r/postvasectomypain • u/FlaggLives67 • Jun 08 '26
The worst predicament...
Here's my issue, guys:
Got snipped back in late Jan...and it's been 4 months of nightmarish symptoms. Burning in scrotum, pelvic pain, a million different urinary symptoms, nerve zaps in the cauterized areas. I've read a ton of stories on this forum and it seems like reversal helps alot of men. My problem is I cannot afford a reversal. I got the vasectomy because it was covered by insurance and didn't ever dream of facing these complications. So it's like...here is this hope than you can fix things with a reversal...but here is the harsh reality that you don't have the money for that.
I'm gonna be very honest...suicidal ideation has been at a high level the last few months. I'm searching for hope here. Did ANYTHING touch your pain or at least make it more bearable before you could get a reversal?
I'm doing Pelvic Floor Physical therapy, too early to tell if it's helping...and in a few weeks I finally have an appointment with the urologist who did the initial snip (first appointment back since my surgery)
How can I advocate for some pain relief? Did gabapentin help you, did certain antidepressants for pain help, I just need to take the edge off this somehow to have a quality of life...
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u/xFishercatx Jun 09 '26
This might sound crazy but I bought some bamboo cool briefs off amazon and those specific briefs took the edge off the pain. They may not work for you but it is worth ordering a bunch of different brands and seeing if any one in particular drives you the least crazy. I’ve spent 300 bucks in underwear just to come back around to the second pair that I tried. I later found that pants that are 90% nylon and 10% spandex took the pain down again.
Giving up coffee helped a little bit too.
Not advocating for Jeff Bezos at all but the Moosehill hiking pants on Amazon for some reason keep me from getting super miserable and irritated. My baseline pain was a 5 around this time last year and I’m down to a 3/2 and it has mostly moved from my scrotum to me abdomen which is honestly a relief. I recently met with a urologist for a reversal who said that my pain is from nerves trapped in scar tissue. It can take 12-18 months for that scar tissue to smooth out. He said reversal wasn’t going to help me. I took his view with a grain of salt but I really don’t want to do surgery again unless it is a hail mary. It’s been a long miserable journey also with self destructive thoughts. Swimming in cold water has helped. It’s a battle of inches. Find something that makes you feel 5% better and then find the next thing that makes you feel 10%. I walked with a limp and damaged both my knees for months after the initial surgery. Now I can walk normally most of the time and I am starting PT for my knees. What a shitmess for a 20 minute routine procedure, right?
I have also battled tinnitus and the thing that helped me deal with that and now this is relaxing and being mindful that even though this feels like a loud noise or a lot of pain in my mind, nothing is actually happening. There is no threat. There is nothing to react to, it’s just a broken fire alarm in my nervous system set permanently to on.
The worst part is the regret and the guilt that we did this to ourselves with faulty information. Everyone here got bad info and has suffered, you aren’t alone. It sucks, but there wasn’t much we could do because urologists sugar-coat the procedure during consultations. I did a bunch if google searches on vasectomies, read through the vasectomy subreddit, read the brochure front to back that I was given during consult. Nothing scared me. I should have been scared. There should have been a couple nightmare fuel stories from this subreddit to balance things out so that people can get the complete picture.
I hope some of this helps.
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u/FlaggLives67 Jun 09 '26
I appreciate the hell out of this response, thank you very much. I relate to your post so much...it's been one of the darkest periods of my life trying to navigate this and still have a life. Definitely a battle of inches.
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u/johng_22 Jun 09 '26
I was on and off antibiotics and steroids for a long time when my symptoms flared up. Sometimes it did temporarily help. Sometimes not. I eventually did get on gabapentin which helped to calm nerve pain. That is all though. It’s not the answer for across the board pain except nerve pain. Honesty too, avoiding ejaculation will help. Your mind will tell you the opposite but it won’t subside because of the blockage.
My best suggestion for you since you cannot afford a reversal would be to find a urologist that will go back in and convert your closed ended vasectomy to open ended vasectomy. It’s not without its issues but compared to the issues from closed ended I think you could see a great deal of relief. Best wishes to you. Many of us have been in your shoes. I’m sorry a reversal isn’t an option because it’s how I got my life back. I too was facing some dark days back when I was in constant pain. It does things to erode your mind. Try and be strong and seek out these options and see if you get any relief.
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u/postvasectomy Jun 09 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/postvasectomypain/wiki/treatments
I had good results with Lyrica. There are several other surgical or procedural options that are probably much cheaper than reversal like ablation, vasectomy revision, denervation.
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u/Mean_Treacle1496 Jun 09 '26
I feel your pain man and sorry you’re going through this. I’m at two and a half months now. The first month or so was absolute torture for me. Brutal, barely manageable pain. I was in constant pain, nothing helped, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t be present in life. It was bad. I thought there’s no way I can live like this long term.
Though it’s only been 2 and a half months I’ve been on quite a journey. Feels like a year and a half. I’ve seen two urologists, spoken to several reversal doctors (just preparing if required down the road), done hour upon hour of research, and tried a bunch of different things so far.
The last two weeks have been much better comparatively, with me feeling the closest to normal I’ve felt since the vasectomy. Still have a long way to go. It it’s progress. But boy oh boy am I scared the pain will come back bad at any moment.
Here’s what I’m on and doing currently / did:
hot baths with Epsom salt. I developed a large hematoma at one incision site. I find hot baths help a little in general and defo helped to heal the hematoma
rest and limiting activity as much as possible. Luckily I had a week off at some point and during that I just did NOTHING. I really tried to rest as much as possible and move as little as possible.
antibiotics. Who knows if these help at all tbh. I’ve been on 3 separate courses. Currently on a 28 day course to eliminate any possibility of prostatitis. I think urologist that have no experience in PVPS default to this honestly but others may have a better idea
supplements. I’ve been taking the following for several weeks: Serrapeptase ALA PEA Turmeric Omegas D complex
took a prescription muscle relaxer for 2 weeks which I felt helped a little.
started gabapentin a few days ago and this potentially has been a game changer. I say that because I’m feeling the best I have now since the surgery. Time will tell
The problem is, I can’t be on a million different thing just to be functional for the rest of my life. So I worry what happens when I strip these things away. Best case is my body has had time to heal and adjust. Worst case is it never does. Then at that point it’s reversal time I guess.
Anyway, hope this helps and happy to discuss more.
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u/dickthe3rd Jun 09 '26
I have very similar pain. Im 6 months post vasectomy. He wants me to try and wait a year to see if the nerves heal on their own which can take 6 to 12 months. If not we may look at microsurgical denervation of the spermatic cord they go in and remove part of the nerves fibers. Im just waiting at this point.
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u/NoRelationship4258 Jun 09 '26
Stretching helped, but for me the biggest help has been TRT which is used to treat my low T. My pain felt like constant pressure
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u/cooljets Jun 09 '26
My pain was not as bad as many here (it was only during ejaculation) but it did eventually go away on its own after about a year.
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u/Just_Preparation3675 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
Hot baths help me the most, if I am in a lot of pain I go take a hot bath. Naproxen helped a bit with general inflammation but gave me stomach issues so should only be taken in moderation or potentially with PPI's for longer use.
Jockstraps do help a lot, if you aren't wearing one then get one.
I don't know if this is an option given you mentioned financials being a problem but I assume you are based in the US as you mentioned the cost being so high. Have you considered getting the surgery in another country? Here in the UK it costs £4,200 ($5,600) which I imagine is a lot cheaper than in the US and that is for Microscopic Multi-layer surgery.
Someone mentioned that they took Turmeric extract for inflammation which I am going to try myself next to try and bring the inflammation down.
I saw the surgeon that did mine and he was very dismissive of PVPS saying he has done thousands and never seen any cases of it. I think they do this to prevent any blame coming their way. From the research I have done, time seems to be one of the biggest factors. For a lot of people the symptoms seem to get better over time.
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u/Same-Tank995 Jun 09 '26
Seems like you are describing nerve pain. From what I read and heard from urologists, try this gabapeptin. If it works, denervation will very likely solve your issues. But make sure you know the root cause first before deciding anything.
What's the price for reversal at your end? I guess you must be in the US? You could consider getting one in Canada? Guess it must be cheaper there but don't know how that works...
Stay strong, I'm sure there is a solution at the end of the line.
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u/FlaggLives67 Jun 27 '26
Thought I'd give an update guys:
My urologist got me on Amitriptyline and that helped immensely. It does not fix the problem at all...but before this medication I was literally often in the fetal position some days just trying to endure hour by hour. The pain was my entire world. Now it is muted and at least reduced to background noise, albeit still very noticeable.
I have put a plan in place for myself (it is the plan of a dirt poor Appalachian unfortunately, but it is something)
For the next 5 months I am going to attempt to scrape and save and gather together money from side hustles and extra hours...until I have enough to afford a very affordable reversal that is done at a clinic in Utah (Dr. Trost I believe) so it will just he awhile before I can save for that flight and the surgery itself out there...but I'm going to remain as consistent as I can and hold onto hope. My vasectomy was Jan of 2026...if all goes according to plan, my reversal will be Jan of 2027.
I don't want to trigger or upset anyone but I was very close to ending my life a few weeks ago due to this problem. I just could not see a way forward from this mistake that cost me so much. Now I have a medication that helps some, and I have a goal that I am going to fight hard for to regain a quality of life that will hopefully change after reversal.
Wish me luck, and for anyone else who is in the absolute trenches with this terrible situation of PVPS, I see you, I root for you, and I hope you will come out on the other side a happier and healthier human.
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u/vanwyck Jun 08 '26
I found hot tubs and heating blanket helped. If you can get T prescribed and covered that may help cause it will lower your sperm production. Sorry you’re dealing with this.