vasectomy
Posted , 3 users are following.
I did not find it good. It is not an easy option. I was done over 4 years ago
I still have mild pain and that feeling of sore and swollen testicles all the time. Prior to the Vas I was never aware of my testicles. After the op. they felt very painful for much of the first year. It is difficult to describe how foul it was but I found I could not sleep on my side and the pain would often wake me up. I think emotionally it was a trauma and I was off sex altogether for about a year. I have found since resuming sex for me does not have quite the same kick and I am not so interested(yes I know I am older but I think the link is to direct and immediate). I also think the operation damaged my self confidence.
I had it on the NHS. My wife had a a problem with a a UTI at 45 and Dr suggested I speak to them on the phone. Dr consultation involved a phone call only. They recommended a fellow GP to do it and when I asked about different methods insisted the method was a good as any. No other forms of Birth Control suggested apart female sterilization in spite of asking.
One nasty surprise was that the Anaesthetic failed- extreme pain for a breif moment - operation took nearly an hour.
1 like, 4 replies
bill18
Posted
PVP-ouch
Posted
I am in daily pain.
I cannot get a pain free erection
I cannot ejaculate without pain
Currently on morphine to try and control the pain, which is not working well at all today.
The ache comes in waves and feels like needles being pushed into the centre of the testicles.
Option shave been discussed with both consultants and pain management specialists.
My preferred option of a reversal has been put on the back burner due to the urologist being honest and saying in his experience it has not proved that effective long term but his experience also shows a reversal can actually also cause Post Vasectomy Pain - so if you already have PVP then he was worried that it could actually worsen pain.
The pain management option was de-nervation - in essence injecting and knocking out the nerves in the scrotum. This was ruled out, again presently, due to the fact it could cause more pain.
In both instances they have suggested giving nature more time to fix what damage a Dr inflicted. This is all well and good if I hadn't been in agony since November 2012! How long before something is done other than throwing lots of drugs at me?
Drugs to "fix" or "help" this so far have included:
Amoxyclav
Ciproflaxcin
Doxycyclin
Diclofenic
Dihydracodeine
Co-dydramol
Co-codamol
Codeine Phosphate (solo not combined)
Tramadol
Gabapentin
Oramorph - liquid morphine
Zomorph - tablet based slow release morphine
Oh and to help with the emotional turmoil of not having a sex life anymore they have begun a course of fluoxetine.
So if you fancy risking all the above drugs, risking a huge amount of pain, risking your relationship and your job then by all means consider a safe and simple vasectomy.
On the other hand if you love your partner and don't want to run the huge risk of Post Vasectomy Pain then avoid a vasectomy and stick with condoms.
bill18
Posted
Clearly the medics have tried to cover up the many problems connected with this lousy opperation. Men being men often don`t like telling other men that their snip ( that they were bosting about ) has infact been a total disaster. These problems sometimes only show up gradually over the years and instead of being a "sexual freedom" has actually been a ruin of sexual pleasures.
Why has it taken so long for the Family Planners to even admit 10% of ALL men get PVPS.( NHS Choices ) I believe this figure is much higher,one clinic in Birmingham says 15% or even 30% of all men get long term PAIN.
The best advice for anyone thinking about the snip is to NOT have it.
PVP-ouch
Posted
Cover up, misleading information....yes the NHS and Dr's and FP medics are very guilty of this!
We were told "there is no evidence of long term risk" and that "orgasm and ejaculation are not affected", neither of course being true. There is 40yrs plus of evidence and it would seem that problems with orgasm and ejaculation are a common theme among those of us who have been diagnosed with PVP. I can't feel the ejaculation at all for example, well assuming I can get that far in the first place!
The reason the figures are so hit and miss, I believe, is due to the potential time frames....it can be anything up to 10yrs before this kicks in....and when it does kick in it is rarely associated with the vasectomy as so many men have been pain free they do not think it can be that....a view shared by many Dr's too. So there can be a huge swathe of men affected but not hitting the stats, either due to timescales or simply falling off the radar and not forgetting male pride (as you've identified) prevents many from speaking out.
A family friend who is a urologist puts the figure (conservatively) at between 5% and 14% of men - not small figures by any standards.
I wonder how many men would go through with this if the NHS was honest and up front and said there was a risk of losing one or both testicles? I suspect not very many!
St Guys & Thomas hospital deserve a medal for their info sheet which does tell you this! (but of course only useful if you are having the snip there there and / or knew about their info sheet)
Why do they hide / mislead the patient? My own view is money!
If the female is on pill etc then there is a long term birth control cost, if the man has the vasectomy there a one off cost. Plus some surgery's can now do vasectomies on the premises. These are known as GPwSI = General Practitioner With Special Interest - these guys are allowed to perform "small" procedures in a surgery rather than having to have the vasectomy at the local hospital. This cuts costs for the NHS as day procedures out of hospital are far far more economical to the NHS. There is a direct cost benefit to the GP as well!
GP's are NOT employed by the NHS, they are employed by the surgery - which is usually a private sector practice owned by one or more of the GP's and the servives are then billed to the NHS - therefore it is in a surgery's interest to be less than open with regard the vasectomy as they can then get a nice fee for performing the procedure - again if patient was told there is a chance of losing testicles then they would not get many fees as the patient would quite simply walk away.
You are right, I thought this would be sexual freedom but no it has devastated our sex life and we are beginning (albeit it is very difficult and upsetting) to accept that it will never be the same again.
The NHS choices website is a misleading page of information! It does not mention PVP / PVPS at all, it simply downgrades it to long term testicular pain which does not even begin to address the issue and denies men the ability to actually research the facts and figures around PVP - again probably related to saving NHS money!
As you say best advice can only be.....do not have vasectomy!
Any one reading this who wants to know what living with Post Vasectomy Pain Syndrome is like and how hard it is to get the NHS to actually help might want to read my blog http://postvasectomypain-pvp.blogspot.co.uk