# How common is it to get a vasectomy in your early 20s? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502 "2020-10-08T16:12:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/81 "2020-10-20T18:30:52Z")
I didn’t want it for birth control. Without going into details, I have a variety of reproductive health issues and ISTM - especially at the time - that they could take the whole damned thing out and I wouldn’t miss it because I planned to adopt anyway. I’ve had a lifetime of doctors trivializing my suffering. I don’t even want to deal with them anymore. I’ve basically given up. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/82 "2020-10-20T20:12:40Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > OTOH if I had gotten a hysterectomy, I wouldn’t have my son. I was dead certain from a young age that I wanted to adopt. I would have never guessed that I would later choose to conceive a child. It’s really hard to know in your early 20s where you’re going to be in your 30s. Age 23 feels like another lifetime ago. I was sure I never wanted kids, but never sure enough to get sterilised. I knew plenty of people do change their minds, and I didn’t want to take that option away from future me. And I did end up changing my mind. I can understand why doctors are reluctant to deliberately sterilise young people. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/83 "2020-10-20T20:55:54Z")
Yeah. I don’t think I had the best grasp of the potential consequences at that age. And there are currently some great options for contraception, which are entirely reversible. Now that I’m 37 and I’ve had a kid, suddenly my doctors are willing to do a tubal litigation. I was shocked when my gynecologist threw that out there the other day. But it wouldn’t solve my problem because my problem is not contraception. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/84 "2020-10-20T21:46:44Z")
I don’t think the options are all that great. I’ve never been keen on putting extra hormones in my body, but I’m not supposed to take anything with oestrogen in anyway, which rules out most of the ones I’d be willing to try. Non-hormonal methods all suck. Plus there’s nothing for men except condoms or vasectomy. It’s a shame you can’t get any help for your problems. Hysterectomy is a pretty drastic solution. But at least you got something good out of keeping your uterus all these years. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/85 "2020-10-20T22:09:57Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > I don’t think the options are all that great. I’ve never been keen on putting extra hormones in my body, but I’m not supposed to take anything with oestrogen in anyway, which rules out most of the ones I’d be willing to try. Non-hormonal methods all suck. Plus there’s nothing for men except condoms or vasectomy. Well, I overstated the case for BC. I’m having some serious side effects from 25 years on BC, but I’ve grown quite dependent on it to manage my issues. I’m kind of in a damned if I do, dammed if I don’t situation. I just got switched to the mini pill (no estrogen) so we’ll see how that goes. Nothing’s perfect I guess. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/86 "2020-10-21T08:34:46Z")
That sucks. Hope you have better luck with the mini pill than I did. I was hoping it would help with my painful periods, but instead it gave me a lot more of them, and the pain was no less severe. I’ve never found a good solution. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/87 "2020-11-15T10:08:48Z")
So my husband got a referral and we went to the urologist for the initial appointment. Due to their COVID restrictions, I wasn’t allowed to stay, which really added to his stress. He’s now decided he wants to get it done, which will be done at the urologist’s office. He is quite stressed about being stressed during the procedure. The doctor has already offered a Lorazepam for the procedure, and I will ask that I can at least wait with him before the procedure, while the Lorazepam takes effect. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/88 "2020-11-15T11:53:01Z")
The actual procedure is pretty simple & not traumatic for the patient. At least mine wasn’t. Neither is the recovery. All the stress is mental. Assuming he’s not normally an anxiety-ridden person I’d argue that if he’s having severe mental stress the cure isn’t a pill. It’s to hold off on the procedure; he’s not psychologically ready for what it represents. Minds are strange things and if his reproduction instinct isn’t ready to be squelched, well … it isn’t ready to be squelched. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/89 "2020-11-15T12:53:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Neither is the recovery. All the stress is mental. Post-vasectomy Pain Syndrome is a real phenomenon. As someone who was born 10 weeks premature and has always been prone to pains and aches, this is the only reason I haven’t opted for the snip. > **[Post-vasectomy pain syndrome: diagnosis, management and treatment options](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5503923/)** > > Vasectomy is the most effective form of sterilization for men. With approximately 500,000 vasectomies performed each year in the United States, 1–2% of these patients will experience chronic testicular pain for greater than three months after ... ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/90 "2020-11-15T13:16:22Z")
Interesting. I did not know that. Thank you. They say that 1-2% of patients experience this. I wonder as a general matter what’s the incidence rate of atypical chronic pain for any/every surgery anywhere on the body? Though I’m not in the medical biz in any way I read a lot about medical stuff in the professional press. Such as PubMed. I seem to see that 1-2% complication rates (whether pain or something else) are pretty universal for any treatment, surgical or otherwise. People aren’t identical machines, none are in factory new condition, and medical tech & practice isn’t perfectly reliable. It may be that ~98% reliability is as good as the collective system can get. For sure if that’s so, each of us needs to bear that in mind when accepting medical treatment that’s not strictly necessary. 50:1 or 100:1 odds are pretty good. But if you roll the dice enough times, you’re bound to get a losing roll eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/91 "2020-11-15T14:32:37Z")
I sat with my ex during his vasectomy. He asked me to stay because he was afraid he’d freak out during the procedure. I skritched his head like a dog and that calmed him down. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/92 "2020-11-15T17:59:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > People aren’t identical machines, none are in factory new condition, and medical tech & practice isn’t perfectly reliable. Additionally, not everyone follows instructions well. Friend of mine had his vasectomy on a Friday and was supposed to stay off his feet for 48 hours. But his boss called him a few hours after surgery and offered him triple time if he’d come in to work (he’s a machinist). After an eight hour shift he went to the ER with a scrotum the size of a cantaloupe. The doc was concerned until he heard the details, then he muttered, “idiot”, and gave him an ice pack. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/93 "2020-11-15T20:06:15Z")
One of my undergrad chums became an ED doctor. Years ago I asked him how he chose that specialty. He said that during the rotation phase of med school he learned that substantially zero percent of patients are willing to follow instructions or change behaviors even a smidgen for their own health. Whether it’s eating all 7 days of the antibiotics, not just the first 2 pills until they feel better; or working the orthopedic injury enough so it doesn’t lock up but not so much they’re crippled with pain; or (ref your pal) staying off their feet for 2 whole days; in every case compliance is/was minimal. Big changes like loose weight, eat better, or quit smoking? Fuggedaboutit! In either case it was the doctor’s fault they had a less than ideal outcome. As an ED physician he has none of that. They come in somewhere between mildly ill and nearly dead. In 2 hours he either fixes them, loses them, or sends them upstairs to be somebody else’s problem. Next! He found that much easier to take. He’s been in the biz about 30 years now, so it seems to have been a good decision. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/94 "2020-11-16T04:14:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > One of my undergrad chums became an ED doctor. Given the thread topic, for a split second I thought your chum was a different kind of ED doc. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/95 "2020-11-16T06:06:04Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Assuming he’s not normally an anxiety-ridden person I’d argue that if he’s having severe mental stress the cure isn’t a pill. To answer your assumption, he has his own prescription for Lorazepam, which he takes approximately 1-2 times per year, normally connected to long distance flying and/or more than 2 hours in Newark Airport. So this level of anxiety, in my opinion, is within his historical norms. He would really like the possibility of pregnancy off the table. We’re both over 50, so the chance is less, but it is certainly not zero. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/96 "2020-11-16T12:46:05Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Given the thread topic, for a split second I thought your chum was a different kind of ED doc. D’oh! I had to read your comment about 4 times & really think before I got it. 😲 Sometimes the best jokes are the inadvertent ones. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/97 "2020-11-16T18:51:59Z")
I was thinking the about the ‘other’ ED as well, expecting his patients would _really_ want things to get better and so, follow his advice. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/98 "2020-11-16T23:39:31Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Given the thread topic, for a split second I thought your chum was a different kind of ED doc. This is almost exactly what I was thinking! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/99 "2020-11-18T18:31:12Z")
I don’t even know what else ED stands for. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502/100 "2020-11-18T18:43:18Z")
I had to google. Apparently, it’s an abbreviation for Emergency Department. > **[EDphysician.com](https://edphysician.com/)** > > Home: EDphysician.com displays Emergency Medicine, Urgent Care and ER jobs; more than 1,400 jobs; staff and director positions; updated daily; online since 1996 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-it-to-get-a-vasectomy-in-your-early-20s/922502.md?page=6)