Could be covered under surgery and recovery, but this seems more specific to recovery. I need to schedule a vasectomy, because I was told to, and I am trying to figure out when to slot it in. Middle of winter (training season) or middle of summer when it is hot and I am a little lax on the mountain bike.
I was thinking I could try to get some Nordic skiing in while I am not allowed in the saddle, but it will screw up my trainerroad timeline for my early spring A race/ride (12 hours of Mesa Verde or Ironhorse, depending on enrollment).
So, for those of you that have had the snip snip, any recommendations on scheduling, recovery timeline, recovery tactics?
When I had mine I asked about returning to the saddle. I was advised to take at least two weeks off the bike to allow any swelling to go down and don’t do anything too vigorous for the first ride back.
I heeded all the recovery advice but couldn’t wait. I tentatively sat on a saddle after 10 days. I was hyper aware of any sensations coming from my contact points but felt nothing.
Two years on and I couldn’t be happier.
I did an intrernet search before the op and found a huge (closed) thread on a cycling website. I found it very informative. I’m sure it’s still there. This gave me lots of reassurance both medically and cycling wise.
I hope this helps you.
It took me about 2-3 weeks to get back on the saddle in relative comfort. Don’t plan anything and just play it by ear after the op. I felt like I had taken a gigantic kick in the nadgers which lasted for about a week if I remember correctly.
I had lots of plans beforehand but did none of them and just had to wait quietly snivelling in a corner until the swelling and pain subsided. It all worked out in the end though
At least a couple weeks is pretty realistic. If your experience is anything like mine you’ll feel pretty good after just a few days and think you’re good to go. I starting swimming again and even tried a little running, but after a couple days I had to stop as it started to feel like I got kicked in the balls 24-7. This went on for several days and I can’t help but think had I just taken a week or 2 off of any training I could have avoided it.
Point is even though you’ll likely feel pretty good after a couple days, don’t be too eager to jump back into training of any kind.
I remember soaking in the tub quite a bit to help soothe everything. I wasn’t cycling at the time so can’t add anything there. Maybe treat it like you would a saddle sore and make sure it’s gone before starting again, otherwise you’re delaying getting back.
I think it was about 2-3 days on the couch with some frozen peas. After that I was good to go to get back on the bike (if I remember correctly, it was a while ago).
My doctor was a TR user (I actually traded free lifetime membership for the surgery) and he said that as long as I was on the trainer and I didn’t experience discomfort I was OK.
Took me 3 days before I felt (normal) after my snip snip… I personally wouldn’t think of cycling until the you can touch the area without any feeling… I say this as that area for is numb!
Had mine done on a Friday (biggest adrenaline rush of my life btw), and I was able to commute to work on the following Monday for the rest of the week. My commutes are 35-40mins on a traffic free and smooth bike path so little risk of being knocked off. On Wednesday I foolishly thought I could get away with an offroad MTB ride. My saddle hit me in the nuts at one point. So don’t do any off-road.
If commuting by other means didn’t suck so much, I perhaps would have stayed off the bike until maybe the following Thursday but I just hate not being able to ride.
I had the procedure in March of 2017. I took one week off the bike per the doc’s advice. Then I eased my way back into training. If there are no setbacks in your recovery…you should be back to normal within 4 weeks. Keeping in mind that the weeks leading up to full recovery would be a gradual rise in workout intensity so as not to injure yourself.
Sorry, timeout. Ice? On the plums? For 3 days? That sounds worse than the operation! I was planning one for next year but that honestly is giving me second thoughts.
Is it that bad?
I certainly didn’t need ice for 3 days. Yes there is a level of discomfort in the first few days, but I found simply being still was perfectly fine and it was only if I was moving about too much or too fast that it got very uncomfortable. Suggest planning on the basis that you will be off the bike for 2-3 weeks. Nothing wrong with trying a few rides before this time, but don’t expect to be able to go full gas
It’s not that bad. The procedure itself and the build up was the worst. Post-op it’s fine, it’s a small cut and it heals really quickly. Bit of swelling that goes down quickly.
I do have one horror story though. It’s probably best not to read this next part…
While I was cut open and the doctor was burning stuff, he went outside the anesthetic area on accident…on the inside. That was some PAIN let me tell you!!
When I did mine, I was running. I ran 5 miles before work the next morning. Just a little uncomfortable because of the ends of the stitches poking around. Otherwise, it was very easy. I think if the bike seat isn’t comfortable, running or xc skiing are are options.
