Ticked Off Tuesday: Vasectomy Side Effects and Other Health Issues

I feel like I need to do a PSA about possible side effects of vasectomies because I didn't know there were any. Dave has had some pretty serious health issues over the last 3 months that required multiple visits to 4 doctors, a hospitalization, and plenty of antibiotics. It turns out that Dave has had several different ailments. He is being treated and we are optimistic that this course of treatment will actually cure his condition. The doctor believes he has prostatitis. Fortunately it is treatable infection of the prostate. He will need antibiotics for 6 weeks. And if we have an anthrax attack, we will be safe since he is on the same meds for that. Prostatitis is a really hard to diagnose condition and can be stubborn to treat.

Dave has been having genital pain for over 3 months. During this time he saw multiple doctors, who made him feel like he was crazy and making up the pain because they could not define its cause. During this time, no one checked his prostate. When he saw the 5th doctor last week, he was shocked that no one had checked it before. Doctors seem to need to be more aware of this condition too, considering what Dave went through to get diagnosed.

Before he got his diagnosis, both Dave and I searched the internet to see if anyone had had similar conditions. We both discovered that some men experience Post Vasectomy Pain. (Click here to read an ABC radio show transcript about this.) No one ever mentioned this before he had his vasectomy several months ago. When I had both my planned and unplanned Cesarean sections, I signed a waiver that covered every side effect you could think of including death. I understand that this condition effects a small percentage of vasectomy patients but it should be mentioned. I thought it was only fair for Dave to have a vasectomy, since it is suppose to be a minor surgery for men (versus a tubal ligation) but I would never had Dave get a vasectomy if I knew that this could occur. Men who have PVP have constant pain that only seems to be relieved by having a vasectomy reversal. Now we don't think that this is his problem now but it could have been. I think that doctors should also cover the psychological effects vasectomies can have on men too. I read many posts and articles about men having trouble dealing with this after the surgery. (Again fortunately this is not Dave's issue.)

I feel fortunate that we think Dave's problem has been properly diagnosed finally. I just wanted to share what I discovered during this tough time and hope it can help others make an informed decision when it comes to vasectomies.

Feel free to share your opinion about this or share what's ticking you off this Tuesday in the comments or leave a link.

UPDATE: Turns out Dave actually has. Interstitial Cystisis He had to see several doctors before he found one who could correctly diagnose him.  Many doctors thought he was seeking meds.  He didn't care what they gave him as long as it took away the pain.  He is on a non-narcotic medication that does that.  He still has flare ups but they are more manageable and shorter. He current doctor is a god send.  If you are not getting answers and solutions to medical problems I encourage you to seek second, third and forth opinions
Here is a short post about a drug shortage for his IC medication. 
And another post when we thought he had Prostatitis.