A quick note from Christine ::
Much over-sharing is about to take place. I can assure you, however, that Ray has not embellished or exaggerated a single thing… after the first sentence.
Now might actually be a good time to shoo your kiddos away. Oh, your hubby too, especially if he plans to have a vasectomy in the near future, as this is a very graphically written (and unedited) post!
Consider yourself warned.
P.S. Ray begged me to let him write this post!
So after birthing seven kids, Christine begged me to get snipped so she didn’t have to endure another painful pregnancy. (<— Not true.) So being the loving and understanding husband that I am, I agreed, especially since (The rest is true. —>) it’s supposed to be a quick procedure and recovery.
That may be true, but not if one of your testicles swells to the size of a rock-hard cantaloupe! And that’s exactly what happened to me.
Actually, it was probably bigger than this
By the time Christine and I arrived home after the initial procedure, I was already massively swollen and it was getting bigger, so much so that I couldn’t even feel my left nut. Everything was consumed by the swelled right one! And it was extremely hard to the touch. And a bit heavy as I recall.
After a quick Internet search to self-diagnose, we discovered that in “rare” cases, a vasectomy patient can experience post vasectomy hematoma – basically internal bleeding and swelling. According to my aunt who has assisted in thousands of these procedures, I had a “bleeder” that may have started bleeding after they sowed me up.
Whatever the case, I called my doctor and his first words in broken English were, “When was the last time you ate or drank anything?” That’s right, emergency surgery was needed to stop the bleeding.
So there I was in the ER getting some crazy cocktail mixture from the anesthesiologist, about to go under the knife for the second time in just eight hours. That’s when my brother, who drove me and stayed through the procedure, decided to take a picture for posterity (Available upon request). It wasn’t until I saw the pic that I realized that not only was I even more massive than usual, but the swelling went way back…all the way back! Think really bowlegged cowboy.
Anyway, I was shocked to say the least, but the drugs did their job and I woke up in my hospital bed where I spent the next 18 hours. I discovered that Dr. Chen had put a straw into my sack to drain all the blood. Imagine a black and blue Florida orange with the straw poked in the bottom.
Use Your Imagination
And unfortunately, it’s a real slow drain. After more than two weeks, nine days of shots in the butt to help fight infection, and countless bloody gauze replacements, I’m almost back to normal. Just a few days ago, my left nut finally reemerged relatively unharmed. So all’s well that ends well.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
OH DEAR! I’m not showing my husband this as it will be his turn eventually… yikes! Glad you’re feeling well enough to write about it… hope you heal up completely soon!
Wow Ray, sorry to hear about your fiasco with what should have been a simple procedure. Christine, I think you now have your sympathy incident for what women go through when their milk comes in after the baby is born. And just think, you had to do it multiple times, he only got it once. Sorry, I just couldn’t pass this one up. I am glad that Ray is doing much better finally.
So funny that you should say that, Sharon! I had JUST commented to Ray about how similar (in an odd and twisted way) the two were! LOL
Be Warned:
If I ever get to meet you, I’ll probably have your left nut in my mind the whole time. Just thought you should know that.
I’m so glad you’re better now though;)
I was just thinking the same thing as Lori! LOL
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I’ll keep that in mind when we meet.
So not cool! But very cool that you shared with us! My husband would have told you to skip it in the first place. His vas was not so eventful, but his REVERSAL, that was tough. lol
There are lots of medical side effects to vasectomies that he didn’t know about and now suffers from.
The reversal, well, that is not so fun. The put metal clamps on the two ends of each side, so 4 clamps, ON THE SKIN before they cut into you. And at some point they used something electric that sent a shock out his main man part that nearly sent him through the roof! He was NOT happy!
Wow…that’s disturbing. Not going to get a reversal, that’s for sure.
I understand and appreciate your decision to do this as a couple. I have 6 children myself and KNOW the challenge. I have never known ANYTHING as challenging. Having said that, I must (in all Christian charity) suggest that fear of children is a poor reason for any of us to intentionally destroy part of our God given healthy bodies. I feel the same way about the damaging chemicals and hormones that husbands ask their wives to take because they fear more children. How can a man see a full page of fine print on the risks and dangers of his wife’s pills/devices and not be concerned enough to find a better way? (incidentally, I have a good friend who had a heart attack when she was 21 because of her BC pills. She was healthy before that and the link to the pills was confirmed by doctors)
I know the answer to this. First and foremost is FEAR. I get it. BELIEVE me. I know that fear very, very well. The second is the fact that almost every fertile couple in the free world is doing the same thing and no one gives it a second thought.
While researching vasectomies a while back, I learned that, besides normal surgical risks, there are also additional long term health risks. You see, just because the ducts have been cut does not mean that body stops producing sperm. It continues to be produced at about 50,000 spermatozoa per minute. With nowhere to go, many of them produce antigens that cause antibodies to be produced. These then infiltrate the blood stream essentially causing the body to develop autoimmunity (or a type of allergic reaction to one’s own body). Want an example of autoimmune diseases? Think MS, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, atherosclerosis. These antigens have been found in men’s bodies as soon as two weeks after surgery. It is so common, that an absence of these antigens has been considered an indication of hormonal malfunction. There have also been studies showing a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer in vasectomy patients.
I don’t tell you this stuff just to be a giant doormat. I respect your challenges. It seems like you and your husband are interested in knowing what is best and you openly share your thoughts. It wasn’t that long ago that you shared with us your decision to stop taking a hormonal contraceptive because of the negative side affect it had on YOU. I would think you would want the same health and well-being for your husband.
This is not a “judgment” on you. It is a challenge in love from a fellow sister in Christ. His path is never easy because it requires carrying crosses and bucking the trends of the world. You’ve already done that by having 7 kids! Instead of damaging your bodies, perhaps you can make a lifestyle change that either 1) respects your health while you avoid conception or 2) allows you to embrace more children. I know all the objections because I live them. But love generally requires more sacrifice than we feel willing or able to make.
Again, recognize that my comment is given in love, not judgement. I assume you have never heard this stuff before and would never knowingly encourage your husband to do something harmful to himself.
I chose to post this publicly because I don’t think you are the only ones who could use this information. We are a world gone mad. Where football players where pink to increase cancer awareness but still ask their wives to take cancer-increasing hormones. Weird stuff. Maybe if more people would be as open to life as you have been, there would be more support for big families and less panic in our motherly hearts at the thought of another.
For Melody, thanks for sharing your research, but it is a personal decision & one I don’t think is jumped into lightly for anyone. No form of ‘birth control’ is perfect. But it’s benefits have outweighed the risks over the course of this century. I think of Margaret Sanger and her life accomplishments as a nurse, seeing women ‘butcher’ themselves, b/c barefoot & pregnant was a real concern for poverty stricken families & diseases. Anyways, good research.
Ray, man O’ man… you will definately have an edge on compassion.
Thank you for sharing your research and convictions, Melody.
As Peachez alluded, Ray and I did not make this decision without much prayer and consideration. In fact, we had been discussing and praying about it since after #6 was born, but didn’t believe it to be the right time to make a “permanent” decision (hence the reason for trying the Mirena).
After my last pregnancy and the complications, however mild, we decided this was the best decision for our family. Even the delivery was the most difficult (the twins excluded) – I hemorrhaged after Timothy’s delivery and clearly remember the doctor mentioning that my uterus was “tired”…
It was time. For us.
Melody,
Interesting comments…thank you. What caught my attention was the supposed connection between prostate cancer and vasectomy.
I did a little research and from what I can tell, the procedure may indeed increase one’s risk. However, the findings are not conclusive by any stretch of the imagination and, if indeed there is a connection, it’s a very small increase numerically. Something on the order of 7 per 1000 men to 11 per 1000 men after the procedure. See this article – http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=3365
Also, nothing happens in a vacuum and in my view, diet, exercise and good ol’ genes will play a much larger role in any given man’s future health than a vasectomy.
As to the other considerations, the decision was based much more on Christine and her health than on fearing children…I’m pretty sure that with seven kids, we’re not the type to fear little ones.
Further, we have a desire to adopt and the more natural children we have the harder that becomes. For example, we can’t adopt from China because we have more than four children.
That said, good perspective and thank you for your comments.
I don’t know whether to laugh or throw up. WOW. So glad you’re on the mend.
WOW! I’m almost speechless.
I’ve been begging my husband for months to quit being a weenie and go get the procedure done before we end up with a 4th but I made the mistake of showing him youtube videos of the procedure. It was actually meant to show him how easy the procedure is but it didn’t quite have that effect. So now I wait until he gets the images out of his head.
Hopefully you’re healing up nicely now.
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I think this post is a perfect argument for the use of the pill and other forms of contraception. You might want to submit to Trojan, there could be some money in it for you.
So sorry to hear about your complications, Ray. I was hurting through the entire piece.
I suppose it could be, however I have plenty of arguments AGAINST the pill and the IUD (particularly the Mirena – http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/migraines/)… To each his own.
I only have one word.
OUCH.
I will never let my husband read this!
-FringeGirl
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…what Lori said!
Hubs freaked out when I mentioned to him that he should have a Vasectomy. He’s not allowed to read this!
Ow… ow… oh ow… and did I say, ow?? Thanks for sharing. I made the mistake of reading this aloud to my husband. Now we’re both thinking, “Um, wow. Ow.”
Oh my! LOL I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at your pain! Hits a little too close to home! My husband just had a vasectomy last week and has been complaining about his nuts ever since!!
But, after reading yor experience I don’t think he has much room to complain.
Ray so sorry your recovery became so difficult!
Just to throw out an additional option and perspective…
My husband had what is called a “No Scalpel Vasectomy” in July. The procedure is quick and supposedly less painful. My husband was very happy with the decision! He was up and wanting to return to work after just 2 days, and I had to force him to stay home a relax to make sure he healed perfectly. He had very limited swelling, and has been happy to recommend the procedure to all our friends considering permanent birth control.
Totally agree with Clay!!! OMG!!! Before this article I hated condoms and pills..now? I think they are our best friends!!!
Ray, wish I would have read this before my Vasectomy. I had the same results. 4hours after surgery I felt a burning tare in my lower abdomin just above the penis on the right side. It hurt like hell and swelled right away. After about 2 hrs I called the doctors answering service. When I told them what had happened they put me through to the doc. He ask me what er was close and said I will meet you there. They kept me over night to observe and only do the surgery if we had to. I was able to self medicate, with a button, through my IV with a button. Every 8 minutes I could get a shot of dilaudin, stronger than morphine they said. I was still up all night hitting that button. Nothing worked. I was surprised to see the doc so early in the morning. He met me around midnight and said he would be back in the morning to see me. He was there around 3:30am. Said he couldn’t sleep. He had done nothing wrong in the surgery, it wasn’t his fault, it just happened but, he felt terible and had done hundreds with nothing like this ever happening. I was given a ultra sound in the morning to make sure blood was getting to the testicals. Everything looked good except the hematoma obviuosly. I went home and watched things grow and grow and grow. I have all the swelling you described and massive bruising on my rt hip that was black as well as my scrotum and penis. The blood formed large lumps on the penis too so it was all deformed. The bruiseing even goes to my but. If I lay down the pain is better but with all the doctor appointments that I drive myself to and the walking I come home bigger and in more pain. The Hydro was not working so now I am on Oxycodin and it doesn’t work either. It’s been 11 days. I am on bed rest for another 11 days at least but was told the recovery would be “weeks and weeks and weeks”. Oddly enough my right nut swelled up like you and the left one is MIA. I am sure it will show up again but for now it is gone.
Any more um, insight, parden the pun, would be appritiated as to how long things took. I am a jet engine mechanic working on the aircraft for the military and heavy lifting is a daily part of the job as well as working in difficult positions even when healthy. Climbing ladders up into the jet bow legged will be a problem too. Right now, from the moment I stand up it hurts almost unbareably to several minutes after I lay down. Sitting is not possible.
By the way I found this post through Google trying to find others in my situation by typing “Vasectomy gone bad”. Please write. I am looking for some other than doctor insight and maybe good news. Thank you! Carter
Hi Carter,
I’m sorry to hear you are in a similar situation as I was. Did they ever operate? My situation slowly improved for months, but took at least three until I was mostly back to normal. Even now, six months later, one testicle is harder than the other. And don’t worry, the “missing” one will return. For me it took 2 weeks. Email me at ray@razorsharppr.com if you want to chat further.
-Ray
OK I just read this after seeing Ray’s FB post….As my wife and a few of her girlfriends have been pushing me and the other husbands toward getting snipped yet we are all TERRIFIED!
Understanding you ladies go through h*ll to birth our wonderful kids, this post just scared me to death…LOL…Was definitely not good for me to read….and I am OK with being a YELLOW BELLIED CHICKEN.
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