Steve’s experience: Steve gets the snip

Ok, I wrote a book about this. If you want the Cliff Notes version… I had a NSV 6 days ago. I seem to be fine.

My wife and I had decided that vasectomy made the most sense for our situation. We have a four-year-old boy, and though more children might have been nice, we were reluctant to try again. We are both getting close to 40 and my wife had some medical complications that made very pregnancy risky. After our son was born, my wife got quite ill. Luckily, she is fine now. We got lucky once and we are thankful for the son we have.

We were both tired of rubbers, while they do have some pretty nice ones these days, it still interrupted the moment. For medical reasons, the pill was not an option. I figured that she had been through enough surgery and some of the things I had read about the tubal really set me against it. Vasectomy seemed like the sensible solution and would not only provide reliable birth control, it would give us the spontaneity that we both truly desired. I had done quite a bit of research on the web and did have some reservations due to reports of a growing percentage of vasectomized men having chronic pain for months or permanently. Still, I decided to at least see a urologist.

I got a referral from my doctor, who basically had no opinion, he just picked one in the area. My wife was required to attend the consultation, and the whole thing got off to a bad start. They had lost all my paperwork, and the insurance was a mess, too. We were ushered into an examination room to see a short video explaining the procedure. Afterward, the doctor came in and gave us some more paperwork, and a vasectomy pamphlet that basically covered everything in the video. Then he quickly described the procedure again and asked for questions. I questioned him about the No-Scalpel technique and he quickly snubbed it saying that it was just a gimmick and barbaric. He had never heard of the open-end method either, though I wasn’t set on it anyway. He asked us to talk about it for a few minutes and left the room. We talked about it and decided to go ahead. He came back in and said that all I needed to do is sign the consent form and see the receptionist. I signed and he handed me four Rx’s. We scheduled for a Friday two weeks later.

I thought about the consultation and the whole concept for days. It occupied my thoughts constantly. Finally, I went to my wife and told her I was having second thoughts about the whole thing. The thought of ruining what I considered to be a wonderful sex life with my wife because of permanent pain was more than I was willing to risk. My wife was understanding and mentioned that she really was not that crazy about the doctor. The other thing that really concerned me was the number of Rx’s that the doctor gave me. Valium (ok, relaxed is better), then something to prevent nausea, antibiotics before and after to prevent infection, and then painkillers- before and after. I have not seen anything on any other web site mentioning so many Rx’s for a normal vasectomy. My wife thought we should ask around and maybe see another urologist. Since I drive right by this Urologists’ office every day, I went in to cancel the vasectomy in person and return the prescriptions. I talked to the nurse there and told her I had gotten cold feet and wanted to cancel. She asked why and I told her that I had read some disturbing information saying as much 20 percent of men had severe pain that lasted years or never resolved itself at all. Just then I heard some loud snickering and two of the young office girls stuck their heads around the corner to see who was at the desk and then disappeared, giggling some more. I knew right then I had made the right decision.

For the next couple of weeks, I searched the internet for more information. One of the things that did bother me about nearly all of these pages with the information against vasectomy is that when you clicked on a link for more information it was almost always dead.

Finally, I tripped up on the www.vasectomy-information.com. Finally! A web site that had some decent information. But best of all, it had the survey! And it had some answers that I was looking for! So after spending some time checking out the page and some of the links to the newsgroups I felt more comfortable about getting a vasectomy. In addition, I finally got up the nerve to ask some friends and was surprised a number of them had done it or knew somebody that did. My wife asked her friends and co-workers, too! Nobody reported any long term problems, and some of them had done it 20+ years ago.

My wife works in a medical field and one of the doctors she works with highly recommended a Urologist in the building. We had a consultation two weeks later (funny, no requirement for the wife to attend this one, either.. but she wanted to). The office was run in a very organized and professional manner. The doctor gave us a couple of sheets of information and then sat down and described the procedure. He was blunt and to the point, had a dry sense of humor, but he was confident and quite likable. He used the NSV procedure but didn’t think the Open-End procedure was the greatest idea. I was adamant about the NSV method, but not so sure about the Open-End aspect. On our way out we decided to schedule the procedure and sign all the forms then and there. He gave me a single Rx for 1 Valium. The only snag was that his Friday vasectomy slots were booked up for the next 6 weeks.

I had now been dealing with the vasectomy question for over 3 months. I have to tell you that the worst part of the whole thing was waiting. Knowing that at some point one of your most sensitive body parts is going to get a hole poked in it and some tubes cut, tied, and stuffed back inside was unnerving. It would have been much nicer to go in go to the consultation and have him say “O.k. great, step into the little room”.

So the day finally gets here. My wife and I both have the day off, which was great. I took a shower and shaved my whole scrotum as instructed. Then we went out to lunch and did some shopping. As requested, I called an hour before the procedure to make sure everything is on schedule. Everything is a go and I take my Valium. We hit one more store and then it’s time to get snipped.

We sat in the waiting room for about 1/2 hour and then I was called in. A nurse left the room, she gave me a paper drape and told me to strip from the waist down and then lie on the table. When she came back in, she cleaned my balls with Betadine and then placed sterile drapes around my crotch. We talked and joked the whole time. A few minutes later, the doctor came in and started. It didn’t take long, and the first injection was the worst part. We chatted and he tried to keep me at ease. He made one hole and pulled one vas through. I did feel a considerable sharp tugging sensation in my balls. He injected a bit more pain medication and went on. He snipped out about 1 centimeter, then tied and cauterized the ends and put them back in and sewed 1 end in. He did the same to the other vas. It was done. The nurse cleaned me up and then left the room. I put on my jock and got dressed. I got to the cashier’s desk. Nothing to sign, my insurance covered all but the $10 co-pay. She gave me an Rx for Tylox and off I went. My wife drove me home, put me on the couch, and gave me the remotes. I put a bag of frozen peas in my crotch and started writing this. So far so good.

I spent the remainder of the weekend on the couch for the most part, with frozen peas planted on my crotch. I watched a lot of TV and did a lot of research on political candidates (that alone shows you how really bored I was). My wife took good care of me and put up with an awful lot from our 4-year-old boy, who sensed that something amiss and took full advantage of the situation. I have to tell you guys, that those of you that have had a vasectomy, and went home to “see if things still worked” that very night are either full of bull or were highly medicated. Masturbation and/or sex were the furthest thing from my mind. My balls hurt.

I returned to work Monday. Still pretty sore, and uncomfortable to some degree. Though I got through it ok. By Tuesday, I am feeling a lot better. It is now Thursday, and I feel fine. So, now it is several weeks and then on to the testing stage (maybe the wife will help!) and then the wait for the “all clear”!

Submitted by Steve