Tedious Waiting

What's annoying to report is - there's nothing new to report. My right testicle is still giving twinges when it's caught - however lightly - from underneath at a certain angle. Also there' s an ache, varying from dull to moderately-nagging, that keeps recurring in the right side of my groin, very similar to the unpleasant "pulling" twinges I felt on that side during the operation. Sometimes this goes away completely for several hours, and sometimes it's omnipresent. At other times it simply gives a few short stabbing twinges and then subsides again. But it's never anywhere near severe enough to disrupt or prevent sleep, or to prompt me to take painkillers. Neither are there any visual signs - no swelling, discolouration, discharge, or whatever. Which I'm hoping is a good sign. The literature does state that some men experience dull aches and twinges for possibly several months following surgery, and it's still just over three weeks since my op. So I'll just have to wait and see what happens next.

Bye-bye stitches, hello stubble

Two weeks and nearly three days now, since the op.

Suddenly, last night (Friday evening), whilst doing the nightly dabbing of lavender oil (very good antiseptic properties) onto the stitches of the two incisions, both stitches from the left incision fell away to reveal nicely healed skin. With a little gentle probing, one stitch came away from the right incision, too, along with a very tiny amount of blood seepage. I think this blood was due to the stitch catching the skin whenever it was jostled by underwear. The black scab remained on the right incision, however, until just now, when it dropped off, along with the final stitch. Everything looks nicely healed now, with no seepage at all.

Last night, I also finally abandoned my underpants at bedtime, and had a good night's sleep without any support at all. In fact this had an extra comfort bonus, since the re-growing hairs on my scrotum have reached the "long stubble" stage, and therefore keep catching in the fabric of my underpants, which can result in a painful prickling at times! I was told the regrowing hairs was an annoyance everyone has to put up with, but wasn't prepared for just *how* uncomfortable this otherwise minor factor can be!

Meanwhile the occasional bout of achey balls continues to linger, along with one or two sharp twinges. But on the whole, I *think* everything's progressing nicely.

13 days and counting...

OK - no need for me to date the entries from here on in, since I've finished cut & pasting my alt.support.vasectomy postings now, and will be maintaining this blog as the record of my experiences. And I hope (oh, how I hope!) that this will be a very boring and uneventful blog. Some people's post-vasectomy experiences are too damned interesting, in all the wrong ways...

Not much to report. Still the occasional twinge, especially from the right testicle, but no longer associated with standing up or climbing stairs. And we're not talking severe twinges, just a brief "ouch!". One slight oddity is that the right-ball twinge is quite easily triggerable, if I touch/press very gently upwards on the lower end of the right testis. Seems like something there is healing more slowly than the rest. The scrotal stitches seem to be doing OK - the left incision is verging towards invisibility, apart from the stitches poking out; whilst the right incision still has a dried black scab about 3mm in diameter. As I remarked earlier, I think the right incision bled a little early on, and this is the last remaining sign of that. No inflammation, though, so things are progressing well.

As usual, more when there's more to report...

8 days post-op

June 30th 2006

One week in, and things are not too bad. The whole area is still a bit tender, but the twinges are quite mild, and are only noticeable when I stand up after sitting still for a while. I'm down to 2 doses of paracetamol per day, and they're only as a precaution, really to ensure an uninterrupted night's sleep and a twinge-free journey to work.

I finally had a bath tonight. Since the weather's been not too warm this past week (and therefore not too sweaty) I managed to wait a week before bathing, to give the incisions time to heal thoroughly before getting them wet. After a tentative start, I really enjoyed my much-postponed bath. Most of the odd strands of fabric which had been stuck to the stitches floated off. It was good to wash off the flakes of dead skin from the scrotum - I think that's down to the various
surgical-grade antiseptic fluids and sprays with which it had been anointed before, during and after the procedure.

So everything's feeling a bit more *human* again, now. To celebrate I even tried a quick "solo flight" - the first outing since the op - and was relieved to find everything still in working order. I guess that's a common anxiety: "will it still work?". Well, it does, and I'm now looking forward to the first "dual flight" once the tenderness has receded a bit further.

Oh yes - one last thing. The hair's started growing back now. Prickly is the word...

5 days post-op

June 27th 2006

4 days, 18 hours post-op, and I may have spoken too soon - over-confidence, eh?

Since around 10pm last night, I've been aching significantly more than previously. My balls don't appear to be significantly swollen, and they're not tender to the touch. The aching is more in the groin area, immediately above and to the sides of the penis. When I press gently-but-firmly on that area I get that dull, achey "kicked in the balls" feeling.

I'm wondering if the jockstrap I've been wearing since the op (well, 3 identical jockstraps worn in rotation actually, hygiene fans!) was too tight. Maybe I should've bought extra-large instead of large! I'm a big chap, and I'm wondering if the constant elastic pressure of the waistband has been detrimental.

Anyway, as an experiment, I'm leaving the jockstrap off today, just wearing close-fitting briefs.

I guess I was due a bit of discomfort, after all.

I'll keep posting any changes as I go along.

Four days post-op

June 26th 2006

Four days post-op, now, and so far so good, I'm glad to say.

When I removed that blue gauze pad on Saturday morning, there was a tiny bit of bleeding from one of the stitches. The pad had been stuck to the stitches by a little dried blood, so I wasn't too worried. Sure enough, over the past couple of days the area around the stitches has stayed dry and un-swollen, so no problems with infection so far.

I'm amazed that there's been no discernible bruising, as far as I can make out. The scrotum skin's a bit red and dry-looking, but not excessively so.

There's no discomfort now when I remove the jockstrap and briefs. Just the occasional mild twinge when I first stand up. There's a very mild dull ache constantly in the background, but to be honest it's not enough to be a distraction, even.

I think my "getting off lightly" so far is probably down to:

(1) Luck

(2) The skill of the surgeon and theatre staff - it was done by a full team, in-theatre, and it seems the general good impression I had at the time was well-founded.

(3) My being *extremely* careful, especially during the first 24 hours or so. I basically moved as little as possible, kept my knees well apart, and made sure I slept on my back so I could keep pressure off the groin area.

I've not "tested the equipment" yet. But my policy of not rushing anything seems to be paying dividends so far, so the test flight can wait till I feel ready for it. Meanwhile I'm back at work today, and haven't needed to hit the paracetamol.

And, yes, I *do* know how lucky I am.

30 hours post-op

June 23rd 2006

Well the crepe bandage dressing started to loosen today, so I removed it. The urologist had said it could be removed today. I'd slept OK last night, just a couple of paracetamol kept everything comfortable enough for a reasonable night's sleep. Under the crepe bandage there was a blue gauze pad, which seemed to be stuck to - presumably - the wounds, so I've left it in place so as not to tug on the stitches after so short a time. Best leave it all to heal in peace for another day before trying to ease the pad away.

I've definitely had more achey pain today. Thankfully I've been off work so I've been able to just sit around reading for most of the day. Going to the loo seems to involve a few twinges whilst removing briefs and jockstrap, but nothing excessively painful.

There doesn't seem to be too much swelling, and the bruising looks more red than "black and blue". So far. I dare say it'll pass through a technicolour stage at some point.

So nothing particularly unpleasant to report, but it's oddly reassuring that I'm not getting off completely scot-free, pain-wise, as seemed to be the case late last night!

More tomorrow, or if anything noteworthy happens (hope not!).

V-Day

June 22nd 2006, late evening

Well, that was that. Went into theatre at about 1:45pm and was out into Recovery about 20-25 minutes later. Very friendly theatre staff. The clean-up of the theatre following a major op preceding my vas delayed us for a few minutes, so the urologist did the shaving himself, which
confirmed his "no airs" attitude that I'd perceived at the initial consultation.

Onto the main event. The anaesthetic was, as I'd been advised by some others, a less painful injection than a dental injection, and I didn't feel any sharp pains from the incisions at all. The tugging sensations as the vas were pulled out were quite unpleasant - reminiscent of schooldays when there'd always be some smartass squeezing people's balls and running away. I'd expected this, since I was told clearly, both by my GP and my urologist, that the local anaesthetic acted on
the scrotum only, not its contents or their abdominal connections. So, yes - unpleasant, but not too distressing for me. Right through the op there was a nurse sitting just by my left shoulder, chatting and generally keeping an eye on my emotional state and my vital signs ("your heart rate increased a bit when they pulled the second vas", she told me later). All the theatre staff were professionally sharp, but good-humoured, and the flow of mild banter helped keep my mind off the tugging. They even asked me for a joke at one point - I couldn't oblige, but then I can *never* remember jokes!

The urologist had originally trained in India, and applied a *very* nifty bit of crepe-bandage-work, which has effectively given me a crepe-bandage "thong", which has the scrotum tightly bound whilst leaving my penis free for peeing. Better than a jockstrap in that
respect, though I'm wearing three layers: crepe "thong", jock, and tight briefs. Rather amazingly, ten hours later I'm feeling hardly any pain, and only a low level of discomfort (a sort of low, dull throb which isn't very obtrusive, and the occasional slight twinge when I stand up). But I'm taking no chances, and will drop a couple of paracetamol when I go to bed in a few minutes time. There are also a couple of "instant ice" packs on standby beside the bed.

So - so far so good. I would never belittle the experiences of those who've had a far more painful and distressing experience than I've had - so far, touch wood - but as several people have already commented, I think it's important that the positive experiences get reported, too, to give those who come later a balanced picture.

I'll keep you all posted. And again - many, many thanks for all your tales, experiences and opinions. Going into this armed with so much second-hand experience really made a *big* difference.

V-Day Minus 14 - Initial Consultation

June 8th 2006

Well, I've now been for my preliminary consultation with the Urologist who'll be carrying out my vasectomy, and I must say I found it a very positive experience. Oddly, I felt less nervous this morning, on my way to the hospital, than at any time over the last few days. I guess
apprehension gets its hooks into the mind more effectively when you're just twiddling your thumbs and waiting.

The surgeon was very polite and approachable - asked me if my wife would like to be present, for the consultation, which was fine by both of us. He asked about our background, previous children, etc (none for me, one for my wife), then explained the procedure with some useful
models and charts. All the while he was courteous, and serious but with a nice hint of gallows humour once he realised this was appropriate for both of us (our sense of humour tends to the slightly warped). He even mentioned that it was possible to opt for a general anaesthetic If I
felt unable to face having it under a local. I opted for the local.

Then he examined me. I'd been prepared for some uncomfortable tugging and squeezing around the whole scrotal area, but I didn't feel any discomfort whatsoever - which bodes well, since a couple of people on a.s.v. said the tugging sensations during the actual vasectomy procedure were probably comparable to those felt during the preliminary exam. Happy to report, he found both vas deferens straight away, and said the fact that my scrotum's quite large would help things run smoothly during the actual vasectomy (always assuming it doesn't choose the day of the op to shrivel up tight - I'll try to avoid this by having a hot bath on the morning of the op). He also said he'd provide a tight pouch to keep things secure after the op, but I'll be taking along a spare jockstrap just in case.

His usual operating day is Tuesday (consultations on Thursday), but he sensed I had another day in mind, and asked me about it. When I said Thursday would be ideal he checked his diary and found he was doing a more major op on the morning of Thursday 22nd June. So he offered to do my vasectomy early on the afternoon of that day. So now I'm booked in - turning up at the hospital at High Noon on Thursday 22nd June. I'm booking the Thursday/Friday off work, so that'll give me a few days to take things easy and sort myself out.

I really appreciate the support that the newsgroup has given me. I can understand why people don't find time to log their tales of positive vasectomy experiences. Apart from anything else, it's hard to find much to say about things that go smoothly. But, at present, my intention's to log all my experiences, good OR bad, even if only briefly, for the benefit of the next guy, as it were. So, all being well, I should be posting again on 23rd June (or maybe even on 22nd if things go *really* well, but I'll not hold my breath!).

Embarking on a vasectomy - questions about pain

(Note: The following was my initial post to alt.support.vasectomy, which is an excellent support newsgroup for anyone contemplating a vesectomy. This blog, a diary of my progress towards, through, and after the vasectomy, includes all my posts to a.s.v., but excludes responses from other people, since they own natural copyright on their words, not me. I'll editorialise to try and fill the gaps where I responded to someone else's coment, but by all means go to the newsgroup and read the original posts.)

June 1st 2006

Well, the moment of decision came: wife advised to come off the pill so who (if any) goes for surgery? Looking at the relative risks, and the relative scale of the procedures, there was only one logical conclusion. My turn to do my bit. It's the only fair solution, and to be honest even when I was single, I knew I never wanted any kids and was terrified at the prospect of a sexual partner falling pregnant.

But...

I'm seeing my GP tonight to get a referral so I can go to a BUPA hospital and get it done privately - If I'm going to do something physically unpleasant it might as well be in pleasant surroundings, and it leaves one more space for someone to get theirs on the NHS a little
bit quicker.

But... (see, I'm avoiding the question I really wanted to ask, which is...)

(deep breath)

This pain thing. Yes, I keep getting squeamishness pangs about it. So in a spirit of "know thine enemy", can anyone tell me a bit more about the post-op pain? It seems to be downplayed as "discomfort" in some personal accounts, so I guess it shouldn't be excruciating agony, or
anything so dramatic. But how would you characterise the post-op pain? Is it the sort of deep, throbbing ache of a kick in the balls, or is it more like a soreness of the scrotum? I just feel the more I know what to expect, the easier it'll be to steel myself for what's coming.

Also, how bad is the injection at the start of the procedure? I'm not a great fan of injections, but local anaesthetic injections at the dentist don't bother me much. Apart from the psychologically alarming prospect of being injected "down there", is it any more unpleasant than dentists' oral injections?

And finally, how severe is the general feeling of being "tugged around" during the actual procedure? Is it - again - just the psychological alarm of having your delicate bits'n'pieces interfered with, or is it genuinely physically uncomfortable?

Well, any responses to this will be welcome - I think the main thing I needed was to vent some of my anxieties and squeamishness.

Keep moving forwards, eh?

(Following a supportive response from another reader of a.s.v., reassuring me about the injection and advising caution during the post-op period, I added this:)

June 2nd 2006

Thanks for that. I've already taken onboard some advice about "briefs plus jockstrap" - I'd guess that's briefs-over-jockstrap rather than vice-versa, though I'm open to corrections on that score! It'll be "Interesting" (in the Chinese sense) working out how to pee without letting the balls dangle too freely - I understand that "dangling freely" is the main thing to avoid for minimising pain (hence the jockstrap). To be honest, I'll be glad once it's all underway - at least it'll be an end to all the apprehensive anticipation.

(Then came further messages of advice and support - it really is a very supportive newsgroup for anyone facing an op which, although minor, must push *every* bloke's squeamishness buttons. I added the following:)

Thanks so much to all of you - I'm quite overwhelmed by the amount and sheer quality and honesty of the replies to my anxious questions! The microwaveable heat pad sounds a good idea to keep everything loose, assuming we aren't in the middle of a mini-heatwave come the day!
Jocks, paracetamol and ibuprofen are already in the "v-kit", along with a couple of those "instant freeze" ice packs in case I'm caught needing a quick fix of coldness when there's no nearby freezer!

Progress so far: I spoke with my GP last night, who gave me still more encouragement and reassurance. I told him about this n/g, and he made a note of it for future anxious v-patients. He was able to steer me towards the urologist at my chosen hospital who was known to be very
experienced and good at calming anxious patients. Sent me away feeling a bit more confident and clutching a referral letter.

Incidentally, when he was giving me the general advice about taking it easy, ensuring I had a lift home, etc, my GP told me of a friend of his who went for his vasectomy, and then decided to walk home from the hospital. He regretted this later, apparently! This was to illustrate the point, he said, that if you are very careful during the first 24 hours post-op, this should pay dividends in minimising the discomfort level over the following few days. So that's advice I'll be heeding!

Phoned the hospital this morning and made an appointment with the Consultant Urologist for my preliminary consulation next Thursday. So that'll be my first experience of being tugged around, I guess! I'll keep you all posted as things progress - I've seen for myself how valuable these written accounts of shared experience can be. Must be hell for anyone from a macho culture which frowns on guys talking about these matters, because it's already been an enormous help to me. So thank you all once again!

More next week!