How long does vasectomy recovery take?

Guys, I really appreciate you sharing your experiences. I am currently 5 weeks out from my vasectomy and still somewhat sore. Pain is so subjective and hard to describe, but to give you an idea: I notice a dull ache from time to time throughout the day as I go about normal activity, and a more pronounced ache if I handle myself directly (e.g. in the shower). Jogging is out of the question for now, and my urologist has advised that I avoid my usual exercises (weight lifting). The wear of experiencing pain each day together with my worry that it will go on indefinitely AND not being able to exercise has me feeling pretty low.

It's in this context that I say it's extremely uplifting to read about your stories of going through the exact same thing and then getting better. If you've posted here before, I would love to read a follow-up. It might be safe to presume that folks who haven't posted again just got better and left all of this in the past(?) If so that's great because there are a lot of those here. Still, would be great to hear some follow up stories.

My recovery time has been somewhat isolating. Again, would be great to hear from anyone else who is in the same boat, either on this board or via e-mail. 

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Hi I posted just above you. I am now 7 weeks out and I am still in pain.
From week2 - week3 i was fine. Then week4 -week5 i was in pain. Again over xmas I got better and had4/5 days of pain free which was nice. But it came back - perhaps I overdid it, we had sex a couple of times again. I am starting to wonder is it related.
I have had a few bad days but started to get better again and the last two days have been ok - feeling a bit better. The pain is less intense. Now I am back in work today - I will see how this goes.

Great to see your response below and see someone with similar issues to myself. Again I would be delighted to discuss somewhere else.

Hi there, me again, the guy who posted just before you (and had my email removed from the moderator, lol). My name is Eric. Sounds like we're both had vasectomies around the same time, for me it will be 8 weeks tomorrow (vasectomy done on Nov 14th, 2014). I would also like to chat elsewhere but due to the guidelines here I don't think there's any way we can share e-mail addresses (or send PMs).

So in your case you don't experience any pain except during or after sex? Do you have any soreness / tenderness apart from that? In my case, I don't really notice any pain during or after sexual activity (maaaaybe a bit more testicle pressure before orgasm, but if so it's subtle and I may be fooling myself). Rather it's just an on-going soreness that is mostly annoying and sometimes painful when jostled. If I don't wear supportive underwear things can get more sore. I'm still unable to do things like jogging or even kicking a soccer ball very hard (causes some painful jostling for sure)... and I still have to be careful when washing in the shower. But besides those things and unfortunate one-off type bumps I don't have pain. I've been in close contact with my Urologist and here's something I can share from an e-mail he sent me in the third week of December:

"The body is adjusting to the fact that the epididymis has fluid and sperm built up inside. It has to adjust it's fluid level production and sperm production and this can take a couple months (and in some cases more). Most men notice that the testicles feel "full" after the procedure, but the length of time can be 5-7 days or several months. I still expect you to get better over time. There are rare men who don't find this new "normal" acceptable, but it's MUCH to early to determine that."

For what it's worth anyways. This whole thing has been a mind bender for me because up to now I've never been in a position where I had on-going pain and/or such a slow recovery time from, well, anything ever before. I guess it's easy to convince yourself that it's never going to end but that's not really a rational viewpoint based on where we are now in recovery. Still it's hard not to worry when we're reminded of it daily. :) If you think of a way to share e-mails let me know, otherwise I'll try and check back here. All the best, Eric

Hi Eric,

Mark here. Yes, it does sound like we are in a very similar situation and i had mine done on the exact same date as you 14th November.

Just to clarify my problems.
I have a bit of general tenderness in my testicles - mainly on the left side. I don't really notice that too much during the day - only when I hit off it or it gets jostled a lot. Its not bad.
I also have a soreness/pain in my left testicle that is similar to a dull ache. Its not very painful maybe 1 or 2 out of 10. But its constant for the day. I have periods where I forget its there - which are great.
I just bought a jock strap today - as I think it might help. I do feel like my whole hip/pelvic area is very loose. I get some odd niggles all over it too - but not pain really.
I am unable to run/jump and stuff like that - but otherwise I am able to function well.

I haven't seen a urologist yet - just my doctor who has told me to wait and see. That's probably my next step. Having said that - I have been feeling a bit better this week. Perhaps I am just dealing with it better.

Just praying this goes - Does it go for people?
Searching forums and things I am not sure when/if people actually recover. I have heard a lot of people feel better at 2 months/3 months/6 months. But i don't know if this is true - I haven't come across too may people online who say they got better - perhaps they just dont post once its resolved.

Hey Mark,

You've hit the nail on the head- there simply aren't very many accounts of people who are going through a recovery process like we are. You'll either find folks who had a normal recovery period of 7 days, or people who are in much worse shape and suffering long term pain (6 months to years long). I have a couple of guesses as to why. 1, MOST men don't have any problems lasting longer than 1-2 weeks. And 2, there is very little incentive for anyone to actually follow up and/or chat about their experience once their pain goes away. That's also a problem you run in to when you're searching the internet for a tech problem for example. You might find a forum post of someone who has the same problem with their computer that you have, but you have no idea how or if they were able to solve it since the trail suddenly vanishes. For us, this SUCKS because we're only left with the accounts of guys with long term PVPS to read, while in actuality there may be no reason to think that we're headed that way. But it's easy to think so since there "appears" to be so many people posting about long term pain- in actuality I suspect they are a very small minority of vasectomy patients but because their symptoms are so dire you end up hearing from each and every one of them online. What I wonder is, if we could somehow query everyone who had a vasectomy in the last 12 months, what the results would look like. How many took 2-3 months to recover, how many took 6 months? etc.

That's not to say there are no similar accounts out there- I have found a handful. As a way of reassuring myself I've put together a list of similar anecdotes from the web. Interestingly many of them are from road bicyclist forums. 

Lets keep in touch every here, it's interesting and helpful to compare notes with someone who had a vasectomy on the exact same day. Mostly the pain is an annoyance for me now with a rare painful bump, very similar to what you mentioned. I'm hoping this goes away in the next month. The funny thing is I could easily deal with this for the next six months if I just knew for sure it would be gone by a certain date.

best, Eric

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Its been 2 months since I posted. So i think I should give an update as I know it makes me feel better to read stories - especially when its not all doom and gloom.

I still feel a dull ache in my left testicle - the pain has subsided slightly. But it is still there. I wake up in the morning and it is not too bad at all, I sometimes have no pain at all but it gets slightly worse as the day progresses. I am not in bad pain - more uncomfortable and frustrating.
I had 4 good days in a row over the weekend. But the last 2 days have been a slight setback. This pain seems to come and go. I cant understand why it gets worse and better. I am keeping a diary to try and stumble across any patterns.

I bought a jock strap which seems to help a lot with walking. I am still not running or exercising or doing any sports - but my day to day life is improving. Maybe i am adjusting to the pain. I no longer spend my whole day thinking about this. I am still in pain. It goes from a 1/10 - 3/10. But generally about a 1 all day with a bad spell of a 2 in the evening for an hr or two. I find when I am busy doing something i forget about the pain. Overall I am hopefull that time will help this issue.

I think a big thing is to try and stay positive, I've had some down times and it can be very tough.

ive had a dull ache for 2 months now
did yours go away in the end?

Hi, mine has still not gone away - coming up on my 3 months anniversary. Over the past month things have improved a bit. I seem to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back. But it is becoming a lot more manageable. Perhaps I am just getting used to it.

Its a rollercoaster, just as I think I am better something happens to bring me back a step or 2. Stay positive!

I just want to say stumbling across this message board helped me greatly when I was kind of freaking out on Day 4-6 when I felt like I was still in a lot of pain.

The biggest mistake we make is listening to all these stories of men who were "back at the gym on day 3" and you feel like you should be good on day 3 as well, and that this procedure is so simple and easy, WRONG!

The expectation should be set by doctors that the recovery period will be 1-2 weeks at least, so when people are still having pain on day 6 they're not panicking.

I myself found the procedure was quick and the only pain was during the freezing. I was sore as expected the first few days and might have over did it with the kids. My worries started on day 4 when all those stories I listened to about a 3 day recovery didn't come true. I was EXTREMELY tender in the testicles from day 4-6, and at work during the last part of my shift it hurt so bad I was basically at the point of limping around. This is when I started to panic a bit and read a little too much about the complications.

My recovery really didn't start to take off until yesterday, which was Day 8, I saw the doctor as it was recommended to see my family Doc at the 1-2 week mark, he said all looked good, no infection, everything seemed fine.

I decided to check the pipes for the first time yesterday and much to my relief, it felt just like before and no repurcussions from that.

I still have some minor tenderness in the testicles, but walking isn't a problem, and they're not AS sensitive to the touch anymore. I notice some movements that created a good deal of pain and discomfort aren't bugging me as much anymore (getting off the couch, sitting down, getting in the car etc). I also have some bruising but it's starting to fade. I know I am not 100% out of the clear and won't feel like it until I have zero symptoms, but I am feeling relieved.

If I could give any advice to guys planning on getting the procedure or are worried about the recovery a little early as I did....

-just be patient and don't scare yourself reading horror stories, be realistic about the recovery time, expect 1-2 weeks.

- Pick up some briefs, this is HUGE, it provides support for the boys and reduces pain, do this ASAP!

- ICE ICE, and more ICE!! I didn't even start this until probably day 3 or 4 for some stupid reason, but it helps a TON! And don't feel bad resting even if you have kids, it seems lifting the kids and moving around too much could slow the healing.

Good luck to everyone and to those experiencing long term issues, I hope things start to turn around for you fella's!!

Question to all,
Is it normal to not get turned on days after the procedure. I am shocked to feel that three days after the procedure, I feel nothing. I sit next to my woman and she is like come on dude... How about a kiss and a hug.

Did that pain ever go away? My husband is having the same issue now- fine for a few days after surgery, then pain on one side 4 days later.

I had mine done on Friday (3/27). The procedure was a breeze with minor exceptions. I have a HIGH tolerance for medication. I did not feel the first injection. I barely felt the second. The third made itself known, but the doc told me that's the one people hate. It was due to location of the injection. I felt some pain during the incision, but a little extra numb juice and I was good. The left side was a quick run. On the right, I had a runner that had to be chased down. The whole thing felt like 10 minutes (due to doc's epic bedside manner/distraction techniques), but was officially timed just under 31 minutes. The nerves before hand were the worst part of the whole thing. I felt normal after leaving, though my wife drove. We grabbed a bit to eat and went home. She made me take my pain meds though I felt nothing. I iced off and on, on occasion. I took a half dose of pain meds the day after and iced off and on. Two days later, no meds, but I found a bath helped awesomely. I went back to work on Monday, but having to get up and down from my desk a bunch of times had me sore by the time I left. It was manageable though. Tuesday got me. I had to take pain meds and hit the bath again. Wednesday was day 5, which was the day I was cleared for "Active Duty" in the bedroom and my wife was getting impatient. I was still having some sensitivity and aching, so I was going into it lightly and testing the waters. I actually found that sex made all pain go away after about the first 10 seconds and lasted for a couple of hours afterwards (endorphins?). The bruising also showed up on day 5. I NEVER bruise so that was odd seeing bruising. Today marks a week. I have had no pain meds (including OTC stuff) since Tuesday. I still have some aching in the lower abdominal area. I still keep the jockstrap in play. Sex life is normal, but we're cautious. I was told that it can decrease the enjoyment of the orgasm, but I found it to be the opposite. I can relate to the "2 steps forward, 1 step back" feeling. The swelling is not 100% gone and the bruising is working it's way through its stages. Sometimes there are shoots of pain I would refer to as a twinge. There is aching most of the day, but it is completely manageable. Oh, I have also avoided all strenuous activity. Sex and sitting/standing a lot at work has been the biggest amount of effort I have put into anything over the last week.

I had mine done on Friday morning, today is Tuesday. I took two pain pills an hour before the procedure. The shots aren't fun, but it's like a shot at the dentist, manageable. The right side was first, and I wasn't all the way numb. It hurt, but it was quick. The left side was numbed up perfect and that side was easy. Did my best to rest and ice, but it's hard with a 5 year old running around and you're trying to hide from him what's up. So I probably didn't ice like I should. Got back to work yesterday, which is office with some driving around. Try to limit your drive time in the first week, it starts getting sore for me pretty quick. No bruising or oozing, but the right side continues to bother me. I'm managing with the occasional bag of peas and extra strength Tylenol. It feels a little better each day. I hope to be near normal by the weekend.

Pretty much my experience; I am 41. One incision. Rest for 2-3 days, lots of ice - don't push it.

I agree! I'm on day 7 and it still feels like someone kicked me in the balls lol it's slight discomfort in both balls and low mid section but the first few days I didn't stay off my feet. I have 3 small kids and I was home alone with them do I think I'm paying for it now