Welcome to a weekly feature on my blog – Ben’s Zone. Written by husband… Ben. A foodie, coffee obsessed, ex-smoking, ex-drinking and Ridgeback loving Dad. Who is also seriously into his fitness. You can find him on the blog (mostly) on Sundays. Enjoy!
4 Weeks After My Vasectomy
In a previous article I talked about my intention to have a vasectomy and the process involved with getting that booked in. It’s now been about a month since I had the operation (though it seems like ages ago) so I thought I’d do an update on how it all went and what the experience itself was like.
The Consultation
I can’t say I wasn’t a little nervous when I got in the taxi to go off for the surgery but I’ll be blunt, I was far less concerned than I was during my abortive attempt to give blood last year. My appointment was to have the consultation and then the surgery later that morning. This is advised only for people who are sure of their reasons for going forward but I’m glad I did it this way. In the waiting room I got talking to a guy who was on his third consultation. I can see how, given time to think about the specifics, I might let nerves get the better of me. From my perspective, it had been a fait accompli since I got in the taxi and so I was glad I had left myself little time to think.
That being said, the consultation was very straightforward. The key focus was on effective aftercare. The procedure itself was explained by the very friendly nurse but it was nothing I did not know already.
The Operation
It did not seem long until I was stripping off and getting ready for the op. Probably the worst part was lying on the table under a blanket with just my shaven gentleman popping up there ready for the doc to work on. Seeing it like that was not an ego boost by any sense of the word. Even the op was OK though. There was no pain. Having the local anaesthetic injected was a bit toe curling but did not hurt other than a small prick. There was a point during the op where I felt a weird electrical sensation, the doc informed me that this meant I needed more anaesthetic, which I duly got and felt nothing further. Like any local anaesthetic there was still that vague feeling of stuff being moved around but it was just a bit weird, not even uncomfortable.
After a really short time I was in the recovery room and enjoying a biscuit, I decided the diet could go jump and made free with the bourbons.
And that was that. I walked out of the surgery without any issue and off I went home.
Recovery
Recovery was straightforward as well. I took both ibuprofen and paracetamol for the pain and tried to take things relatively easy. I wore my normal underwear and got a sports jock strap to go over the top. The best approach is loose trousers and tight pants so I stayed in jogging bottoms for a while. I did spend a day in jeans on day 3 (I hate jogging bottoms) and that did increase the pain a bit. At no point was it really bad though, just achy if I did too much. My job is not physical (I work in computers) but I was back at full speed pretty much as soon as I could, the Monday after having the op on the Friday.
What was a bit weird was that on day 6 things suddenly got painful again. Things were not super bad however they did get a little worse and it worried me. A friend passed on that he’d had the same experience and that it turned out to be nothing, which it was.
Vasectomy Recovery Timelines
Time to feeling OK – immediate
Time to wearing proper clothes not jogging bottoms – 1 week
Time to running – 2 weeks
Time to driving – 3 days but I didn’t have to go anywhere
Time to riding motorcycle – 7 days
Time to stop trying to get sympathy – still counting
If I have any tips it would be to get some ice packs and some jock straps. Stop the boys from jiggling as this is not comfortable and keep things cool as swelling means pain. Keep a stock of ibuprofen to hand and avoid doing any heavy lifting.
Overall it’s been one of the smoothest and least painful medical procedures I’ve had. It does seem like a very long time ago now and I don’t really have any regrets. All I would say is the shaving part is a weird sensation and the hair growing back is super itchy, other than that though, it’s been pretty straightforward.
I didn’t really have any doubts going in, I don’t really have any regrets on the other side. So I’d still recommend it to men who are finished having children.
This is interesting. Something that a lot of men put off getting. It is good to hear from this point of view x
I love the fact that you managed to get ‘small prick’ into this post. Too funny!