The dirty, dirty V word

[Samonadreau]

Surgery doesnt hurt, its the recovery that will. You will be numb and sore right after. And then you will think you are good 2-3 days after but you aren't. You will then proceed to go back to normal life, shortly after, realizing you were an idiot to do that and then your balls will hurt like a mother####er.

So take my words of wisdom and just chill for a week.

[Samonadreau]

Oh ya, and wear nice fitting underwear. If your balls hang loose you will regret it.

As a female, I am genuinely curious how all you guys decided that this procedure on yourself had to get done? Was it your wife that brought up the subject? Did you offer yourself up as tribute first? From what I am reading, it seems like a simple enough procedure, but was the fear of having more children worth altering your body? I never had this conversation with my husband, as I would never ask of him to do something that seems pretty unnecessary IMO. And at what age were you guys doing this? Late 30’s? 40’s? I started menopause when I was 48, so even if my husband got one done right after the birth of Puxlut Jr. it would have only protected against unwanted pregnancy for 12 years? Just seems odd to me?

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

As a female, I am genuinely curious how all you guys decided that this procedure on yourself had to get done? Was it your wife that brought up the subject? Did you offer yourself up as tribute first? From what I am reading, it seems like a simple enough procedure, but was the fear of having more children worth altering your body? I never had this conversation with my husband, as I would never ask of him to do something that seems pretty unnecessary IMO. And at what age were you guys doing this? Late 30’s? 40’s? I started menopause when I was 48, so even if my husband got one done right after the birth of Puxlut Jr. it would have only protected against unwanted pregnancy for 12 years? Just seems odd to me?

I can only speak for me, but it was a combination of things. First of all, yes, my wife brought it up after our 2nd child. I was on the fence about having a third, but she was pretty certain she didn't want another. Looking back, I think 2 is plenty.

The other factor when we decided is about age and being an effective parent. I did it at 41, and it was because the math wasn't in my favor. Even if we ended up with another child, at that time a pregnancy would have taken me to 42 at the birth, which meant that the child wouldn't turn 18 until I was 60. The thought of still parenting at 60 gave me pause, and so I felt it was time. Plus, my wife is about 6 years younger than me, so she has a long way to go to menopause, and so the risk of another unplanned pregnancy would be high.

But it was also a consideration of my wife's health. Taking hormone-based birth control isn't necessarily dangerous, but it does come with some risk factors. We figured that if you can do away with that entirely with a vasectomy, it's much better long term. It eliminates those possible health risks, it's a far more effective method of birth control, and it fit our plans for life.

I don't consider it altering my body anymore than getting dental work. Sure, it means I'm done having children, but that actually gives me peace of mind in some ways. I did take a year to consider it after it was first brought up, and she never demanded that I do it. It just made sense for us.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

As a female, I am genuinely curious how all you guys decided that this procedure on yourself had to get done? Was it your wife that brought up the subject? Did you offer yourself up as tribute first? From what I am reading, it seems like a simple enough procedure, but was the fear of having more children worth altering your body? I never had this conversation with my husband, as I would never ask of him to do something that seems pretty unnecessary IMO. And at what age were you guys doing this? Late 30’s? 40’s? I started menopause when I was 48, so even if my husband got one done right after the birth of Puxlut Jr. it would have only protected against unwanted pregnancy for 12 years? Just seems odd to me?

I answered this earlier in the thread, but again also works...I've never, ever wanted to have kids. I've never been on the fence about kids. I've never wanted to deal with them. To me, getting this procedure (I was in my mid 30's) and ensuring that there was no accidents, oops, or anything otherwise, in regards to kids, was a no-brainer.

[Hockeyguy15]

We were happy with one kid, and my wife didn't like the side effects of previous birth controls she used, so I had it done. Easy decision really.

[Murph]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

As a female, I am genuinely curious how all you guys decided that this procedure on yourself had to get done? Was it your wife that brought up the subject? Did you offer yourself up as tribute first? From what I am reading, it seems like a simple enough procedure, but was the fear of having more children worth altering your body? I never had this conversation with my husband, as I would never ask of him to do something that seems pretty unnecessary IMO. And at what age were you guys doing this? Late 30’s? 40’s? I started menopause when I was 48, so even if my husband got one done right after the birth of Puxlut Jr. it would have only protected against unwanted pregnancy for 12 years? Just seems odd to me?

Cali nailed it.

I was 38 and one year post birth of third kid when I had it done. I didn’t want to be parenting a teenager in my 60’s and birth control sucks for a multitude of reasons - easy decision really.

[bagofpucks]

I proposed it as an option instead of my wife going back on birth control. I was 37 and we have two kids and we knew we did not want to have anymore and were getting to the age where potential risks would be higher if we had a whoopsie.

One note for dudes thinking about getting the procedure; I really recommend having a consult before the procedure if you’ve had any injuries or other possible complications. I had an inguinal hernia when I was a baby and it caused some issues during the procedure and my recovery was not as lovely as most others. Unfortunately, I am 0 for 2 on my post vas swimmer tests too, so 6 months after the snip I’m still not out of the woods. I’m just waiting to hear back from the doctor on what the plan is next. All that said, I think I still would have decided to get the snip, but it would have been nice to prepare that my recovery and results might be a bit different.

[troutman]

No more condoms is a bonus.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by troutman

No more condoms is a bonus.

You spicy minx!

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by troutman

No more condoms is a bonus.

That's how you end up with gonorrhea!

[Cycling76er]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

As a female, I am genuinely curious how all you guys decided that this procedure on yourself had to get done? Was it your wife that brought up the subject? Did you offer yourself up as tribute first? From what I am reading, it seems like a simple enough procedure, but was the fear of having more children worth altering your body? I never had this conversation with my husband, as I would never ask of him to do something that seems pretty unnecessary IMO. And at what age were you guys doing this? Late 30’s? 40’s? I started menopause when I was 48, so even if my husband got one done right after the birth of Puxlut Jr. it would have only protected against unwanted pregnancy for 12 years? Just seems odd to me?

I've known since I was 14 or so that I didn't want kids. That never changed. I got a vasectomy as a single man at 35. I'm 47 now. My partner doesn't have or want kids either (obviously). I have zero regrets.

I would add to this that my partner is extremely appreciative as she no longer needed to use birth control. She had an IUD and it gave her a lot of cramps during her period.

Thank you for the thoughtful answers! Sometimes it’s hard for me to process other peoples thought process. I’m guessing from reading most of the posts that the majority of you are happy with your decision.

[D as in David]

Of course they're happy, they're just nuts.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

But it was also a consideration of my wife's health. Taking hormone-based birth control isn't necessarily dangerous, but it does come with some risk factors. We figured that if you can do away with that entirely with a vasectomy, it's much better long term. It eliminates those possible health risks, it's a far more effective method of birth control, and it fit our plans for life.

^This.

Beyond the health risks to the person taking birth control pills, the environmental damage caused by all that estrone getting pissed into our water systems, the simple inconvenience of taking a pill every day for years is something she did for the team for years. While the vasectomy sucked for a couple days, it's the least I could do to pitch in for the rest of our birth control needs.

Plus not having any background questions about "what if" is sure awesome.

[D as in David]

For those of you who have had the procedure and are cyclists, how long afterwards until you could get back on a bike?

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

Thank you for the thoughtful answers! Sometimes it’s hard for me to process other peoples thought process. I’m guessing from reading most of the posts that the majority of you are happy with your decision.

My god it was the best thing I ever did. Being a dad is great and all, but it is very much a phase of my life I'd rather not repeat from the beginning again. My wife took birth control for 15 years, seemed like it was my turn.

[CrazyCaper]

Going in on Tuesday morning. Wish me luck!!

[Cycling76er]

Originally Posted by D as in David

For those of you who have had the procedure and are cyclists, how long afterwards until you could get back on a bike?

Didn't take too long. Things were sort of tender for a few days but I'd say it was no more than a week. Just listen to what your body is telling you.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

After the procedure, wear the compression shorts (supportive but not restrictive pants/shorts), ice regularly for the swelling and be the most careful about movement for the first 3-5 days. You can walk around and stuff like normal but we aware of any movements that might jolt the boys (ie: Jumping, hopping, stairs etc.). If you feel a little tired, listen to your body if you're tired.

I think the assistant remarked that a lot of guys show up in tight jeans and don't follow the pre and post instructions at all. I think the real recovery time is like half of the duration of what's in the instructions assuming you follow the instructions really closely for the first 3-5 days.



Burnt hair smell? I thought the instructions said shave all hair that could get in the way prior to the appointment? Or did I just do that proactively to my benefit?

Wouldn't t-skinny jeans be a positive? They are just like compression shorts.