Like consuming beer and fries without the concern of calories, getting snipped allows for all the fun without the worry of pregnancy. But there’s this nagging whisper. Your balls, your source of manliness, they’re gonna be disconnected. Will they just be floating around untethered in space where no one can hear them scream! Will your vasectomy affect your testosterone?
Sure, obviously, you want to keep your spermy swimmers away from their eggy soul mates, but your man jewels don’t just make sperm! They also manufacture the hormone that is the mascot of masculinity, the virtuoso of virility, testosterone. If your boys can no longer perform half their function, how can we be sure they will continue to do any of it? And then, even if they do keep producing testosterone, how’s it gonna get to where it needs to go when the snip cuts them loose? We’ve all seen how big, bad-ass canines go from being confident, incorrigible, top dogs to contented little lumps of fur after they’ve had the chop. So, you too may wonder, is this going to happen to me?
Well, let’s start by quashing the fixed dog analogy. Male dogs are neutered. They are castrated: meaning the balls are removed entirely. So yeah, there’s no sperm, no testosterone manufacturing plant, nothing. Vasectomy is an entirely different procedure, thankfully. It leaves your testicles completely untouched. The impacted part is the tube which takes the sperm away from the testicles. This tube is called the vas deferens.
After the vasectomy, your precious gonads will have no idea that the tube upstream has been decommissioned. Imagine a factory producing its lovely wares and then sending them off for delivery. Factory workers aren’t privy to information like where the goods are going, nor are they remotely concerned about it. They just make the stuff and send it off, make more stuff, and send more off. Your testes are the same. Once the sperm is made, it leaves for the storage facility and heads away waiting for ejaculation. Post-snip the same thing continues to happen, but then, upstream, before it reaches the blockage caused by your vasectomy, your sperm is broken down and reabsorbed into the body. So, after a vasectomy your testicles continue making sperm as if nothing has happened. The same is true for testosterone (TFFT).
But how will the testosterone get out if the sperm no longer can? The answer is simple. The vas deferens ONLY carries sperm; it’s like their own little private laneway. Testosterone is released from your balls directly into your bloodstream, no vas deferens needed. The blood supply to the testicles is left completely alone during a vasectomy.
Multiple scientific studies have been done on this topic and all show no change in testosterone levels after a vasectomy. So, from a biological point of view, we can say with certainty there is no change in your manly vigour and/or sex drive after the op.
Psychologically, however, things of course can happen. For many men, their libido is only enhanced knowing that they are a contraceptive hero, and they can now enjoy the freedom of sex, without the fear of pregnancy. For some though, it can go the other way. Fertility and being able to impregnate can be so tied-up in their sense of manliness. This of course is a fallacy, but it can change how you think and feel about yourself after a snip.
Having the right mindset is key, and being honest with yourself about your reasons is important because your vasectomy will not affect, alter or diminish your manliness (ie testosterone). Only you have the power to do that.