How long does vasectomy recovery take?

Hey guys I am 3 weeks and still experiencing dull pain in my right testicle. This has caused me great depression and thinking my life is over and that I have PVPS. Please tell me there are other out there that have experienced the same. Work has suffered, home life has struggled because of this. I am losing hope.

My vasectomy recovery took awhile but I was masturbating the same day I had the procedure done.

you are a brave man in this day and age .. most marriages don't last .. i pray your's does .

Me too. Day 7 and I'm still in pain.

On day 7
Doc said I can have sex now. But as much as I want to I just can't. It hurts when I drive and one testi is still swollen. I did some dumb things like play softball on day 4 but I did not run the bases.
I also carried up groceries up a flight stairs and brought 5 gallon water jugs. Guess this is why I'm not healing fast enough.

I’m on day 18 and still very uncomfortable, especially while driving. I’m wearing supportive underwear, which helps a lot, but the pain comes back (esp. on the left) if they shift at all or gravity takes a hold. I too worry about PVPS, but I try not to as I’ve read so many stories of people taking months to fully recover and then being fine. No point catastrophizing at this early stage.

I was off work for four days following the procedure (which was painful at the point of injection, but just uncomfortable and disconcerting after that) but didn’t ice or spend as much time off my feet as I should have afterwards. My wife went out with one of our kids three times in the first two days, leaving me to take care of the other. I hate looking like a hypochondriac so didn’t complain and I wonder if my recovery has been hindered as a result. My one-year-old also had a nasty fall and I had to rush her to hospital on day 3, which didn’t help (although I completely stopped noticing my plums until I knew she was alright – thank you adrenaline).

I think stories about how much pain people can endure aren’t really helpful as it’s all contextual. I once got stung in the eye by a jellyfish and the pain I’ve experienced following my vasectomy is much less intense than that. However this pain is in my b****cks, so I consider it harder to cope with. I’d shrug off ten times this pain if it were anywhere else.

My advice would just be to not buy into that ‘you’ll be fine after two days’ sh1te. Some guys will be – good for them. I had my father-in-law scoffing about how he had his done, drove straight home and was hammering in fence posts with his balls by lunchtime (or words to that effect). Being in pain weeks or months later doesn’t appear to be uncommon or mean that you're on the road to a life of PVPS and gloom. Recovery is all down to your personal biology, how the procedure goes and a whole load of luck.

I notice you wrote this 25 days ago and would be interested to see how you're doing now. Don't lose hope either way.

Currently on day 9 post op of a vasectomy. Again like many of the stories that I am reading in here I was completely misled about recovery. Had the procedure done on Monday and was back to work on Wednesday/Thursday. I'm a critical care RN so my job can be some what demanding depending on the day. The first 4 days did not seem that bad, but I know that I probably over did it. Doctor said it was ok to have sex 2-3 post op of which I did. I've been reading a lot of research and I feel like this was too early. It was not until day 6 and 7 rolled around that I knew I was in trouble. Constant feeling of being kicked in the nuts, chronic dull/aching pain that radiated into my abdomen that at times left me nauseous. However no signs of infection, no fevers, chills, discharge from incision sites (no scalpel). I had completed my full round of Keflex and was taking about 3,000 mg of Ibuprofen a day just to somewhat knock the pain and discomfort down. I demanded to see my urologist by day eight as I had swelling in my right testicle that he confirmed was my epididymis. Therefore I was prescribed Levofloxacin for 14 days and told to continue taking NSAIDS (Aleve x3 daily). MD also told me that it was still ok to ejaculate which I thought was odd. Now I am day 9 and have massive swelling in my left epididymis. Has anyone experienced this? I am concerned as I feel this swelling has been triggered from having sex and ejaculation. Also considering that I don't feel like I have an infection why am I being prescribed and antibiotic to what makes more sense is congestive epididymis (a knot in the firehose). I also have been placed on 2-3 weeks strict home rest. Going to get a second opinion next week prior to my follow up with my original urologist.

I am at day 24 now and have similar symptoms to yours. I invested in a jock strap, which has really helped with my pain. My epididymis also feel swollen and sore, more so after ejaculation. I'm able to have (careful) sex now but take naproxen and co-dydramol immediately afterwards as I know what's coming.

Annoyingly I asked the specialist at our first meeting if there was a risk of getting epididymitis as I had suffered from that before. He told me straight out that the vas and epididymis are in different parts of the scrotum so there's no risk at all. In hindsight, and with a small amount of research, this is clearly not true. Best to avoid asking vasectomy advice from people who are paid to perform them.

My GP has said that he will refer me back to him if my pain has not gone away in another two weeks. He used to perform vasectomies himself and said he would be 'disappointed' if any of his patients were still in pain three weeks later. Seemed to blame the specialist for my situation, although he did also say that the pain 'always goes away eventually'. Not sure how much I trust him though, as he also said that he performed his own vasectomy, so is clearly insane!

not at all and since u are now sterile go ahead and blow your load inside her too

I think what it comes down to is how good your Dr is. The pain during the procedure was really bad when he clamped on to my tube it hurt soooo bad. The injections were about what I expected but they just didn’t numb everything up that well. When I stood up after everything was done I had to lay back down for 10 min because I almost passed out. I’m on day 7 and still sore but able to do most things. I think if I would have gone to a different Dr I would have had a better experience.

I think you correct about the Dr. Mine was an old GP and he claimed to have done many. I didn't experience the type of pain you describe, I'm not sure the tubes have any pain nerves in them but the scrotal skin does. I could feel the pulling when he pulled the tubes out to cut them and it felt like he had a dull knife. It felt like he was sawing away at it like you do when cutting a piece of rope with a dull jack knife. When he went to cut my sac for the second side the pain killer had worn off some or he was cutting not quite where he had put it and had to give me another shot.

On Saturday it will be 6 months since my op. For about 2 months I had on and off pain and every second month thereafter I would get a swelling behind my testis and have pain for a day or two just to return to a painfree period.

Don’t lose hope.

Are you painfree now?

Hi All. It’s been noted that there aren’t many happy endings posted on here as people likely stop visiting the site once they are fully recovered. As I found this thread a source of reassurance while recovering myself, I thought I’d write a quick ending to my story, as I posted a couple of times before (at 18 and 24 days – see above).

I’m now at 11 weeks and all pain, bar the occasional twinge or very mild ache, has gone. Sex is back to normal and I am finally feeling glad that I did this. My balls feel ‘different’ and are possibly more tender than before (although I might just be more aware and over-protective of them now), but that is something I’m getting used to. I’ve ditched the jock-straps and am back to normal (supportive) underwear, and I haven’t needed any pain meds for over a fortnight. I found myself running around with my son like I used to at the weekend, without consequence, which was a great feeling.

The following things proved to be my friends: Jock-strap, pain meds as needed and a cushion for my car seat to reduce pressure on my nards. The purchase of the latter seemed to be a turning point.

Those of you who have suffered for years, you have my upmost sympathy – I genuinely hope you find some sort of resolution soon. If you’re a month or two post-op and still in pain, don’t panic. From what I’ve read or discussed with friends, you’re well within the ‘normal’ zone.

Don’t panic. Be patient. Be optimistic. And, when you’re past this awful phase, leave a note here to reassure your anxious brothers-in-balls.

Day 4 of post vasectomy. No pain during nor after. Took it easy for 2 days, lots of ice. I think secret is no ejaculations for a while. It hurts when I get up off the couch. Hoping day 5 is better. I work 12 hour days on my feet. The worst is mopping at end of shift. No sympathy from wife after 12 hours