Andy’s experience: Ice ready in the freezer

Age 39, married for 20 years (at time of the vasectomy), no children.

My SO had decided long ago (before we married – and yes, despite our age at that time we had discussed this beforehand) that she didn’t want any children. I didn’t have any particular leanings one way or the other and was (and still am) happy to agree with her wishes.

In the early years, birth control was courtesy of ‘The Pill’ but, with emerging stories of the health risks, we subsequently relied on the condom instead. We started looking at vasectomy recently, as the result of a ‘failed condom’ episode. I had considered the idea long ago but thought (without checking) that no-one would operate on a child-less male so had never followed it up previously.

With the internet being a valuable research aid sometimes, I quickly found this web site and the forums associated with it and found the general information and the real stories here (both negative and positive) of great help in making my decision.

Pre-op

Had my initial consultation about 8 weeks before the operation itself (UK – NHS), the Doctor that carried out my vasectomy is a GP (General Practitioner) in my local surgery who also specializes in that type of work. I was a bit sensitive during the tube check, more through nerves and not knowing what to expect, I think.

With having found the tube check uncomfortable, I was quite nervous about the procedure itself and the immediate ‘aftermath’ of the recovery period but in the end, I concluded that there’s a lot of people who go through a heck of a lot worse every day, so I should grit my teeth and get on with it.

I read all the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ with interest. The advantages I was convinced about a long time ago. As for the risks, I decided to view the risk of long-term PVP and other complications as minimal (although real) and took the view that you’re going to hear far more about bad experiences in ‘help’ groups than the majority of routine ‘good’ experiences which probably, in the main, go unreported.

I shaved myself the night before. No valium or other drugs were offered for use just before the operation and I didn’t really feel the need for this anyway.

The vasectomy

Now for the operation itself – I write six days after the deed was done. It actually started just as the final whistle blew at the Australia v England Rugby World Cup Final, which was ‘live’ on the radio in the surgery. Johnny (Wilkinson) saved the day for England, just as I was all set to abandon Johnnies for good!

The surgery was effectively closed for the Saturday morning – just a receptionist, a nurse, and the GP to deal with a morning’s-worth of vasectomy patients. The waiting room was empty when I arrived, the previous ‘customer’ already being operated on. My SO came with me to offer moral support and stayed in the waiting room when my turn came.

The operation went well really, don’t know why I was so worried.

Both the doctor and the nurse made me feel at ease, although the distraction (for me) of having the radio on, particularly during such a high-profile live sporting event, also helped a great deal I’m sure, even though my fear was unwarranted as it turns out.

The worst bit for me was being held in what felt like a vice-like grip for a short time while the vas was being located on each side, before any injecting or cutting started (I was a bit sensitive at the tube check some weeks before too).

In connection with this, things were a bit cold and, er, well, shriveled, at the time. I’ve read (with the help of Google) some of the older messages on the vasectomy newsgroup and read with interest about a Doctor who used a warm towel to warm the area for a while first. In hindsight, this would probably have helped me as I’m sure things could have been a lot more accessible!

Immediately prior to the operation, the Doctor doused the ‘target area’ liberally with some form of anti-bacterial liquid, which had a warming sensation. I barely felt the injections at all (just a very slight sting for about a second) and didn’t feel any of the op itself.

The left side was done first, without any difficulty, indeed it was all over very quickly. The right side was, apparently, much more of a problem in that finding and ‘presenting’ the vas was quite difficult, but once again I didn’t actually feel anything untoward at the time. Total time in the surgery room about 25-30 minutes.

Post-op

I was driven home by my SO and spent the afternoon lounging about with an ice-pack applied every now and then and used painkillers for the rest of the day (Saturday) and all day Sunday (UK brand Co-Codamol) up to the maximum dose.

I stopped using the painkillers after Sunday night and suffered intermittent mild discomfort on the right side when moving, particularly walking. Tight-fitting underpants were worn at all times. Minimal swelling was experienced.

Early in the week I also had occasional mild pain in the lower abdomen which I assumed was a result of a bit of tugging to get at the r/h/s vas.

I’ve also read some past discussions in the newsgroup about whether the right side or the left side was more commonly difficult in cases where one side was easy and the other not so. It struck me that another way of possibly looking at this question was whether the first side was easier than the second or vice-versa.

By about Tuesday, some bruising developed on the right side near to the incision, but no bigger than about a square inch.

I had been able to take it easy at home all week which I think certainly helped. I’ve had no problems with infection, have been very careful to avoid any contact with the areas of the incision apart from a very gentle washing.

My stitches were taken out on Friday morning, six days after the vasectomy. Four stitches in total, two on each side, all in order apart from a little ongoing intermittent discomfort on the right-side. Anti-inflammatory pain killers now recommended by the nurse if required, though the sensation isn’t really bad enough to warrant this so I probably won’t.

Advice offered at the time of the operation itself was to abstain from any type of sexual activity for the two weeks after the op, to avoid any risk of causing damage to the work done during surgery.

The NHS around here has a set duration before testing the samples, so I have to wait until mid-March for the first test and mid-April for the second and submit them to the pathology lab of the local General Hospital at that time. They will not test any earlier than this regardless of how many ejaculations have taken place.

Submitted by Andy