Anyone considering vasectomy an option?

[Jamimclaugh]

My dh is having it done the end of April. Its a lot easier for them then us, but def only works if he's willing! We talked long and hard, and figured two children is enough for us! I would go in for a consult about side effects etc, but honestly it is very safe and low risk of side effects.

[crystallion]

I'm interested in it but hubby is afraid of post-procedure pain. Wikipedia says up to 1 in 3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-va..._pain_syndrome

[nettepoet]

QUOTE=crystallion;16404473]I'm interested in it but hubby is afraid of post-procedure pain. Wikipedia says up to 1 in 3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-va..._pain_syndrome[/QUOTE]

post-procedure pain scared us as well, but not as much as another kiddo did. we have a 14 yr old DD and a 6 yr old DS with a new accidental baby due in 3.5 wks.

we felt our family was complete with 2 but will welcome #3, we just cant do a fourth. that said, i still have at least 14 more child-bearing years ahead of me--a vasectomy was a no-brainer!

im also a big proponent of male birth control. first of all, men are fertile ALL THE TIME, not us. so why should we have to either take hormonal BC or otherwise when we are only fertile about a week out of a month? second of all, we do literally EVERYTHING else related to reproduction. periods since we are 12 with all that goes with that-- PMS, sore breasts, cramps, fatigue, leaks, reduced productivity a week out of the month, mood swings...and then pregnancy with morning sickness, leg cramps, varicose veins, weight gain, emotional roller coasters, possible complications a mile long, then later feeling like a hippo and not being able to sleep or breathe or get comfortable at all, not to mention LABOR and BIRTH which dont get me started bc i am nearing 37 weeks and im not looking forward to it again. LADIES, LADIES, if your DH is worried about a little post-op pain what in the world- just sit and think about what our bodies go through as far as being taken over and giving up all the nutrients, then birthing a baby and dealing with the recovery -hemorrhoids, tears with or without stitches, nursing pain and complications, PPD, how our bodies change and stretch and endure it all...oh my goodness gracious. there is just no thinking that we got the fair end of the deal in reproduction bc we didnt. i wouldnt change the fact that im a woman, dont get me wrong, but from where im sitting (HUGE AND PREGNANT), a man's role in all this looks like dtd and walking away and then throwing an obligatory look of pity your partner's way while you offer HUGS.

seriously. i love DH dearly but frankly it was his turn.

he said it hurt but not a lot but now he is experiencing some lower abdominal pain the doc said is normal. we are 2 days post-op. awww, poor baby. dont worry, ive been giving him plenty of pity and lots of HUGS. :P

[songbird516]

The biggest worry about the vasectomy is the higher chance of prostate cancer. My husband's family is a cancer magnet, I swear. His dad died from cancer at 47, and most of his aunts have had or currently have it. His diet and lifestyle is a lot better, but I'd like not to add any positive factors if possible.

[kaydove]

Our biggest worry is the body treating the sperm spillover as foreign and then going into a autoimmune response.

Add the fear of cancer.

If it was just post op pain, it would be a no brainer. His body, his choice.

Sent from my iPhone using DS Forum

[laila]

Originally Posted by nettepoet QUOTE=crystallion;16404473]I'm interested in it but hubby is afraid of post-procedure pain. Wikipedia says up to 1 in 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-va..._pain_syndrome post-procedure pain scared us as well, but not as much as another kiddo did. we have a 14 yr old DD and a 6 yr old DS with a new accidental baby due in 3.5 wks. we felt our family was complete with 2 but will welcome #3, we just cant do a fourth. that said, i still have at least 14 more child-bearing years ahead of me--a vasectomy was a no-brainer! im also a big proponent of male birth control. first of all, men are fertile ALL THE TIME, not us. so why should we have to either take hormonal BC or otherwise when we are only fertile about a week out of a month? second of all, we do literally EVERYTHING else related to reproduction. periods since we are 12 with all that goes with that-- PMS, sore breasts, cramps, fatigue, leaks, reduced productivity a week out of the month, mood swings...and then pregnancy with morning sickness, leg cramps, varicose veins, weight gain, emotional roller coasters, possible complications a mile long, then later feeling like a hippo and not being able to sleep or breathe or get comfortable at all, not to mention LABOR and BIRTH which dont get me started bc i am nearing 37 weeks and im not looking forward to it again. LADIES, LADIES, if your DH is worried about a little post-op pain what in the world- just sit and think about what our bodies go through as far as being taken over and giving up all the nutrients, then birthing a baby and dealing with the recovery -hemorrhoids, tears with or without stitches, nursing pain and complications, PPD, how our bodies change and stretch and endure it all...oh my goodness gracious. there is just no thinking that we got the fair end of the deal in reproduction bc we didnt. i wouldnt change the fact that im a woman, dont get me wrong, but from where im sitting (HUGE AND PREGNANT), a man's role in all this looks like dtd and walking away and then throwing an obligatory look of pity your partner's way while you offer HUGS. seriously. i love DH dearly but frankly it was his turn. he said it hurt but not a lot but now he is experiencing some lower abdominal pain the doc said is normal. we are 2 days post-op. awww, poor baby. dont worry, ive been giving him plenty of pity and lots of HUGS. :P

Thank you! Love this. Men do far less than us in all respects involving reproduction. They need to man up. And yes, there are risks involved, but there are also risks involved in having children as well. I took the risk. There are more risks to us messing around with our hormones for the rest of our reproductive years than their very slight increased chance of getting cancer. My husband would rather risk it. Our problem now is him waiting to make an appointment. We now can't even get a consultation until July. Ugh.

[nettepoet]

Originally Posted by laila And yes, there are risks involved, but there are also risks involved in having children as well.

yepp!!! and avoiding having children. plan b side effects/complications, birth control side effects and complications, for those that choose to- abortion side effects and complications...one type of cancer and an immune response look like nothing if you do a cross-comparison with the above.

i have 3 friends with hubbys who have gotten the operation, a bro-in-law, a neighbor, and 2 uncles. none of these dudes had any issues with immune response or cancer--not saying that such a small sample means anything, but i definitely felt for us that the pros far outweighed the cons, and the risk was one we were willing to take.

as an update on DH--he is now perfectly fine and mobile, even built me a fence for my cucumbers this morning before he went to work! he is just feeling itchy from healing stitches.


good luck with your appt. mama! and in the meantime be careful, LOL. waiting for the procedure is when this current kiddo snuck in back in sept. we put it off again bc i had horrible morning sickness, and then got busy with a million other things, but i told him that by the time i was recovered from having this baby he better not have any sperm. :P

[sandhillcranes]

I do not worry about dh having pain from the procedure itself but the more research I did on vasectomy, the more articles I found re: men having CHRONIC pain for months or years after surgery. We decided it wasn't worth the risk. We enjoy that aspect of our life if ykwim and I wouldnt want to jeopardize it.

For those looking for alternatives to surgery and cannot stand traditional condoms, I HIGHLY recommend lambskin condoms.

[kaydove]

Originally Posted by sandhillcranes I do not worry about dh having pain from the procedure itself but the more research I did on vasectomy, the more articles I found re: men having CHRONIC pain for months or years after surgery. We decided it wasn't worth the risk. We enjoy that aspect of our life if ykwim and I wouldnt want to jeopardize it. For those looking for alternatives to surgery and cannot stand traditional condoms, I HIGHLY recommend lambskin condoms.

This. My DH and his family typically are those that fall in the 2% of people who have medical complications. DH had a complication with his tonsillectomy where a branch of his carotid artery runs into his tonsils, so when his scabs fells off, he started bleeding profusely and almost died from blood loss! 2% of the population has that complication, very rare.

His mother died from a rare complication, his brother is dealing with a rare hernia. So, we're not risking it. At this point with his and his family medical history, the risks are something we very much considered. We've decided not to risk it.

Also, the alternative isn't hormones. We're using a combo of withdrawal and nfp. I have a diaphragm but haven't used it yet.

[gingersnappy]

My husband had one during his first marriage, after 2 kids. He assumed the marriage would last and he was done with having kids. I think in theory a vasectomy is a great idea, but it can be a game changer or problematic in the future if the marriage should fail or a child die. He had it for about 8 years until we had it reversed, at 1000s of $$. It was great when we were dating but when I want to get married and have a baby.... it sucked, knowing that the reversal may not work. The process itself, according to DH, was painless and it is safe (no assoc with cancer)