How Sex Feels After a Vasectomy

Getting “the snip” can sound scary and maybe even a little dangerous—after all, who wants a scalpel anywhere near their manhood? But rest assured, you can still have sex after a vasectomy. Furthermore, the form of birth control is actually a simple outpatient procedure that rarely affects sexual performance, sex drive, or the ability to get an erection.

To better understand the reality of what to expect post-op, two men shared their experiences with us about having sex after a vasectomy.

A vasectomy is a form of contraception that cuts the supply of sperm to your semen. It is generally considered a minor surgery, meaning it usually has a shorter recovery period than other surgical procedures. Vasectomy surgery is fairly short, with most procedures completed in under 30 minutes. 

A vasectomy is performed in one of two ways:

• Conventional vasectomy. With the conventional method, your urologist or other healthcare provider will use local anesthetic to numb the scrotum. Then, they’ll make one or two small incisions in the testicles to access the vas deferens tubes, which carry sperm out of the testes. Once accessed, the tubes are cut and cauterized, or sealed off with heat. Your provider will then use stitches or skin glue to close the scrotal incision.

• No-scalpel vasectomy. With the "no-scalpel" method, your healthcare provider will make a small puncture hole on one side of the scrotum after administering a local anesthetic to the site. They’ll locate the vas deferens under the skin and pull it through the hole. Then, they’ll cut the vas deferens tube and seal it off with heat before repeating the same process on the other testicle. With this approach, no stitches are required because the puncture hole is so small.

You can generally have sex as soon as you feel ready following a vasectomy, but make sure to check with the provider performing your procedure. Most men can have sex about a week after their vasectomy, although this can vary based on swelling, bruising, and other symptoms you experience during postoperative recovery. Ultimately, how long you wait is a personal choice, dependent on how you feel following your procedure. 

Having sexual intercourse or masturbating too soon after getting a vasectomy can increase the risk of infection or discomfort due to initial swelling and tenderness in the scrotum. Some mild pain or bruising can occur initially, but these symptoms typically resolve within a few weeks with the help of ice packs and over-the-counter pain medicine. To make postoperative recovery easier, your healthcare provider may recommend wearing a supportive garment like a jockstrap. This can help support your scrotum and reduce pain and discomfort. 

If you resume partnered vaginal intercourse on the sooner side, you’d be wise to continue using condoms or other forms of birth control for a bit of time. Though a vasectomy is ultimately an effective method for preventing pregnancy, it takes about two to three months after the treatment for your semen to become sperm-free. Your provider will typically request a semen analysis between eight and 16 weeks post-vasectomy to check the sperm count of your semen.

Until this semen test is performed and you’re cleared, you should avoid having unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. You should also continue to use condoms to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), even beyond the three months.

When Raul*, 46, decided to have a vasectomy at age 44, he was only slightly concerned about something going wrong. After all, he’d had friends who’d undergone the procedure and found it to be a breeze.

“My wife was the worried one,” he says. She thought he would find sex painful after the vasectomy or that it wouldn’t work and “she’d wind up pregnant again.”

Her concerns made Raul a bit nervous the very first time they had sex after his vasectomy, about a week after the appointment. But those concerns quickly went away when he realized there weren’t many changes at all to how he felt.

In fact, the only changes he did notice were positive ones.

Less Anxiety About Pregnancy

Raul and his wife had been using the pull-out method (or withdrawal method) of birth control, which felt like a “dice roll” to them. His wife didn’t like oral birth control pills because they made her feel nauseated, and they both felt that condoms decreased their sensitivity, so the withdrawal method seemed like the best choice. However, this method of birth control isn’t a reliable one, leaving them to accept the risk of unplanned pregnancy.

After his post-op semen analysis confirmed he didn’t need to worry any longer about pregnancy, Raul felt that he could enjoy sexual activity more.

More Enjoyable Sex

Raul, who struggled with premature ejaculation in his younger years, would often stop during sex to delay his orgasm and give his wife enough time to finish. After the vasectomy, he found he could last a little longer without needing to pause.

“Sometimes I'm on the edge of climax, and my wife is about to cum. Since the vasectomy, I have been able to ejaculate inside her, and often, we've been able to cum together rather than having to wait for her and then pulling out,” he says.

Potential Negative Effects to Consider

But sex isn’t always more enjoyable after a vasectomy.

Eric, 40, experienced negative sexual-function side effects after getting the snip. “In 2022, I had a vasectomy after my wife and I had our third child...for me, the process was horrible,” he says. “I felt like I had something taken away from me. Once I healed up and got intimate again with my wife, I started having trouble maintaining an erection.” 

At first, Eric thought maybe it was just nerves and that he needed to get back in the swing of things, but after a few attempts, he was getting the same result, and his confidence declined. He eventually started taking medication for erectile dysfunction to feel like himself again.

Erectile dysfunction after a vasectomy is not a common complication. In fact, several recent studies have shown that men experience improved erectile function, orgasms, and sexual satisfaction and feel more sexually confident in their sexual lives after having a vasectomy.

According to Peter J. Stahl, MD, SVP of Men’s Sexual Health & Urology at Hims & Hers, sex doesn’t change at all after vasectomy for the vast majority of men. “The procedure doesn’t disrupt any nerves that play roles in sexual sensation or orgasm,” he says. “It also doesn’t affect ejaculation, because it doesn’t block the flow of fluid from the organs called the prostate and seminal vesicles, which produce 98 to 99 percent of what’s ejaculated during sex.”

So, while anecdotal, some men may experience heightened personal confidence and lowered worry about an unplanned pregnancy, which may lead to the perception of improved sexual function, but experiencing a longer-lasting erection after a vasectomy shouldn’t be an expectation.

With any surgical operation, there’s a risk of complications. Though neither Raul nor Eric felt pain after their vasectomies, it can happen.

“In rare cases, a vasectomy can cause chronic testicular discomfort that can make sex uncomfortable,” says Dr. Stahl.

This chronic testicular discomfort is better known as post-vasectomy pain syndrome, which is characterized by pain that is either constant or intermittent for longer than three months. It interferes with quality of life and occurs in approximately 1 to 2 percent of men who undergo a vasectomy.

Though researchers aren’t exactly sure why some men develop post-vasectomy pain syndrome, they think it may be related to damage to spermatic cord structures, nerve compression, congestion in the epididymis, and perineural fibrosis.

Treatments include:

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen

• Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)

• Gabapentin, a neuropathic pain medication

• Pelvic floor exercises

• Acupuncture

• Surgical intervention

The first time you have sex after a vasectomy, take it slow and ease yourself back into sexual activity to avoid discomfort or injury. Avoid any taxing physical activities the week after surgery, then gradually return to an active lifestyle.

Beyond waiting to have sex, it’s important to closely follow the instructions from your healthcare provider while you recover from vasectomy surgery.

How Common Is It for a Vasectomy to Fail?

Although rare, a vasectomy can fail, meaning you’ll still have some amount of sperm in your ejaculate after the procedure.

This can occur when the vas deferens (the internal tubes cut during a vasectomy) reattach after the procedure. This is a very uncommon complication. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vasectomies have an average failure rate of just 0.15 percent (better than the most common female birth control, the Pill, which is around 7 percent).

This issue can be fixed through a repeat procedure to cut the vas deferens and prevent the flow of sperm from your testicles into your ejaculatory ducts.

A vasectomy is a simple surgery that serves as male birth control. But will it impact your sex life negatively? Here’s what we know:

• For most men, a vasectomy doesn’t negatively affect sexual performance or sexual satisfaction. While some may experience temporary discomfort immediately after the appointment, the majority of men report no significant changes to their ability to achieve erections or have an orgasm. In fact, many find sex more enjoyable, due to the reduced anxiety about pregnancy.

• Recovery after the procedure is crucial. Most men feel well enough to resume sexual activity about a week after their vasectomy. However, you should wait until a follow-up semen analysis confirms there’s no longer any sperm in your semen before having unprotected sex. This can take about two to three months.

• Any surgery, including a vasectomy, comes with a risk of side effects. Pain and swelling are common after a vasectomy, but these symptoms typically resolve on their own with the help of ice packs and over-the-counter pain medication. While rare, some men experience post-vasectomy pain syndrome, which involves chronic testicular discomfort that can interfere with sex and masturbation.

If you are experiencing any post-vasectomy pain or negative changes to your sex life, it’s crucial to reach out to a healthcare provider to see what’s going on.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy