cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/29563625
In over 30 years of practice, Dr. Errol Billinkoff rarely saw a man without kids come into his Winnipeg clinic to get a vasectomy. But since the pandemic began, he says it's become an almost daily occurrence.
And he's not alone.
"At first, I thought I was the only one who was noticing this," Billinkoff, who brought a no-scalpel vasectomy procedure to Winnipeg in the early 1990s, told CBC News in a November interview.
"But I am part of an international chat group where doctors who do vasectomies participate and the topic came up, and it's like everybody notices it."
About 1% of patients report post vasectomy pain syndrome - not common, but it can happen. If your urologist didn't talk about that when discussing potential risks, that's a huge red flag.
On that note, reversal of a vasectomy (reanastomosis) has a relatively high chance to fail, so if any of you are considering one cuz it's often pitched as something you can change your mind on later, I'd recommend some other method of birth control. Vasectomies should always be thought of as permanent; and reversals as a gamble.
And on THAT note, they can go the complete opposite direction and reanastomose themselves cuz our bodies are assholes and seem to always do the thing we don't want it to do. You should have follow up appointments to check your semen for swimmers - DO NOT skip those. You may even want to do them annually or something for the first few years after, but that'd be something to discuss with your doc.
I had mine done a few years back so I don’t recall what was mentioned exactly. I had one of the best in town so I’m sure he said it at some point. It doesn’t hurt to ask the Dr though to make sure it not something else other than that pain syndrome.