Complications
Luan
went back to light activity next day. However, the pains never disappeared
and at one month I began to suspect I have complications. The pain is
different on left and right side, left side is dull ache pretty much
constant. The right side is highly sensitive to any kind of impact. This
extreme sensitivity has reduced some after 2 months but there is now an
ache on the right side too. The left side has some lumpy formation just
above the testicle, it feels like a bulged little hose, this is not
painfull to touch. I had not discovered any lumpy structure on the right
side because it was too sensitive to explore untill recently. Now I find
almost the same condition there but a bit smaller. I am able to work and
when I am moving about I can forget the pain sometimes as it blends into
normal discomforts, but when sitting especially late in the day there is
no way to forget the ache. The most relief comes from laying down. Sex
is possible but much less pleasurable than before. There is more pain
with erection than without but still mostly the dull ache with pressure.
In these 2 months I have had a few hours on a couple recent mornings when
I could forget the pains, it is often less early in the day. On worse
days I have had thoughts of having all painfull parts cut off. I know I
cannot tollerate this discomfort long term. I am not happy I neglected to
learn of these obviously common complications before I decided on a
vasectomy. For 20 years I have read about and asked questions of friends
concerning vasectomy with nobody ever telling me of long term pain
problems. I have 3 friends who had ugly infections and bleeding from the
conventional type of operation so I waited until the NSV was available. I
thought infection was the biggest risk but now I think much is not talked
about openly. I have informed my Girlfriend the offer to Marry is
withdrawn until this problem resolved, I cannot enter into such a
relationship with an unknown future. The doctor who did this is not
available now, I may see him in one month. I talked to a Doctor friend
(retired) of mine and he said I probably need to let more time pass before
I need to consider any treatment. He said to allow 6 months to one year
for the sensitive condition and that in a few months the lumpy structure
might reduce in size. I wonder if anyone can tell me about this kind of
experience with vasectomy and how long to wait before deciding on some
treatment. I am 58, my girlfriend is 45 and our average sexual activity
was about 12 times a week. We are in different countries for 3 months so
since a few days before the vasectomy we have had no contact. My Libido
was quite low from week 2 to week 6 but is possibly near normal now.
Luan, very concerned
Giraud
> Sex
> is possible but much less pleasurable than before.
> I am 58, my girlfriend is 45 and our average sexual activity
> was about 12 times a week. We are in different countries for 3 months so
> since a few days before the vasectomy we have had no contact.
First of all, I hope time heals. I had persistent dull ache for nearly
two years before I had an open-ended conversion. I still have residual
soreness at times from this 2nd op (4 months ago), but the sensation is
different now, less of a feeling of pressure, and I am more hopeful that
it will fade completely with some more time. Intuitively, it feels like
the muscles in the cords down there are still sore from the new cutting.
I also noticed my right side was very tender, but it's getting less
so. My uro said to give it lots of time to heal slowly. I think these
sensative parts can take quite a lot of time to recover. Two months is
nothing - don't panic yet!
One more question: you say "sex is possible," but since the vasectomy
you have not had contact with your girlfriend... Hmm? I hope she is
not reading this group! ;)
Giraud
adam
> I had a NSV 2 months ago. There were no problems with the proceedure and I
> went back to light activity next day. However, the pains never disappeared
> and at one month I began to suspect I have complications. The pain is
> different on left and right side, left side is dull ache pretty much
> constant.
Hey Luan,
I agree with Giraud that letting more time pass is very important
before taking any major steps. In my case I had a slow but pretty
steady decrease in pain until about the 4th month at which point it
seemed to level off to its current state (which still sucks at 9
months). I've heard of others here though who took as long as a year
or two before things calmed down significantly or got completely
better.
Tread carefully with short term fixes such as anti inflamatories
(Vioxx!), steroids, pain pills and other meds that may have bad side
effects and probably won't help in the long term since they treat the
symptoms and not the problem. Doctors, especially those inexperienced
with post vasectomy pain may try to use you as a guinnea pig. If you
don't see significant relief by 6-9 months you may want to start
considering surgical options such as converting to open-ended or
reversal, but that's still a long time away. Both are invasive and in
some cases expensive choices and it's a highly personal choice on
whether it's worth the risk. For me Testosterone therapy brought a
little short term relief and more importantly helped rule out nerve
damage. What I wouldn't recommend is having anything removed unless
you've exhausted all other options.
Hang in there and I hope things resolve for you on their own.