Coping With Vasectomy

If you’re having a vasectomy soon, perhaps my experience will prepare you for the procedure. Just to give you a little background, I’m 36 year old with no kids, married twice (widowed once, just re-married). I wanted one so I could take the birth control burden off my wife, since we have no plans to have kids (unless we adopt).

It starts the night before, when you shave the, um, region. Not terribly easy if you’re a little pudgy, but doable. It helps if you have a friend (a good, good friend) to make sure you didn’t miss a spot. I was advised to have just a light breakfast, which I did, and I’m thinking that was a good thing. Oh, and you’re supposed to bring an athletic supporter with you (get it at a sport’s store, it’s cheaper).

When you get to the doctor’s office, you wait until the doc sees you and checks on the shaving. Mine was fine, so I went right to the procedural room. I was told to keep my shirt and socks on, which is nice to keep you from getting too cold. A doctor and a nurse then have you hop up onto the table, lie back and they put a paper cloth with a hole cut out over the site.

What happens after that is a mystery. It seems they somehow snip through the skin at the base of the shaft, snip the tubes and then sew everything up. In terms of pain and discomfort, there are a few moments of that. I’d estimate it as being as bad as the worst accidental hit to the groin you’ve had, but not as bad as when someone does it on purpose. And the lingering, nauseating pain doesn’t last as long. My doc said some people do pass out, and the best thing you can do to help the procedure is BREATHE. The whole thing took about 30 minutes or a little less. When it’s done, you simply put on something very supportive (“Gravity is not your friend” I was told) and head out to the front desk. I was given a prescription for a strong pain killer “just in case you need it”.

I was told to have someone drive you home, and I have to say that’s probably a good idea. Right afterward, you’re not feeling much pain because of the anesthetic, but you have a sense of delicacy. I went home and basically stayed in bed and played Playstation games for the rest of the evening, aside from getting up to have dinner with my wife. I never experienced any major pain, and two Tylenol was all I needed that day. I was a little sore and had a minor lingering pain, but that’s all.

The next day, I pretty much did the same thing. To be honest, I was a little concerned that the, um, equipment, might not work as well after the procedure. I checked in the morning, and everything worked fine. I did go out to dinner with my wife later on (she wisely asked for a booth with padded seating), but pretty much stayed in and rested. The next day, I rested a lot but was a little more active.

The worst part of the whole process is the personal limitation. No heavy lifting, no strenuous exercise, no bike riding, no hot tub. The honest truth is that 5 days after the procedure, I had to do some serious digging in my yard to repair a broken water line. And a few days later I went in the hot tub, and rode the scooter a couple days after that. And when the stitches stuck out a bit, I snipped them down to a comfortable level. I wouldn’t advise any of that to anyone, but it’s good to know that if an emergency came up, doing any of these things might not be a problem.

At the 10 day mark, I went back and the doctor checked out the scar, and it looked fine. Three days later, the scar fell off. The skin beneath is sensitive and a little raw, but I can still walk 2 miles in an hour with no noticeable pain or discomfort.

That’s my story. Everything works fine for me so far. Good luck!