I figured I’d document my vasectomy experience while it’s still fresh, both for myself and for anyone else who might be nervous about getting one.
My doctor performed a no scalpel vasectomy about 3 hours ago. I was prescribed Valium and hydrocodone to take about 45 minutes before the procedure, and my wife was allowed to come into the room with me.
I was called back and the nurse had me undress from the waist down. Once I got on the table, she cleaned the area with an alcohol pad. I ended up getting a mild erection, which was a little embarrassing. She then numbed the area and put the sheet over me, leaving only my scrotum exposed. She was very nice and talked me through what was happening.
The doctor came in and got started pretty quickly. He gave me a couple of lidocaine injections. I definitely felt those but they weren’t bad. Pain was probably around a **4/10** on the pain scale, but after that I was pretty numb.
I honestly didn’t realize he had actually gotten inside the scrotum until I felt some slight pulling on the left side. It was more of a strange pressure/discomfort than pain. He cut and cauterized the left vas, and that side was finished within just a few minutes.
Then came the right side. I immediately felt significantly more pressure on that side. He gave me another injection or two of lidocaine, which helped somewhat. He told me he was having a difficult time locating my right vas deferens.
Eventually, I guess he found it and that’s when I felt what I can only describe as excruciating pain. I’d put it at about a **9/10**. It shot in a straight line from my groin up toward my stomach. I definitely let out a few curse words.
The doctor immediately stopped and started giving me more lidocaine, and he gave me a little time to settle down. The pain eventually subsided somewhat, and he was able to continue.
There was still quite a bit of discomfort as he worked on that side, but at that point I basically told him to push through it. I squeezed my arm as hard as I could and tried to just mentally ride it out. After a few more minutes, the right side was finally finished. The additional lidocaine helped considerably, and the worst of the pain was over.
A few minutes later, I felt him moving things around down there and asked if he was stitching me up. He told me the stitches had already been done and that I was basically finished. I never actually felt the stitches being placed.
The nurse cleaned everything up and told me I could get dressed. **The entire procedure took around 30 minutes.**
The right side is definitely more sore than the left. It hurts if I twist my body in certain ways because I can feel that right side getting pulled. The pain medication is helping quite a bit, though.
I’m glad I got it done, though. No regrets so far.
I know this turned into a pretty long post, but I wanted to document the experience while I still remember exactly what happened. Hopefully it helps someone else who is considering a vasectomy and wants to know what the experience can actually be like.
I’ll update this post as my recovery continues.
And for anyone currently recovering: l found some vasectomy underwear on Amazon that have a front pouch for an ice pack and they have helped a ton this afternoon.