I had a Vasectomy yesterday. It was something Samii and I had discussed for a bit as we know we are done having children. I would not want another kiddo with anyone but her and due to various medical concerns she cannot safely be pregnant again or easily go through any procedures to reduce/eliminate her fertility. Therefore, it made sense for me to do the (comparably) simple procedure of getting a vasectomy. There were a few more steps involved than I expected.
Mercy and its hospitals are great for lots of stuff. There are, however, Catholic-affiliated. This leads to complications regarding anything that has to do with any kind of birth control from a pill to a procedure. I asked the doctor who had served as my primary physician for a bit (the previous one had retired and this one was okay so I didn't change anything in the office) for a referral for a vasectomy, having explained everything and was told he couldn't do that kind of referral as he's (I guess very) Catholic. I wrote back it would be helpful to have a doctor who could make such a referral so my wife and I don't have to practice abstinence or get an abortion (even with all the attempts to make it hard legally she has enough medical issues it would theoretically be easier than in some cases) if she gets pregnant as her body simply can't handle another pregnancy. I was tempted to make a joke about how we could use condoms but that would make Jesus cry, but I felt I'd already made enough of a point.
I must have pissed my primary doctor off as someone else in the office called about how I could get in touch with Mercy Urology and they'd be able to help me with no problem. Plus, I was going to be assigned a new Primary Care doctor and they mentioned one I'd worked with before when my other was out sick and as he seemed cool I said that was fine. So yes, wanting to get a vasectomy and being mouthy about it got me a new primary care doctor in the process. Anyway, I got in touch with Urology and scheduled an appointment to consult for a vasectomy, easy as that once I knew what needed to be done.
On the day of my consult, I went to the Mercy office and reviewed why I was getting a vasectomy, the steps to be ready for one, how it is permanent (.01% of cases aside), and got one scheduled. The doctor was nice and when I asked about all the rules with Mercy he said they can discuss it on-site and schedule stuff, but I'm off-site at another office he and other doctors work at because the, "Hallowed ground," of Mercy won't allow a vasectomy on their grounds much in the same way in emergency cases where an abortion is necessary to save a woman's life they'll allow a transfer to another hospital but not do it on their grounds. I suppose it is good Mercy will transfer people somewhere for needed help, but it is odd that having a religious affiliation lets a hospital outright deny care (or let some of their doctors deny care) because it is felt to be, "Wrong/sinful." I think if you're in a medical profession you should be able to do your damn job without your personal feelings causing an issue.
Let's do a metaphor. If I take my car to a mechanic I would like to know they'll give me the best oil in my oil change possible even if they have strong feelings against synthetic in the same way I'd hope my doctors tell me all the options regarding my reproductive health even if they don't like the idea of a vasectomy. Plus, I'm saying this as a man, imagine all the Hell (no pun intended) women go through trying to get any kind of reproductive care ranging from birth control pills to choosing sterilization or if they need an abortion (for any reason from medical to personal choice).
Yesterday, I went to the office where my vasectomy was scheduled. My wife joked because of Mercy's rules we'd be out back at a dumpster behind one of the various cookie stores in Saint Louis. That wasn't the case, it was a very nice office--just clearly not one affiliated directly with Mercy for the procedures it did. The vasectomy itself wasn't awful in terms of pain but I'm glad it is done. Without getting too visceral, there are numbing injections that feel a bit like a bee stinging your testicles and then the strangest sensation as the anesthetic takes effect. After that, you're good, however. I was extremely sore later in the day when numbing wore off but I took some prescribed pain stuff a bit stronger than what you get at the store so I could get to sleep at night. As of today, I'm just doing Tylenol and Motrin. I'm still pretty tender but it is bearable.
I'm glad I had my vasectomy done and was surprised at how it was a bit harder to get it plotted out than I expected. I mean, I'm a man and I encountered obstacles to being responsible for my reproductive health. I faced maybe 1/10th of what a woman would face, and it goes to illustrate just how messed up our nation can be regarding sexuality. Our country needs to be less weird about people trying to exercise options regarding reproductive health, simple as that. I did get a fun koozie too, as seen above. I didn't want to name any doctors in this post to respect their privacy, but if anyone in the Saint Louis region needs a recommendation for a good vasectomy doctor don't hesitate to holler at me!
Great koozie!
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