No Improvement

[Fester Bestertester]

Well, it's now three weeks after my vasectomy and the constant ache in
my testicles is no better. I've been very conservative about limiting
exercise and sexual activity, I'm on Advil and I'm using a heating pad.

I thought for many years about doing this, but I didn't learn about
post-vasectomy pain syndrome until after my procedure. Apparently some
guys' testicles just never adjust to the constant back pressure and
buildup of constantly producing new sperm with no place for it to go.
And there doesn't appear to be any effective treatment for it.

So now I'm pretty terrified. I swear if I'd had any inkling that this
kind of thing could happen, I would never have had the procedure. My
advice to anyone considering this procedure is to grill the nurses and
doctors pretty extensively beforehand about this potential complication.
Because if it doesn't go away, it will severely cripple your ability to
enjoy life.

The urologist I saw yesterday said I "hadn't hurt anything" by having
sex on the 8th day after my procedure, and that sometimes it just takes
some guys a little longer than others to recover. I sure hope he's
right. Meanwhile, I'm not exercising and I'm not even masturbating
because I'm deathly afraid of doing anything that might make it worse.

If I've had no improvement in another couple of weeks, I'm going to be
really really scared.

[stephe...@btinternet.com]

Do not despair - I too was in pain after three weeks but now after
three months things are on top of the world. I made the mistake of
reading all the horror stories on the internet of post vasectomy pain
and this really made things worse. However after taking Ibuprofen
constantly and wearing a jock strap all the time things gradually got
much better and now I am back to normal with a sex life that is even
better than before and I no longer look back with regret. The only
time I get any discomfort is after strenuous exercise and it is
usually short lived. Sex though is not uncomfortable and even when
things were bad I felt that gentle sex actually relieved pain - plus
it was good for a mental boost!

[Fester Bestertester]

stephe...@btinternet.com wrote:
> On 7 Apr, 20:38, Fester Bestertester <whatmewo...@mad.net> wrote:

> Do not despair - I too was in pain after three weeks but now after
> three months things are on top of the world.

Thanks very much for the encouragement, I really need it right now. I
seem to have this strange sensation of hotness or swelling behind my
scrotum in the area of my prostate. I notice this especially when I'm
driving and sitting more directly on my groin.

I wonder if you'd be willing to describe your experience in more detail.
These jerks at Kaiser are really not being very helpful or informative,
so I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me more about your post-op.

[Novas]

As the previous responder I also had a couple of weeks of significant pain.
Then one day it was obviously better and after a few months also I was back
to normal. I suspect the "swelling" you describe my be the start of the
physical changes related resorptive process. Hange in there

"Fester Bestertester" <whatm...@mad.net> wrote in message
news:f0ogc5$mtv$1...@gondor.sdsu.edu...

[Fester Bestertester]

Novas wrote:
> As the previous responder I also had a couple of weeks of significant
> pain. Then one day it was obviously better and after a few months also I

> was back to normal. I suspect the "swelling" you describe may be the
> start of the physical changes related to the resorptive process. Hang in there

Thanks very much for the reply. A few days back, I bought a seat cushion
with a "U" shaped cutout, designed for people with injuries to the
tailbone. I simply flipped it around and put the cutout under my groin.

I noticed almost immediate and significant reduction in the testicular
pain, but that was the point where it seemed to shift down and back, to
the area in the back of my scrotum and my prostate, evolving into what I
can only describe as a "warm, swollen" feeling, even though there
doesn't appear to be any visible sign of swelling.

I certainly hope you're right in your description above. Maybe it's just
taking my body a little longer than most to adjust to reabsorbing all
the sperm cells.

In any event, I really wish the doctors and nurses at Kaiser would be
more informative. Their reticence to explain anything just makes it that
much scarier. So thanks for the information.

[Novas]

Fester,

I suspect a part of the lack of response from the system is that this pain
issue is uncommon. Then they go down the "list" of most likely causes like
infection or hematoma, etc. What I believe happens in some cases (mine
included) is related to the initial sperm accumulation verses initial
resorptive capacity of the testicular vas and epidydimous (both of which are
oriented on the back side of the testi. I think in my case I got up and
around like within 24 - 48 hours and then suffered the pain onset possibly
due to additional strain of the sealed vas. Maybe this caused some
additional internal bleeding and pressure pain? Anyway hope this helps.

Novas

"Fester Bestertester" <whatm...@mad.net> wrote in message

news:d%LYh.284198$6P2....@newsfe16.phx...

[Dave]

Fester, I had problems for about 4 months. I thought I'd never be free of
the pain, but it did subside and now two years on, although I get the odd
twinge, things are fine.

Dave

"Novas" <bsk...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4y5Zh.2701$ZD3....@newsfe01.lga...

[Fester Bestertester]

Dave wrote:
> Fester, I had problems for about 4 months. I thought I'd never be free of
> the pain, but it did subside and now two years on, although I get the odd
> twinge, things are fine.

Hi Dave,

You state that you had "problems" for about 4 months. I wonder if you'd
be willing to fill in some details about that period, what it felt like,
how it impacted your life and activities, etc. These people at Kaiser
seem almost determined to say nothing one way or another.