Hi everyone,
I’m a 31-year-old male and was diagnosed last week with a left-sided Grade 2/Grade 3 varicocele.
My history with this has involved recurring pain in my left testicle:
August 2022 – pain started but went away within a day or two
February 2025 – pain returned and again subsided within a day or two
January 2026 – pain came back again, but this time it lasted for a couple of weeks
When the pain persisted in January, I came across this subreddit and essentially self-diagnosed, which prompted me to get it properly investigated.
I met with a consultant urologist last week and he suggested that I undergo either varicocele embolization or microscopic varicocelectomy.
I’m hoping people in this community can share their experiences and advise which procedure they chose and why. My ultimate goal is obviously to get better and stop this recurring pain, but I’ve read that microscopic varicocelectomy may have lower recurrence rates and better long-term outcomes, while embolization seems to offer a quicker recovery. I’m also conscious of avoiding too much time away from the gym and potentially losing muscle during recovery, so I’m trying to weigh up both options.
My main symptom is the recurring pain mentioned above. Aside from that, over the last two years I’ve also noticed:
a drop in libido
general increase in stress/anxiety
I’m curious whether anyone who has undergone either procedure noticed:
improvement in pain
increased libido
improved testosterone levels
general reduction in anxiety/stress afterward
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through either procedure and can share their experience with recovery times, complications, and overall results.
I am organising a semen analysis test as soon as possible.
Thank you