How soon after the big V were you back in the gym ?

[lanman87]

@becksblue I would ask the doctor, but at the time I had mine I was doing jiu-jitsu 7+ hours a week, took a week off and was fine.

 

[becksblue]

@lanman87 Whoa ! That’s too risky for me. I was thinking of asking my wife to put the bagel in the toaster. I’ll work my weight up from English muffins.

 

[joncates]

@becksblue I was back in after 5 days (no scalpel), but I was doing weights only, and ones where that region wasn't really moving much (eg. Bench press, lat pull down, did not do squats or lunges etc)

 

[becksblue]

@joncates That would be my plan, when I feel ready for it. I was more concerned with un-racking weight, or loading plates on the bar.

 

[joncates]

@becksblue Obviously listen to your body, but I felt ok for lifting some plates. Otherwise used the cable machine a lot as it's easy to just move a pin. If you get the slightest bad feeling though definitely back away, you don't want to bust a nut at the gym (in a bad way)

 

[dawn16]

@becksblue I started my workouts again in a week. I started out about 50% just to get a gage of how everything felt. I was back to full workouts by the next week. So 2 weeks total and I felt normal again.

 

[becksblue]

@dawn16 This is good news. I’ll play it by ear and feel, but hoping not to be off for too many weeks.

 

[jonnox777]

@becksblue You have to watch if you do get stitches, i got my stitches infected from lifting kids too early after

 

[becksblue]

@jonnox777 Yeah, that’s my fear too. That and the dog jumping on me

 

[agapefalcon]

@becksblue Had mine last Monday. Been doing some walking around the neighborhood the last couple days but haven’t been to the gym yet. Honestly feeling pretty good, I’m guessing I’ll be back for cardio and light lifting/mobility work before the weekend.

Edit: went back today and did some light squat work and some upper body. Spent the majority of my time on the elliptical and felt great!

 

[becksblue]

@agapefalcon Do you care to share your experience with the procedure itself ? I feel like I’m completely onboard for the recovery process, but if I had a choice to numb everything from my waist to my toes, I would lol. I literally want to feel zero pain during the procedure. Minus the local anaesthetic injection, of course

 

[agapefalcon]

@becksblue It was okay! Does not take long at all, I WFH so was back working immediately afterwards.

Went in to do standard check in with vitals and they have you take everything off from the waist down and put on a surgical skirt then lay on the operating chair. They clean the area and feel for your vas deferens before doing anything. They used novocaine and it’s a little pinch followed by burning and you’ll feel quite a bit of pressure going up into your abdomen when they inject it - that part is pretty uncomfortable.

After a couple minutes they make an incision and manipulate your vas deferens a bit and ask if you feel anything. IF YOU FEEL ANYTHING,EVEN SOME PRESSURE, TELL THEM YOU FEEL IT and they will inject more. I did not and it sucked and by the time I spoke up they were pretty much done on that side. Then they clip/cauterize and stitch the incision, followed by the same process on the other side. Maybe 20-30 minutes total in the chair. Since I didn’t call out that I felt any pressure at all after the initial injection, I was probably in more discomfort than the average procedure.

Recovery-wise it’s a lot of sitting, alternate ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and on/off with ice. The first couple days are super important for these things because it pretty much determines how much swelling/bruising you have to deal with. Then by about day 3 I noticed I was climbing stairs easier, etc. then walking without any discomfort around a week. Depending on how your blood vessels are situated, you may have significantly more swelling and bruising on one side than the other - that’s normal!

Overall it’s really not that bad, just be mentally prepared to take it easy. By comparison it’s less invasive, less recovery, and no hormonal impact vs. anything someone with a uterus has to do for the same result. You’re going to be fine and will be back at it before you know it!

 

[becksblue]

@agapefalcon That’s my entire thought process. My wife’s been through enough, after two child births. I joke and say this is her late push present lol

 

[agapefalcon]

@becksblue Haha I totally get it - our fourth is due in a few months and my wife is absolutely done this time (after the “well maybe we’ll see how we feel in a couple years” feeling we had after 2+3). Figure it makes more sense for me to go through a small, simple procedure vs. the full-on abdominal surgery she’d need in pursuit of the same outcome.

 

[becksblue]

@agapefalcon I appreciate you taking the time for such a thorough explanation of the procedure. I’m not sure if it brought me any comfort hahaha but I know what to look out for.

 

[lidalulu]

@becksblue I had to get surgery (look up hydrocelectomy if you dare). So while in there I got the V.

My recovery sucked. Guessing it wasn't just because of the V. I was in bed for 2 days and could barely walk the next 3.

 

[becksblue]

@lidalulu I’ve already told my wife that it’s 4-6 weeks recover, with at minimum 14 days bed rest.

Sadly she’s smarter than me and already knows more about the procedure than I do.

 

[lidalulu]

@becksblue A friend did it and was fine 48 hours later.

 

[backfrmsliding33]

@becksblue the whole recovery was so easy but I would recommend for sure giving yourself a week of not heavy lifting. I could see how that could get uncomfortable. I didn't even take pain meds the next day after the procedure, but I definitely had some soreness for a week or so and I had no desire to compound that with heavy lifting. I feel like cardio and basic stability drills would have been fine though.

 

[becksblue]

@backfrmsliding33 I’ll take the surgeons recommendations and play it cautious