Personal experiences

"I'm a 42 year old bachelor who has long known he didn't want to have children and decided that now was the time to get a vasectomy owing to a job change and impending loss of medical insurance. "Now or never" was my way of looking at it. The hardest part is the anxiety one might suffer prior to the event, but if you've got a good doctor that anxiety is completely unfounded. I can wholeheartedly recommend this procedure, and feel very satisfied and, in a way, liberated. Don't let fear keep you from doing this, fellas."

Andy had his vasectomy during the England V Australia Rugby world cup final. He listened to it on the radio whilst having the snip! England won . He read all the stories and information both for and against, and used this information in his decision to go ahead.

"Tied @ last : The story of my freedom from fertility...." is how Anjaan titles his story. The update is dated July 2005. He wanted to let us know that he's still happy with his vasectomy, and that it's had no effect on his active lifestyle - he's a marathon runner.

Vasectomy at 21. He concludes:- "Finally, even though I thought about the vasectomy for two years, I was still a little worried that I might experience what I guess might be thought of as the opposite of postpartum depression after it was *actually* done. Boy was I wrong. No sperm, no worry, and no regrets whatsoever."

"I am in my early 30s, live in Florida, have been in a stable relationship for 6 years, and value my freedom. I don't like the concept of marriage, I despise the idea of being responsible for a woman, and I hate the perspective of being bound to finance a mother's lifestyle by paying for some offspring resulting from failing birth control. In so many words, no kids for me."

"There are plenty of breeders in the world (I noticed 4 pregnant women on the way to and from the doctors' office yesterday) so I figure there'll surely be no shortage if I opt out of the program."

Written 21 years after his vasectomy. After six years of marriage, a pregnancy scare polarised Bskulli into making the arrangements for a vasectomy. His story follows the decision, the procedure and his thought on what he would do if he had his time again...

NSV story, written 2 weeks afterwards. "I have no regrets about having the procedure done. Although I'm sure I will feel strange when I'm told I'm sterile, this was a decision I made with my wife for our relationship and for her health."

This story is very detailed, and spans 18 months from the consideration to a year after the procedure, and has several twists and turns to it.

The story starts:- "After due consideration, I hit the internet. What I discovered floored me. I had always heard that a vasectomy was a safe and simple procedure with little risk. We obtained copies of medical journal articles, reviews, and studies. I spent hours reading them, and searching further on the internet. I never found what I considered to be "good" answers. So, I had to weigh the risk in another fashion. I decided that the risk of complications, both medical and financial of a pregnancy out-weighed the possible risks to my health."

He concludes:- "I remain totally amazed at how well this has turned-out for me, as even under the best of circumstances I expected to experience some measure of discomfort, but there was absolutely none. To this day I remain 100-percent convinced that this was the correct decision for me to make. It is a decision that everyone has to make for himself - I will share my story, but I will not try to convince anyone to do as I have. I guess the fact that I don't even think about it any more tells you quite a bit. Never had any problems, never had any pain or other after effects. Other than a few "positives" on the tests, everything has gone exceeding well. "

"The idea of vasectomy had been kicking around in my head for some time, about as long as could remember, probably as long as I had known about the procedure. Not wanting children and hearing horror stories of accidental pregnancies and not trusting my wife (or anyone else for that matter) with birth control, I had always wanted it done. However, I had this sort of defeatist attitude towards it, with images in my head of a kindly old doctor telling me to 'come back when you're 40.' One day it had dawned on me that now married and soon to turn 30, I was near an ideal candidate, or at least someone who could make a good argument for wanting one."

Childfree vasectomy at 22. Dairenn details how he prepared for the consultation, and he discusses his web research into post-vasectomy clearance.

Dan was nervous, and had an IBS attack just before the procedure was done. "Research, research, research! (But don’t believe everything you read). Find a doctor that is willing to answer your every question and if he doesn't, get a different doctor! Thank you all for helping me through this. The Internet is a very valuable resource and I don't know where I'd be without it." says Dan.

"I'm 27 no kids, I never wanted any. I'd done a ton of research on NSV, opened ended, scalpel, etc. Literally spent hours of company time researching this stuff and felt very informed. I was very nervous the urologist would say no because I wasn't married and didn't have kids. He was very cool about the whole thing. I told him I'd researched this a ton, knew this was minimally reversible and to be considered a permanent procedure. He agreed to do it. He did listen and didn't dismiss any of my concerns. I made the appointment to get it done less than a week later. I got off work in the morning (I'm a fireman). Sat around the station and joked with the oncoming crew (who over half had had the procedure themselves). There are two things out of my control that were unpleasant - one is the nervous buildup of having it done, and the other is not being able to exercise much. I'm a Triathlete and marathon runner so exercise to me is like a lifestyle."

Childfree vasectomy in New Zealand. "Probably the worst part for me was the hair regrowing - it was very very itchy!! I had my first semen test after 6 weeks - this came back all clear. The second test a couple of weeks later, and the test results came through this morning - all clear. I'm officially sterile. It's a great feeling."

"My vasectomy at age 19 - I was childfree before it was fashionable!" is David's title. This story is added to both the childfree and veterans sections as he had it done way back in 1980. It's a very interesting story, and he concludes that "If you are really ready to make that decision, don't let anyone dissuade you, it is your choice and your path in life. Women aren't the only ones who have to "prove" to their doctors that this is what is best for them and their futures, although my experience pales in brevity to the wait some of you have gone through to become sterile."

Dennis wrote up his story an hour or so after he got home, so that the memories were fresh. He ends the story:- "Right now, I'm eating some nacho's with cheese, happy to be home and feeling good that I made the decision to have it done. My wife's health is such that a pregnancy could be dangerous and its nice to know that, even though we'd always used multiple forms of 'protection' (pill, foam, & condoms), we won't have to worry about a 'surprise'."

"I am 22 and have no kids nor a significant other - this is strictly a scare-prevention tactic. Just minutes short of 24 hours, I'm alive, with morning wood which was REALLY great to have, and the whole previous day's event are sinking in. I'M GOING TO BE CHILDFREE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! All in all, the whole experience has been remarkable in its unremarkableness!!

Jason got married at 21 and had his vasectomy at 23. He felt "Less whole" immediately after the all clear was given, but 5 years later he reports:- "I’m glad I had it done. I have no regrets."

My childree vasectomy by "Everyone's Favorite Texan Transplanted To Belgium".

"Jeff's trip to Sunkist land" is the title - a reference to "All juice and no seeds" I guess! In his own words:- "Like many of the other contributors to this page, I thought I'd share my experience so that any of you who are considering vasectomy might breathe a bit easier. If you're thinking of having a vasectomy, I hope this has helped you to see that it's not really such a big deal. Good luck!"

"I wanted a vasectomy when I first found out that I could make kids whilst I was in special ED classes in school. Because I was a slow learner I didn't want kids like me or worse. I was 14 years old when I found out that I could make kids and found out how to I asked my family dr about it when I was 15. My vasectomy was march 17 2004."

This story is a little unusual on two counts. Firstly, Jonathan had a testicle removed for testicular cancer a few years before the vasectomy, and secondly it took four months and four samples before he was declared sterile.

M is Greenfeather's wife. She tells the story from her perspective. "I know how difficult a decision this is for most guys, and didn't know for sure if he would go through with it. We are childfree, and want to remain childfree, so sterilization was a good option. It just remained to be seen who would get sterilized. I'm relieved to be done with birth control pills finally, and very proud of my husband for doing this for us."

Marcus is childfree, and had an open ended vasectomy at age 23. As well as writing about his vasectomy experience, he's also sent in some photo's of the recovery and his foreskin restoration. The link to the pictures is in the story.

Short, childfree story about a Planned Parenthood vasectomy.

Childfree 30 year old's story, written two weeks post-op.

Interesting childfree story. Nick discusses his reasons for getting sterilized in detail.

Australian childfree vasectomy story. "I came out of a long relationship with an infertile woman, and I still have no desire to have children. At 39 I still look early 30's and have some interest from some younger, and my guess fertile women. Before enjoying my status of born again virgin, my biggest fear is the impact of getting someone pregnant; it happens even with contraception. I'm now a member of the infertile club. Although I didn't need it immediately, it was good to have it done. For me it helps as a communication tool. I say to a woman "I've had a vasectomy" they respond "You can have it reversed"; I say "No chance". We have a clear understanding, which is different to "I don't want to have children", where the woman still sees you as having the juice, but not willing to share it for procreation. It eliminates a certain section of prospective partners, but makes things more honest. I practice safe sex anyway, but if there is some stupid drunken activity, I know there will be no surprises later."

Billed as "our story". It's written jointly with his wife Phloxina. It concentrates on the decision, and has a wealth of advice about the mis-information you can get on the web.

Richard calls his story "Think twice". He had his vasectomy just before his 28th birthday after years of contemplating the decision. Some time later he met a lady and became close..... "I plan on having a reversal performed on me as soon as I am able to afford it. You may think that a vasectomy is the right thing to do and for some it probably is but please think twice before going through with it." Added to the childfree and regret sections.

Simon searched for a doctor he was happy with - he knew what he wanted. "I've read some of the stories on here in which the doctors don't go over very many of the risks beforehand, but not this guy. He was quite thorough. Every possible risk that I'd read about online he brought up and described, including PVP. None of his vasectomy patients have had PVP, although two guys with PVP were referred to him who had had their vasectomies performed elsewhere"

No - I don't know why he calls himself that either!! Anyway, snorkle (AKA Gary) is in the UK, and had it done under a GA. He says:- "I will be going back to work after a week off and have been doing some Tai Chi. I will be back to running and doing very vigorous sport in a fortnight. So then guys I really don't know what all the fuss is about."

Childfree lady posters story of her husband's vasectomy from her perspective.

"I've been bothered with chronic epididymitis most of my adult life, with pain ranging from barely noticeable to flat on my back in ER wanting to rip out the offending part with a spoon. Needless to say, performance was an issue during these times and condoms were certainly of no assistance. The thought of an unplanned pregnancy was always lurking in the back of my mind-which was also of no assistance in the performance department. So, what other option does a guy have but to entrust his most precious possessions to a (hopefully) skilled professional for alteration."

However, Tim is childfree. Coupling the epidiymitis with the childfree status meant that his doctor wasn't so keen....

"Advice: Make sure you take it easy for two days afterward. I did not and even though there was only mild discomfort I would have been a lot better off. Our sex life took up in 2 weeks and is better now that we don't have to worry any more."

"On about day 3 quite a large haematoma appeared on my penis. My wife made me sit with a bag of frozen sweet corn on my nuts and take homeopathic remedies (apis mel and arnica). Surprisingly this really helped with the swelling and bruising. Well I have to say that day 12 was the first time I felt really OK. My wife and I managed a 5 mile hike. In retrospect, I have no regrets at having had the procedure and would recommend anyone who is seriously considering it to go ahead."

Trifold is one of the regular contributors to this site and the newsgroup. His story is entitled "All you ever wanted to know about post-vasectomy sex but were afraid to ask..."

Vanessa says:- "Hi! My husband recently underwent a vasectomy, and we had such a positive experience, we wanted to share it with your website. Hope it's useful!"

"Getting a vasectomy is by no means a decision that should be made lightly, or on the spur of the moment. For those of you in the younger age bracket, make it clear to the doctor that you have thought it out, and that you are aware of the permanence of the decision. Not all doctors will do it for you, but if you are persistent enough, you will find one that will."