How can you get cleared faster for unprotected sex after a vasectomy?

November 1, 2008 2:25 PM

I have some post-vasectomy questions.

We've thought of a lot of questions since my husband got a vasectomy about 6 weeks ago. We'd ask the doc but he has no plans to see him again.

He had his first post-procedure sampling Friday and the result was that he's not clear yet (there's still residual sperm in his semen) and will get tested again in a month. Is there anything to do to hasten the clearing of the sperm from his system? Should he be masturbating a lot in order to clean the pipes out? If you've gone through this, how long did it take you to get the "all clear"?

From what I gather, now that the procedure if done, even though the sperm is still being produced, it doesn't make it into the semen, right? But where does the sperm go? I've heard that it gets "reabsorbed", but what does that mean? Is there sperm free-floating in his body (I'm guessing not but am still wondering where it goes)? How long does sperm "live" inside his body before it dies or is reabsorbed?

posted by otherwordlyglow to health & fitness (6 answers total)

Should he be masturbating a lot in order to clean the pipes out?

That's what my doctor recommended. That and sex, as long as we were using another kind of birth control.

If you've gone through this, how long did it take you to get the "all clear"?

All clear at one month. My doctor also recommends yearly checks to make sure there is no spontaneous reattachment -- very rare, but possible.
posted by Rock Steady at 2:39 PM on November 1, 2008

About a month is right. He may get some kind of documentation he can frame and put on the wall above the bed. :)

And from here: Most websites say they are "Harmlessly re-absorbed into the body". This doesn't answer the question that still remains in peoples minds - "How, exactly?". ALL men (vasectomised or not) produce sperm that are reabsorbed back into the body. In fact 40%-50% of sperm you produce is reabsorbed. Sperm go from the Testicle to the Epididymus for storage and maturing. It takes about a month to mature them. Whilst in the Epididymus, excess fluid content is re-absorbed through membranes, and solid content is broken down and reabsorbed through the membranes by macrophages (Cell eaters present in all organs and the blood).
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 2:46 PM on November 1, 2008

A lot of the stuff that I read said to get tested the first time after a month or 15-20 orgasms and for a lot of people it would take another month to get the all all clear. Me and my fella had the HILARIOUS occurence of getting the all-clear after the first test and then getting a phone call a few weeks later saying "erm, not exactly all clear..." after we'd been having unprotected sex for a month (no, I did not get pregnant).

Two tests later -- and three months after the actual procedure -- we got the NONE SEEN result which means no sperm, not even dead ones [which was the problem before a few dead stragglers isn't sufficient to give you the 100% all clear which is what the lady at the desk I guess didn't know] and explicit thumbs up for explicit activity at that point. Feel free to call the doc back and say "hey, he's been masturbating a lot, can we get an earlier test?" if you're ootchy about it and MeMail me if you have other questions.
posted by jessamyn at 3:37 PM on November 1, 2008

15-20 orgasms before the retest ought to do it, in our experience.

We kept count on the message board on the fridge. Your household may not be as tolerant of such antics.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 4:03 PM on November 1, 2008 [2 favorites]

Sorry to bring this up, but you need two 'all clear' tests.
posted by lukemeister at 6:50 PM on November 1, 2008

I have an extra brother because Daddy didn't wait for the "all clear". Beware!
(But he's a pretty nice brother ;-) )
posted by what-i-found at 11:18 PM on November 1, 2008