Ultimotion's experience -
added 16th April 2004
It will happen to me tomorrow...
November 6th,
2003
It will happen to me
tomorrow...
Although I've been intending to do this for some time, I'm feeling a little uneasy now that I am about to go through with it.
It doesn't matter that my reasoning for doing it is flawless. The question about having another child was settled in my mind long ago. (Not that I don't love my son, but one is enough thank-you-very-much.) Plus (in about 3 months when the final test comes back), there's the added appeal of more spontaneity etc.
And it's not something I can put into words or really explain even to myself. I'm not worried about the procedure, pain, or the post-op stuff. My father jokes that he spent the night playing poker sitting on a pillow and an ice pack.
Maybe it's because when I mention it some people say "I'm sorry to hear that." Huh? I can understand the flinch reaction, or even a confused what-would-you-do-that-for look. I (plus my wife) have simply made the decision that we don't want any more children and I am making that more permanent.
November 9th,
2003
A report and some reflection on the
event.
So Friday morning I walked down to the hospital (10 minutes away) got checked in and quizzed and shown into the room and was told to strip and lie down, the doctor would be with me as soon as he finished with the guy who was here before me. This was fine with me and it allowed me a moment to relax and then visit the bathroom.
I can't say much about the surgery itself, I stared at the ceiling and tried not to react too much. Not painful, but dang unpleasant. I also really wanted something to bite down on like they show in the movies. But it was over quickly enough and I walked back home.
Even afterwards it wasn't that painful, although I did take a Tylenol 3 (+codeine) every 4 hours with a double dose before going to bed, and tried to ice the area every so often. Yesterday it was more of an aching soreness (kinda like I'd been kicked the day before) and today I only get a twinge sometimes when I move.
The uneasiness I had previously evaporated with the pain. Whether that was the real reason, or now that it's done any objections are moot I don't know.
April 15th,
2004
I feel like Schrodinger's
cat...
After the soreness wore off and the swelling went down, my wife and I started waiting for the day when I would be declared sterile.
The doc said to get the sperm check done after 3 months or so. Unfortunately, the check I had done at the end of February didn't come back clean. And although the doctor's assistant didn't seem concerned, I started to worry that maybe the "little snip" wasn't as complete as it should have been.
I dropped off another sample for testing last week and I will call for the results tomorrow, so the possibilities are weighing on my mind. If it comes back clean, all will be good with the world. But if it doesn't then I wait for another couple of months to get a final test done before it's concluded that something is wrong.
Unfortunately, there isn't anything I can do about it. But with each failed test, my spirits sink.
April 22nd,
2004
More waiting
The second test came back negative as well. The doctor's assistant tried to be optimistic, but I'm not. However, I'm not as gloomy about it as I was before I got the results. Maybe I've just come to terms with it. So now I will wait a few more months, get the last test done then figure out what happens next. As I told the assistant, "I didn't want to be a repeat customer."
It appears that I had a standard No-Scalpel Vasectomy with a single puncture on the left side of the midline. No shaving required, no post-op problems (other than the soreness & minor swelling which went away after a week or so). The doctor is a urologist, does quite a few of these and was recommended by my GP.
July 17, 2004
update
Sterile at last!
July 9th I dropped off my third sample for analysis, and I can say my expectations were low. But the doctor's assistant said do another after eight months, so that's what I did. So today I called back and got the all clear. Whee! (Though part of me wants to go out and get a microscope and check myself just to be on the safe side.)
Ultimotion