This TikTok Creator Wants You To Really Think About That Vasectomy

It’s marvelous to live in an age when we have so many birth control options at our disposal. From condoms to birth control pills, IUDs to arm implants, there are lots of ways to avoid parenthood if you want to. However, most birth control options are the responsibility of those among us who could get pregnant, not those who do the impregnating. As such, men — especially married men and men in monogamous relationships — have been able to skate by while their female partners handle the business of not getting pregnant. But one TikTok creator, Ryan, who posts as @ryans_truth_, urges men to go ahead and get a vasectomy.

“If you were on the fence about going to get a vasectomy, here’s your sign to go get a vasectomy,” he said in a Sept. 29 video. “You’re not just doing it for yourself, you’re doing it for your lady as well.”

He goes on to explain that up until his surgery, he and his wife had relied on her IUD for birth control. While an IUD is lauded as a great option for some people, others report negative effects, including painful insertion and mood swings.

“Now I know, I know, sharp objects around your man parts don’t sound fun,” he says. “I get it. I understand. But I promise you it is not as bad as you think. On top of that, it is easier and better for you as a man to get a vasectomy than it is for your woman to be on birth control.”

Ryan went on to explain his experience getting a vasectomy, all the while reassuring viewers that it really wasn’t a bad experience at all.

He notes that the process took less than half an hour and that he was awake for the procedure.

“You do have the option of being put to sleep, and if you choose that you are not less of a man,” he reassures viewers. “That’s just your personal preference. But it wasn’t bad enough for me to want to go to sleep.”

He also promises it’s not a painful procedure. “I’m not just saying that because I have a higher pain tolerance; literally it does not hurt.” That’s because you’re given a local numbing medication before anything is cut, snipped, or cauterized. “You’re going to feel some tugging and you’re going to feel some pulling, but you’re not going to feel any pain.”

“Once you’re all numbed up,” he continues, “that’s when they start to get to work. So they grab a scalpel… once again: sharp objects, I know. I understand. It’s OK. They cut you open and they cut the area they need to cut [editor’s note: the vas deferens, which are essentially there to move semen from the testicles into the urethra prior to ejaculation], for me they burned it, and then they sewed me back up, and then they did the same on the other side. It sounds painful, but I guarantee you that with the medicine they use, you’re going to be numb and it’s OK.”

For Ryan, recovery was easy-peasy: After less than two weeks of taking it easy and icing his “boys,” he was running five miles again before he knew it. A few months later, at a follow-up visit, he needed to provide a semen sample to his doctor to “make sure that all your soldiers aren’t marching anymore, if you know what I mean.” After that, that’s it! No unintended pregnancies. And if that desire ever changes, Ryan points out that it is often a reversible procedure.

“It was quick, it was easy, and it was painless,” he said, before concluding. “So if you and your lady were considering you getting a vasectomy, go get it. It’s not that bad.”

Approximately 500,000 men choose vasectomies annually in the United States. And yet despite the fact that vasectomies are outpatient procedures that last 10-20 minutes on average and have very few risks, they’ve been on the decline in the U.S. since 2002. Frankly? That’s kind of ridiculous, especially when you consider that vasectomy is one of the single most effective forms of birth control available. So three cheers to the dudes who get the snip (because, for real, women go through enough) and to Ryan, who understands that sharing stories is a great way to make more people comfortable with taking that next step.