# Men with Vasectomies - Pain? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532 "2012-10-12T16:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/21 "2012-10-12T20:01:38Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Hmm, I had to wait a week or so before being sent back into the game. I even had to provide 2 samples back to the surgeon’s office to make sure the pipes were clean before being given the green light by the doctor. Yes, I had to put it in a little container, being it back to his office (in a brown paper bag), drop it off at the front counter to the cute nurses there, and he would have it tested to make sure I was shooting blanks. I guess it beats having a stray one reach it’s goal. That’s nothing. I had to go to an outside lab to drop off my sample. And of course it had to be fresh, so I go waltzing through the waiting room of aforementioned laboratory, which was chock full of little old ladies and moms and little kids, with my face all flushed and sweaty, and I’m pretty sure I reeked of Jergins. I get up to the counter and announce to the pretty young nurse (who was standing in front of a harem of more pretty young nurses) that I’m dropping off a sample. She asks, “A sample of what?” I clear my throat so it doesn’t squeak. “Semen.” She took it out of the bag and put in in a little plastic bin. I checked her reaction to see how impressed she was by the volume and warmth. Being a professional, she managed to keep herself under control. I then had to fill out a form which took an additional five minutes of me sweating and adding a creamy aroma of aloe and lavender and balls to the air around me. And then I got to do it three more times! ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/22 "2012-10-12T20:06:23Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > There was a nasty dull ache in the boys for maybe a week, but nothing long-term. Granted, this only happened about a year and a half ago. > > Funny story, while I was laying on the table with my sliced-open scrotum in my doc’s hands, he tried to keep the conversation flowing to distract me from the discomfort of the whole thing. He asked me what I did for a living. I told him I worked for a union, which then prompted him to expose himself as a Tea Party Republican. He was trying to argue politics and unions with me while he had a very sharp knife pressed up against my balls. I wasn’t biting. I tried switching the conversation to baseball. He said he wasn’t a fan. Oy! So I just let him rant about Obama for 20 minutes while nodding and grimacing. 20 minutes! Oh good god. I really need to get it done, but I was under the impression it was over quicker than that. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/23 "2012-10-12T20:06:59Z")
25+ years. No long term pain. No short term pain I can recall. As for weird doctors, mine was done on Halloween and my doctor wore fangs. Never having to worry about birth control again was a real plus for us. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/24 "2012-10-12T20:08:04Z")
I am a girl but my hubby has had this done. He has no pain now. He got carried away\* about four days after the surgery and caused himself a few extra days of pain but he is very happy with the results. \*Not lifting heavy objects includes your seven-year-old son. Scared the shit out of my kid when he yelped in pain. ---
**Author:** ![spanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@spanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spanna)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/25 "2012-10-12T20:10:43Z")
Pretty much the same as everyone else – Best decision ever ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/26 "2012-10-12T20:13:52Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > 20 minutes! Oh good god. I really need to get it done, but I was under the impression it was over quicker than that. That included the prep work on the table too. The soaping and the taping down and whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/27 "2012-10-12T20:17:12Z")
I was at work the day after I think. Sure, there was a dull pain there for few days, but then back to normal and have been ever since. (13 years) ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/28 "2012-10-12T23:34:45Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Nah. > > For about two years afterward, on _rare_ occasions (meaning, maybe seven times over the course of two years), I would get a sharp pain lasting less than a second in the general region of my nuts. Other than that, nothing. > > It’s been almost a decade now and I feel nothing. This pretty much sums up my experience, except my pain was more in the groin. My one year “anniversary” was this past Sunday. It’s very minor in the grand scheme of things, and in no way causes me to regret the procedure. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/29 "2012-10-12T23:42:05Z")
Your wife could always get Essure. Outpatient, done in the doctor’s office, and no cutting. While the procedure itself is painful, I went home, took a nap, and by the time I woke up the pain was completely gone. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/30 "2012-10-13T00:45:22Z")
Thanks for the answers, everyone. Keep 'em coming! Starting to make me feel better. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/31 "2012-10-13T01:01:08Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > That’s nothing. I had to go to an outside lab to drop off my sample. And of course it had to be fresh, so I go waltzing through the waiting room of aforementioned laboratory, which was chock full of little old ladies and moms and little kids, with my face all flushed and sweaty, and I’m pretty sure I reeked of Jergins. I get up to the counter and announce to the pretty young nurse (who was standing in front of a harem of more pretty young nurses) that I’m dropping off a sample. She asks, “A sample of what?” I clear my throat so it doesn’t squeak. “Semen.” I was told to ‘give’ directly at the hospital’s lab wing. So I had to go to the desk and tell the pretty young lady there that I was here to produce a semen sample. She gave me a container, filled out some paperwork for me and asked if I wanted a religious preference listed. I said “Catholic. But if I need Last Rites after this, something’s gone horribly wrong”. It was good for a giggle on her end, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/32 "2012-10-13T03:07:32Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I was told to ‘give’ directly at the hospital’s lab wing. So I had to go to the desk and tell the pretty young lady there that I was here to produce a semen sample. She gave me a container, filled out some paperwork for me and asked if I wanted a religious preference listed. I said “Catholic. But if I need Last Rites after this, something’s gone horribly wrong”. It was good for a giggle on her end, anyway. They wanted my sample taken to the lab by closing, on a work day (about a week or so after the procedure). They gave me a sterile cup, and a little chemical pack to keep it warm, the morning of, with strict instructions to be back by 5:30. I had to rub out a giggity at the men’s room at work, then haul ass over to the hospital, where I had to walk through a waiting room full of people waiting for lab work, carrying a clear plastic cup of my still-warm semen in my hand. Fun times. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![codgerone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@codgerone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codgerone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/33 "2012-10-13T06:37:10Z")
I had it done about 10 years ago. Didn’t feel a thing during the procedure but had a slight ache and some tenderness for 3-4 days afterwards. Since then no problems. Talking to the doctor while he worked he complimented me on doing a good job shaving down there. At the time my partner owned a dog grooming parlour so I said “oh I didn’t do it, I went to the local dog groomer”. It got a laugh from him and the nurse but with hindsight probably not a good idea to crack jokes to someone holding a sharp knife next to the meat and two veg. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/34 "2012-10-13T07:21:44Z")
A woman getting pregnant is not always linked to her husband having a vasectomy. That aside, I managed to get an infection after mine and that was painful. Sitting down with frozen peas held against your cods. However, that was years ago. I guess it still can happen, but it was short term- it was not a long term issue. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/35 "2012-10-13T10:11:15Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Sitting down with frozen peas held against your cods. So would that have been a frozen cod-peas 😉 I had mine (hmm, my son is now just over 20) almost 20 years ago. No pain after the initial ache - I had a short vas so the doctor had to tug somewhat. Si ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/36 "2012-10-13T13:08:47Z")
A tale of two snips as related to me by a friend (I have no idea how we got on to this conversation…) Friend one spent a couple of days post-snip taking it easy and keeping cold compresses on his tender parts. After that, he said all was fine and dandy. Friend two, a macho, studly dude, went out and played football shortly after the snipping. He ended up in bed for a week in agony - not from a hard hit but because he didn’t think he needed to take it easy. I don’t say that it’s related, but friend #1 is closing in on his 40th anniversary while #2 was divorced within a few years of his snipping. Anyway, that’s what I know about vasectomy pain. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/37 "2012-10-13T13:59:01Z")
Recovery of one week for me. 10 days before I really felt right. Worth it. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/38 "2012-10-13T14:20:34Z")
I had mine almost twenty years ago. The key to keeping it pain-free is to follow the doctor’s orders - keep off your feet for the entire weekend, ice packs (frozen peas work well), no heavy lifting. Follow those instructions, and life is good. Blow them off, and suffer the consequences. I followed the instructions, a friend didn’t. Big mistake on his part. I did occasionally got an itch at the incision site for the first few years. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/39 "2012-10-13T14:41:52Z")
Agreed. I should have rested more. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532/40 "2012-10-15T13:34:42Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Hmm, I had to wait a week or so before being sent back into the game. I even had to provide 2 samples back to the surgeon’s office to make sure the pipes were clean before being given the green light by the doctor. Yes, I had to put it in a little container, being it back to his office (in a brown paper bag), drop it off at the front counter to the cute nurses there, and he would have it tested to make sure I was shooting blanks. I guess it beats having a stray one reach it’s goal. Just to be clear, we also waited until I had submitted two clean samples in two weeks before we had _unprotected intercourse_. During that time, my wife employed other means to get the job done. Which is how she determined that there was no difference in the consistency, size or taste of the pre- or post-procedure ejaculate. She even drove my samples to the doctor’s office after obtaining them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-with-vasectomies-pain/637532.md?page=3)