

Dh having snip in a couple if weeks

(10 Posts)
TheFuzz Mon 20-May-13 10:22:26

NHS Advice cut and pasted. Wish I had seen this last year !

Long-term testicle pain
Some men get pain in one or both of their testicles after a vasectomy. It can happen immediately, a few months or a few years after the operation. It may be occasional or quite frequent and vary from a constant dull ache to episodes of sharp, intense pain. For most men, however, any pain is quite mild and they do not need further help for it.

Long-term testicular pain affects around one in 10 men after vasectomy. The pain is usually the result of a pinched nerve or scarring that occurred during the operation. You may be advised to undergo further surgery to repair the damage and to help minimise further pain.

TheFuzz Mon 20-May-13 09:49:55

PS Samples don't have to be fresh. It's a load of bull.
My GP said just drop one in after the initial 4 months. The sample is then sent off to the hospital for analysis - so there is a delay there.

Basically they check for sperm. If there is any you will be told - dead or alive it doesn't matter. There should be none !

TheFuzz Mon 20-May-13 09:47:29

As for pants, go and get a jock strap, or runners underpants. He will need it. I still have to wear runners undies, as cotton boxers etc don't offer support anymore !

TheFuzz Mon 20-May-13 09:46:02

It's me again....

Complications, or minor ones are common. Persistent pain that doesn't go away is as high as 1 in 10 - NHS figures and research (this they don't tell you about).

Haematomas are common, painful but go down after 2-3 weeks. Infection common, as is severed blood vessels (1 in 5).

I think I ended up with just about everything.

Make sure the surgeon/GP is experienced - I got a GP that was training.

Surgery was fine, no pain... for the first half. Second ball, anaesthetic didn't take, so all three zaps to cut the vas could be felt. GP then severed a blood vessel, that then had to be stitched up. Didn't feel that bit after about 4 more shots !

Ended up with 2 haematomas the size of each ball, ended up in A&E with pain, wound got infected and ended up off work for 3 weeks - I was expecting to be back in work after the weekend.

I thought of driving, but glad my wife took me, no way could I have driven back - the GP made a right mess.

It's now 7 months post op and I am in continuous pain. On top of that, both plumbs keep swelling up like hard boiled eggs. It's had a very bad effect on our sex life - not what either of us expected. Very effective contraception.

I've had to postpone one operation to remove all my plumbing off one ball as I think everything will need to go as both are causing me so much pain. I've asked to be referred back sooner than planned but don't think this will happen.

We've discussed reversal, but the NHS won't pay for it, and the GP made a mess of one of my pipes anyway, so doubt that would work. Next option is complete removal of my epididymus (pipes) from both, but no guarantee this will work (50% chance). Nasty operation where the pipes are cut off the testicle bit by bit, then the vas is 'carefully removed from the blood vessels and nerves.

Really considering having both balls removed ! No joke !

It's a real risk that is covered up. You don't know about it till it goes wrong. You'll then find out that the 'experts' really don't know how to help as no-one knows the cause. It's a 1 in 10 pot luck.

If all goes well he should have no more than discomfort for a few days and be back in work. If not right as rain in two weeks then he may be one of the buggers that get problems.

My GP has offered to give me amitriptyline, gabapentin and pregablin - tried them for something else - never ever again.

Sorry to put a downer on this thread, but the 'rare' problems are actually quite common - just hushed up until something goes wrong. I even asked the GP what happens if something does go wrong - he just said you'd have to discuss that with your Urologist - 'What F'ing Urologist ?' I didn't have one, I do now !

1 in 10 is all I would say. Good Luck ! It is a simple operation, BUT...

I personally know of a few that have had issues - one took months and months to heal, one took over 12 months to get an 'all clear', and he felt the entire operation - pain relief didn't work.

Yup, tight y-fronts would be best. My DH nearly fainted during his, apparently the surgeon dropped a tube and had to "go fishing" he still managed to drive home an hour afterwards

As scaevola points out, there is the chance of complications but they are rare

scaevola Mon 20-May-13 08:59:41

Yes, I think it probably would be. DH bought a cheap multipack of trunk style pants a size smaller than usual and wore two pairs at a time. You might want to think about getting a small pack of frozen "perineal peas" in case he wants ice in the area too.

janji Mon 20-May-13 00:48:21

Thanks. Just didn't want dh to feel rubbish and try to brave it out. He always underpowered,as pain etc and I want to be supportive. Do I need to go out and get him so e closer fitting underwear (he's a jersey boxer short type)?

scaevola Sun 19-May-13 23:29:41

They advise you not to drive immediately post-op.

DH was done in January and he was absolutely fine. He needed painkillers only for a day or so, plus wore two pairs of tight pants for about a week afterwards (no jiggling!). It was done on a Saturday and he then had the weekend doing not much at home, and was at work as normal on Monday. I really wouldn't plan anything strenuous for first 48 hours.

For many men it is really straightforward. But for an unlucky minority, it can hurt more or complications can develop. You can't predict if your DH will be one of them, nor how long it will take complications to settle (there's a poster who might appear who had persistent pain for months after).

The worst bit is waiting for the all clear. You have to take it seriously, as a lot of the headline rate of failure is from abandoning other contraception too early (late failure from recanalisation is very rare). When you've moved mentally into 'he's been fixed and has recovered from op', those weeks until a reliable test can be done go very, very slowly.

poweredbytoast Sun 19-May-13 23:16:32

Mine drove himself - got home before the painkillers wore off. He was a bit sore and bruised but went back to work the next day. The worst bit of the whole business was having to give samples - they have to be 'fresh' and so he had to call at home en route to the hospital to produce it. Which would have been fine had the house not been full of my friends and their children...

janji Sun 19-May-13 22:58:36

He is being a typical man and down playing it so would like some advice / info from anyone who's dh/dp has been through this. His op is at 10.30 & at the mo he's I sitting on driving himself there and back alone? Keeps planning things for he weekend (his op is on a Friday) and seems to think I'm being over cautious. Don't want to be over protective but want to be as supportive as poss. What are the realities 'post snip?'

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