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.”
I’ve decided I don’t want to have kids at all.
My wife is taking it better than my son and daughter are.
Can anyone here who’s gotten one comment on the vasectomy process? I’ve been pretty nervous seeing a lot of the comments about it. I don’t even do well with a normal blood draw. I feel like I’d need general anesthesia for this.
Whole thing lasts no more than 15-20 minutes. I took it easy for a few days but otherwise no issues. Was riding my bike and all that about five days after.
The only uncomfortable bit is when they put the anaesthetic… there’s no easy way of saying this, but they have to stick the needle in both of the sperm ducts. That’s a little uncomfortable but it lasts no more than 5 seconds per nut. From there on out no issues. You feel some stuff moving around down there, but no pain.
I had the scalpel free method, fwiw.
My clinic sent me this video to prep. It’s quite useful. https://youtu.be/gzpYhe8QBsA
I’ve never had kids. Got it done down in TX. Told the doc I’ve never wanted them and didn’t want to pay for anymore abortions.
I did it fully conscious with local anesthesia because I had no one to pick me up and look after me if I took the knockout gas. There were a couple tiny pricks of pain next to the base of my penis, then numbness. An unpleasant tugging sensation in each testicle when he positioned my vas deferens to cut, cauterize, and clamp the ends. That was the worst part, but like I say, it didn’t hurt. Aside from that, I nervously wisecracked with the nurses, who politely laughed and joked back. Then I put my pants back on, paid the bill (ouch!), drove myself home, and spent the weekend getting high and playing video games with frozen gel packs under my balls. All that felt like was the dull tenderness you get a little while after a blow to the junk. Totally manageable. I took some Advil or something.
Against advice, I returned to my strenuous job 3 or 4 days afterwards, and jerked off repeatedly much sooner than suggested. I’ve experienced zero complications, but ymmv. Taking my wisdom teeth out was much worse. Getting a tattoo is far more painful. It was a bit worse than getting my ears pierced, but healed faster.
8/10 Would totally repeat the experience just for the days off with zero responsibilities. My only regret is I didn’t do it at 18.
I had a bad time with mine. They wouldn’t give me anything beyond some local anesthetic. I could definitely feel tugging sensations as they did it, and I passed out and almost fell of the table afterwords. (Luckily my wife caught me as the nurse and Dr had already left the room)
Not bad painwise, but mine experience was not a walk in the park like I see other people have.
They use a small hole punch device after a spray anesthetic on the area to make a pinhole size hole. They pull the vas through and cut it before sheathing the vas so sperm can’t get through then do the same with the second vas.
I had a small amount of pain with the second one but they applied more spray. It is kinda my own fault for not telling them ahead of time that I process all anesthetic drugs fast. I don’t know why but I always require refreezing at the dentist for regular procedures.
https://www.pollockclinics.com/no-scalpel-vasectomy/our-approach/
Was really nbd. Gave me a local. Felt no pain at the time. Spent the next day in bed with ice on it. A little soreness, cleared up quickly. Way better than a kidneystone, fwiw.
Way better than a kidneystone, fwiw.
I would hope so considering many people, including women who have given birth, describe kidney stones as the worst pain they’ve ever felt lol.
I am squeamish as all hell. Didn’t think I could do it. There’s a consult. They give you a Xanax, I’d recomme r telling them you’re a heavyweight and get a driver, also recommend to pay the extra 100 bucks for the laughing gas.
It’s over fast. There’s minimal pain. I ordered a jock strap and used it to hold ice packs over my underwear. It’s uncomfortable but I just layed up all weekend. Overall what I got out of it is completely worth it.
I’ll answer any questions you have
What did you got?
A vasectomy.
Edit: sorry I get it now. I got peace of mind knowing that I was in control of contraception. Not having children means a lot of freedom. So basically freedom and peace of mind.
I needed more medication to numb than he thought–way more. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Otherwise, the process was easy. I had discomfort for longer than he said, but that’s just how my body is. Two years later, I still have some discomfort doing certain things (not common things), but again that’s how my body is. That is how it is for some people, and I am just one of those few unlucky people. I have the ability to sense painful things greater than most and the ability to tolerate that pain more than most. It was still worth it. My wife and I were done having children and now we don’t have to worry about any surprises.
There was an initial consultation, where the doctor told me that quite a few childless men want to get the procedure reversed later, but you should consider it “not reversible.” Not a problem for me.
On the day I entered a very small room with a reclined chair. The lights were dimmed. The only pain was a brief “pinch” during anesthesia. This was “needleless” anesthesia with some kind of aerosol device, but a needle probably would have been about the same. Needles don’t bother me, so I considered this a gimmick.
It was done a lot faster than I thought. I was chatting with the urologist the entire time. The stitches were in a different part of my scrotum than I imagined they would be (higher up). Initial recovery was fine, but a couple weeks later I did have some post-op pain that was pretty bad. NSAIDS, suprisingly, helped quite a bit. This recurred a few times a year for about five years and then never again. It was not an infection. From what I understand this is a rare side effect, but possible. For a lot of people it’s totally painless, but that was my experience.
Fairly fast, fairly simple. I arranged a friend to drive me and I was content the inconvenience fell under what I would ask of a friend. Got a local anaesthetic, the doctor and nurse talked about mundanities the entire time, which was comforting in a way. But I could see “why aren’t you focused right now” being a valid question.
Recovery was pretty speedy, but I knew I was going to be on strong pain killers due to a surgery and timed my procedure for that.
Lasting effects, other than sterility and slight scaring, is that pulling my balls hurts much more than it used to. The ‘suck on the balls’ move in the vids would have me doubled over, they do not want to be tugged any amount, for any reason. For a time I got a periodic sharp pain in my sack that has long since gone.
All in all I’m happy I did it, would do it again. Would probably endure more for the benefits.
As to the article I count in this number. Knew I didn’t want kids before my 18th and starting nagging the gp to establish a pattern. I had life changing injury at 26 due to a dangerous hobby, asked again and was referred then accepted. I don’t want kids because I’m lazy, and I will orphan them young.
It was relatively fast and painless. I had someone drive me home, wore athletic protection for a few days, laid off of any sort of rigorous exercise, and its been a really straightforward recovery experience after that. No ragrets.
Only thing I felt was the shot to numb me before they cut. Some tenderness afterward but all in all I’ve had worse pain stubbing my toe.
- No right to abortion in the United States
- Giving someone who didn’t get asked or consent to being born, the forced existence of life.
- A child for a parent is expensive, mentally draining, and you have to be a good parent
- You also have to be the parent for a child with any special needs, from allergies to mental issues to being born without limbs
- If the child is any form of “other” to society, they will be picked on, and then possible harmed by the rise of Neo-Fascism
- Work or starve, work or be cold, work until you die. Another tax number, another corporate slave.
Being born is fine, once you’re here you should try to live life to its fullest. But I don’t want kids, I would be a horrid father.
Let’s not forget about child care, cause you know, in this economy both parents typically need to work to keep their heads financially above water.
Giving someone who didn’t get asked or consent to being born
How do you signal a desire to be born, practically speaking? Who do you contact to indicate your desire to begin existing?
If you don’t want to exist, why not simply surrender your place in line to someone who does?
Antinatalists aren’t suicidal, most likely living, they just understand that life isn’t a gift.
The “I didn’t ask to be born” argument implies a mechanism by which you could ask to be born.
Go down to your local NICU and survey it’s residents. Tell me how many you meet who hold this view in the hours and days after their birth.
Hell, give me a survey of two year olds. Four year olds. Eight year olds, even.
I challenge you to find me any fervent anti-natalist younger than a teenager. I’ll challenge you to find any that aren’t terminally online.
Anti-natalism isn’t a philosophy you’re born into, it’s something you develop over time through rational observation and logical reason. These are two skills you develop after being alive for some time, typically through dialogue with other living people.
They are not conclusions you can instinctively reach in uterus.
Ah yes, the classic “just kill yourself” argument. You totally destroyed that antinatalist.
Why would I force another human into this shitty existence?
Also condoms suck and raw dick is just better.
yea same. condoms suck.
Syphilis and gonorrhea must love you.
Wow, I didn’t know it was impossible not to stick your dick in every passing stranger. Here I was only having sex with people I know and who have been tested like a weirdo.
ikr Here I am married 23 years and no STD’s from sex. I think HellsBelle comment quite strange but I suppose if you live in the kind of world they seem to be living in then it could be an issue. Do they know that casual sexual intercourse with random people carries an amount of risk even with the protection?
As someone who’s had a vasectomy: it’s very hard to not stick my dick in a total stranger. That MTV advert with the skates is a more than daily occurrence, and I don’t even skate. Luckily, due to my vasectomy, there are no babies.
Only six STDs so far, so could be worse.
Those are rookie numbers. You gotta pump those up. See if you can catch a shiny syphilis.
Edit: I will now be refering to all antibiotic resistant diseases as shiny diseases. Nobody can stop me.
Ducks are dirty rapists
Kind of slut shamie don’t you think?
Well do you ask your partners if they have STDs?
When animals are over stressed, unable to provide the basics of survival, and constantly dealing with external threats they tend to not have babies.
For real? I didn’t know that.
Continue not taxing the rich and making conditions worse for the 99%. Let’s see how it works out.
No kids, never wanted them, made sure I never have them. Happily married for 8 years, she never wants kids either.
so you guys are DINKs
Could be NONKs, lol
Whats the O?
Oncome
whats oncome?
Not much, what’s on with you?
Here’s the thing about abortion in Canada …
- the right to abortion is not codified in law: the SCoC struck down the laws against abortion in 1988 based on our 1982 Charter of Rights
- abortion is technically legal under the federal Health Act
- this is why the Cons have stated they don’t want to challenge women’s ability to have an abortion … because if they did in court, and it went to SCoC, the court could (and likely would) force the Con gov’t to enact actual legislation forever enshrining abortion rights in Canadian law
- the Cons, just like the GOP down south, are hoping to have enough power at some time to force change here – but the problem is our SCoC works differently than SCOTUS (ie: zero judges are elected in Canada, ever); SCoC rulings are not based on original intent (and our Charter is vastly newer than America’s founding documents); etc.
This is what happens when the conservatives threaten the right to an abortion. Drastic measures have to be taken.
No kid should be born unloved or a woman have her life threatened because too many ignorant folks think she is sinful for getting healthcare or evil for not raising more wage slaves for the bourgeoisie.
I disagree but unless we get actual data on why people are choosing not to have kids then we don’t really know for sure.
I’d say the major reason is wealth inequality, cost of living, inflation, housing prices, etc. Everything’s too expensive… everything. It’s getting to the point that life isn’t even worth living anymore, as its just a repetitive cycle to work and pay bills. I both can’t afford to have a kid, nor would I want to bring one into this hellscape.
Again no way to know the real reasons unless we get the data.
It’s money first and foremost. People are struggling to survive by themselves. They can’t afford kids. So conservatives get rid of abortion. They frame it as a religious issue, but it’s only such for their ignorant followers. For those monied individuals at the top its purely about having an ever growing slave caste to exploit. Can’t have infinitely growing profits without an infinitely growing base of suckers to sell shit to.
It’s also about freedom. Self determination. And the general state of the world. Nothing of substance is being done about climate change. We’re staring down the barrel of WWIII. Late Stage capitalism.
It’s a confluence of factors that taken together paint a particularly bleak future.
Im planning on getting one soon, and it’s definitely this for me.
Also I tend to believe climate scientists who say shit is going to get interesting within the next 20 years… not really something I’d feel good about bringing a kid into.
One data point and I’m American, but figured I’d give my two cents on why I did it.
In addition to all the reasons you listed I think that my own mental health is an obstacle, and also the increasingly limited access to women’s healthcare.
Making the decision to not have kids was a complex issue for me as I imagine it is for others too. Tbh the political and economic climate was probably the final push I needed, but there’s probably at least 10 reasons in total.
Did Canada ban abortion ?
All the conservative mps have voted against support of abortions recently and they’re currently projected to a win a majority government in the future.
WTF
Conservatives around the world all have the same base set of goals, and subjugating women is one of the cornerstones.
Let’s get clear i hate pp and the con as much a everybody here but pp never ever talked about removing abortion rights, he actually said the opposite. I’ll reiterate pp is a loser, he has no real agenda, and his whole camapign is basically fuck trudeau. But he never said abortions right were on the table.
A common sense Conservative government will not legislate on abortion and therefore would never use this section of the Constitution pertaining to this matter," he said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-same-sex-marriage-abortion-1.7222881
In an interview with Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who hosts a podcast called Uncommons, Alberta Conservative MP Arnold Viersen also stressed his social conservative credentials on other issues, saying he wants protections for what he calls the “pre-born,” supports Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s transgender policies and would vote to criminalize cannabis possession again if given the opportunity.
Asked by Erskine-Smith about a hypothetical future bill to overturn same-sex marriage, Viersen said, “I vote gay marriage down.”
In a media statement issued Monday, Poilievre said Viersen’s statements and positions “do not represent the positions of the Conservative Party, or myself as leader.”
“As our party’s policy book, adopted by party members, has said for years, ‘a Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.’ When I am prime minister, no laws or rules will be passed that restrict women’s reproductive choices. Period,” Poilievre added
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rayes-abortion-poilievre-1.7362640
Poilievre has said that if he’s elected prime minister, his government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.
“As the Party’s policy book, adopted by Party members, has said for years, ‘a Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion,’” said Poilievre’s spokesperson, Sebastian Skamski, in a media statement.
“When Canadians elect Pierre Poilievre as Prime Minister, no laws or rules will be passed that restrict women’s reproductive choices. Period.”
Once again just to be clear. Fuck pp and his cons🫡
Yes, but also conservatives are frequently lying bastards who promise to not make things worse and then make things worse. The US supreme court judges aren’t Canadian, but they are conservatives and the recently appointed ones all said that Roe v Wade was settled law and they wouldn’t change it,.
This is what happens when you can’t afford raising kids and also more and more people decide that they would rather just enjoy their life without the responsibility or or financial burden of raising kids. I don’t know how i feel about this due to the our birth rate not doing so well, and instead of people having children, we have to import people into the country (which i have no problem with but that really isn’t a solution).
that really isn’t a solution
why not? are you afraid of johnny whitebread “real”
muricancanadian getting…replaced?the fact that the 1% is shitting their pants over the declining birthrate makes me think it’s fan fucking tastic. every industry’s profit margin suffers from fewer babies. less money is spent on food, gas, clothes, giant SUVs, toys, medicine–literally everything you buy for yourself, you’re also buying for your kids for 18 years. unless you don’t have kids.
those poor, poor shareholders.
fuck them. low birthrate = GOOD.
also, please–who wants to have a kid just so they can explain to them why they’re growing up in a toxic wasteland?
why not? are you afraid of johnny whitebread “real” murican canadian getting…replaced?
It’s not a solution because, with a few exceptions, standards of living (and therefore reasons to not immigrate) are rising in most of the world, so in a few decades there likely won’t be enough migrants to go around.
those poor, poor shareholders.
If it looks like only shareholders are having problems because of low birthrates in Japan and South Korea, then you should learn more about those places.
Bruh there’s 8 billion people on the planet. We don’t need more. We won’t be running out of migrants any time soon.
But you’re forgetting the key rule of capitalism. Line must always go up forever. That means population must always go up to make more workers and consumers. Birthrates are dropping pretty much across the board. The earth is currently projected to hit it’s peak population around 2086. Developing countries eventually become industrialized nations. Eventually there will be fewer reasons to emigrate from those countries. Both of those things combined will lead to fewer available migrant workers in “first world” countries.
Sure, this isn’t likely to be an issue any time soon but within a generation or two it will start to become an issue. When you’re running a country then you really should be planning for the future like that.
Of course the correct fix for that issue isn’t to force people to have more children; it’s to fix capitalism so that infinite growth isn’t a central element. But fixing capitalism would mean billionares wouldn’t be able to afford to buy every politician so the politicians won’t let that happen.
Don’t worry climate change will ensure we never run out of migrants.
However, climate change may also mean that we hit the population cap sooner.
Pretty sure we hit that awhile ago.
i’m not sure why you brought race into this, when there is multiple multigenerional multicultural people in this country. I don’t think its a requirement that everyone has to have a child, but the way you are talking makes it sound like its a good thing our species wipes itself out. I get how you feel about CEOs and stuff, but i was just stating that why our birthrate was low, and what the goverment has done to fix that.
makes it sound like its a good thing our species wipes itself out
not necessarily a good thing, but we are indeed wiping ourselves out, for better or worse. sure, future generations might fix all the multitudes of problems we’ve caused (doubt), but how many will have to die in the process?
evangelists love to call people who don’t want kids “selfish.” on the contrary, it’s the polar opposite of selfish to deny our own reptilian brain instincts to pass on our genes because we don’t think it’s a moral decision to bring innocent children to life in this soon-to-be-uninhabitable broken hellscape
I think we cannot give up and say that this is it.
guess you better start having more kids then
I don’t want to. Can’t afford it
I’m doing my part.
But seriously, men should be more responsible when it comes to birth control and not leave it up to women, so I think this is a good thing.
men should be more responsible when it comes to birth control and not leave it up to women
Men literally only have 2 options: condom or vasectomy. Condoms don’t feel good for either side, which is why both try to avoid using them. Vasectomies can be reversible, but require surgery and thus are costly, which of course makes it impossible or at the very least much less attractive for a large portion of society.
Yes, men can buy underwear that heats up their balls to temperatures that kill sperm, but I’d like you to go around spreading the word of discomfort through sweaty balls and see how far you get.
You know what feels way worse than condoms but is just as effective? Celibacy. Don’t complain about how the sex you’re having isn’t good enough, say that the risks to your partner aren’t important enough, or tell them that they’re the only one that needs to be responsible. I can’t imagine the type of person that would still sleep with you with those attitudes. (If you feel like fluid bonding with a person, great, that’s your choice, but some of us don’t want to, have multiple partners, or can’t)
Your 3rd option is chemical castration, which is kind of like taking the pill for decades.
Chemical castration is not birth control. Firstly, it rarely actually results in complete sterility. Secondly, it’s whole purpose is to remove sex drive and the ability to feel arousal. Chemical castration in men is closer to women taking an estrogen blocker than it is to hormonal birth control.
I guess if you consider abstinence to be birth control then you could call it birth control because it enforces abstinence. But ultimately the issue is just that sperm production is far less dependent on hormones than eggs being released. Hormonal changes in men can can easily result in a large reduction in fertility but it is very difficult to cause complete infertility short of physical means. Even trans women who are several years into hormone therapy (without srs obviously) can remain fertile.
That’s not really an option comparable to taking the pill. Firstly, it isn’t meant to sterilize, it works by effectively removing a person’s ability to become aroused. It also comes with a ton of side effects like reduced testosterone, osteoporosis, suicidal thoughts, etc.
At least with a condom, a guy can still have sex.
The pill gives women multiple side effects that can be debilitating yet men still prefer the woman take care of birth control.
Men prefer women to do it because women are the only ones with non-permanent options that are 99.x% effective.
Fact is, only the female body has a built-in ‘mode’ that naturally shuts off fertility, that pharmaceuticals can ‘trick’ the body into activating, making creating effective contraception for females extremely easy compared to the difficulty level for males.
There is no one to blame for these biological facts of the matter. They are as they are, all we can do is work with what we’ve got.
There’s another wrinkle: pregnancy is a health risk for females, and is the consequence for unprotected sex for them. Males have no equivalent thing that happens to their body as a result of unprotected sex. Contraception needs to be at least as safe as the alternative to be viable. Therefore, female contraceptives need only to be less risky than pregnancy to be viable, while male contraceptives need to be less risky than doing nothing, to be equivalently viable.
Again, this is not anyone’s fault. That’s just how it is.
Granted, but generally women are still able to have sex on the pill. Chemical castration removes that ability entirely, on top of the side effects.
Presenting that in a thread discussing men undergoing voluntary surgery to sterilize themselves while stating that men make women handle birth control is a bit of a hot take there.
Yeah, I can already hear the hordes dashing to the urologist for that.
I’m sorry, there is an international chat group where a bunch of doctors that perform vasectomies congregate and talk about vasectomies?
Probably. I can imagine doctors being like “Hey y’all check out my favorite vasectomizin’ wrench. You should get one of these, it’s a true 0 degree, tightens down them nuts in hard to reach spaces.”
Is that weird? I’m in HVAC and I talk with fellow HVAC people all over the world. This is a thing with most fields. It doesn’t seem at all weird that there would be groups of urologists online.
Gotta share the best practices, its like the postmarket os matrix chat where tech enthusiasts support each other improving builds ;)
Too specific analogy.
lol all about that postmarket
I mean, yeah, why not? There are international whatevers for almost anything, specially professional practices. It’s less cumbersome and cheaper than relying on regulatory bodies to organize and run conventions or seminars. Most of these chats are informal and born from that kind of events as well.
Something I also learned from working with the health sector is that there are really very few 100% dedicated to their niche specialists in every area. Sure, there are many heart surgeons, but very few experts on ventricular septal defect surgery on children. And some of that stuff can be so complex as to be a sole area of dedicated study. It allows these kind of informal forums and encourages a strong mentor-apprentice dynamics. So it is not rare they hit the group chat every once in a while. I also learned there are over a dozen different ways to make a vasectomy procedure and some doctors know how to do a few but not all of them and there are reasons to prefer some over the others depending on the patient.
People join chatrooms to talk about their favorite TV shows or their jobs. This is no different.
Welcome to the Internet - you’re new here, I take it?
Vasectomies without Borders
I’m imagining a lads’ group where they post the gnarliest botched vasectomies
Probably slightly more generalized like a urologist chat.
This implies childless men having sex
what
This is a t-shirt for women! Parts of the men would be so mad at it!
