How long does vasectomy recovery take?

You stupid bastard. Count your blessings. 3 weeks post V, and in much pain. U dumbass. U have no idea. I've always been in great shape and tough as sh*t. Recovery is not always quick or, unfortunately, guaranteed. Dumb sh*t!!

I thought I would share my experience, because I definitely started getting worried that I was going to develop long-term problems as well.  I'm here to say that recovery from the surgery is different for everybody and don't get discouraged too quickly if you're not healed in a few days.  I have spoken to people who did recover in a few days, and I have spoked to those that were more like me.  I had my no scalpel vasectomy 10 weeks ago, and it hasn't been until this past week that I started feeling about 95-98% of how I felt before the surgery.  Here was my experience & recommendations:

Days 1-5 - had very little pain.  About day 6, I started getting very sore, mainly at the incision sites coming out of the testicles.  After about 10 days, I spoke to the urologist, and he gave me a prescription of naproxen for the pain.  I probably could have gone without it, but I was very uncomfortable.  I would say it was at least 6 weeks or so until my testicles didn't hurt to some degree 100% of the time (significantly when jostled).  At about the 6 week point, the incision sites quit hurting, but the epididymis of my left testicle became swollen and started to hurt.  This lasted until about week 9 or so.  It is still swollen, but I am mostly pain-free at this point.

I am still getting a little sore from time to time, but at least 95% of the time, I don't notice any discomfort any more.

My biggest recommendation for anybody having this surgery...buy yourself a few jock straps & wear them during the day from day 1 until your pain subsides.  You will thank yourself.  I haven't worn a jock since I was in high school, so I just bought compression shorts & thought those would work.  They didn't work very well.  They really smashed my testicles instead of supporting them.  After a week or so, I purchased some briefs (I was wearing boxer briefs), and they helped, but not as much as the jock straps I bought after 2 or 3 weeks. I slept in boxer briefs, as it gave my testicles a little break from being pulled up tight all day, and it didn't bother me too much while I was sleeping.

Hopefully in another week or two, the pain will be 100% gone, but for now, I feel pretty good.  I have to say after a month or so, I was really concerned & starting to think I shouldn't have had the surgery.  At this point, I'm feeling a lot better about it.  I really wish the urologist set realistic recovery expectations, though, so for those who do take a little longer to get back to normal, they don't worry about it for a couple months.

For anybody who is still sore after a week or two, I really think this is completely normal.  As long as after a month or so, you very gradually get better each week, stay positive.  It might just take your body awhile to adjust.

I had my vasectomy done on a Thursday afternoon (scalpel type with two cuts) and the procedure went well and only lasted a few short minutes. I drove home, got in the recliner and put on the ice.  I took two extra strength tylenol and watched TV until bed time.  I only got up to use the washroom, grab a snack and to change ice packs.  I took it easy all weekend and kept the ice on.  I returned to work on Monday which is a desk job and had no problems at all. I just took it easy and wore tight underwear.  That night I iced some more.  On Tuesday I had to spend quite a bit of time in a car and while that wasn't too bad, that night I forgot (for a minute) that I had just had a vasectomy (was feeling good) and lifted something just a little too heavy in my yard.  I wasn't in pain, but felt a bit of discomfort in my lower abdomen.  I was a bit peeved at myself... but I had hoped it was temporary.  It lasted a couple of days and I took Friday after work to just lay on the couch and take it easy.  That seems to be helping and I'm icing a bit more and taking extra strength Advil.

 

Overall, the key is icing for at least the first 3-4 days and relax on the couch.  Don't do anything.  Some have suggested not going back to work until 7 days have passed.  I think that's actually some good advice.  Even though I was told I could return to normal activities on the Monday, I'm not sure now what that meant.  

 

Overall, the hard part is just accepting that it could be two weeks before returning to normal activity despite what the doctor says in his recovery materials. After about 4 or 5 days you can roam around your house and go to the store... but I wouldn't suggest sitting non stop in a chair or doing manual labour at work.  I'll be waiting until day 14 before I attempt lifting weights and getting back into my exercise routine.  I'm not a wuss, just want to make sure when I've revoered I'm fully recovered 

I had my vacectomy done May 1 2014. It has been 21 days and I'm still not right. No major pains but I do have quite a bit of discomfort in both testicles combined with lower abdoment discomfort. Also they are both very tender to touch though it's strange because when the doc tested things the other day he was squeezing pretty hard and I didn't really feel all that much. So it seems that the tenderness comes and goes - I have no idea why that is. I'm still wearing support and walking a bit funny. Havent tried much excersize which is driving me crazy. I'm worried but am confident things will work out. I know a few people who have had similar experieicnes with this (1-3 months of discomfort). Still, really anxious for things to get better. I wouldn't want to live like this.

Hi any change for you? When did you start feeling better? I'm in same boat.

Have you recovered. I seem to be in a similar situation and am quite nervous about this.

I'm 4 week post op and in the same situation that you describe in your post. Did things get better? How long did it take?

I agree! I found it very difficult. I had pain for 10 days. You can do only small amounts of work after that 10 days. I really struggled with the whole procedure.

For me, the pain lingered for about 4 months and sex did not feel as expected until 6 months had passed. I had no orgasm sensation at all for about 4 months, but things slooowly improved. Spent 5 months months regretting the decision and the last month being thankful I went through with it.

Can you describe the kind of pain you felt?. I've been suffering since my op 5weeks ago

Sure. The left testicle was mostly fine after about three weeks and the surgical site of the left vas had very little swelling. The right side however had a tender swollen nodule where the tube was cut and maintained a low-grade ache that occasionally send a sharp pain up into my abdomen. The entire process seem to go through cyclical phases, such as the epididymis being swollen and tender for a couple of weeks, testicle hurting after sex for a couple of weeks, testicle swollen for a couple of weeks.

Over time, each symptom become less intense and less frequent. Somewhere around 4 to 5 months the abdomen pain increased for a few days (felt like what I imagine a hernia to feel like) then went away.

I've spoken to other guys who agree that you should take the what-to-expect-the-first-week post vasectomy brochure and convert the days into weeks. For me, it would have been more accurate to convert the days into months.

Thanks. I've driven myself pretty much insane worrying about this. It's been 7 weeks and both testicles are still very sore to touch and I have a dull ache in the left one that radiates up and down. I suspect the soreness is from inflammation in the epydidimus. This has been a nightmare. Were your testicles quite sore to the touch?

Yes, both testicles were sore to touch for weeks, and the right one continued to be sore for months. The interior cut ends of the vas were tender when touch during the early weeks, then the epididymis began to go through periods of swelling and being painful to touch. I had a follow-up visit with the urologist at 4 1/2 months in which they prescribed antibiotics, however the pain was mostly resolved at that point.

I sympathize with driving yourself insane. I was doing the same thing. Hang in there.

Thanks for responding - I really appreciate knowing I'm not the only one that's gone thru this.

I had mine done 3 weeks ago.
The op itself was fine - a bit of pain from the injection but after that i felt nothing. A few hours later when the anesthetic wore off the pain hit me. It was quite bad - in hindsight, I should have taken some pain killers.
The next 2/3 days were fine, there was very little pain - just some swelling.
Day 5 it got worse, there was a good deal of pain on my left side. The pain stayed for a few days - and got worse as the day wore on. I needed painkillers most nights. I rang the doctor and he recommended I wait another week, as this is not uncommon. The pain continued for 4/5 days but then started to subside.
By 2 weeks the pain had gone away - only a slightly uncomfortable feeling, but this is a massive improvement. So i was delighted.
It is now 3 weeks, i was feeling nearly back to 100% but I had sex the other night and it has started off some niggling pains again. I am hoping it goes away soon and i think it will. Probably just aggravated something.
Overall, I wish i never got it - its not worth it. I have spent a lot of time worrying over this - and while it seems to be a straight-forward op with no concerns - its far from it. I brought this on myself at a time when everything was fine.