutting through each side (just had one hernia on the right side fixed the end of 2012 (when my right testicle came out and got entrapped), permanent nerve damage (no (dull) feeling) and permanent ED. Oh, and now I wait for the left side to get bad enough to require surgery with mesh.

I was unable to sue them because they are protected by Michigan law. You actually have to petition the Michigan government board for permission to sue, which is never granted.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2014, 10:34:37 PM by MikeBear »

SisterX

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #6 on: November 25, 2014, 05:53:59 PM »
As a woman who's given birth, suck it up you whiners.  :)

(Before someone jumps down my throat for this, it is meant to be a joke.  No one's pain is ever minimized by someone else's pain, and I realize that.  Also, I know how much it sucks to have your private bits taken apart and put back together, so I do have a lot of sympathy.)

tracylayton

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #7 on: November 25, 2014, 05:58:20 PM »
My poor ex-husband had one after child#3, and he was black and blue for a week...luckily, no permanent damage.

Gone Fishing

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2014, 06:12:36 PM »
It wasn't that bad. 

Mike, I'm sorry you had complications.

MikeBear

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #9 on: November 25, 2014, 09:43:11 PM »
It wasn't that bad. 

Mike, I'm sorry you had complications.

I thought I scared you all off this thread. lol.

It's not easy to talk about it to people. Quite a few will basically call you a liar and say all that can't happen "for such  simple surgery". But it can/does, and to more men then you'd think, who learn quickly to keep their mouths shut. Also that in cases extreme as mine, there's no real fixes to put you back the way you were, or that any of the meds made to do so, can't make you stand at attention. Ruined with 40+ years of life left.

I really only tell others anymore when they say they are about to get one, and I just explain what happened to me.
« Last Edit: November 25, 2014, 09:46:45 PM by MikeBear »

DollarBill

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #10 on: November 26, 2014, 08:49:50 AM »
Quote
Regularly iced the balls with a bag of frozen corn
Did the corn go to waste?? lol

TGod

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #11 on: November 26, 2014, 11:02:51 AM »
My husband had one. He went in on a Thursday. He thought he would be back at work in the morning for at least part of the day and that it wouldn't be a big deal. At the time his supervisor told him to plan for a Monday return....her husband had one done so she knew what he was in for.
When he called me to pick him up after, he said he was pacing in front of the hospital because sitting down made him want to vomit. I don't think I'd every seen him look so bad as when he got in the car. His description of the experience went something like this....
"It felt like they jabbed needles in my balls, sliced open my sac, dug around and found the tubes, cut a piece out of them, tied them in knots, burned them, sewed me back up and then kicked me in the nuts for good measure".
He was a write-off for the weekend.

DoubleDown

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #12 on: November 26, 2014, 02:22:33 PM »
@MikeBear: Thanks for sharing your story. Really sorry to hear, but valuable for the rest of us to know.

It is because of accounts like these (and Mike is definitely not alone) that I will never, ever get a vasectomy. Guys should understand that even though the risk of severe complications might be small, the consequences are huge and life-altering. All for a completely elective surgery.

Add to that the chance you might change your mind one day about wanting to father children -- none of us can really know how we'll feel about things 10, 20 years down the road. This happened to someone I know. He tried to reverse it for his new wife who wanted kids (first wife dumped him for another woman), but it failed.

The Borgs

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #13 on: November 26, 2014, 05:48:18 PM »
I'm a woman, but think that the risks and complications of vasectomy are very much played down. So sorry to hear of your experience Mike. My husband has an issue with the veins in his scrotum which would have made a vasectomy a very difficult procedure, there was no way we were going there. Instead I opted for a bilateral salpingectomy (removing of fallopian tubes) which is as far as birth control goes, as foolproof as it can get.

For comparison purposes only: It was day surgery, general anesthetic. A fair bit dearer than a vasectomy, but mostly covered by our insurance. Fairly nerve-wracking beforehand (due to fears from previous surgery in another country, completely unfounded here). The first few days were heavy on painkillers, low on activity. Then I started to do a little more here and there. It's now nearly 2 weeks on, I'm just a bit tired is all and still not supposed to lift anything heavy. 3 scars, glued, seem to be healing nicely. I'm taking it easy because I can, but to be fair if I had a desk job I could be at work now. Overall, incredibly happy about it.

I add in this experience because some couples may want some permanent birth control, yet this option tends to get overlooked. I think it's an excellent option, especially since salpingectomy reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. Which might be a way to sell it to a spouse if you want to avoid a vasectomy!

driftwood

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #14 on: November 26, 2014, 08:01:52 PM »
Quote
Regularly iced the balls with a bag of frozen corn
Did the corn go to waste?? lol

Haha...there was no direct contact, so the corn is back in the freezer and will be eaten someday.

DollarBill

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #15 on: November 26, 2014, 09:04:41 PM »
Quote
Regularly iced the balls with a bag of frozen corn
Did the corn go to waste?? lol

Haha...there was no direct contact, so the corn is back in the freezer and will be eaten someday.
LMAF....just don't tell anyone!

JamesAt15

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #16 on: November 26, 2014, 09:36:58 PM »
... He tried to reverse it for his new wife who wanted kids (first wife dumped him for another woman), but it failed.

Ummm... you know what, never mind.

AlexK

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #17 on: November 27, 2014, 01:21:02 AM »
I didn't read the article but my vasectomy hurt a hell of a lot more than I was expecting. I've had broken bones, this was much worse. But OK after a few days. I think my doctor screwed up because during the procedure, it was supposed to be painless but the doctor was straining at something which let loose and it hurt real bad. That side was much more bruised than the other too. I can still feel that its a bit different down there but function is 100%.

About a year later a guy went into that urology office with a gun and killed one of the doctors because of vasectomy complications. I must have been one of the lucky ones.

Ynari

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #18 on: November 27, 2014, 01:48:28 AM »
This is why Vasalgel can't come out soon enough. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_inhibition_of_sperm_under_guidance The date keeps getting pushed back; I saw an article recently saying it'll be out around 2017.

homehandymum

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #19 on: November 27, 2014, 01:52:51 AM »
My DH just had to get his done again, as the first attempt failed.  Poor guy, it looks pretty painful, although he has said the second time hasn't been so bad - it's healing faster and he's not in so much pain.  Hopefully his Wolverine-like powers of regeneration don't come into play again!

On the other, I am carrying our fourth child, at least in part because he kept putting the snip off for 'later'.  (I can't take hormonal pills, and apparently get pregnant every single time we say "oh fuck it" to the other methods.  One night in FIVE YEARS.  Sigh).  So although I'm sympathetic to his pain, I'm, you know, also kinda not overwhelmed with it.  :)

Here, they greatly prefer to tie tubes for women only if they are going into the abdominal cavity for other reasons - so I'll be requesting that they do mine as extra insurance if I need a caesarian (although I haven't had one yet, so it's unlikely)

The Borgs

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #20 on: November 27, 2014, 03:57:37 AM »

Here, they greatly prefer to tie tubes for women only if they are going into the abdominal cavity for other reasons - so I'll be requesting that they do mine as extra insurance if I need a caesarian (although I haven't had one yet, so it's unlikely)
If you do happen to end up in that position, consider getting them to remove the tubes rather than tie them. If not to reduce the risk of cancer: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671016/ then to remove the risk of pregnancy entirely (tying, clipping or occlusion still fails).

DoubleDown

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #21 on: November 27, 2014, 10:19:30 AM »
... He tried to reverse it for his new wife who wanted kids (first wife dumped him for another woman), but it failed.

Ummm... you know what, never mind.

What? I don't get it!

Spork

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #22 on: November 27, 2014, 10:27:24 AM »
I had one at about age 22... NOTHING like described in the article.  The shots (2) hurt for a split second (but went numb very fast).

Mine was 5 minutes from "hello, how do you do?" to "Hold this tight for 5 minutes, have a nice day."  I was slightly sore the next day, but spent most of the day walking around downtown with my family (that didn't know I'd had one) ... so... it wasn't so bad as to really slow me down much.

Almost 30 years later... no regrets.

REALLY not a big deal.  Yes, some odd things happen, but they are very rare. 

Zikoris

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #23 on: November 27, 2014, 04:27:59 PM »
I had my tubes tied about 7 years ago. It wasn't too bad. I woke up in a ton of pain in my chest and abdomen from the residual gas they used to blow me up like a balloon, but they gave me enough painkillers to knock that out pretty quick.

The nurse got mad at me when I jumped out of bed and started dancing post-op and pulled one of my stitches. Also, I had to sleep on my back for awhile.

JamesAt15

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #24 on: November 27, 2014, 09:49:48 PM »
... He tried to reverse it for his new wife who wanted kids (first wife dumped him for another woman), but it failed.

Ummm... you know what, never mind.

What? I don't get it!

I started to make some crack about this guy's wife leaving him for another woman, figuring it must be a typo...  then I started to think that maybe it wasn't a typo, in this day and age...  then I started wondering if "another woman" is the correct phrasing if one's wife leaves you for a different woman... and then I realized I had no idea what the hell I was going to say anymore.

enigmaT120

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #25 on: November 28, 2014, 08:15:31 PM »
My experience was about the same as Spork's, at about the same age.  Best 200 bucks I ever spent, 30 years ago.

Spork

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #26 on: November 28, 2014, 08:55:26 PM »
My experience was about the same as Spork's, at about the same age.  Best 200 bucks I ever spent, 30 years ago.

Even 30 years ago: mine was free.  Back then all insurance was 80% paid/20% paid by insured.  ...except permanent birth control.  100% paid by insurance.

greaper007

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #27 on: December 02, 2014, 10:15:33 AM »
I had mine a week and a half ago.    I've been putting it off, but I'm getting tired of condoms (not so much the feeling, just the rigamarole).    I figured that if my wife could go through 40 (and 8 on the second child) hours of labor, I could take a weekend on the couch.

Mine lasted about 20 mins, there was some pain, but nothing excruciating.    Mostly, it was psychologically uncomfortable.    Smelling smoke from the cauterization, feeling a needle in your balls etc.    I'm about a week and a half out now, I've lifted weights once and ran 2.5 miles at about a 9 min pace.     My balls are still sore but otherwise the recovery wasn't a big deal.   I only took one pain pill after the procedure and then switched to beer (a couch and beer just go together better than opiates).

The most painful part was the bill, $580.00.    That's what we get for being "job creators" and buying our insurance on the open market.    I could probably buy condoms for life on that much, but it's nicer knowing I'm almost 100% safe.

falcondisruptor

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #28 on: December 02, 2014, 08:26:47 PM »
I had one at about age 22... NOTHING like described in the article.  The shots (2) hurt for a split second (but went numb very fast).

Mine was 5 minutes from "hello, how do you do?" to "Hold this tight for 5 minutes, have a nice day."  I was slightly sore the next day, but spent most of the day walking around downtown with my family (that didn't know I'd had one) ... so... it wasn't so bad as to really slow me down much.

Almost 30 years later... no regrets.

REALLY not a big deal.  Yes, some odd things happen, but they are very rare.

I remember watching a video in health and it seemed to be like you described in the video.  All I know is that it's much less invasive for him than me!

Sorry to all the guys who had terrible experiences.

AllChoptUp

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #29 on: December 03, 2014, 11:56:16 AM »
Worst mistake I ever made back in '98 was getting a vasectomy.

I had Blue Care Network at the time, and they did "stack'em and wack'em" surgery to their customers. They get together all the people that want it, and do all their surgeries on the same day. I ended up with a major infection, TWO hernias due to improper cutting through each side (just had one hernia on the right side fixed the end of 2012 (when my right testicle came out and got entrapped), permanent nerve damage (no (dull) feeling) and permanent ED. Oh, and now I wait for the left side to get bad enough to require surgery with mesh.

I was unable to sue them because they are protected by Michigan law. You actually have to petition the Michigan government board for permission to sue, which is never granted.

Dude that's tragic. So sorry :(

enigmaT120

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #30 on: December 03, 2014, 01:18:15 PM »
My experience was about the same as Spork's, at about the same age.  Best 200 bucks I ever spent, 30 years ago.

Even 30 years ago: mine was free.  Back then all insurance was 80% paid/20% paid by insured.  ...except permanent birth control.  100% paid by insurance.

I didn't have health insurance back then. 

Numbers Man

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #31 on: December 03, 2014, 01:32:43 PM »
ROFL, great writing in that article and in this thread - It's easier when the wife gets the tubes tied after the last planned child.

boy_bye

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #32 on: December 03, 2014, 01:47:18 PM »
ROFL, great writing in that article and in this thread - It's easier when the wife gets the tubes tied after the last planned child.

easier for the dude, maybe ... not so much for the wife, i don't think.

Cressida

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #33 on: December 03, 2014, 07:59:22 PM »
This is why Vasalgel can't come out soon enough. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_inhibition_of_sperm_under_guidance The date keeps getting pushed back; I saw an article recently saying it'll be out around 2017.

SO MUCH THIS. It would be fantastic if it really works.

RetiredAt63

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #34 on: December 06, 2014, 11:15:03 AM »
Relatively easy if the delivery was a c-section.  Not so easy otherwise.  It is abdominal surgery, after all, even if it can be done through a tiny slit.

ROFL, great writing in that article and in this thread - It's easier when the wife gets the tubes tied after the last planned child.

easier for the dude, maybe ... not so much for the wife, i don't think.

keith

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #35 on: December 06, 2014, 05:27:39 PM »
Got mine done earlier this week.

I had a different procedure I needed at the urologists office anyway, so we scheduled both procedures for the same day, under general anesthesia. Not having to be awake through any of it sure was nice :)

Healing up ok now, so far so good.

stlbrah

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #36 on: December 07, 2014, 09:27:44 PM »
I had one at about age 22... NOTHING like described in the article.  The shots (2) hurt for a split second (but went numb very fast).

Mine was 5 minutes from "hello, how do you do?" to "Hold this tight for 5 minutes, have a nice day."  I was slightly sore the next day, but spent most of the day walking around downtown with my family (that didn't know I'd had one) ... so... it wasn't so bad as to really slow me down much.

Almost 30 years later... no regrets.

REALLY not a big deal.  Yes, some odd things happen, but they are very rare.

Early to mid 20s I wanted one. Now 27 and still want one. Wish I had your courage

Spork

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Re: what it really feels like to get a vasectomy
« Reply #37 on: December 08, 2014, 09:02:16 AM »
I had one at about age 22... NOTHING like described in the article.  The shots (2) hurt for a split second (but went numb very fast).

Mine was 5 minutes from "hello, how do you do?" to "Hold this tight for 5 minutes, have a nice day."  I was slightly sore the next day, but spent most of the day walking around downtown with my family (that didn't know I'd had one) ... so... it wasn't so bad as to really slow me down much.

Almost 30 years later... no regrets.

REALLY not a big deal.  Yes, some odd things happen, but they are very rare.

Early to mid 20s I wanted one. Now 27 and still want one. Wish I had your courage

It's just not that big a deal 99% of the time.  If you're seriously anxious, I suspect the doc in question would prescribe you a valium or something similar to relax you.