Life Goes On With Vasectomy Pain

What can I say, you either crawl in a hole and give up or move forward with the realization you'll never be 100% again. That's kind of where I've been the last month. After having no many great months or rather blocks of weeks with little pain, the last month has been a challenge. This hernia pain which I posted about last time continues to rear its ugly head. It seems to worsen with physical activity, either long hours at work or when I try to actually run/playing basketball. It seems that running and jumping are bad for my with regards to my pain.

It seems like walking or hiking is all my nether area can tolerate. This makes me think that something is anatomically wrong down there on my left side. My right side has been relatively pain free, with the exception of an occasional twinge here and there. I'd like to get a sonogram of my left side to see if everything looks as it is supposed to, but I know that would be an out of pocket expense that likely wouldn't pay off, since most ultrasounds of the testes don't show very much. Maybe a CT scan would be better, but then the expense might be cost prohibitive since they cost roughly $1200.

So here I am, stuck between a rock and a you know what. Just living with this pain with no real future. It kind of stinks because the pain is significant enough to keep me from the activities I love to do most. Not to mention I need these aerobic outlets for my heart so it can stay in shape. Walking on a treadmill just doesn't give me the aerobic workout I'm looking for, when compared to playing basketball or going for a light jog.

So am I better since my vasectomy reversal? Prior to reversal my scrotum was constantly swollen and in pain. Since the reversal, the swelling is gone, but it is replaced with this terrible, intermittent nerve pain which makes my left testicle feel like it's about to explode from within.

It's kind of a toss up. One thing is for sure though, I'll never be back to 100% and that kind of sucks. I'd put myself at about 70% of what I used to be before I had my vasectomy, about 7 years ago. Some guys feel worse, other people suffer from other terrible diseases and situations. I guess I should count myself fortunate and blessed. Honestly though, it's hard to view it that way. But I know it's the approach I should take.

The good Lord has seen me this far, I know he'll see me the rest of the way. So be thankful for good days. This is the motto we should all be sticking to, even when we don't feel like it.

Long Overdue

Wow, a lot has happened since I posted last. I think it's been a couple of days since my last post. It's official, we've started homeschooling. Yep that's right, we're homeschooling. We gave the public school a chance, but it just wasn't working out. They're too worried about their statewide testing rather then making sure our kids are being challenged in the classroom. So we pulled them out and now I guess I have that "teaching" job I was hoping for.

I was right about teaching. It has a nice mix of standing and sitting. A little too much computer time, printing off worksheets and such, but I hope that will lessen as we move further into school and my ordered workbooks arrive. Right now, I'm having to create a lot of worksheets on the computer, which makes my nerves down there a little jumpy.

My wife and I have rediscovered our intimacy. We've been together twice this week, Monday and last night (Thursday). That makes three times since last Saturday. This would be considered a world-wind six days of togetherness for us. So I've had 3 E.J.s in six days and I've experienced a little bit of pain behind my testicles. It feels like a paper cut behind my testicles where they attach in the perianal area. I've had this sensation/pain before. It feels like my vas deference is in spasm. It comes and goes. This feeling is painful after a while, because it just seems to build and build. I've taken tylenol twice because it is kind of aggravating.

I've also had intermittent inguinal nerve pain on my left side. In fact, I woke up in the middle of the night several times because of this inguinal nerve pain on the left side. But I rolled onto my side and the pain seemed to have gone away. Not sure why?

I've been walking pretty regularly. I even added a little running this last week. Not very far, just about 20 yards, but it felt really good. At least, while I was running. So I'm not sure if this paper cut feeling/spasm thing and nerve pain is a result of making love to my wife or from the little bit of running I've done. I think I'll stop the running and see what happens with the pain.

I haven't taken any hot baths in a while, I may try that too. So, this post is a little long and a little revealing, but I think it's important to document everything that happens in this online journal of mine, so I can track what impacts my pain levels and how. I had been in a good way the last time I posted. I can see little signposts ahead that look like a bad cycle is on it's way. But I hope it doesn't last very long. Lord willing. Lord willing.