Post vasectomy pain after 2 months

Men's health
1

Hi I had vasectomy on 22 Aug 16. I'm not sure if it was a non scalpel technique or not, but I suspect not as my surgeon seemed a little 'old school'. I was badly bruised on my left side for a week or two after the Op and got an infection at the incision site on the RHS, which cleared up with antibiotics. However, after 4 weeks I was doing ok and had ejaculated several times without incident. However, 2 weeks ago, straight after sex, I had immense pain, mainly on the left hand side-by-side and since then the pain had not gone away

It's still mainly around the bottom of the left hand testicle, but also in the groin area and occasionally my leg too. I've got an appointment to see the surgeon on 14th November, but in the meantime I plan on going to the GP to discuss the pain as Ibuprofen isn't cutting it. I'm worried about what the surgeon will recommend, I'm getting really down about this and if a reversal is going to mean I'm pain free I'd go ahead and pay for it. I'm also really angry as I don't feel I was fully briefed on the potential for long term pain. Has anyone gone for a reversal this soon after the original vasectomy? Thanks, Shaun

2

I waited two years in pain while the NHS p*ssed about with appointments, scans etc. and then suggested cutting more of me away. 

I had not signed up for that!

had a private reversal and although in pain for a few months the pain went away. Now all I have to show for the mistake of a vasectomy is a slight scar about an inch long down the seem line.

for me the only reason for a reversal was to stop the pain.. I don't want more children and never bothered going back for the test to see if I can .. just use condoms again.

sort of getting fed up with hearing more cases where the down sides were definitely underplayed. Was this because the clinic got paid for performing the procedure in the first place?

i would suspect that the docs will tell you to wait a while before doing anything.  I was told to smear volterol on my balls while in pain. For me all that did was leave me with wet balls all day. I ended up on co-codamole tablets until after the reversal had cleared up.

3

Hi Shaun

So sorry to read about your pain and very sad and angry that you too have been let down by Dr's who feel it perfcetly acceptable to deny us information with regard long term risks and ong term pain.

The official NHS rate is that 1 in 10 of men will suffer some form of long term pain after vasectomy - other reports and urologists put that risk at between 15% to above 43%

Ibuprofen will not even touch the surface of pain sadly and you you really need to get back to GP for prescription strength meds.

Be warned many GP's are either unaware of PVP or in total denial over it. Therefore you might find your GP will insist it is an nfection (which in fairness it may well be) and not give you pain relief but insist on high dose high strength antibiotics.

This is how I found myself, a disbelieving GP , which resulted in two full rounds of antibiotics whilst being left in excrutiating pain. So you may have to be very insistent with regards pain relief.

It may not be PVP but the pain on ejacultion, the pain in groin and the pain in leg area is what so many of us suffer and so it is very recognisable and therefore a possibility - but that is not to say it definitely is.

Reversal can help BUT the added complication there is that a reversal can also trigger PVP and if you already have it then it can increase pain etc. That said many who go for reversal find a reduction in pain, adly it cannot ever be totally eradicated but at least it can possibly come down to a level you can live with.

I opted for epidydectomy rather than reversal, which rules out a reversal at a later date. In my case it didn't solve the problem but made it worse.

Whatever option, surgical wise, you consider you need to ensure you are aware of all risk factors - don't be taken in by we have xx% success rate only - make sure you ask all the qestions you want and are given every single risk possible - overkill yes but at least you will be aware and can make an informed decision with informed consent - something the medical profession liikes to deny men the ability to have and do with regards vasectomy.

Please get to DR as soon as possible to get some decent pain relief, it will help take the edge off pain for you.

Ejaculation can cause huge pain and it isn't uncommon for it too feel like your testicles are being torn inside out with waves of pain after sex, so needless to say for the time being try to avoid sex until you get some decent pain relief.

Hope things begin to really improve for you and the pain lessens

cheers

Marc

4

Oh .. the other option that was suggested was cutting nerves to stop the pain.

Now if cutting two relatively large visible pipes caused this kind of pain, then I had absolutely no trust in the fact that cutting smaller nerves might not end up with me loosing feeling somewhere rather important from my POV!

I chose, in my case, a reversal first, then would explore other options if that failed to work.

i still think that you would be advised to wait a while (once on pain meds) before taking any further action. Less is sometimes better

I would say is that once you have had enough you have to manage the NHS like a project.  Important questions like when will I get a reply/appointment? What is planned? And if you don't get a reply within an agreed period then chase them.

i was married to a doctor at the time who said "Oh that will take ages" so I did not bother chasing. That was one of my biggest mistakes.

good luck!

5

Thanks for the advice guys really helpful for when I see the surgeon on 14 Nov. I've also been to GP and he reckoned could be infection so I'm on a 10 day course of antibiotics. They don't seem to be doing much so far! Also got 2 weeks of cocodamol 30MG which although helping a bit do not stop the pain and I'm still having real trouble sleeping through it at night. I'll keep you posted!! Cheers Shaun

6

Hi

Ok so the GP did the usual and suggest and treat for an infection, which it may be in fairness.

If the pain has not died down after this course of antibiotics he / she may well suggest another round but of a stronger type such as Azithromycin - usually the type to treat an STI as they are powerful.

However if the pain has not died down after the course of meds you are on, and I sincerely hope it does, then when they go to prescribe the stronger antibiotics ask for stronger pain relief as well.

Don't worry too much about PVP as it may well be just an infection and any infection in that area, especially if deep rooted, will be very painful.

With luck the treatment you're on will help, and don't forget it can take a while ofr meds to start to working anyway, but if it doesn't then along with the 2nd treatment they'll give start pushing for a urlogy referral at that point.

You need to push early for a referral as they can take quite some time to get an appointment due to referral times and on how busy the hosptial is. So don't request one yet as with any luck the treatment you're on now will knock the pain on the head for you, but do make sure if the GP suggests 2nd treatment you ask for referral and then mention PVP.

Again though don't worry too much as antibiotics may not reduce pain for the first 4 to 6 days as they are fighting the infection which in its own right can cuase pain to same the same or slightly increase, then once they begin to win the battle with theinfection the pain should start to reduce.

If you can try and sleep with a pillow between your legs at nights as that will, hopefully, create a bit of a gap and keep pressure off the testicles. Also try and wear the tightest briefs you can to provide support. I found a jock strap helped massively - especially at night.

take care

Marc

7

Thanks Marc I have an appt on 14 Nov with the urologist that did the vasectomy so by then I will have completed this course of antibiotics. Also I'm pretty sure I can now feel quite a big lump near to the incision site on the LHS. Could this be a sperm granuloma? If so do they get big enough to push against the testicle and so could that cause the pain? Having said all that I'm also now feeling a dull ache/pain on the RHS...

8

The incision site will feel like there's a lump there for quite some time. You might also notice a lump near cut end.

Both will settle and reduce in size over time so don't worry about those.

The ache on right hand side you'll need to keep an eye on, if it gets worse then back to GP soonest. Not that it'll be bad just that if infection also moves over you'll need to get extra dose of antibiotics.

Don't worry about the lump though, that's to be expected..

Take care

9

Hi Shaun, you are like most of us, doctors doing vasectomies never tell us of the  many problems this op "simple for the surgeons" lets us in for. I have had a reversal which helped me a lot but I still have some pains. For me I could not sit down because the pressure from the seat always hurt my testicles, as well as other pains, so I went for reversal and never regetted that decision. Having the snip for me was my lifetime disaster decision. Good look

10

Morning All

Glad I saw your replies etc..... Here I am after 10 days, last day of 7 day course of anti's and now experiencing an excruciating sharp burning pain in the left groin area from the top of the old man to the hip bone.....basically along my old hernia op scar. Also feels like I have an extra testicle under the right hand incision as the lump is sore and bigger than the pea size that is mentioned.

I'm obviously worried and wondering if after my last day of tabs should I be planning on a trip to A & E....

Any reply would be appreciated and by the way....hope you lot are all sorted now

11

I agree with David.  Sililar experience, 2 years of pain and was offered the option to have more of me cut away. Instead I opted for a (private) reversal first and although recovery was slow I am now pain free and look back on that period of my life as a disaster.

12

Hi mob, good to know that a reversal worked for you too.

I feel more should be told about the many problems, before surgeons start the cutting, the sperm tubes also act as a " method of getting the testicles out of harms way and act automatically to pull the testicles up tight into the scrotrum. Nobody told me about that at the clinic I attended. All the best.