I am 39 y/o and pregnant with baby #3 after a failed vasectomy! Huge shocker! My boys are 14 and 17 and we will be having a little girl this time! From all the research I've done and in speaking with people, I've found failed vasectomies are common. What IS NOT so common is what has happened to me...after we found I was pregnant, we had his semen tested and the result of "none seen" came back, the Dr. couldn't find any live sperm, so he basically said I was cheating on my partner. I'm highly frustrated and stressed about this.
I havnt had this happen to me, but I had a friend who had a vasectomy and his Dr. Told him to use protection for 3-6 months due to lingering active sperm. I can't give you the biological reasoning as to why but if you did the deed in that window that may be why....Plus there's probably a viable level of live sperm they look for and you just may be one in a billion.
I am 39 y/o and pregnant with baby #3 after a failed vasectomy! Huge shocker! My boys are 14 and 17 and we will be having a little girl this time! From all the research I've done and in speaking with people, I've found failed vasectomies are common. What IS NOT so common is what has happened to me...after we found I was pregnant, we had his semen tested and the result of "none seen" came back, the Dr. couldn't find any live sperm, so he basically said I was cheating on my partner. I'm highly frustrated and stressed about this.
Oh wow! I have a cousin who is 37 and had twins this last year after a failed vasectomy. I don't believe they had a sample tested afterward, so I can't speak to that. That is such a stressful situation. The last thing you need right now is accusations of cheating.
Dr. told my partner that he did not need another vasectomy and that he had a "problem" on his hands, meaning, me... I was not at the appointment, my partner just relayed this to me. He has has been pretty cool about this and has not once accused me of cheating, although he is shocked by the no sperm count. This is still just such a crazy situation, I was a least hoping the sperm count would point us to an answer as to how the heck this happened and ease the shock of it a little bit for everyone.
That's bull on that drs part. My IUD failed and I got pregnant and we were planning a vasectomy for dh... But if THAT fails... Omg I don't even know. Hopefully you guys can overcome negativity. Drs aren't always right.
I don't know what he said, I was not there. I think he was just so embarrassed he had to give a sample there, he was ready to get the heck out of there! ha!
I think the Dr. just made him feel like we were crazy or something..Ugh.. I was trapped at work, I couldn't go..wish I could have...men are not always good at getting/giving information!
Since this pregnancy, I have talked to sooo many people who know of someone who's vasectomy has failed, years later...not just in the first year... Had I known how common it was, I would have never relied on it for a primary form of birth control.
I don't know what he said, I was not there. I think he was just so embarrassed he had to give a sample there, he was ready to get the heck out of there! ha!
I think the Dr. just made him feel like we were crazy or something..Ugh.. I was trapped at work, I couldn't go..wish I could have...men are not always good at getting/giving information!
So they were able to test the sample right after he gave it? I thought they would have had to send it off, or at least take the day if it was done at the same location? It seems like the doctor may have just been assuming and may not have known for sure.
I know nothing about how they do the tests so I could be way off base, but it's just a thought.
TTC#1 January 2013, BFP 7/4/13 MC 8/7/13 D&C 8/22/13
BFP 5/20/14 CP 5/26/14
BFP 12/6/14 DD Born an Angel on 7/17/15 at 35 weeks
Yes, they had a lab there, so they tested it after he gave it. We live 1.5 hours away so he was not able to go home and bring it back as there are time limits to follow.
Just because there was no live sperm in that sample doesn't mean a damn thing. Unless they can test every single "sample," you can't be 100% positive nothing is getting through. No birth control is 100%.
Having worked in a Urological office in the past, we did vasectomies in the office and had the men bring in the samples and the DR would look at in from the microscope and tell if they were alive or not. It generally takes about 3 minutes. They do ask the men to give 3 samples. I would highly suggest your partner going to another office and doing another sample.
He's being fine with it, I am the one who is freaking out because I am the one pregnant and feel I have to answer to how the heck this even happened. We live in a small town and all our friends/family know he's gotten a vasectomy.
I'm glad your SO isn't overreacting, but I can well imagine how frustrating this must be for you, particularly since you mentioned many people know he had the surgery. You can have another sample tested but ultimately you KNOW there was, at some point in time (even if that's no longer the case), some live sperm coming outta there. You can always get a DNA test after the baby is born - not to prove anything to yourself or your husband- but simply to put on your medical file so it's clear that this vasectomy DID fail. Whatever you do, good luck!
Just because no live sperm were viewed in that sample doesn't mean that weeks and possibly months ago when you got pregnant, that there wasn't sperm then...
Re: Pregnant after Vasectomy/No live sperm seen
DS: Born 5-17-16
They do ask the men to give 3 samples. I would highly suggest your partner going to another office and doing another sample.