Jason’s experience: Childless by choice – Vasectomy at a young age

My wife and I met when we were sophomores in college. We married a year later at age 21. Early in our relationship, we both made our feelings clear about our desire not to have children. Even when I was a teenager I never imagined myself with children. These feelings went beyond the typical teenager’s inability to contemplate the future. In my case, I knew I didn’t want children. Fortunately, my wife felt the same way. As an added incentive for us, my wife is a carrier of the hemophilia gene.

After we were married my wife used the pill until her doctor determined that it was the cause of her debilitating headaches. We next resorted to condoms that were awkward at best-especially for a married couple. Despite their limitations, we continued to use them for a time. Eventually, my wife mentioned she was interested in having a tubal ligation. After a little more research into surgical sterilization, we agreed that a vasectomy for me was the cheapest and safest choice.

The first doctor we talked to flatly refused to do the surgery because of my age (23). The second doctor we consulted agreed to perform the surgery provided we attend a counseling session. We did meet with the doctor who didn’t try to talk me out of having the vasectomy. He simply wanted to make sure we understood the ramifications of what we were doing. Satisfied with our answers he then scheduled an appointment for two weeks later. The doctor’s nurse gave me an informational packet explaining what to do and what not to do before surgery. She told me to shave my scrotum on the day of surgery. She also told me to bring a jockstrap. The doctor also asked if I would participate in a study he was conducting to determine the average length of time that elapses before sterility is confirmed. He asked me to abstain from sexual activity during the three days prior to surgery when he would collect a semen sample to determine my pre-vasectomy sperm count. The count later turned out to be 92 million/ml.

The procedure: July 28, 1995

The next two weeks went by quickly until I realized that I was a day away from getting snipped. The night before surgery I hardly slept. The next morning I got up, showered, and then carefully shaved my scrotum clean. I admit that after looking down and seeing my bare and now vulnerable scrotum I did have a brief moment of doubt about the whole thing. After all, everything down there was working just fine. It was only a fleeting moment, however.

Since it was the middle of summer I dressed purely for comfort in a T-shirt and a baggy pair of soccer shorts. After signing all of the necessary forms at the doctor’s office my wife sat in the waiting room I went into the bathroom and “produced” a sample for the doctor’s study. I then changed into a hospital gown and followed the nurse down the hall to the room where the doctor performed the vasectomies. I climbed into what looked like an oversized dentist’s chair and waited. The doctor came in ready for business. The assistant draped a sheet over my midsection and pulled my testicles through a hole. They then scrubbed down my scrotum with antiseptic. He felt around and located the vas. The doctor then warned me that he was preparing to inject me with an anesthetic. The initial shot was painful, although it only lasted a few seconds. I’m not sure but I think he then injected anesthetic directly into the vas. He made a small incision on the left side and pulled the vas through the opening and clamped it in two places. Although I couldn’t see anything, the doctor gave a good “play-by-play” account. He asked the last time if I was absolutely sure I wanted it done. After I gave the go-ahead he made two quick snips to the vas, cauterized both ends, and then placed small titanium clips on each end. I estimate he removed about an inch of the vas. He repeated the procedure on the other side and then put a couple of dissolving stitches in each incision. After only thirty minutes I was finished. The nurse prepared a bandage in my jockstrap and handed it to me. When I got up out of the chair I felt a pull on my tender genitals. The snug jockstrap definitely helped counteract gravity. I left the office with instructions-frozen peas for swelling, Tylenol 3 for pain, and no sexual activity for a week.

Post-vasectomy

After surgery, my wife drove me home where I took up residence on the sofa. That afternoon I experienced quite a bit of swelling and bruising which subsided after about four days. Bleeding was minimal. The pain was more like a dull ache-like the after-effects of a kick to the groin as opposed to the initial impact. I wore a jockstrap for about two weeks before switching to briefs. After another week I dared to wear boxers again. I have experienced a few minor side effects such as occasional aching in my testicles. This occurs very infrequently and really isn’t much of a problem. After about eight months epididymitis developed in both testicles. I could actually feel the enlarged structure on the back of each testicle. The condition cleared up suddenly after about two weeks. My urologist believes I had what he calls a “blowout” where the epididymis actually ruptures due to a buildup of pressure. He also said that the blowout was one indication that I would require a more difficult procedure if I ever decided to have a reversal. I’m not considering one so that’s no problem.

On Monday night after surgery, we had sex using a condom of course. Upon ejaculation, I felt a tremendous pain that stayed with me for several minutes. I learned my lesson and abstained for the rest of the week. The following Friday I went back for a post-vasectomy analysis. The results: 750,000/ml, number of ejaculations since vas (2). The next Friday I went back for another count. The results: (0) live but a sizable number of non-motile sperm, number of ejaculations since vas (6). The next Friday I went back for yet another count. The results: sterility- no sperm present, number of ejaculations since vas (10), number of weeks (3).

When the nurse told me the news I didn’t know how to react. At first, I felt really strange-like a part of me was lost. I felt less-whole for a while. I think the knowledge of having a healthy sperm count before the vasectomy sparked some of the negative feelings. For several days I almost felt like others could tell just by looking at me that I was now sterile. I felt a little uncomfortable around my single friends who hadn’t been snipped. These feelings only lasted a few days. I snapped out soon enough when I realized that my wife and I could, at last, have a healthy sexual relationship without worrying about an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. We didn’t get around to telling our families until two years later. Now, almost five years after the fact I’m glad I had it done. I have no regrets.

Submitted by Jason