How ghastly is a vasectomy?

How ghastly is a vasectomy?

Author
Discussion

Daveyh

Original Poster:

110 posts

203 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
Have 3 kids. Enough.
I'm rubbish at hospitals, needles etc.
What's the procedure like & the recovery?

CAPP0

19,916 posts

210 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
If you follow the instructions and don't try to "man it out", i.e., feet up, ice packs, DO rest, DON'T exert yourself, it's fine.

Reversal, however, now that's another story!

ucb

1,040 posts

219 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
There's a fairly high incidence of chronic(longterm) pain post-op for what is a short, simple procedure.

Daveyh

Original Poster:

110 posts

203 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
ucb said:
There's a fairly high incidence of chronic(longterm) pain post-op for what is a short, simple procedure.
Urrrghh.. really?

Hoofy

77,503 posts

289 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
Apparently, it's like being kicked in the nutsack and can last 3 days.

But your wife gave you three children, so best not complain about it or you'll have earache as well as ball ache.

Daveyh

Original Poster:

110 posts

203 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
Hoofy said:
Apparently, it's like being kicked in the nutsack and can last 3 days.

But your wife gave you three children, so best not complain about it or you'll have earache as well as ball ache.
Plenty of earache already

jagracer

8,248 posts

243 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
Daveyh said:
ucb said:
There's a fairly high incidence of chronic(longterm) pain post-op for what is a short, simple procedure.
Urrrghh.. really?
Yeah for 24 years in my case after it went a bit wrong, plus 6 weeks off work afterwards nuts

Hoofy

77,503 posts

289 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
Ok, pass me the bricks and take your pants off.

eybic

9,212 posts

181 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
My Brother had it done and was fine within a couple of days, his friend had it done and swelled up like a swollen thing so it does vary but the majority of people I have heard from haven't had too bad a time with it.

ucb

1,040 posts

219 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
Daveyh said:
ucb said:
There's a fairly high incidence of chronic(longterm) pain post-op for what is a short, simple procedure.
Urrrghh.. really?
I'm not a chronic pain spedialist, but my erudite colleague is and his advice is that vasectomy is not the simple pain-free solution many may told it is.

From the very superficial reading I have done, the incidence can be between 10-20% (1 in 5-10 cases) and the severity can be sufficient to warrant referral to a pain specialist (which inevitably IMO means that a pain-free life is not a likely outcome). Several colleagues of mine have suggested alternative contraception as being preferable for all, though with the drawback of reversibility.



Edited by ucb on Monday 19th May 17:08

steve_bmw

1,590 posts

182 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
A mate had a vasectomy a few months ago, he booked 3 days off work to relax, had the op in the morning and all went well, by mid afternoon he was back in work, no pain at all and all seems well so far.
The only thing he did is wear really tight pants.
Everyone is going to have a different experience but it's not all bad news.

ajcj

798 posts

212 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
It's fine. Rock up with shaved plums, change into hospital gown, avoid catching the eye of anyone else in the waiting room. Get shown in to a small operating room with an upside-down dentist's chair on it, so your hips are higher than your feet. Man comes in, positions bright lights onto your genital area, starts giving the sprouts a good rolling about. You make uneasy and stilted small talk, and try to ignore the attractive female nurse hovering in the background. He explains the procedure, then paints your bits with some kind of antiseptic that takes days to scrub off. Injection goes in, one into each tube, uncomfortable but not painful. Everything goes numb.

Doctor makes a small incision in the scrote, then uses a hook to pull the tube out into the fresh air. Small talk is drying up a bit by this time. He clamps the tube, cuts a section out of it (to stop the ends from finding each other and healing up) then cauterises the ends. Repeat with tube #2. Silence by now, really nothing left to say. He puts a soluble stitch in to close the hole, plaster over, job done.

Walk very gingerly into the waiting room, nurse explains after care - ice, rest, don't shower for two days, then make sure you have as many ejaculations as you possibly can for the next two weeks. You ask what the record is. Joke falls flat.

Go home (best to have someone pick you up), sit on sofa with back of frozen peas under chuds, watching TV and occasionally whining for cups of tea. Next morning, marvel at bruising that has changed your wrinkled family retainer into an avocado. Take some iboprufen to damp down dull ache. Repeat sofa/tv/peas/tea day. Take it easy on day 3.

The guys I know who had an issue did something stupid like riding a horse home from the operation. They felt fine on day 3 so went out running, that kind of thing.

Pay money, get the best service you can, treat it with respect and take it easy for three days afterwards. You'll be fine.

covmutley

3,128 posts

197 months

Monday 19th May 2014
quotequote all
I had it done, and its fine. I have a history of passing out fairly easily too. Far easier than having a tooth out, which I had done last week. Tight pants and take it very steady for 2 days and you will be fine.

I have 3 kids too, so it was essential!!

EdT

5,132 posts

291 months

Tuesday 20th May 2014
quotequote all
ajcj said:
It's fine. Rock up with shaved plums, change into hospital gown, avoid catching the eye of anyone else in the waiting room. Get shown in to a small operating room with an upside-down dentist's chair on it, so your hips are higher than your feet. Man comes in, positions bright lights onto your genital area, starts giving the sprouts a good rolling about. You make uneasy and stilted small talk, and try to ignore the attractive female nurse hovering in the background. He explains the procedure, then paints your bits with some kind of antiseptic that takes days to scrub off. Injection goes in, one into each tube, uncomfortable but not painful. Everything goes numb.

Doctor makes a small incision in the scrote, then uses a hook to pull the tube out into the fresh air. Small talk is drying up a bit by this time. He clamps the tube, cuts a section out of it (to stop the ends from finding each other and healing up) then cauterises the ends. Repeat with tube #2. Silence by now, really nothing left to say. He puts a soluble stitch in to close the hole, plaster over, job done.

Walk very gingerly into the waiting room, nurse explains after care - ice, rest, don't shower for two days, then make sure you have as many ejaculations as you possibly can for the next two weeks. You ask what the record is. Joke falls flat.

Go home (best to have someone pick you up), sit on sofa with back of frozen peas under chuds, watching TV and occasionally whining for cups of tea. Next morning, marvel at bruising that has changed your wrinkled family retainer into an avocado. Take some iboprufen to damp down dull ache. Repeat sofa/tv/peas/tea day. Take it easy on day 3.

The guys I know who had an issue did something stupid like riding a horse home from the operation. They felt fine on day 3 so went out running, that kind of thing.

Pay money, get the best service you can, treat it with respect and take it easy for three days afterwards. You'll be fine.
Simply reading this makes me feel proper ghastly.

XCP

17,181 posts

235 months

Tuesday 20th May 2014
quotequote all
Mine was fine, just don't play prop at Rugby for a while afterwards. Particularly if, like me, you look like the last Turkey in the shop.....

selym

9,557 posts

178 months

Tuesday 20th May 2014
quotequote all
I was informed by the guy that was detailed to de-b0ll0ck me that long-term pain from the area was a small but real occurrence.

theshrew

6,008 posts

191 months

Tuesday 20th May 2014
quotequote all
I know people who have had it and not had a problem back to work a couple of days later.

I know others who had real problems with it. One bloke looked like he had a black and blue space hopper between his legs.

Sod that not for me either way.

Fozziebear

1,840 posts

147 months

Tuesday 20th May 2014
quotequote all
It hurt a little bit when the 2nd jab went in, rest was fine, I was out running 5 days later. They did bruise up the next day

croyde

23,955 posts

237 months

Tuesday 20th May 2014
quotequote all
My Brother was working in Africa when he had it done. Paid a German Doc who claimed that he had a way of doing it gently and yep! he was right as rain afterwards with very little soreness.

Remember when Bobby Grant had it done in Brookside all those years ago. He walked around doubled over for two weeks acting as if he had been castrated with a rusty pen knife biggrin

squicky

274 posts

187 months

Tuesday 20th May 2014
quotequote all
I'm currently pondering it and when I started doing research, the chronic pain issue did come up.

I must admit to being concerned when figures of 1 in 5 suffering from this start being banded around. Sounds too high for something to be considered to be an acceptable risk.

Does anybody know what the options are if you do get unlucky? Would it be as 'simple' as having a reversal or is there any other options? (Plus would the NHS pay for the reversal if it was felt that was the answer)