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!