I’m engaged, currently living with my fiancee, and scheduled to tie the knot sometime next year. We’re planning to have a kid, but not until our early-mid 30’s, which are about 5-6 years away.
My fiancee absolutely refuses to use the pill (she was prescribed a high-dosage pill when she was a teenager to control an irregular period, and they made her extremely sick to her stomach), and she isn’t too enthusiastic about sponges, diaphragms or anything else inserted into the vagina (I’m not too confident about them, either). This leaves condoms as our only available method of birth control (we’re monogamous, and have been so for the last 3 years, so contraception is our only concern), and frankly, I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of keeping my sword sheathed for the next 5 years.
So, I’ve been wondering, if I were to get a vasectomy, how difficult would it be to reverse the procedure 5 years later in order to conceive? I’ve heard it can be done, and is “relatively simple,” but relative to what? I would imagine that reconnecting the tubes would be a far more difficult job than making the initial cut. Does the vas deferens atrophy after a vasectomy?
Any medical opinions, personal experiences, or plain ol’ speculation would be most welcome.
Vasectomy is intended to be used for permanent sterilization. I doubt you will find a doctor willing to perform it knowing that you wish to have children in the future.
Vasectomies can be done by either cutting the vas deferens and tying off the ends, or by burning, or cauterizing, through the vas which then seal off themselves off. A vesectomy done by cutting rather than cauterizing has a higher chance of being reversed.
The bigger problem, though, is that after a number of years, most men develop antibodies against the sperm that cause them to be infertile, even if the vasectomy is successful in creating a functional tube from the testes to the urethra. The sperm just never develop in this case.
While tubal ligation is also intended to be permanent, it generally has a higher rate of reversibility than a vasectomy, and if the re-anastamosis (reconnecting the ends) is not successful, can be bypassed with IVF, although at great financial & emotional expense.
I would strongly recommend talking to your doctor(s) or Planned Parenthood about all of the available options. One option you didn’t mention is an IUD, which like modern birth control pills is very unlike it’s predecessors which got a bad reputation.
ACHF, thanks for the info. I’ve never heard about IUDs being used in Japan, so I’m not sure if they’re even available here. I’ll check it out. In any case, from your post, and from what I’ve read elsewhere, I guess once you’ve been snipped, that’s it. Too bad, a long-term, reversible contraceptive for men would be a wonderful thing.
I sympathize with your pain, Sublight. Be glad your woman isn’t allergic to latex in addition to the other objections.
You might have two other options, if available in your area.
You could donate to a sperm bank. You’d probably have to pay a little to have them keep it for you, but it might be possible.
Also, I read an article a year or so ago about the very good success of removing small amount of testicle for biopsy, getting it to produce enough sperm and doing in-vivo fertilization with that. I don’t remember where I read the article, but a web search might bring it up.
They really shouldn’t be considered reversable, according to my doctor. If your doctor or HMO or whatever is on the ball, you’ll get some sort of counseling before you get snipped. The big thing that this counseling should point out is that “This is for real, this is permanent, if you change your mind, expect to pay for it yourself, and don’t expect any guarantees”.
Now we all know that some have successfully been reversed, but those are more the exception than the rule. If I was in your shoes, I’d visit a Family Planning clinic or my doctor and ask for other options. The IUD was suggested here by someone. There’s Norplant, although there was some sort of tizzy about that awhile ago, I think. Ask your doctor about the details. If nothing else, try working the condom into the fun and frolic of the foreplay.
According to Mr. Granola’s doctor, the rate of successful reversal is generally about 50%, depending on several factors. Since there is no way of determining whether you will have a successful reversal or not, it should be considered permanent.
I think that you should both go to the doctor and discuss your options.
By the way, I do know people who have had adverse reactions to a high dosage pill and no reactions to a low dosage pill. Your fiancee may want to reconsider. The IUD is considered safe and effective for monogamous partners. There are also the Depro-Provera shots, although I believe that they contain the same hormones as the pill.
I would not seriously consider donating to a sperm bank if I were you. Expensive, a lot of trouble, and no guarentee of a successful implantation afterward.
Bottom line? There is a good reason why sterilization is not considered a method of temporary birth control. Good luck to the two of you.
Thanks everyone, I guess the vasectomy is out until were done with reproducing. I’ll talk with her about looking into an IUD or Depo-provera. Hopefully they’ll be available here.
Lolagranola, I know the prescriptions given to control irregular periods are much stronger than the ones used for birth control, but she absolutely refuses to even consider trying them again. In any case, we don’t know what the original strength was, or even what the name of the drug was, Japanese doctors being the fonts of information they are (consider yourself lucky if they tell you more about your medicine than just “they’re pills”).
Vasectomies are intended to be permanent. Doctors here use the cut and burn method and the success rate is better than 99%. I would hate to be the one percenter in this scenario.
There is a pre vasectomy interview here and a doctor will not perform one if you intend to have children in the future. When I told the doctor we already had four children he didn’t ask many more questions.
The BIG snip isn’t a viable method of short term birth control. There are other options besides celibacy such as IUD’s.
talk to a family planning counsellor with your SO and I am sure you will come up with a mutually acceptable strategy to prevent any Sublight Jr’s from appearing sooner than you intend.
I am in the exact same position as Sublight, although we are married now. We don’t -plan- on having children, but haven’t ruled it out 100%. My wife cannot take the pill on recomendation from here doctor since her mother was prone to blood clotting and the hormones make it much more likely she will develop them. I have heard that there is a male “pill” on the horizon. Does anyone know how much longer that will be? As well, I/we have heard things about the IUD that kind of turned her off of them. Does anyone here have any first hand knowledge on them that they may be comfortable sharing?
I can tell you the advantages & disadvantages of IUD’s pretty well.
The main advantage is that once inserted, you/your partner need not think about birth control again for several years. No pill to take every day; no device to insert/put on during intimate moments. And since it doesn’t interfere with ovulation, when you are ready to have children, once it is removed, you don’t have to wait months for the hormone cycle to re-establish itself.
Disadvantages include heavier periods in some women, and ethical issues for some users,(since it doesn’t prevent conception, but rather implantation, you may be “aborting” a baby every month albeit without your knowledge).
IUDs were commonly used in the 70’s & 80’s and got a fairly well deserved bad reputation due to frequent pelvic infections or inflammation, especially the copper-based devices. Non-copper IUDs have been making a comeback in recent years, and the newer ones are not the IUDs your mom remembers.
The procedure of reversal of vasectomy is known as vasovasostomy.
The problem as more and more time passes after vasectomy, the chances of reversal being successful become more and more slim, because if the tubes are untied that is again joined together, the passage of the actual sperm which fertilates are very slim.
Also, this procedure is even more costly as compared to vasectomy.
if you want to reverse it after 5 years the chances would be even lesser to none that you would be able to reverse it successfully, so probably, its a much better option to go for some other contraceptive.