A calm, private way to decide your answer before you book — and to walk into your GP with the right questions in hand.
Dr HB Lo
Integrative GP · Vasectomy decision prep
General information to help you prepare. Not medical advice, and not an emergency service. In an emergency call 000.
Your input
The thing worth knowing first
Plan it as permanent — not as ‘reversible if I change my mind.’
A reversal can sometimes work, but even when the surgery succeeds, only about
3 in 4 couples go on to conceive — and the odds drop the more years pass.
It's expensive and not covered by Medicare. So the real question isn't ‘can I undo it?’ —
it's ‘am I ready for this to be final?’ Decide your answer before you book.
Am I treating this as final?“If my life changed — new relationship, losing a child — would I still be at peace with this decision?”
What's the real failure rate, and what do I have to do after?“How long until it actually works, and what's the semen test I have to come back for?”
What are the lasting downsides, not just the recovery week?“How likely is long-term pain, and what would we do if it happened to me?”
Will it change anything about sex or my hormones?“Honestly — testosterone, erections, sex drive, the feeling of it?”
Have my partner and I actually decided together?“If we disagree, what's the conversation we still need to have?”
The credibility check
The honest bits, both ways.
It works, and it's simple. Vasectomy is about 99.5% effective once confirmed —
roughly fewer than 1 in 1,000 couples get pregnant in the first year
after it's confirmed by the semen test
(Family Planning NSW;
healthdirect).
It's not instant. It can take several months and up to about
20 ejaculations to clear remaining sperm. You keep using other contraception until a
semen test at around 3 months confirms it worked
(healthdirect;
Healthy Male).
A small number of men get lasting pain. Most discomfort settles in a week or two, but about
1 to 2 in 100 men develop ongoing scrotal pain that affects daily life
(post-vasectomy pain syndrome).
Worth knowing before, not after.
It won't change your testosterone, erections or sex drive, and ejaculate looks about the same
(sperm is only a tiny part of it)
(Healthy Male).
It does not protect against STIs — condoms still matter if that's a risk
(healthdirect).
Take the card with you
Email the one-page question card to bring to your GP.
Five questions with space to write the answers in — so you walk in ready, not winging it.
Sent — check your inbox. Here's your card again so you can screenshot it now.
This is the general version. The full Permanent contraception decision kit walks through your exact
situation with your partner — the values worksheet, the questions filled in for you, and what to ask if
you're not sure you're done having kids.
See the men's-health decisions hub, the
BRAN question generator, and the
risk-numbers visualiser.
General information to help you prepare. Not medical advice, and not an emergency service. In an emergency call 000.