Vasectomies- What are people's experiences?

[Rorymum]

Hi all, my husband is considering a vasectomy. What can we expect? Have they worked for everyone? Thank you!

"surveys in recent years have found that almost 15% of men suffer from PVPS, with 2% of men experiencing pain intense enough to impact their quality of life"

That's from your first link. Second link doesn't work.

My caesareans were not optional and carried many benefits, up to and including a healthy live baby and avoidance of maternal death. The vasectomy was 100% optional and has benefits achievable in other ways. It is not a fair comparison. Each individual couple needs to compare elective contraceptive options.

@showofhands - that's for any degree. Under 2% impacting quality of life, and only one in 1000 requiring further surgery due to pain.
This compares pretty favourably to the rate of issues from the pills.
It is also really important to note that the long term failure rate of daily pill use or condom use is really high. The vast majority of women having abortions in the UK were using contraception but not regularly - similarly for the (high) rate of unplanned pregnancies. All of this carries a lot of risk to the woman - and some to the man also, if not necessarily physical.
I'm not saying that vasectomy is for everyone, for example, if a woman can get along with the Mirena coil that's great, but there's a lot of fear mongering about vasectomy and I think it plays into men getting to (again) push physical and mental risks onto women.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/6534499/

DH was one of the 10%

So is my DH.

Ex had one..no problems. Took him 2 years to do it.

*meant to add the second point was also about unplanned pregnancies that the women chose to go forward with.

DH had pretty grim and scary temporary complications from his (carried out by an extremely experienced urologist), but thankfully he made a full recovery with no ongoing side effects.

6 years on. Still in pain. Usual bad swelling etc but bad pain and severed blood vessel. Further surgery a year later which was nasty but less painful than snip. Still in pain. Then 2 rounds of injections directly into one nut. No relief.

6 months after second op, started feeling tired. Insisted on full blood tests. Everything fine except Testosterone was 5 and not around 20. Been on replacement therapy for 3 years. Tried injections every two weeks and gel. Went vack to gell as injections were painful for a week out of two.

Testosterone still not great and my sex drive is still low. GP nor Endocrinologist bothered. Had sex less than I can count on two hands last three years.

No point trying reversal as the more painful nut can't be reversed as all the plumbing was cut away, and whats the point of firing on one cylinder and going through a pregnancy risk, just because it might lessen pain.

1 in 10 is about right. Mine was at the worse end. I've even asked for them to be cut off but the Urologist wouldn't do it. I was due de-nervation operations where they strip nerves from my groin, but had to cancel, and Ive given up. Whats the point. Im useless in bed now.

PS Ive done tonnes of research and 1 in 10 is reasonable. Many link to upto 30%.

You can't fix PVPS as the nerves often get damaged as the vas is surrounded by nerves and blood vessels. Docs get a bit chop happy.

@TheFuzz I'm so sorry. Nothing more to say than that really.

10% my arse.

A few aches and pains in no way compares to the complications that women face during and after childbirth.

@HolyPieter that's a bit harsh. I keep hearing stories like @TheFuzz describes. It's quite terrifying to be honest. The permanent loss of sexual function would be devastating to most people.

Some people don't want to accept evidence-based medicine.

worse thing ever infection afterwards ongoing pain had to have it revesred to try and sort slightly better but still not pain free .Nothing they can do. NO ONE tells you properly about the risk of this when you go to have it don it's a very matter of fact and you'll have a few days of discomfort and then thats it nothing further from the truth feel very mislead and if I would of known the risk better would of thought about it very differently .You are asking the wrong person here because it went wrong bit dramatic to say biggest mistake of my life but that decision has lead to years of pain and no real option of it getting any better .There are many sucess stories so up to your husband if he wants to take the risk but he has to be prepared for it to go wrong 1 in 10 is a risk I would not recommend it at all odds too big

@holypeter
many thanks for your kind words the they are a great comfort too me and my ongoing pain . The person is asking about vasecomties experiences and people are saying it's not top trumps about pain the snip compared with child birth
not as though you will care but in our house dw 2 children 3 hour and 4 hour labour both just under 5lb gas and air no stitches and she joked afterwards not pleasant but I could do that again so in our house i certainly got the bad deal

People think its top trumps as this thread says. Its still surgery.

I refused spinal surgery due to risks, and even the consultant mentioned my bad snip. I was at no point made aware there was a risk of pain nor loss of testosterone. I might have well and just had em lopped off. We all kbow risks of childbirth.

When a doc gives you information that is correct, then you make informed choice. I didn't even have to confirm my wife was happy with it.

There are major risks. 10 percent is no small number. If you are happy with that then fine, but don't go moaning when it goes wrong.

Not much fun having an op thinking you might have carefree sex, and finding out you neither want it or can perform without taking drugs. Cheers. Whats done is done.

I was awake all night with pain, my back pain meds work for my back very well but not my nuts. Thats how much the pain cuts through.

My ex had one about 6 months before he left but seems to have healed quickly... well he was shagging someone else shortly afterwards...
My current partner had one about 15 years ago after his youngest was born. No complications but I am currently pregnant so he is one of the 1/2000 it didn’t work for obviously. Still he is going to have it done again so it can’t have been too bad painwise.

The sooner couples are given the facts of risks, like with other surgery, the better. I asked the GP that did mine to start quoting the NHS figure but he quotes 1 in 1000 which is 100x out. Why, he makes money from the NHS for every surgery. Its a quick £300 for him. 1 afternoon could easily net him over a grand over and above his GP salary.

We can't help what gender we are and as a man we only have two choices of contraception, condoms or surgery. Its not much of a choice really. Telling us it's our time to take responsibility for birth control is putting people under unneccesary pressure for surgery.

The only medical persons who told me about the risks were the Urologist and the Pain Consultant, after the snip. They said they see many men with on going complications, and the pain consultant said you won't find any pain consultants opting for the snip due to what happens.

Hmm if the people trying to help you see the consequences, why is this never mentioned before surgery.

The only thing I'd warn him about - if he decides to go ahead - is to insist the practitioner waits a few extra minutes for the local to take effect.

During the procedure, DH was in agony in one side but pain free on the other. You don't need me to tell you which side had longer to let the anaesthetic work!

Other than that, there was bruising, but then everything back to normal in about 10 days or so.

As above it's was on gp will see you now this week the doctor injected local no waiting at all went straight in cutting the guy could feel everything wasn't numb at all

DH had one. He was up and running after a few days, though he did milk the pain for a couple of days first. "Ooohhhh, I neeeeed a coffee, I can't move, could you make me a coffee, oh the pain, you have no idea...... etc". I had had my tubes tied already so a fairly pointless exercise of his, but he was showing willing or something. I ran about for him for a few days, then he got bored stuck at home and that was it.