“I have become completely harmless, I am shooting blank.
But still as much ”.
With a burst of laughter, Christophe sums up in his own way how he feels since he made the decision to have a vasectomy.
The father of the family chose three years ago to undergo a sterilization operation: “For years, my wife took charge of contraception.
After having had three children, it seemed normal to me that it was my turn ”.
The process is still confidential in France where the law authorizing it dates from 2001. Only 1% of French people use it.
Twenty times less than in Anglo-Saxon countries such as England, the United States or Canada.
In France, however, demand tends to tighten.
"It's weak because we are starting almost from zero since it was prohibited 20 years ago but it is really starting to develop, assures Eric Huyghe, professor at the Toulouse University Hospital and head of the andrology committee within the French association of urology (AFU).
Too many men confuse fertility and virility and equate vasectomy with castration when not at all.
This does not change the libido, there is no risk of erectile dysfunction and ejaculation is completely identical ”.
The impact on sex life is the main question and often the first question for candidates for the operation: "It affects our intimacy so inevitably we wonder about the future of our sexuality, recognizes Erwann.
In the end, that doesn't change anything at all ”.
The intervention is very framed.
A first appointment with the urologist allows you to express your wish and to be informed of the nature of the treatment.
Moreover, the operation cannot be carried out before the end of a four-month cooling-off period.
On D-day, it lasts half an hour under local or general anesthesia.
It consists of cutting the referent ducts which lead the sperm from the testes to the prostate.
“It's a small operation even if a surgical procedure is never trivial,” continues Dr. Eric Huyghe.
There may be pain for a few days or a few weeks.
Only 4% of people have pain beyond a month ”.
The operation is effective after three months.
Confirmation of sterility is revealed through a spermogram.
A long journey that Alexander followed patiently.
“After two children, we knew we didn't want others,” explains the 31-year-old Saint-Etienne.
My wife had a copper IUD which broke and had to have it removed under general anesthesia.
We had to think about other methods of contraception, but she didn't really have any more available to her.
I also wanted to be active in this process ”.
Alexandre decides not to keep spermatozoa as permitted by law: “The radical nature did not pose a problem for me, I was really decided.
Even if we were to separate one day, I don't want to have more children ”.
"But vasectomy is reversible by surgery," Eric Huyghe recalls.
You can re-sew the channels.
The success rate of 50 to 80% depending on the case knowing that the older the operation, the less it works ”.
Contraception currently leaves few alternatives to men.
The male pill is a sea snake, hormonal treatment is hardly used just like thermal methods (heating pants or contraceptive ring).
However, demand is growing for a number of reasons.
Very young people grouped together in the "Ginks" movement (green inclinations, no kids) claim it for ecological reasons, mistrust of drugs or the refusal to use hormones also push many women to reject the pill.
But it is also an emerging desire to fairly share all the constraints between men and women, which is encouraging more and more couples to take the plunge.
“I have three grown children and when I met my partner who is twelve years younger than me, the question quickly arose;
but at my age, I didn't want others, says Gwen, a 44-year-old Breton.
I had already given enough with the pill and its side effects.
I had an app to know when my period was falling and when I was ovulating, but it wasn't very reliable.
As soon as I was late, it was a bit of a panic.
We said to ourselves that we wanted to stop playing.
Once the operation is over, it is liberating not to ask any more questions ”.
Her partner preferred to keep his sperm “just in case” but his decision provoked mixed reactions from those around him.
“It's very little known so it's scary,” Gwen continues.
The responsibility for contraception traditionally rests with women, so the question is never asked.
There is however a solution which exists with many advantages ”.
One of the brakes remains the lack of financial valuation of an act that medical establishments put little forward.
Surgeons almost systematically practice excess fees and the remainder to be borne by the patient may slow some down.
“It cost me 250 € in a clinic, details Michael.
Previously, my wife used a pill that was not reimbursed.
If we reason purely financially, it quickly pays off ”.
At 35 years old and with two children, the father of Rouen had many other arguments to take the plunge.
“I am of English origin, my father and one of my brothers already had vasectomized,” he explains.
My partner had no health concerns with regard to her contraception, but the classic symptoms of the pills such as headaches, decreased libido, fatigue and weight gain.
I consider that we can share the question of contraception with a first part of life for women and then the rest for men.
It's a question of equality ”.
"My mother was a little disappointed surprised when I told her but I continue to talk about it to those around me", engages Alexandre, who does not hesitate to share his experience to convince other men: "It should not be a a taboo subject.
Everyone fears a negative effect on sexuality when not at all.
Looks like us men don't even know how we operate.
We do not know, we confuse everything.
I no longer wanted my partner to assume this constraint alone.
I think she saw it as a gesture of love ”.
Single since a divorce which preceded his operation, Erwann for his part is delighted not to take any more risks.
“I wanted to manage the contraception problem myself,” explains the 47-year-old Breton.
I do casual encounters, there could be an accident.
At first, women are surprised when I tell them about it.
But they're glad a man cared.
I am old enough to be a grandfather.
I'm happy to have put this behind me ”.
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