Clark’s experience: One month after my vasectomy

During the spring of 2003, my wife of then 14 years began to bring up the subject of a vasectomy. At age 37 she was beginning to worry about the possible complications that could result from a birth-control “accident.” Although she was primarily thinking about medical complications, at age 44 I was concerned a bit more about financial “complications.”

We have never had children, and I had always been under the belief that the reason was that I had been “dragging my feet”. We both work, but neither of us has ever made any real money. Still, with no kids to support, we had been able to live a fairly modest middle-class lifestyle. A small, older 2-bedroom one-bath house, but in a “good” part of town, and so forth. Certainly not a “ritzy” lifestyle, but comfortable. The arrival of a child would certainly change that situation. One of us would have to quit working for a least a while, and expenses would be up while income would be down. I was starting to think about retirement; diapers, summer camp, and college tuition did not fit into that daydream.

As it turned out, my wife was not all that keen about having children, either. I had always assumed that she wanted them; she was apparently assuming that I wanted them. Actually, all she wanted was for the more prolific members of my family to stop “bugging” her as to when we were going to have children.

So we were both pretty much in agreement that couples should not have children unless they are really wanted, and we both agreed that we did not “really” want children.

But she was tired of tending-to the birth control and becoming increasingly worried at the prospects of a failure. I certainly had no arguments there, but I was not keen on the idea of having the vasectomy for another reason; I detest needles in any form and medical procedures of any variety. I have always had a problem with becoming “light-headed” in such situations, and had in fact fainted during the most reason, rather minor, procedure. So, I kinda hoped that the subject of vasectomies would “die” and go away.

Well, my wife did not let it die. Come early in fall 2003 she delivered an ultimatum; either I have the vasectomy, or she would do the “tube” thing. She has a medical condition that might make elective surgery unwise (and maybe make childbirth unwise as well) so that put the ball back in my court, so to speak, where I did not want it. But after a couple of days of due consideration, I decided that I would have it done. At that point, I hit the internet in an effort to find out just how “icky” this was going to be and what my chances of shaming myself by fainting or possibly worse would be.

What I discovered floored me; I had always heard that a vasectomy was a safe and simple procedure with little risk. What I found was many stories of men suffering side-effects, some of which were severe. It seemed like every time I searched the internet, I found yet another “victim” of a vasectomy. Further digging turned-up quotes from medical journal articles, lending a bit of credence to these stories. Everywhere I looked for answers, I instead found questions.

One big question was how much of this was my wife aware of? Had she heard nothing of complications, as I had, or was she fully aware of these stories and yet still wanted me to have the vasectomy? Do I show her this stuff, or would that look as if I was attempting to “weasel out” of having it down?

I finally decided to sit the wife down at the computer with a few links to follow; the answer was that she had heard none of this before, and after a few days of discussion we agreed that I would not be having the vasectomy. As my wife said later, she assumed it was a “dead issue.”

Well, I could not leave well enough alone; I did not want to walk away from this simply because it frightened me (and it scared me half-to-death) but if it truly appeared to be a risky procedure I certainly did not want to rush blindly into it. So for round #2, it was I who brought up the subject of vasectomy.

Through some connections we have at a medical library, we were able to obtain copies of medical journal articles, reviews, and studies that were either unavailable on the internet or available only by subscription. I spent hours reading these things and searching further on the internet, trying to find some definitive answer to just how risky having a vasectomy was. Eventually, the stack of paper, both the journal article copies and also items printed-off the internet, reached 2.75 inches in thickness (about 7 cm for those of you who can’t handle inches).

I never found what I considered to be a “good” answer.

Few of the medical studies on vasectomy agree on the level of risk of complication, and certainly, one is left with the impression that, for a procedure that has been performed for decades, on possibly millions of men, there seems to be little interest in studying the side-effects.

With no hard answers, I was going to have to weigh the risk in another fashion, and that is what I did. I decided that the risk of complications, both medical and financial, of a pregnancy out-weighed the possible risks to my health.

That was a personal decision and I in no way presume that I could make such a decision for anyone else, or that another’s situation might not be different than mine. In other words, I am not telling you to “follow my lead.”

I scheduled an appointment with a Urologist located close to home, but then later canceled it when I began to have doubts about his qualifications. At that point, my wife and I did some research and found a urological surgeon who was not only an assistant professor at a local medical school of some repute, as well as on the staff of a hospital rated among the top ten in urological procedures in a recent issue of U.S. News and World Reports, but had also graduated from a medical school I had actually heard of (Mount Sinai). Although he is featured on the medical group’s website, there is little mention of vasectomies, in contrast to many of the web sites I had seen. His specialty is reconstructive surgery.

We had to schedule the initial consultation more than a month in advance, and so began the waiting game. Since this extended over the holiday period, it made for a rather unpleasant holiday season.

The initial consultation, on Jan. 7th, did not go extremely well, in my opinion; the doctor was behind schedule and we had to wait almost an hour past the appointment time. Then when he did get around to us, it was a “whirlwind” meeting. I brought up the subject of the long-term complications, which he rapidly dismissed. In answer to my question, he said he would perform an “open-ended,” and occasionally had someone request one, but felt that the risk of complication was much less than the risk of a vasectomy failure.

We left with an appointment to return on Feb 9th for the procedure.

The intervening month was no more pleasant than the holiday season had been.

On the morning of Feb 9th (a Monday) we headed off to the appointment early; I had both a sedative and also a pain killer that I was supposed to take 45 minutes beforehand, and was somewhat concerned that they might impair my mobility to the extent that I thought it wise to at least be in the building when I took them. The doctor was only moderately late this time around, and I passed the time in the waiting room by walking around and attempting to judge just how much the drugs were affecting me, which did not seem to be too much. Eventually, I was called in.

Perhaps the drugs were affecting me more than I realized as I don’t seem to have a lot of memories of the procedure itself, other than it was over fairly quick. The doctor and a woman (who I assumed was a nurse) were in there, and I distinctly remember that the doctor “pinched” me before proceeding to ensure that the local was taking effect (he had to wait a minute or two on one side, as I felt the “pinch”). I remember hearing the “sizzle” of the cauterizing that others have described. Following his advice, I had the “closed-end” version.

One thing that was completely absent was the light-headedness; I suppose that may be due to the drugs, but at no time was that a problem. After the procedure, the doctor helped me pull-on my supporter and briefs (I had brought both) and it was out to the hallway to sit just a couple of minutes and collect specimen containers and paperwork. Five minutes later we were out the door.

Although I am sure having a vasectomy can never be considered a “pleasant” experience, I must say that mine was about as minimally “unpleasant” as I imagine such a thing could be. I do have to agree with those who have said that having a tooth pulled was worse. I have had both done and that was true for me.

The recovery was uneventful, to say the least; the bruising I expected never happened, and although I was prescribed a pain-killer, I did not take any of it, nor any “over-the-counter” pain killers. There simply was no pain. On Wed. I went into work (desk job) for a half-day, and on Thursday it was back to work full time. The only physical activity I get into is walking, and within five days I was back to walking three to four miles each day. I did wear the supporter-briefs combo for a bit more than a week.

We still have about two weeks until the first fertility test, but everything else has been thoroughly “tested” and seems to work just as it did before.

I will post another update when I have some “test” results, but to this point, I have no problems and no regrets. Things have worked out extremely well for me, but my satisfaction is somewhat tempered by the knowledge that it sometimes does not “work out well” for others.

Update March 26, 2004

Although I doubt any such procedure could be truly “pleasant”, mine had to be about as minimally “unpleasant” as such a thing could be. There was next-to-no pain during; and no pain or bruising afterward. I was back to my “everyday” routine within one week.

This morning (March 25, 2004) I dropped off the first semen sample at the Doctor’s office, and then called for the results of the test in the afternoon.

There were still sperm present. Obviously not good news.

But I had been of the opinion that 6 weeks seemed like a very short time for the first test; most of what I read indicated that 12 weeks was more common, with one or two doctors recommending 20 weeks. So at this point, it is certainly way too early to consider that the procedure has “failed.” Between now and the next test (April 8th) I will make every attempt to “flush” the “system” (although I had already been doing just that).

Although this is a bit of a “let-down,” it does not appear to be anything really unusual. I will post an update after the next test. Other than that, everything else has been just fine; no problems of any sort.

Update April 8, 2004

Today (April 8th) I took in the second semen sample. As previously stated, I “failed” the first test which was at 6 weeks post-vas; the second test was at 8 weeks.

This time the news was good – no sperm present. I take in a third sample in another 2 weeks and if that one is “clear” as well, I am officially sterile.

In one way, “failing” the first test has had some positive results. As I have no children (that I am aware of) and have never been tested for fertility, I did not “know” for certain that I was fertile. Now that question has been answered.

Still do not have any problems as far as pain/discomfort is concerned. Occasionally, I think that I may feel the “fullness” or pressure that some have written off, but it is so faint that I am not certain of that.

I really don’t have much else to pass along; some have asked if the appearance or volume changes – I have noticed no change in the 15 ejaculations that occurred between the “positive” test and the “negative” test. For those curious, I had about 20 between the vas and the first test.

I have mentioned before that during all of this I was also trying to lose weight, and was concerned that the vas would interfere with that. On Oct 23 2003 I weighed in at 245 pounds. After about 168 days, I have arrived at my target weight of 159 pounds and am now trying to strike a balance between eating more than I have been, and staying under 160 pounds.

By the way, I had read on a website that, for every 30 extra pounds one weighs, one loses one inch of “length” due to fat build-up. And although I don’t know if the ratio is exactly the same, I can say that generally speaking, the inverse of that statement is true as well.

To the comments from others concerning weight loss; I pretty much maintained the same rate of loss before as well as after. I know I was @ 207 lbs on Jan 7th, the date of the initial consultation, and I believe that I was around 187 or so on Feb 9th, the date of the “snip.” I don’t think the vas “helped” any, but it surely did not “hurt” me any. I was worried about “falling off the wagon” during any “down-time.”

I will post another update after the third (and hopefully last) semen test, and will probably also have some sort of “conclusion” statement to make, as by then I will have gone through the whole process (decision, anticipation, occurrence, aftermath, and conclusion).

I intend to wait until the third test, and a written verification before I go “naked,” so to speak. I don’t want to have gone this far and screw-it-up when I am just about “safe!”

Update April 24, 2004

Went in for my third semen test on Thursday, 04/22/04. Well, I “flunked” the third test; the sperm is back. Was so taken-aback that I did not think to ask the “motile” question. Since one is not considered sterile until (2) clear tests, I will have to go for at least a 5th test as well.

I now have orders to have no ejaculations between now and two weeks from now, when I will go for a fourth test. Up until this point, the recommendation WAS to have as many as possible; why this is now changed I do not know, but I was unable to talk to the doctor directly, and as it is still early in the game I will give it some time and see what happens.

In all seriousness, I don’t anticipate a problem; I have gone longer “with-out” for various reasons in the past! To tell you the truth, it had been a real “push” to get in as many ejaculations as possible up to this point, and it was taking all of the fun out of it. I was ready for a bit of rest.

Since the next (4th) test will be at 12 weeks post-vas, which is when a lot of people go in for their first test, I guess things are not really going that bad. Still, It was kind of a let-down. I anticipated that I would be writing a “conclusion” to my story here, but instead am writing that there is more to follow.

Indecently, I phoned for the test results and the person on the phone confused me with another patient at first, and that poor feller “flunked” his test as well! Don’t know which test he flunked. Obviously, there was a problem when someone else’s results were told to me, but then everyone has a bad day now and again. They do have quite of bit of notices posted around the building reminding personnel of privacy requirements. And knowing someone else flunked made me feel a bit better (at his expense!)

Considering that I made it this far with virtually none of the pain/problems that so many on this board talk about, I will cut them some slack on this one issue.

If there is a lesson for others here, it is to not take one “clear” test as an “all-clear” to “ditch” the alternative birth-control methods. And to be sure to complete all the tests!

Update May 23, 2004

I went in for my fifth sperm test on Thursday, May 20; no sperm present, so finally some good news.

This particular clinic only tests on Thursdays, from 07:00 to 09:00 in the morning. I had been arriving right at 07:00 and had been the only one there for the previous “sample drop-offs,” but this time there was another guy with his little brown paper bag there. The nurse went through her standard, “what’s your name” and then the next phrase which is “take the sample out of the bag, make sure the lid is screwed-on tight, and set it right there on the counter.” which is then followed a moment later by “what time was the sample collected?”

I was glad to get out of there, and very much hope the next test is the last!

Update June 8, 2004

Today (Monday, June 7th) I went in for my 6th semen test; No sperm present. Since I also “passed” the 5th test, I have now reached the desired goal of 2 consecutive tests passed.

I was supposed to have had the test on Thursday (I was told this clinic only tests on Thursdays), but they rescheduled it for Monday.

First, for those of you (and there are some) who have to know if I have “consummated” my newly-acquired non-fertile status yet, the answer is no I have not. That will come in due time (poor pun).

Certainly, this has been a strange experience for me. As I have said all along, it has been remarkably-free of physical pain. I occasionally have a very slight “dull’ ache on the left side, as many others have described; enough to be noticeable but certainly not enough to affect what-ever I happen to be doing at the time. I am not even sure if it can be attributed to the vasectomy, to tell the truth. In the weeks leading up to the operation, I became acutely aware of every ache and discomfort that occurred in that region, and there was a surprisingly large number of them. I can only assume that, until I actually thought about them, I never really noticed them before.

On the mental front, I am still satisfied that I made the correct decision for me; there are no regrets. Yet the thought that the “potential” has been removed seems strange. Maybe just because the “potential” had been there for so long.

On a more practical note, when I received the good news over the phone concerning the 6th test, I asked if I would receive some written confirmation of having “passed” the tests; the reply was that they normally did not send out any such notice. I was wondering if others received anything “in writing.”

Update August 12, 2004

Six months ago I underwent a vasectomy; closed-end, cauterized. To this day, the experience has been virtually pain-free, bruising-free, and problem-free.

I remain totally amazed at how well this has turned out for me, as even under the best of circumstances I expected to experience some measure of discomfort, but there was absolutely none.

To this day I remain 100-percent convinced that this was the correct decision for me to make, and I am extremely pleased with the way things have turned out.

I am also aware that, for others, things have sometimes not gone very well and I wish I knew what made the difference, but I do not.

I really do not have much else to say, as my life has long since gone back to the normal routine (read; rut) that I was in before, with the solitary exception that conception is no longer a concern.

That’s about the whole of my story; I wish I had some profound words of wisdom for those contemplating having this procedure, but I can’t really think of anything. To this point things have worked out as well as I could have hoped, and better than I had expected.

Update November 13, 2004

After 9 months (the significance of the time period is not lost on me) I have yet to experience any pain, any discomfort, or any physical problems at all.

I rarely even think about it anymore, and I certainly have no regrets. It was the right choice for me, but I will not say that it is the right choice for everyone. I am also fully aware that some experience lingering physical problems and I wish I could isolate the reason that I was able to avoid such problems.

Thanks to all who posted their stories before mine, and I hope that my ramblings might be of some assistance to those whose stories are yet to be written. I will post again in early Feb 2005, when it has been one full year.

Final update February 19th, 2005

One year ago (actually, one year and a few days) I had a vasectomy. I assume my story is still posted to the website; to tell you the truth I have not looked lately. This is something that I just do not think about anymore (actually forgot and missed the anniversary date; Feb 9th).

Quite a change in attitude compared to the month or so before the vasectomy, when I could think of nothing else.

I guess the fact that I don’t even think about it any more tells you quite a bit about how things are going. Never had any problems, never had any pain or other after-effects. Other than a few “positives” on the tests, everything has gone exceeding well.

I do recommend going back for the tests; sometimes it takes a little longer than anticipated before one is “safe.”

As I have said in the past, this has turned out to be the right decision for me, without a doubt. But it is a decision that everyone has to make for himself; I will share my story, but I will not try to convince anyone to do as I have.

This will probably be my last “update;” I have shared my experiences as a way of thanking those who, in the past, shared their experiences here and helped me to make my own decision. I went into this with the full knowledge that there would probably be no problems but that a few had suffered greatly. It was because of those who shared their stories that I felt that I made an informed decision as to the risks and rewards involved.

Wishing happiness to all.

Submitted by Clark