HELP!!!!!

[Luan]

It is 7 months and I must decide what to do next. The pain is quite
stable now, I doubt it is going to disappear like magic anytime soon.
Three doctors have examined me and one gave me treatment of the usual and
conservative type. Obviously I have the worst kind of outcome which is
long term pain especially during sex. Waiting is suggested, but for what?
“Less pain,” is the answer I get, But I quickly reply, “LESS is NO GOOD.”
Less is worthless I must have NO PAIN or I have no sex life. Waiting is
finished. I have 20 days left in Bangkok and I need 10 to recover from
surgery. In an emergency I can extend my stay even till may 25 but I
really need to be in usA on the 27th of April. I will see a couple
Urologists each day for the next few days and then decide what and who is
best. So far I have not found one I want to work with but I am getting
closer. As I understand my options are 1) Reversal both sides, 2)
Reversal right side only (They laugh when I suggest only one side but why
not? left side seems to be ok) 3) convert to open end right side only 4)
convert to open end both sides. The 3 docs so far all think open end is
not an option even when I tell them it is a common vasectomy method that
yields less complications like mine. I will find a doc who will do an
open end convert if I think this is a good method or even a desired
experiment as it is less of a mess than reversal and I prefer to remain
sterile. (no test to prove I am but no babies so I will take that to be
proof)
My symptoms are as always, constant dull ache pain in right epididymis and
variable pain with orgasm but always plenty to spoil the pleasure I knew
since I was 11 years old.
I also had a pain problem before the vasectomy. I had painful orgasms if
I rested too long since the last ejaculation. I needed sex about 4 times
a week average to remain pain free. I like sex daily or more so this
symptom was not really a problem at all. Now the nearly same pain, but
sometimes worse, increases with sexual activity and decreases with rest
but never goes away. Therre is no infection or anything abnormal in the
epididymis that any doc can detect by exam, but I can feel as they explore
the right one is much more sensitive than the left.
I will not see doctors in the USA for anything unless it is life
threatening and immediately so. The last time I went to a USA doc 1 ½
years ago) he tried to charge me over 1,100 USD for a simple Hep B
vaccination and a test for Hepatitis infection and antibodies. I declined
a HIV test for $120 that day. 2 days ago here in Bangkok I went in for
those same tests and in 2 hours had the results for a total cost of $29
including the HIV. (results were Good!) I waited 2 weeks in the USA for
results and never got any. Finally I went in and demanded my record as
that is a legal requirement they must fulfill within a few hours if you
request it and got the result that way. I spent 2 days writing letters
and several hours on the phone and finally got some of the $350.00 I pain
in cash that day back as well as the rest forgiven as I did not ask for
the tests the doc ordered after I left his office. These are private
hospitals here in Thailand and extremely well run and staffed. Reversal
here is about 2000 USD but some of the methods are maybe out of date in
some hospitals. Concerning reversal: What is the best method – local or
spinal or general? And is 2 to 3 hours the needed time? One night stay
in hospital here seems common then a one week check-up.. Can a reversal
be done after an open end conversion? I see no reason why not but the
first Doc told me that might be difficult. This vasectomy nightmare has
lasted long enough. My blood pressure is 20 points higher than before the
vas, I have lost an average of one hour sleep each night since I got the
vasectomy. I have become moody and occasionally aggressive – totally
unlike me but sometimes fun to attack Thai People who try to rip me off as
if I was a stupid tourist. One taxi driver learned not to insult me, he
got no pay for his little effort, I just told him what he could do and
walked away he had even paid tolls on the expressway. Another taxi driver
took me to the airport but he didn’t turn his meter on. I didn’t say
anything as I know the cost from where I live to BKK airport. He tried
to charge me double. He will remember me!!! So yes maybe there is a
small up side as I was rather shy and quiet before. I am depending on
someone out there to give me a few clues now. I didn’t get any help
before this disaster and made amistake so now is the time to put in your
thoughts and steer me in the right direction. Thanks for all the posts
and responses So sorry I found this site after the fact , but so well
concealed were the secrets of complications before that after 20 years of
interest I uncovered not one red flag!!! Once I had decided to get a
vasectomy I quit looking for information that might make me change my
mind

Sincerely “Luan”

[yabig23]

Luan,

I know you're in a rush because of the cost of treatment in the US but
I highly recommend finding a Uro that understands Testosterone's
effects on reducing back pressure and try that for a couple of months
to help get some relief and with your next move. It really made a
difference in my case (and with some other people I've met) and gave me
both the knowledge and fortitude to eventually go ahead with a reversal
at 9 months.

I hope it turns out well for you in the end no matter how it plays out.
I can totally relate to the rage side of this and most probably would
have considered suicide if it wasn't for my wife and daughter when the
days were at their darkest. Nothing else in my life has been as
difficult as last year's ordeal, and that includes a number of other
surgeries and chronic back pain.

-Adam

[Luan]

Adam,
Thanks for your post. Your words ring with truth that relates to my
condition. Yesterday I met with 2 doctors highly recommended as the best
in this field at one big hospital and was examined by both. The first
exam was not very conclusive because this pain is very inconsistent in
that it goes from severe to slight even within a few hours. My condition
for the second exam 3 hours later) was perfect (maybe brought on by the
first doc's manipulation of my parts) and I was lucky that the second doc
also knew a lot about what happens after vasectomy. He was sure my
problem is back pressure on right side only. He could find the spot where
the epididymis connects to the testicle and any massage of that tiny spot
made me literally jump off the table. As to what to do at this time (7
months) he was not very helpfull. Remember this is a Buddhist country and
suffering is a part of the culture here. These people have a true love of
suffering!! I asked what to expect next and he says this pain could go on
for 2 to 5 years. He exlained that back pressure should shut down sperm
production in a few weeks or months to where it is not painful or
uncomfortahle. This is a natural reaction in the male reproductive
system. If the ligation is made too near to the epididymis there is often
trouble like this for a few months at least. The mechanism for making the
testicle slow down has to do with the lower section of the vas tube and to
cut too low could exclude that system from regulating sperm production. I
asked about testosterone therapy to prove that back pressure is causing
this pain problem. He had not heard of this being done but he knew it
would function in this way. He highly recommended against it due to
dangerous side effects long term. So I said, this means your
recommendation in my case is simple suffering. He then offered me more of
the Anti-inflamitory medicine (closely related to but stronger than what I
already took last week) to use when I "anticipated sex". I told him I
like sex every day and I never really plan it. He smiled and scratched
the pills off my chart he was writing on. In these two exams and
interviews I discussed the change in orgasm immediately after vasectomy
and the "empty" feeling as well as this feeling of pressure that will not
release - discomfort - that accompanies ejaculation. The responce of
these Urologists was simple. Why would you think there would be no
change? Of course you will no longer feel the release of pressure as it
cannot happen after vasectomy. But I say everyone I talked to before hand
said it makes no difference to the sex experience, they both nearly
laughed. I brought up an open end conversion solution with the second doc
but he said this is not in the text boooks in Thailand and that it will
surely bring on complications with sperm granulomas. I said I understand
this but those often cause no pain. He simply said We never do this.
So after a urine test which came out perfect and 2 interviews of about 1
hour total and 2 physical exams I paid my bill and went home (440 baht =
$11.25) yes eleven dollars and twenty five cents!! in a private
hospital in Bangkok. Today I will visit a doctor in a public hospital
which is also a teaching hospital so I hope to be more interesting to
these people. It is not easy to present a pure pain problem to a buddhist
doctor as he may look at it as a great opportunity to practice Buddhism.