6 Weird Vasectomy Side Effects Men Must Know

Vasectomies are one of the safer and more popular forms of birth control for couples who have made the decision not to have children. This outpatient procedure can be completed under local anesthetic in as quickly as a single half-hour session.

Plus, the recovery time and risks are far lower than the surgical procedure women undergo to get their tubes tied.

However, when it comes to vasectomy side effects, there can be some pretty weird moments.

6 Weird Vasectomy Side Effects You Didn’t Know About

Doctors review with their patients what to expect before, during, and after a vasectomy procedure. However, your doctor may not have warned you about these weird vasectomy side effects.

If they did, they may not have gone quite this far into detail.

Below are six of the weirdest post-op side effects patients have experienced after undergoing a vasectomy. Some of them are common, while others are quite rare, but they all share one thing in common: they’re really, really awkward.

1. Expect to Wear a Special Post-Op Sling

In case no one told you, recovery from a vasectomy typically involves a cozy jockstrap to hold your manhood securely in place as it heals. It doesn’t reside alone in there, either. Expect to have some gauze and ice tucked away inside to help with the swelling and recovery.

Your doctor will recommend you don this lovely fashion accessory for at least two days, but at least it will look impressive as you walk around with a full package.

2. You Can Still Get Your Partner Pregnant Post-Vasectomy

Every procedure has its share of risks when it comes to success. Vasectomies, in particular, are very low-risk when it comes to failure. Statistically, only 1 in every 2,000 procedures fails to make the patient sterile.

This usually stems from a spontaneous reaction in the body that relinks the open tube together, allowing sperm to pass through it again.

But those odds are slim. Most pregnancies that occur post-op tend to happen because patients didn’t heed their doctor’s orders. You see, patients do not immediately become sterile after a vasectomy is completed.

You have to “clean house”, so to speak. In order to clear your body of the sperm currently residing in your system, you’ll need to ejaculate between 20 to 30 times after your procedure.

What comes out won’t look pretty, either. Blood will likely be present in the semen, resulting in a lovely rose-colored concoction. When this happens, simply take comfort in knowing its completely normal.

Make sure you give yourself plenty of opportunities to flush out existing sperm. Also, don’t skip out on your follow-up appointment.

Even if you’re feeling better, you need to come in and your doctor. During this visit, he or she will test your sterility.

Once you have a doctor’s confirmation that you’re completely sterile and the vasectomy was a success, you can trust the procedure has done its job and start reaping the benefits.

3. Reversing a Vasectomy Can Sometimes Confuse Your Antibodies

You would think after years of living together, your body would recognize sperm production as a natural process–even if you had a vasectomy a while ago. Yet some patients who later decide to reverse this procedure may find their bodies aren’t so inviting toward these newly returned testicular residents.

Every once and awhile after a vasectomy reversal, a patient’s antibodies can declare an all-out war on your sperm. Not only can this leave you sterile, but it also may cause swelling in your scrotum due to fluid buildup.

When this happens, an incision must be made by a doctor in order to drain it.

The good news is this only happens to about 5% of men who have a vasectomy reversal.

4. Vasectomy Recovery Gets Pretty Messy

As awkward as your recovery jockstrap may be, you may be thankful for it once you realize what kind of gross excretions come out of your body post-surgery.

During the recovery process, your body has to purge all of the nasty buildups that comes with your internal healing. Blood in your urine and ejaculations are common, as is pus as it is excreted from your scrotum.

Don’t worry though, this is totally normal. In fact, it should clear up within the span of a few days.

5. Heavy Lifting Post-Op Can Lead to Serious Problems

Think you can jump back into your gym workout or physical labor right after surgery? While the recovery time is pretty short, you won’t be doing any heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least a week.

Jumping the gun can lead to granulomas or epididymitis. Granulomas are small lumps caused when sperm leaks into the surrounding tissue. It isn’t painful, but it does require treatment.

Epididymitis is swelling around the tube that carries the sperm into your testes, which also requires medical attention. Usually, this is treated with heat and a prescription of antibiotics.

6. A Fear of Pain Post-Op Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction

There are a lot of misconceptions about the risks of having a vasectomy. However, sometimes those unfounded fears can lead to actual, physical problems.

While recovery from a vasectomy isn’t extremely painful, the discomfort is sometimes strong enough that it’s hard to forget. Some patients have been known to develop erectile dysfunction (ED) post-surgery due to their memory of the post-surgical pain.

If this happens, the patient can undergo therapy to help work through this challenge. Because it’s not a problem caused by physical means, it simply requires working through the fear in order to resume one’s natural performance.

Enjoy Life Post-Vasectomy

While vasectomy side effects may seem troubling, the truth is that vasectomies remain one of the safest and relatively low-risk options for preventing pregnancy. Just make sure before you sign up, you have thought this decision through.

Even if you reverse your vasectomy, there is still a chance you may remain sterile. Plus, going under the knife and rearranging your manhood isn’t exactly easy on your body.

For tips on how to enjoy life post-vasectomy, check out these 10 tips on lasting longer in bed.

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