I'm going to get a vasectomy! (Anyone need anything while I'm out?)

I've always known I didn't want to breed. It's not that I necessarily don't want children, but I never saw the big deal about having my child be of my seed. Other major factors include: overpopulation, environmental concerns, tens of thousands of children dying of hunger on a daily basis, and a fundamental mistrust of pretty much every other form of birth control.

I've also come to the conclusion that if any woman can't agree with my decision, at least understand and respect it, then she's not the right one for me anyway, for more than one reason.

I've done some research and I'm going the 'no scalpel' route. I got a referral yesterday and I'm making an appointment to meet with the doc Monday. I'll be shooting blanks by the holidays!

Why am I on my soapbox about this? I've never seen a whole lot on sterilization generally, vasectomies specifically, on DU and thought it was about time. Plus, I'm about to do it and am curious. Anyone got any horror stories, advice, thoughts, opinions, questions, comments, etc.?

...have kids, are working hard to raise them, and don't want any more babies. And I suspect that many of them would a) love a good partner to help them and b) be quite happy to not have to worry about birth control.

...about a month after my daughter was born. One of the best things I've ever done. My partner and I had no interest in having more children, and it's MUCH easier for men to practice permanent contraception than for women. It's better than temporary contraception for women, IMO, because it doesn't screw around with their hormones, can't be overlooked, and is 100 percent effective in all but a vanishingly small number of instances. For people like me (I'm not promiscuous and prefer long-term, stable relationships) it removes the single greatest concern about having sex. That, in turn, enhances the relationship for both partners.

I think you're making a fantastic decision. I've always been glad that I did it. Bravo!

on edit: little soreness for a couple of days, nothing to worry about. Don't plan on any horseback riding the first day or two afterwards. A little itchiness when the shaved patch grew back in. That's about it. Any woman who's ever had tubal ligation for sterilization should castrate her partner on general principles....

Turtle's Childfree Rant Page: http://www.fred.net/turtle/kids/kidrants.shtml

It's also a jumping off point for many childfree links... including this one...

My childfree personal ad page where you can search other personals, add your own, etc. - http://cfpersonals.com

As you may guess, I'm childfree as well, which means I don't want kids at all - someone else's or mine. I did get a vasectomy about 1.5 years ago. There are horror stories, but those are few and far between and are likely to show up on the net or be heard from friends while all the success stories don't since they're less interesting.

There was very little pain involved - the worst was the initial shot "down there", but that pain goes away pretty quickly. After that, you'll feel tugging where you normally wouldn't feel tugging. When you start getting uncomfortable, the doctor sprays more anesthetic on you. You'll feel some sort of "buzz" (not as in high but as in electrical) when he cauterizes your tubes, but it's more just a weird sensation than discomfort. Whole procedure takes about an hour.

You can then drive yourself home, sit on a bag of frozen peas for an hour or two, and take it easy. Get it done on a Friday if you can so you can relax. I'm a fast healer so after being tired of sitting on frozen produce for an hour, I stopped and experienced no swelling. I did wear more supportive underwear for a week or two just to be on the safe side. After that, have a wankathon to get rid of your little swimmers. :)

Your biggest problem might be finding a doctor who's willing to perform the surgery on you if you don't have kids. I was lucky in that I didn't have that problem.

Contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

TlalocW

we hung a couple of ping pong balls with string from his chair. Just having fun at his expense, ya know?

who did not want children. Some people claimed it was a selfish motive.

Then, in VA a religious couple who had adopted several children murdered one of their adopted children. He was unruly. They tied him up and bascially kept him as a prisoner and beat him eventually to death. The religious community backed them up, claiming they were a generous couple that had adopted children and selflessly raised them as their own...yada yada yada. That was their 'image'. That was the 'image' they loved to have...selfless religious folk!

Right then and there I realized that any person who does NOT want children and goes to lengths to not HAVE children are the lest selfish. They would be branded as selfish, when killing a child could be branded selfless? My mind was bogled. I am not saying you would kill a child, but those 'selfless' adopters of innocent children did.... If they were HONEST, they would NEVER have had children period!

:D

My husband had it done (we do have children, but are done) and we had sex the next day (although I think he pushed himself a little with that one) and felt totally fine in 3 days. Just buy lots of bags of frozens peas. They work great.

would perform his own vasectomy....:evilgrin:

the scariest part was the shaving! The doc was really quick with the razor. I'm thinking wait, wait - it's a vas, not a castration.

I've never heard of a 'no scalpel' vas - tell us more about that.


Congrats on your choice, you'll be happy you did it.

No-scalpel vasectomy is different from a conventional vasectomy in the way the doctor gets to the tubes. In addition, an improved method of anesthesia helps make the procedure less painful.

In a conventional vasectomy, after the scrotum has been numbed with a local anesthetic, the doctor makes one or two small cuts in the skin and lifts out each tube in turn, cutting and blocking them so the sperm cannot reach the semen. Then the doctor stitches the cuts closed.

In a no-scalpel vasectomy, the doctor feels for the tubes under the skin and holds them in place with a small clamp. Instead of making two incisions, the doctor makes one tiny puncture with a special instrument. The same instrument is used to gently stretch the opening so the tubes can be reached. The tubes are then blocked using the same methods as conventional vasectomy. There is very little bleeding with the no-scalpel technique. No stitches are needed to close the tiny opening, which heals quickly, with no scar. The no-scalpel vasectomy was invented by a Chinese surgeon, and is used throughout China. It was introduced in the United States in 1988, and many doctors in this country have now mastered the technique.

http://www.engenderhealth.org/wh/fp/cnsv.html

This explains it better than I ever could.

there is only a idiotic balance..

all of earths people could easily fit in any state of the us..

if we all made alot of food etc there would be no hunger or so. the populance of the world will pan out at about 11 billion or so then it wont increase anymore

he had a little discomfort for about 3 days or so, but nothing major. And he refuses to take aspirin or tylenol or anything like that, so we stocked up on the frozen peas, and they worked like magic. My husband was very pleasantly surprised that the whole process was much less traumatic than he had anticipated. Plus, his insurance covered it, so that was nice. And there was a 2 for 1 sale on frozen veggies at the grocery store that weekend. :)

One thing really bothered me about the process though. When my husband scheduled his appointment, they asked him if he was married. He said yes, and they informed him that I would have to go with him to sign a consent form. I blew up when he told me that! I was planning on going with him anyway, but I was pissed at the notion that I had to sign a consent form for something HE wanted to do with HIS body. If I wanted to have an abortion, or even go on the pill, for that matter, I would expect to be able to make that decision myself, without anyone's permission. And I feel that my husband should have the same right. But I digress...

when I was 29.

First, I held my first husband's hand while he underwent the procedure. It was simple and short; he didn't feel anything and couldn't see anything. Sore for a few days and then everything was back t normal. When we divorced, I figured we'd done the world a favor. He didn't take care of the 2 kids we already had, so he sure didn't need to have more.

And when I divorced him, I got a tubal ligation. My doctor argued with me quite a bit, thinking that someday I'd meet someone who wanted children. I already had kids, thanks, and didn't intend to start a new family or enter into a relationship on false pretenses. I thought taking babies off the table was a principled thing to do; any possible long-term partners knew the bottom line going in.

And, 15 years later when my 2nd marriage went south, my 2nd ex got the vasectomy. He didn't tell me if he was happy with the results, but he seems to be doing fine!