Dan’s experience: My vasectomy experience in the USA

For what it’s worth, I would like to share my experiences with your group. I am thankful to have found your site before I had my vasectomy done. It was very reassuring to go back and read to see if I was alone in this or if everything was normal.

I had my vasectomy done just over two weeks ago. Had the traditional, two-incisions with titanium clips. The initial visit took about five minutes. The doctor wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. After explaining that I was forty, married sixteen years, and had two kids, he dispensed with the formalities, described the surgery, told me to show up clean-shaven and with a jockstrap.

It all seemed pretty straight-forward. I spent way too much time worrying about shaving. I will offer a tip: Take a long hot shower, lather well, and use a safety razor, preferably the kind with wires in front of the blades to prevent nicks. I used shower gel – very smooth. Then lots and lots of lotion afterward.

The vasectomy

When I arrived for the procedure, a nurse asked if I needed to empty my bladder. Then she left me in the exam room. Another doctor in the practice came in and had me take off my pants and lay down. He taped my penis out of the way and prepped me with a Betadine wash that was very wet and cold. I learned that doctors don’t make jokes about the temperature or the procedure. They must have heard it all by now.

About five minutes later, my doctor came in and began the procedure. Like everyone else has said, the worst part was the shots. They really do feel like going to the dentist. Beyond that, the surgery was fast. As I stared at the ceiling, the doctor carried on a conversation about pretty much anything. I felt nothing, not even discomfort or tugging. He showed me the little metal clips before he put them in. After he was done, he got my athletic support underwear out of my shorts pocket and helped me put them on. I appreciated that. The whole thing took less than twenty minutes.

After the procedure

I drove myself home. My wife picked up the Vicodin and antibiotics that the nurse had phoned into my local pharmacy. I followed the doc’s instructions to the letter. Two days of ice and bed rest. My turn to be pampered on the couch. I wore the athletic underwear for a solid week, 24 hours a day. I was thankful to have bought several pairs. Went back to work after three days. (It was a long weekend.) I occasionally iced in the evening when I came home from work. I took a few pain pills at first just to avoid any discomfort. After that, Ibuprofen did the trick. I had no swelling. A small amount of bruising showed up around day 5. At about day 10, the itching of hair growing back was driving me crazy. Hydrocortisone cream helped immensely. One incision “wept” a very slight discharge for about a week and a half. When I had just decided to call the doctor, it cleared right up. At two weeks, the stitches have dissolved and the incisions are all but gone.

I was back in the saddle after a week. Just take it easy and don’t push yourself. All in all, the whole thing was no big deal and well worth it. I’m like a kid with a new toy.

Submitted by Dan