Vasectomy Complications?

January 11, 2011 9:40 PM

Vasectomy freak-out! Someone talk me down from this! Ok, so we've had enough kids and I've decided to pit the cherries. I am freaking out about the possibility of chronic pain. I know the statistical likelihood and my doctor is saying his rate is quite low, but I need to know: is it a real thing? Does anyone have it? How bad is it? Does open-ended really make it better?
posted by hammurderer to Health & Fitness (29 answers total)

Eh. It's no big deal. I took one Tylenol-3 immediately after the procedure and that was it.

Just one data point.
posted by mazola at 9:50 PM on January 11, 2011

Hubby said his vacectomy was no big deal. He was more freaked about it before the procedure than afterwards. Afterwards he took a couple of aspirin and a couple of days off work and was fine after that. Have you considered banking some sperm in case you change your mind about more kids in the future? Reversals don't always work.
posted by MsKim at 9:56 PM on January 11, 2011

uh, I think the poster may be referring to this, not the pain of the procedure.
posted by vivid postcard at 9:59 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

My ex-husband had a vasectomy. Except for the weekend immediately following the procedure (T3 and bags of frozen peas,) he said he had no discomfort, and nothing felt different in the workings afterwards. (And this was 17 years ago, so I bet vasectomy science has improved since then, even.)
posted by headspace at 9:59 PM on January 11, 2011

I know like nine or twelve or more guys who have had vasectomies (and a couple who have had multiples), and not one of them has had any enduring complications. Small sample size, but there you have it.
posted by KathrynT at 10:00 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

My husband's area was tender for a bit longer than we expected but everything was back to completely normal within a few weeks.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:05 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Pretty sure hammurderer is talking about long-term side effects, not immediate post-vasectomy pain. I have the chronic pain, and... it's not so bad.

Mine was closed both ends, clamps, sutured and cauterized, according to the doctor. Thirty months later, still got that ache in the scrotum, right side. I don't know how best to classify the discomfort, but I will tell you this: I'd do it all over again even with the ache. I don't notice it during sex, don't notice it walking around, don't notice it when I am doing anything really. Seated upright at my desk, I feel it, like right now. One important point: it's not at all like the pain of getting hit in the balls, at least for me. More like a week-old strain in a place where there's not supposed to be any muscle.

The doctor who performed my vasectomy has done well over two hundred and he tells me I am the first man to have any sort of long term side effect.
posted by Sternmeyer at 10:07 PM on January 11, 2011 [5 favorites]

I thought I was clear in my answer that aside from the normal pain post-procedure, I've had no problems.

Same goes for anyone in my circle of friends, though I have heard one story of complications. Apparently a guy had a buddy on his hockey team do the job (!!!) and it turned out badly. So I would recommend using an actual trained professional for this.
posted by mazola at 10:08 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Mine was tender post-op but has given me no grief at all since.
posted by flabdablet at 10:49 PM on January 11, 2011

I know the statistical likelihood and my doctor is saying his rate is quite low, but I need to know: is it a real thing? Does anyone have it?

It's a little bit of an odd question. You say you know the statistics on post-vasectomy pain syndrome, but then you want to confirm through anecdote that it's real and people have it. You've been getting a lot of answers saying "I don't know anyone who's had it" and "You'll be fine" which might sound reassuring but are ultimately not very helpful if you're still weighing up the risks. People with this relatively uncommon complication may simply not be logged in to AskMe today.

Around 15% of patients experienced troublesome testicular discomfort in one study, so there's that. Another study found thusly:

The most common complication was post-vasectomy scrotal pain in 34 men (18.7%), which adversely affected the quality of life in 4 (2.2%). In retrospect, 71.4% of the men were satisfied with the decision for vasectomy, 19.3% had equivocal feelings and 9.3% were dissatisfied.

I'd say that (and the other studies linked on the wiki page quoted earlier, one of which apparently found that 4% of patients had significant genital pain lasting for over a year) is a more useful starting point for you.
posted by dontjumplarry at 11:01 PM on January 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

"I am freaking out about the possibility of chronic pain."

I dunno what to tell you about this. In many instances, when men most want to ejaculate, their scrotum muscles pull their gonads tightly up, and shortly after, they orgasm. This is precisely the time that, if I'm going to feel any residual discomfort, that I do.

Not every time, mind you. Just a dull ache, in the exact places, at the worst wrong moment, every now and again. YMMV, from mine. Lotsa luck with all that, going forward, for the rest of your life.
posted by paulsc at 11:10 PM on January 11, 2011

My ex had a vasectomy a couple of decades before I met him, and the incisions became infected. He had trouble walking at the time, apparently, but a decent dose of antibiotics cured the infection. Despite those post-surgery complications, he never had any chronic pain, nor any problems with sex whatsoever.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 3:40 AM on January 12, 2011

None of the men I know who've had vasectomies have had chronic pain. But I will add that when I had elective surgery I became Obsessed with the small chance that something could go wrong. I woke up and Bawled because I Knew I Must be one of those people, I could Feel it. I made the nurses take off my bandages and confirm... that no, I was totally and completely fine.

So, just sympathizing that those small chances can be really worrying. Sure, they're a real thing, but they're rare.
posted by ldthomps at 5:59 AM on January 12, 2011

Yes, it is real.
Yes, men have it. My husband does. It is no where near to being debilitating for him. He describes it much like Sternmeyer does. He finds he aches more if he wears boxers or boxer briefs. When he wears regular ol briefs, they support him better and he's much more comfortable. His vasectomy was done over three years ago and he still has this issue though it is less of an issue than it was even a year ago.

I've never heard him make any sort of noise about regretting having the procedure done. He does tease me about having him fixed (like one of our dogs) when he wasn't broken in the first place.
posted by onhazier at 6:21 AM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

My husband had a twinge for maybe a little over a year, long enough that we presumed it would be chronic. It was enough to make him pause and raise an eyebrow for a moment, it was not regret-level discomfort. We've both got worse aches and pains from computer use and old minor injuries.

If you are eventually left with actual day-wrecking pain, you'd have an additional surgery to correct the issue. You're dealing with a well-documented bit of anatomy, so if you have a problem it will likely be something that can be fixed if necessary.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:39 AM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

I had mine 20 years ago. I had one day of pain and a day or two of discomfort and then I was fine. Had it on a Friday and was fine for work on Monday. No complications, no side-effects, and nothing abnormal since.

Relax. Having this done should relieve stress and worry, not cause it.
posted by tommasz at 7:33 AM on January 12, 2011

If you are into college hoops, many clinics around the country schedule something like this in order to both do the procedure, and to give men some time off to watch March Madness without the guilt or possible spousal harassment.

Looks like you are in the Bay Area. . .I would posit that you could find something like this.

And, there is no big deal to it, usually.
posted by Danf at 8:01 AM on January 12, 2011

I had it done, had the usual 2-4 day post-op discomfort (not that bad, really), and then I did have the tenderness that others have described for about a year. If something banged or brushed the boys, it seemed to get uncomfortable more easily. Then it seemed to get better, and I can't say that anything really feels different than it did pre-op, except that if I manually manipulate my scrotum when it's loose, I can feel a bit of difference in the tubing (the vas deferens? I can't remember my anatomy), and I think if I fish around I can locate the clips, but it's not painful.

I think it's one of those things where psychologically if we understand the procedure we get hung up on the idea that there will be this buildup of sperm that will cause pressure. It doesn't work that way. I read the explanations as to why that is and I can't entirely visualize what is happening, but it's not working that way.

On the up side, if you're in a monogamous relationship, condom-free, no-real-pregnancy-risk sex with a woman who's actually having the natural cycles and not the birth control-processed thing rocks.
posted by randomkeystrike at 8:29 AM on January 12, 2011

I felt the need to comment because mostly we have wives who say their husband's okay, more so than men confirming they're okay. :-)
posted by randomkeystrike at 8:30 AM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

I had my vasectomy over twenty years ago. I had the testicular pain off and on for about 15 years. It was never really that bad, just a little ache. Never enough to make me regret the procedure.
posted by Lone_Wolf at 8:48 AM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

I had it done after my wife at the time bullied me into it. Two years after the procedure, I started experiencing irregular bouts of debilitating pain - I could not walk. The period between attacks could be days or months.

In the end, I had a reversal to treat the pain - quite expensive as it is microsurgery to reconnect the vas-deferens. No pain for nearly a decade since. The surgeon told me that two different methods had been used to perform the original vasectomies - one side was cut and sutured; the other was cut and cauterized. The cauterized side was causing a inflammatory reaction, presumably my immune system reacting against the denatured proteins.

Obviously this is an n of 1 - but the pain was real and awful. Imagine being kicked in the testicles over several hours, exacerbated by *any* movement. It also took a severe psychological toll that took some time to overcome. I'm told that this is something similar to that seen in women who have to have their breasts or other reproductive-involved organs removed - much of who you are as a person can wrapped up in the correct functioning and presence of these chunks of tissue! This startled me at the time as I did not expect to feel that way.

So - most of the time, a vasectomy works with no problems. In my case, it didn't. I still shudder from the memory of that pain.
posted by tandemrepeat at 9:04 AM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Freshly gelded here. I recommend using either a jock strap or getting some supportive underwear (think "banana sling", that's what you want) and wear that for about a week post-procedure.

I had mild discomfort for the first 24 hours, but was really on my feet and mobile the next day. Six days after the procedure, however, I had huge pain and a ton of swelling (think "tennis ball"). That went away in about another day. It was not a good day, but it was only a day.

I'm at about week 2 right now, and I'm feeling pretty much exactly as pre-op now.

It's minor, but it is a surgical procedure, complications can happen. But if you have a good doctor the odds are wildly wildly in your favor. My two cents is that you should man up, get over the freak out, and do this for your partner. She gave birth to the kids, now it's your turn. I had reservations too, but it really ended up being not a big deal to go through.
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:44 AM on January 12, 2011

You're not going to escape from very small percentages of serious complications with any significant elective surgery. The risks of tubal ligation and pregnancy are both substantially higher, just for perspective. But a risk is there.

I looked at this a fair bit before making my own decision. I'm convinced the minority voice suggesting that serious complications after vasectomy are a significant, under-reported issue are basically conspiracy theories without substantial basis (and get a certain amount of unfair amplification from both self-serving book authors and religiously motivated anti-contraception advocates). When you are talking about first-person accounts of chronic pain issues you also always have to consider the possibility of ongoing problems being caused by issues of medication (opiate abuse disguised as a mystery incurable chronic pain problem, to be blunt about it) or over-use of surgical correction options resulting in an almost inevitable issue of chronic pain caused by scarring and/or nerve damage.

By far the majority of vasectomies are uncomplicated, the majority of long-term post-operative complaints are minor, and the majority of chronic post-operative complications are corrected by a single additional surgical intervention. From personal experience and a lot of personally related and read anecdotes the majority of post-operative complications are not much beyond an occasional dull ache not significant enough to merit taking a couple tylenol, let alone a visit to the doctor. Count me as another check in the no regrets column.
posted by nanojath at 9:58 AM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

(Just to stress despite what I said I absolutely don't doubt the account of someone like tandemrepeat, and the issue that the usual corrective action - reversal - is substantially more significant and costly than vasectomy itself shouldn't be ignored).
posted by nanojath at 10:01 AM on January 12, 2011

I got one several years ago. I don't know anything about what closed or open ended means (clearly I didn't do a whole lot of research about it), but I know that at one point during the procedure there was a soft, sizzly sound and I said, "What was that?" and they said they'd cauterized it.

So, about the pain: There was less discomfort than I expected immediately after the procedure. However, there was a period following it where I would have an occasional, dull ache that would last for a minute or two. This happened once every few days and gradually became less frequent to the point where I can't remember the last time it felt it. I would do it again - sex is easier for Mrs. Quizicalcoatl and me and we don't have to worry about any more little quizicals running around.
posted by Quizicalcoatl at 10:02 AM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Following up - my experience was definitely unusual. Discussion with the surgeon at the time confirmed this - he rarely saw cases of vasectomy leading to pain severe enough to warrant surgery.

I hesitated before posting my experience as negative outcomes can often feed into unnecessary risk-adverse behavior - the degree of pain and the steps to remedy make me an outlier. The flip side is that a positive outcome can lead to folks being cavalier about risk..the peril of anecdotal reports of medical procedures cuts both ways (excude the pun).

Pain can happen but, on balance, of all the things that can be done for birth control in both men and women, vasectomy typically has minimal risk. As noted by nanojath, the equivalent procedures in women are significantly riskier.
posted by tandemrepeat at 11:08 AM on January 12, 2011 [3 favorites]

It can happen, but the odds are on your side.

My experience? The operation itself hurt like hell, probably because I seem to be semi-immune to local anaesthetic and many other drugs. You will almost certainly not be. It took something like two months before i stopped getting constant ache; occasional searing, stabbing pains and general bollock distress. It took another several months after that before I started feeling that the contents of my scrotum were basically tolerable again.

This is not the norm. The norm - as you will see from the other replies here - is that this isn't usually a big deal. But please believe that if you are unlucky, it can be. Don't let that stop you doing it, though. It's righteous, and even if you have a hard time, it almost always passes eventually.
posted by Decani at 2:48 PM on January 12, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for all the answers! This gives me a much more useful picture than the "mild/moderate/severe" buckets the literature uses.

As I continue to freak out, at least I can appreciate my non-achy balls for the next two weeks.
posted by hammurderer at 7:38 PM on January 12, 2011

Even if they do end up a little achy, I think you'll appreciate your non-accidental-pregnancy-causing balls for a hell of a lot longer than two weeks. All the best.
posted by flabdablet at 5:56 AM on January 18, 2011