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Comment by jwdunne | Hacker News Reader

Bang on.

Me and my partner were planning on me getting a vasectomy in a year, when her implant runs out.

We've had to bring that forward a year because one side effect is also a symptom of cancer or polyps.

After removal, she experienced a huge lift in energy levels and greater stability of mood.

I have 2 children so a vasectomy isn't so bad an idea. Even still, it is an invasive and permanent treatment and I'd prefer something less so. Nobody likes the thought of a scalpel down there. Even a physician who wants to get it done.

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As a father of two: Said procedure is incredibly harm- and painless.

I understand the fear, but I've seen people (even here) spread a lot of FUD about it. If you prefer something else: Sure! If you're merely uneasy about the process: Don't be, it's so common, fast and easy.

Isn't that a normal response to a voluntary procedure? Fear? Uncertainty? Doubt?

Mine hurt for more than a month. It's worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but hate it when people go around telling everyone that it will all exactly be the same. It ain't. Muzzle velocity is lower and the ammunition is visibly no longer standard issue. Further, the recoil action is quite a bit less intense. There's a lot of psychological stuff going on in this mind space, and discounting people's feelings about what is ultimately a primal urge is just foolish.

My vasectomy a year ago left me in chronic pain on one side, and with a significant reduction in enjoyment of sex. I have spent thousands of dollars on treatment, and will soon go for a reversal, which will cost around $12k. I'm not sure what I'll do if it fails, but orchiectomy is on the table. Vasectomy was the worst decision of my life.

There is a real risk of chronic pain, which can be devastating, and it is much more common than the literature would have you believe.

Pro tip: go to a place that does the no-incision variety and then make sure that's what you're getting. Just the first part isn't enough. Just because you read that they take the same amount of (doctor) time and so assume that any place offering them must only do those, and that if they didn't they would surely offer you a choice, don't neglect to double check.

Source: all too painful personal experience (guess what doesn't always work on the first try? That's right. Local anesthetic.)

Thank you :) Don't get me wrong, I'm not frightened away from it. I have a GP appointment on Tuesday for a referral. I think it'll be some time on the NHS but no doubt less time than this contraceptive becomes available.

Different people have different reactions. I've known guys who just shrugged it off, and others who were in a lot of pain for weeks.

> We've had to bring that forward a year because one side effect is also a symptom of cancer or polyps.

Can you please elaborate on this, or link me something? Without going into too much detail, my partner has an implant, and has been having a cancer scare recently. I would really like to know more about these side effects of the implant, which as you say, are also symptoms of cancer / polyps.

Vaginal bleeding, regular spotting, cramps and fatigue. Above and beyond the irrelugar periods implants cause.

It was only by the doctor's mention that we got the implant removed ASAP so we could see if it was that. If not, we could explore straight away.

Fortunately it was the implant. I'm not so sure about giving false hope as I don't know the ins and outs but it is possible.

The particular cancer is endometrial.

Thank you for that information.

I've relayed it to my wife, and hopefully that's all this is. She's seeing a doctor today, so the timing couldn't have been better.

Edit: I would reply to your below comment, but I can't for some reason. But, just wanted to say, thank you.

I hope it all goes well for your wife today. I know it must be a really anxious time for you both. The above happened to us in the last week so the terror of the prospect is still fresh.

Plus, unlike women, you/men can bank sperm in case you have need of it later.

That's not entirely true... I'm not saying it's even CLOSE to as easy or as cheap as collecting sperm, but woman are able to have their eggs collected and frozen for future use.

True, but women have to take drugs to stimulate egg production for harvesting. These drugs have side effects. My sister in law went through hell during multiple rounds of IVF.

Spanking one (or many) out in a cup at a collection center has virtually no risk to the man.

Check into Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome...

http://www.advancedfertility.com/ovarian-hyperstimulation.ht...

I think the GP mentioned that because this subthread discussed a "permanent" solution for men. Storing sperm might be a workaround for future "wouldn't it be nice.." regrets. An insurance.

I'm not aware of mainstream (or any, really) permanent solutions for women, at least not to replace contraceptives (medical reasons - like cancer - for an invasive surgery don't count).

So, if women usually don't decide to become sterile (?), the process to collect and store eggs seems less relevant.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Women can have their eggs frozen and undergo tubal ligation. That's pretty analogous to vasectomy and frozen sperm, albeit quite a bit more invasive.

Biology question: does having a tubal ligation affect a subsequent IVF pregnancy at all? Are there records of such a case happening?

Looks like you can do it, but it also looks like they normally try to reverse the tubal ligation first.

Hi. I'm against vasectomies and all contraception because my religion (Catholic) teaches they are gravely sinful, but aside from this, I've read that some very small percentage of men have recurring pain for years following vasectomies- something to Google/ think about if you're considering this. Like the top commenter said, another option is Natural Family Planning - the Symptothermal method taught by the Couple to Couple League, which sells a home-study course) boasts an effectiveness rate rivaling hormonal contraceptives for couples who follow the guidelines. This does require periods of abstinence, which sucks sometimes, but is otherwise free and side effects and free for both couples. Another Symptothermal way is Daysy, which my wife and I haven't tried but looks cool since it does all the charting/rules for you. God bless and best of luck.

Huh, you weren't kidding:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/periodic-abstinen...

although we do have this:

> "You really can't extrapolate from this paper," says David Grimes, an obstetrician-gynecologist and vice president of biomedical affairs at the nonprofit public health organization Family Health International. "Naive readers see these results, and they think [STM] is the greatest thing since laptop computers. The researchers on this paper went back and cherry-picked this data from an ongoing study from the past 20 years. They chose the users who were the best users for this method."

and there aren't any references there at all. Besides, the requirement that a couple perfectly adhere to the rules is pretty ... unergonomic.

(caveat: I'm of course not remotely anti-contraception, but it was a fun couple of searches)

When my wife and I decided to have our first child, we did basically the reverse of this method (ie, had sex exactly when this method would tell you not to). And we were expecting after the first month. So, the predictability is there; it's just the usability that makes this method not a reliable form of birth control.

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