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Vasectomy tips
I had my 5th kid a few weeks ago and now have a vasectomy scheduled for early August. Any tips or suggestions for prep or recovery? They gave me some general advice regarding compression shorts, ice, rest...
Related question for those of you don't having kids or firmly decided against kids and didn't get a vasectomy: why not? I'm curious what methods you're using to prevent having kids.
Assuming no-needle, no-scalpel procedure (do they do any others these days?):
My wife and I are firmly childfree, I got a vasectomy about 6 months into the relationship while we were still dating, she watched the procedure because she's that kind of gal. I kept the portions of vas deferens they removed because I'm that kind of guy.
Frozen lima beans and requested that she not walk around the house in the nude while I recovered as sex was off the table for a week.
Felt fine by the next day and went back to work on Monday after having the procedure on a Friday.
This was pretty much my experience with the no-needle no-scalpel procedure. Got it done on a Saturday, and scheduled the next Monday off work for a little extra buffer, but I was fine the day after. I’m a huge baby, but didn’t even need ibuprofen.
I would, however, recommend buying a roll of gauze if you don’t have any around. This might vary by the clinic (you can probably call to confirm), but mine didn’t use any sutures/glue and just left a piece of gauze over the wound that I was supposed to remove the next day. It got kind of gross and was nice to replace with fresh pieces occasionally, and I needed a little more gauze after the first shower.
Good call on the gauze, I was glued back together. Gotta look really close to see the scar.
May I ask what you did with your vas deferens?
I originally planned to have them bronzed (like baby shoes), but that was before I realized the removed portion is about the size of a grain of rice each.
Asking to keep them was a bit of a joke and my urologist admitted that in his entire career ("thousands of vasectomies") he'd never heard of anyone asking to keep them and found it funny as well.
They sit in some preservative (formaldehyde, I assume) in the little plastic jar they gave to me on a shelf, mixed in with and slightly behind other various knick-knackery, as a random bit of conversation starter when someone walks by, looks at our stuff, and asks "What's that?"
We're odd.
It does allow me to explain the vasectomy procedure which is always fun as my urologist has a 100% success rate with zero failures due to his "tripling down" of methods and answer questions about how things work afterward. You would not believe the number of people that think you no longer have semen post-vasectomy.
I love this, makes me wish I asked to keep mine.
I did at least get a pretty sweet pocket knife for being a good patient.
Umm, be very careful with this. It may be relatively gentle, but chemical depilatories and your junk are not friends.
Don’t miss that first recommendation! The worst part for me was the shaving and regrowing hair itch.
I got the needle and scalpel procedure along with cauterization of the tubes and this was in late 2021.
They definitely still do the vasectomy procedure that way here where I am in the US.
I've had no complications, but I have heard that complication percentage for this style of procedure could be slightly higher than what is officially reported, both due to my own looking into the topic and talking to other men that have had the same procedure.
I bought a jockstrap and it worked really well, I'd recommend it over compression shorts. It provides better support and doesn't smoosh your junk as much.
Soaking a jockstrap in water and freezing it doesn't work as well as it sounds.
This was the most helpful thing for me as well. A jockstrap over my underwear helped keep things high and tight, to reduce any tugging post-procedure.
Overall, recovery was easy for me. The procedure was quick and painless. I've had dental cleanings that were worse. I had mine done on a Friday morning. I chilled in a recliner for Friday and Saturday, was gingerly on my feet on Sunday and was actually back in the office for Monday (this was pre-COVID). It took me a couple of weeks before I started working out again, though.
Don't forget to do your post-procedure test after 90 or whatever days!
It is also worth checking every so often that it hasn't healed, at least until you are absolutely sure your partner cannot get pregnant anymore. Edit, healed as in the tubes have regrown internally to the point of viable sperm being ejaculated again.
While it is rare, it can be devastating for the relationship if the woman finds herself pregnant with a man that cannot imagine that it was his - and it's not a given that the distrust and conflict while waiting for a potential paternity test is something the people involved will be able to move past.
I mentioned this possibillity in passing to a friend of mine many years ago. Him and his new lady agreed on no kids, which was perfect since he had a vasectomy quite early in life. About a year later, they celebrated 30 sperm free days in a row after he'd had a second procedure.
Agreed. You can easily get tested independently, without getting a test ordered by a doctor/provider as well. You can request a test from a place like this that will file a request with a lab like Quest or LabCorp for rather inexpensive.
During COVID, when getting tests was difficult, I actually used this mail-in service a year post-procedure which worked quite nicely.
All I can say is that if you smell a little burning flesh and you hear your doctor say "oops" kinda quietly, you might spend the next few weeks wondering if everything went ok.
Turns out it did.
I'm sure everyone's experience is different with how the recovery goes but mine at least was quite mild, I felt more or less fine by the second day, though my wife still insisted that I take it quite easy. So at least there's a chance that you too will have an easy time. As for specific prep, I wore briefs instead of boxers for a week or so at the doctor's recommendation, it seems much in line with the advice you received.
I got mine earlier this year, so it’s still fresh in my mind (sort of).
Bring ibuprofen. Immediately after my procedure, I waited maybe 10 minutes in a chair while waiting for my wife to pull the car around. It’s odd, but the first few minutes after it was done I didn’t feel much, just some discomfort. That quickly escalated while in the chair. I just felt like someone was hitting me in the gonads over and over. My drive home was a solid 30 minutes…I really wish I’d had some ibuprofen with me. Instead, it was sitting on the counter for when I got home.
In my opinion, a bag of frozen peas worked better than ice packs.
In order to prepare you a bit for the procedure…remember what it feels like to get hit between the legs? It took me a few minutes to identify the somewhat painful sensation. Eventually I realized it’s like someone is pulling really hard on them or like a light to moderate kick in the old testicles. Definitely not all that bad. The severity of the pain isn’t what bothers you, it’s more that it’s just kind of constant.
Some people recover better than others. Some experience occasional and sudden sharp pains for a while afterwards. I think I experienced that for about a month, here and there. Nothing that bad, just something to prepare yourself for.
And by the way…it’s totally worth it.
Don't get impatient and choke the chicken too early, you'll regret it.
The worst part is the anesthetic, after that its fine.
Give it an extra few days before you try to lift anything from what timeframe they say and have a healthy sense of humor.
Afterwards I only had a slight discomfort like the dull ache after being kicked there.
The only negative thing I had happen to me was picking my son up a day after they said I should be fine. I paid for a weekend getaway for my wife (at the time), my kids and her friends. I got my procedure on a Friday and they came back on a Tuesday. I didn't feel anything so I went to pick him up. A slight pop and then half of my scrotum turned black and blue.. nothing painful, just uncomfortable (again)
The whole thing was made to be pretty fun/funny. My family and friends threw a party for my balls. I shaved an "X" like a pirate map before I went in which the nurses all laughed at. The doctor started taking to me asking what I did for a living and I got flustered when I looked down to see smoke and said "well I don't burn balls like you!" He had to stop for a minute because he was laughing. My mom drive me back and apologized for every bump she hit. The girls at the bank all googled as the wryly asked if I was ok (they heard about the party, it is a small town). I broke my toe.... Testing everything with my (then) wife by kicking the table leg on accident (the urge hit where it hit, lol).
I also had more guys come up to me like I was secretly initiated into some club. Without provocation they shared their stories about why they got one, their recovery and stuff. That was truly a little bizarre since it wasn't just guys I knew but like anyone that find out I had one..
one of us
one of us
one of us
Mine was no big deal. Didn't buy anything special. Could walk fine. Just be a little extra cautious to not get hit in the nuts for a couple days.
Okay my experience was rougher than most, and I'd still recommend it if you are otherwise disposed.
I worked from home at the time and went right back to work after surgery. If I had to walk, I'd give it a week.
People say you don't need a jock strap or compression shorts. I didn't have either and needed them. Hold the boys too tight and back off if you don't need it. Or be like me and waddle through Walmart.
Anxiety is the worst. I didn't take anything before the procedure. If they offer you anything, take it. Valium, general anesthetic, whatever, take it. I didn't. You should.
Research types of procedures. I had a scalpel with clips. I thought a vasectomy was a vasectomy.
Follow basic recommendations. Frozen peas, etc. Keep it clean. (I got a yeast infection for the first time). Just use common sense. People will say you don't have to wait a week....just do what your doctor says. Don't be stupid.
That said, no long term complications, just crap I delt with in the moment. 10/10 would recommend. I'm jizzing with the champs now.
They sang happy 30th birthday to me as I went in for mine. A divorce, new missus and three years later and I had it reversed. Now I'm scheduled for my second one in two months time.
4 hours after my first one, I was upside down in a car, installing a stereo. All you need is tight but comfy underwear or use a real jockstrap that holds the lads firm. Pain wise, paracetamol was more than enough. The bruising was the worst bit. Give it a good few weeks before bashing the bishop or having sexy time unless you want some shooting pains and possibly a burning sensation.
Mine was performed old school, with a local anaesthetic injection, scalpel, tieing off the VAS and then then cauterising the tips. You are awake for the whole procedure.
If you're a worrier, take something to relax you through the procedure. They'll have a sheet up and the doc and anaesthetist will chat to during, you won't see anything, the worst pain will be the numbing injection at the beginning.
That's it really. Listen to their advice. Take it easy. Don't enter a marathon for a month and play on it so the kids and wife wait on you hand and foot.
NB: once well you'll be paying the wife and kids back in spades for milking it.
Also, write down your procedure day and celebrate it every year as your independence day. When I worked at a location I would bring donuts in for everyone and tell them it was a celebration that I wasnt inflicting small versions of myself on the world.
If you can (doc offers and insurance covers) get twilight sleep instead of local.
My doc sold me.on that and I was a little sore at the incision sites the day of surgery but fine after that. I sat on the peas cause they told me too but I dont think I needed it. Didnt have any of the "oh god i cant walk" stuff you hear from some folks. Yeah, go twilight.
The biggest tip that helped me was breastfeeding ice packs. They come in packs of two or more, and are the perfect shape. A hole for your member, and the ice pack drapes down over your testicles.
Just try to get one that has a fabric cover because the edges can be a little sharp/rough. These helped me and my friends that got the procedure as well. Hope all goes well for you!
Don’t forget to eat something before the procedure. My vasectomy was scheduled early in the morning at 6am and I hardly had any breakfast that day (maybe just a Nutri-grain bar). I got light-headed and nearly passed out standing up while putting my clothes on after the procedure.
Also, I recommend having someone drive you to and from the procedure. My wife picked me up afterwards which was very helpful.
It wasn't as difficult/painful as I was led to expect. The doctor did use a scalpel and then some sort of electrical cauterizing device. The procedure itself was < 10 minutes and the whole appointment was approx 1 hour. They gave me a prescription for a couple of opiate pain pills and a lorazepam (anti-anxiety benzodiazipene). I filled the prescription, and then lost the bottles with the pills. Ended up taking a "chill" indica-based 5 mg THC gummy and a couple of Naproxen and that worked.
I bought compression shorts and wore them for 2 days afterwards - don't know if it was really necessary, didn't experience a lot of swelling or pain, but wasn't sorry I was perhaps over-prepared. I didn't have trouble walking around or functioning more or less normally afterwards but I didn't try to do anything especially strenuous or athletic, either. I had some pretty mild aching for a couple of days but it really wasn't a big deal.