got an unltrasound yesterday, i definitely have a varicocele in my left testicle. Tomorrow i go to a uro to see whats up.
Here is a message to those who have varicocele. If you choose to get it treated go for microsurgery. The reason docs are not keen to operate on varicocele is because the traditional techniques have a high rate of failure. But microsurgery, which is a new technique, has a high success rate and a very low risk of complications. Any other surgical approach (may be called ligation or varicocelectomy) is dangerous because of a definite risk of seriously injuring the testicle - don’t risk it! Embolization is a non surgical option that has a very low risk of serious complications but a significant rate of not actually working.
My story: I had a grade three varicocele on the left side since forever but my nuts were fine. Nevertheless it was really noticeable so I decided to get it fixed and had ligation. I was a happy man to see I had normal looking nuts and promptly forgot all about my nuts which is the way it should be. But after five months the varicocele returned, the same. It still did not cause problems but I eventually decided to see about getting it fixed again. I was referred to a surgeon who did what he called a varicocelectomy which was a butcher’s job going in through the scrotum and after the surgery my scrotum filled with blood. The surgeon insisted it would be fine but a second opinion found via ultrasound that the tesicle was dying. Now, two years later, my testicle is one quarter of its original size. And, to top it all off, it turns out the other testicle had a little varicocele all along which has now grown and produces a constant slight ache. I had testosterone tests and my levels are half what they were before. I am going to get a fertility test next and am quite scared about it. The docs just don’t want to know me. Now could someone please wake me up from this nightmare? Anyway be extremely wary of any surgery and don’t take any risk whatsoever with your nuts. Not even 0.5% risk.
I too have a varicosele on my left nut. I went to the urologist a few months ago with pain in the left nut, the pain was not too bad but i was worried about the varicosele cause at that time i didn’t know what they were.
The pain went away so i never came back for an ultrasound, but now i am worried about this cause my left nut is too small compared with the right and i have symptoms of low testosterone. I always can grow beard and body hair without any problem, but my progress in the gym sucks compared with my efforts. I have lack of motivation, assertiveness, tired a lot and the sex drive is low.
I will go back to the urologist in a couple of weeks, can’t go soon; my dad will have a surgery in a couple of days and i need to be able to help him.
Thanks to all for the information. Please dudes with this problem or related experiences keep posting and updating.
Hello people I signed up strictly to reply to this post because I too have a Varicocele on my left testicle. I am 16 and have had a Varicocele for about 3 years I believe. When I found out that I had this I didn’t pay much mind to it since it wasn’t bothering me at the time and therefore didn’t mention it to my doctor. About a month ago the weather started getting nice so I started actively playing sports again. In the middle of every Basketball game i would play, I started feeling very uncomfortable specially around my groin area. I figured this was due to the heat and so I just continued playing. Once I got home which is very cool I would still feel that pain and even after a shower that pain was still there. It lasted for about 5 hours after that, not including the time I was playing ball. The next week, I went for a walk in the city, it was about 80 degrees, with some friends and again the discomfort came.
When I came home so I did some research on the internet and found some interesting links between varicoceles and all sorts of health problems such as low sperm count, low testosterone levels, infertility etc. And also people that say that it can be harmless and such. Although I am 16 and haven’t gone through puberty entirely, I sense that I may have low testosterone levels because I have barley any facial hair/body hair, my voice is not the deepest, I look younger than I should look and the only area that seems to be on point hair-wise is my pubic area. I am very skinny, too skinny and I workout often but barely see any results, I eat the right foods have a good sleeping cycle and so I assume it may have something to do with the Varicocele but I am not sure. So I realized this might be an issue and mentioned it to my doctor about 1 week ago and she referred me to a urologist and I have an appointment with the urologist during the first week of July. Any input regarding my case or Varicoceles and successful surgeries would be greatly appreciated by me. Unlike others who said they would keep this thread updated and didn’t, I WILL post any updates even if no one is going to read it lol but yea bye for now.
[quote]Jimmy0123 wrote:
Hello people I signed up strictly to reply to this post because I too have a Varicocele on my left testicle. I am 16 and have had a Varicocele for about 3 years I believe. When I found out that I had this I didn’t pay much mind to it since it wasn’t bothering me at the time and therefore didn’t mention it to my doctor. About a month ago the weather started getting nice so I started actively playing sports again. In the middle of every Basketball game i would play, I started feeling very uncomfortable specially around my groin area. I figured this was due to the heat and so I just continued playing. Once I got home which is very cool I would still feel that pain and even after a shower that pain was still there. It lasted for about 5 hours after that, not including the time I was playing ball. The next week, I went for a walk in the city, it was about 80 degrees, with some friends and again the discomfort came.
When I came home so I did some research on the internet and found some interesting links between varicoceles and all sorts of health problems such as low sperm count, low testosterone levels, infertility etc. And also people that say that it can be harmless and such. Although I am 16 and haven’t gone through puberty entirely, I sense that I may have low testosterone levels because I have barley any facial hair/body hair, my voice is not the deepest, I look younger than I should look and the only area that seems to be on point hair-wise is my pubic area. I am very skinny, too skinny and I workout often but barely see any results, I eat the right foods have a good sleeping cycle and so I assume it may have something to do with the Varicocele but I am not sure. So I realized this might be an issue and mentioned it to my doctor about 1 week ago and she referred me to a urologist and I have an appointment with the urologist during the first week of July. Any input regarding my case or Varicoceles and successful surgeries would be greatly appreciated by me. Unlike others who said they would keep this thread updated and didn’t, I WILL post any updates even if no one is going to read it lol but yea bye for now.[/quote]
Hey buddy,
Great that you signed up in this forum, there are some really knowledgable posters around here (myself not included 
)
The reason other posters haven’t updated yet because they tragically died from the surgery , oops, sometimes those things happen you know…
I wouldn’t worry about the hair, muscle and voice development so much. Everyone ripes at a different age, and a buddy of mine who is pretty strong has almost no body hair and just some whiskers on his face, and it’s more tied to genetics then anything else.
Just wait for your lab tests how they score to see how your testosterone is doing.
You haven’t mentioned your sexdrive, if it’s not “normal” for a teenagers = horny as a goat 24/7, that’s ok, but that may be a stronger indication of low testosterone.
This is just my view on it, feel free to correct me!
I have one on my left nut too. As far as low test goes, I self medicate because I don’t want surgery right now 
A good friend of mine also has one on his left, and suffers severely decreased test levels because of it. He opted to get HRT rather then have it operated on as well.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I have one on my left nut too. As far as low test goes, I self medicate because I don’t want surgery right now
A good friend of mine also has one on his left, and suffers severely decreased test levels because of it. He opted to get HRT rather then have it operated on as well.[/quote]
URologist said there is no correlation with testosterone and varicoceles, I disagree with him but anyways he said he wouldn’t operate on it for low testosterone only for pain.
but I have been seeing and endocrinologist and I may go on trt/hrt depending on the results of my latest labs.
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I have one on my left nut too. As far as low test goes, I self medicate because I don’t want surgery right now
A good friend of mine also has one on his left, and suffers severely decreased test levels because of it. He opted to get HRT rather then have it operated on as well.[/quote]
URologist said there is no correlation with testosterone and varicoceles, I disagree with him but anyways he said he wouldn’t operate on it for low testosterone only for pain.
but I have been seeing and endocrinologist and I may go on trt/hrt depending on the results of my latest labs.[/quote]
I’d say that Urologist is a retard then lol.
Get that hrt script! haha
As someone with what might be a varicocele, I appreciate all the knowledgeable people for contributing their knowledge to this thread.
I noticed swelling in my right testicle (it’s about the size of a golf ball… enjoy that image) when I was 13. At my next checkup, my doctor noticed it, diagnosed it as a varicocele, and said it was nothing to worry about.
I’m almost 20 now and have been concerned about having low testosterone levels for awhile, although I blamed the low T on cutting absurd amounts of weight for wrestling in high school. My symptoms include low energy, pathetic facial hair, low libido, low assertiveness/ambition, gynecomastia (perhaps not related), and poor sleep.
I got my T levels checked in December 2011 and was in the low 500’s, which seems low for a guy my age. Thyroid was normal and estrogen was basically nonexistent. I was stupid and didn’t get Free T checked (my doctor was also stupid for not testing me for it, but I digress).
Now, thanks to viewing this thread and other research, I want to schedule an appointment with my doctor to discuss treatment options. I’m interning at a gym this summer, so I need a treatment option that I won’t have me bedridden or inactive, so it seems like embolization is the way to go, although microsurgery seems more effective. Does anyone have suggestions? Based on his earlier ignorance on this subject, I don’t trust my doctor to know much about the treatment options.
Foolishly or not, I’m hoping that fixing the varicocele will fix the other problems I’ve had with low T. I’d like to thank you all again for this enlightening conversation and I wish everyone the best of luck in their journeys. I’ll post back with updates when they come and I hope everyone else will do the same.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I have one on my left nut too. As far as low test goes, I self medicate because I don’t want surgery right now
A good friend of mine also has one on his left, and suffers severely decreased test levels because of it. He opted to get HRT rather then have it operated on as well.[/quote]
URologist said there is no correlation with testosterone and varicoceles, I disagree with him but anyways he said he wouldn’t operate on it for low testosterone only for pain.
but I have been seeing and endocrinologist and I may go on trt/hrt depending on the results of my latest labs.[/quote]
I’d say that Urologist is a retard then lol.
Get that hrt script! haha[/quote]
omg no doubt. check out my thread if you want. I updated the first post today with a bunch of lab results
I am a 16 year old with a varicocele on each of my testicles, as well as a hydrocele on both of my testicles.
I believe I’ve had them for AT LEAST a year. I am extremely worried about my testicular health due to all these problems on both my testicles. Surely testosterone and sperm production has been compromised, and my GP says that this is particularly bad during puberty because the testicles are still developing, and testicular atrophy or damage etc. could not resolve properly, since the testicles are still developing.
I have an appointment on Monday with a urologist. I want to get the surgery ASAP, and testosterone, LH, and FSH done pre and post-op.
Any experts/veterans have any tips on how to ensure testicular recovery/catch-up-growth/health? Clomid restart maybe? Don’t want to stunt my growth, though…
Although I was an early bloomer, good facial hair, a deep voice, and decent muscles, I think these traits developed before the testicle problems and therefore testosterone problems. It’s still very worrying.
It’s comforting to find you guys with similar problems. Best of luck to everybody else here as well.
I’ve had one, had surgery when I was 18. Wasn’t a big deal at all. But my left nut swelled up to the size of an orange. It was impressive. Should have taken pics lol. I do have low t as well and I’m on HRT for it. No problems with body hair. I have plenty of it.
My procedure was a vericoselectomy. I still have a 3 inch scar on my left side from the procedure. Perhaps this was the old way it was done? From what I remember they cut me open, drained the veins and put everything back in.
Another thing I’d ask about is whether or not it would affect sexual function. I swear my orgasms/ejaculation haven’t been the same since.
I have had a varicocele since high school and am now 34. The size of the varicocele has slowly grown over time and a dull ache at the end of the day has arised. I have had a semen analysis and found that I have a large amount of abnormal sperm. However, I have two kids, so am obviously fertile. I had my testosterone checked and it is on the low side of normal.
If you want advice, you can’t just go see any urologist. You need to find someone who specializes in this area. Usually someone who deals with infertility. I am in the medical industry, and after reading multiple studies on the subject, I feel that a varicocele will eventually have an effect on a person’s testicles. My opinion.
With that said, I am having a varicocelectomy next week. The average jump in testosterone levels after this procedure is about 100. Don’t be scared by the term “Varicocelectomy”. This term basically means that they are cutting off the blood flow to the affected vein. The more important question is how do they accomplish this task. It appears that the most effective and permanent approach is “sub-inguinal”. I think this is what most people are referring to when they mention microsurgery. However, it is important to see someone who is microsurgically trained, meaning they know how to use microsurgical tools.
A link to my surgeons website is below. I’m sure they could refer you to someone in your area if you call their office.
KO - keep us posted after surgery?
[quote]komarko wrote:
I have had a varicocele since high school and am now 34. The size of the varicocele has slowly grown over time and a dull ache at the end of the day has arised. I have had a semen analysis and found that I have a large amount of abnormal sperm. However, I have two kids, so am obviously fertile. I had my testosterone checked and it is on the low side of normal.
If you want advice, you can’t just go see any urologist. You need to find someone who specializes in this area. Usually someone who deals with infertility. I am in the medical industry, and after reading multiple studies on the subject, I feel that a varicocele will eventually have an effect on a person’s testicles. My opinion.
With that said, I am having a varicocelectomy next week. The average jump in testosterone levels after this procedure is about 100. Don’t be scared by the term “Varicocelectomy”. This term basically means that they are cutting off the blood flow to the affected vein. The more important question is how do they accomplish this task. It appears that the most effective and permanent approach is “sub-inguinal”. I think this is what most people are referring to when they mention microsurgery. However, it is important to see someone who is microsurgically trained, meaning they know how to use microsurgical tools.
A link to my surgeons website is below. I’m sure they could refer you to someone in your area if you call their office.
[/quote]
Damn, I didn’t have microsurgery. I still have a 3 inch scar on the side of my sack.
I had one, too, many years ago. I think I was a teenager (I’m in my early 40s now). I’m sure the surgical methods and technologies have advanced considerably in the over two decades since I was operated on. At the time the urologist mentioned only possible infertility as a complication if I didn’t address the issue.
I didn’t think about test and he never mentioned it to me (as far as I can recall). He just seemed very concerned with preventing possible future infertility. I told him that I didn’t want kids, but he said you can’t predict the future and you might one day.
Fast forward to now. I’m married and don’t have any kids, but my wife is several years younger, so there’s still time and we’re definitely considering it and discussing it. So I’m very glad I had the surgery. I honestly don’t remember how long the recovery was, but my impression is that it wasn’t very long and I didn’t suffer any complications. Had a few follow-up visits with the urologist afterwards and was given a clean bill of health.
Seeing this thread was pretty eye-opening to me: I didn’t know that this issue was so widespread. It’s just not something that’s ever come up in conversation with my guy friends. I wish the best to everyone with the same condition, and hope that you’ll keep us updated.
22yo here, huge varicocele on left side, pretty sure my testicles are shrinking, so I got my T tested , came back 336 (normal range 340-1000) so I am really worried. Should I get the surgery in hopes of my T will go back up? Or should I leave it and do HRT? Is 22 too young for HRT?
[quote]foob wrote:
22yo here, huge varicocele on left side, pretty sure my testicles are shrinking, so I got my T tested , came back 336 (normal range 340-1000) so I am really worried. Should I get the surgery in hopes of my T will go back up? Or should I leave it and do HRT? Is 22 too young for HRT?[/quote]
I started HRT at your age also. The difference was amazing.
So a few things happened almost a year later. After my appointment with the urologist in July, he confirmed that I did have it but he said It didn’t look to serious and for now not to worry about it but he will check up on it every 6 months.
I’ve had a self-diagnosed varicocele on my left testicle since I hit puberty, but only just recently did I decide to do something about it. Had an embolization procedure done middle of december last year. I’ve yet to experience any shrinkage, but the dull pain seems to have subsided somewhat. Leading up to the procedure I asked my urologist to check my t-levels, and even though she didn’t seem to feel there was a need for it I got the blood work done. But only total T, and not FSH/LH.
This doctor never bothered giving me the results though, and it wasn’t until much later when I sent for my medical journal that I figured there might’ve been a link between my variocele, and the symptoms of hypogonadism that I’ve always experienced, since my T-levels came back at 11nmol/l.
I’ve pretty much had it with this urologist, being this sloppy and only checking for total t, and never bothering to give me the reuslts, that I’ve recently booked an appointment with an endocrinologist instead. What more blood work should I ask to get done besides total T and FSH/LH?
How low is 11nmol/l for a 31yo guy? I was pretty shocked since I lead a very healthy life in general (plenty of rest, careful nutrition, zma/fish oil supplementation and regular heavy squat sessions) and putting on muscle has never been a problem for me. Fatigue, lack of motivation and bouts with depression have always been a burden for me though, and it’s just now that I’ve realised there might be a link.
I’ll see what the next blood work says, if the embolization procedure was a success and if t-levels might be rising (it’s only been a month now, and I guess it’ll take time before I notice any/if any changes), but if it still comes back low I’ll look into HRT/TRT (pretty sure it’ll have to be self prescribed though, since I’ve never heard anyone getting it through nhs where I’m at…).