r/varicocele

I basically only have one functioning testicle and that one has a varicocele. Testosterone is low-normal, but my sperm count is extremely low, literally only a few sperm cells.

We want children naturally, but it never worked. Would you go straight to IVF/ICSI or first do varicocele surgery/embolization?

My biggest fear is that something goes wrong with the procedure and I end up with zero sperm forever, making even IVF impossible afterwards.

That’s why my current plan is maybe IVF first for at least one child, then do the varicocele treatment and hope the second child might happen naturally later 😅

What would you do?

Had an embolizaiton done 11 days ago and they went in from my neck. Yesterday, I got a weird red itchy rash thing starting from right under the entry point to on my chest under my neck. Anyone else experience this?

For months I was convinced my left varicocele was a major source of my pain/heaviness. Ultrasound confirmed it, uroloog confirmed it, surgery planned. Simple, right?
Now the night before surgery my brain is going:
what if some of the pain is actually from my rotated pelvis/posture?

what if the groin/leg pain means something else?
what if I wake up months later and only 30% improved?
what if I’m overestimating how much the varicocele contributes?

My surgeon actually gave me more confidence because he didnt oversell anything. He was honest:
recurrence can happen
not every symptom magically disappears
there are risks, recovery takes time
Oddly enough that honesty made me trust him more.
Still… I can’t tell if these doubts are intuition or just pre-surgery anxiety and overthinking.
Anyone else spiral the night before surgery and still end up glad they did it?

So for the past 3 years I've noticed a tremendous decrease in my testicle size and sperm production but everytime I got to a doctor they tell me im fine whether ultrasound physical exams hormone tests they all come out normal and I get shut down from going any further but I've already seen the change In my balls WHAT IS IT??? WHAT COULD IT BE im losing my mind over this I go through discomfort everyday but I've just sucked it up at this point im truly at a loss * edit I guess I should probably mention I've also tried setting things up with another urologist but my primary care doctor shut me down im still really new to setting up appointments and everything avoided health for a min regrettably

24M Have noticed the left testicle having issues for at least a year or two, never really had pain with it though I have noticed a large difference in size between right and left. Got diagnosed with left varicocele today with an ultrasound. Doesn’t sound like my family doctor wants me to do anything about it. Any advice?

Varicocele is quite prevalent, up to every fourth to fifth guy has it, apparently. I read a study that found an average ~34 ng/dl increase in total T after surgery for non-hypogonadal men and ~105 ng/dl increase in hypogonal men. Why isn’t every man with a varicocele rushing to get it fixed? Why isn’t varicocele a bigger topic in society? This sub barely has 10k members. Am I missing something or are the negative effects of varicoceles vastly overstated on forums like this? Do most men with varicoceles not suffer from significantly lower T or testicular atrophy?

I‘m 28 yrs old and have a mild grade 1 varicocele. I’m mostly worried about testicular atrophy and low testosterone. The urologists I’ve been to have been very much against surgery because of anesthesia risks. I want to get it fixed though.

31M

First Opinion: Grade 1 varicocele and shouldn’t affect fertility - asymptomatic

Second opinion (3 years later as we still haven’t been able to get pregnant): 3.6mm vein, still asymptomatic, high sperm count, T levels are normal, low motility and low morphology ( 5% and 1%)

We tried an embolization in December and they couldn’t perform it hence us seeing a second opinion. He wants to go ahead and do the surgery.

Any success stories or just appreciating some opinions on this to talk to him about next week before my surgery the 12th.

Hi

I am 26M. I have done verecocel surgery last year. Done because of pain

Now pain almost gone. But my anxiety is I can feel the enlargedd viens still there itself.

Im about to turn 19. Ive had this since Mid 2024 on my left side, i remember that day vividly. It was late night and i just got home after drinking with friends, i felt pretty debilitating pain on my left testicle but i thought it wasnt excruciating enough to be testicular torsion so i slept it off.

The dull pain never went away, its been a 2 years now. The left is hanging lower and its slightly smaller. I assume my test has been fine as the 2 years went by because shortly after i got the left varicocele i started bodybuilding and got decent size. Also able to get an erection, get aroused and jack off every night ao i think libido might be ok. Went from 48 kg stick and bones to my heaviest 67kg.

Recently like this week, my right testicle started hurting, it started when i kept sitting down on this hard monoblock chair i had in my house. I did the valsalva maneuver to check and the left felt and looked like the typical grade 2 varicocele and the right i felt a small lump right above the testicle itself, its probably just in its beginning stages. I already told my mom about it but we're really not well off and she makes just enough to be able to give me an allowance and pay for college exactly. She said she'll finish paying for my tuition first in College before dealing with it. Im nervous. I dont want to lose the body ive built cause of the test implications that a bilateral varico will give. I dont want to become infertile. I guess ill just hunker down for 3 years until i finish College i guess.

I am 23M from India. I am kind of confused that i have really a varicocele because i have sometimes very dull pain above my left testicle i think that this will go away Iam overthinking but after 2-3 days i find out that pain was due to wearing tights underwear after changing my underwear my pain will reduced a lot but sometimes in a day i feel a little sensation near scrotum region. Should it get cure with medication or i go with surgery?? Any suggestions? I very depressed help me please 😭

About 2 weeks ago I started to get a dull ache behind my left testicle, I say behind because the testicle itself is fine, it's not swollen or tender, no lumps or anything, it's feels like the ache is behind it.

It's a dull ache with occasional shooting pain which lasts for a few seconds.

No burning when I pee, or abdominal pain, no fever

I feel like the pain has got a bit more intense and a bit more frequent in the last 2-3 days.

There doesn't seem to be a trigger, sometimes it happens when I'm standing, sometimes sitting and sometimes in bed.

For those of you with Varicocele, does this sound like your symptoms?

Outside of Ibuprofen or painkillers, is there any relief?

Randomly, although I assume unrelated, on my right glute, I have had what I can only describe as a muscle strain for about a year and a half, and also lower back ache frequently.

I'm expected to undergo surgery at the end of June. I'm really worried how this will affect my fitness levels. I love doing sports and gym. Right now of course they're all affected. But what happens after surgery and post recovery phase?

Will I ever be able to lift weights, do cycling, running etc like normal? Really need to hear some success stories to get myself out of this negativity.

Age: 30 years

Hi Good People. I am diagnosed with bilateral varicocele grade 4 on left grade 2 on the right, my right testie don’t really hurt that much nor have visible dilated veins however left one really hurts and have badly dilated veins even the externa gurbanicular veins are dilated and gets heated got a loose scortum. one of the urologist suggested me getting surgery for only left side to be safe and avoid any complications for both at the same time if something goes wrong at least one testicle is saved, but another urologist suggested me to get surgery for both he says youll have to go under this pain process and anaesthesia again just get your problem fixed at once.

I was considering the emboloization as an option but I’ve heard it won’t fixed the external veins problem so I’m going for microsurger.

what do you good people suggest for my situatio?

This is not intended to scare anyone and is extremely rare, just looking to see if anyone has experienced a specific complication like this after surgery.

I had a bilateral subinguinal varicocelectomy where they delivered the left testicle. Based on my anatomy and operative notes, it looks like a superficial vein that normally drains blood from the penis got accidentally trapped or stitched into the scar tissue when they were closing the incision.

My surgeon initially thought it was "atypical Mondor's disease" (a superficial vein clot) or post-op tissue buildup but it feels like a physical, mechanical blockage.

**My symptoms:**

* **The Scar:** There is a hard, rope-like cord that is physically stuck/tethered directly to my incision scar. And runs up the shaft of my penis on the left hand side

* **The Shaft:** I have new, squiggly, swollen veins popping up across the upper shaft of my penis. It looks like the blood is backing up because of the blockage and trying to find a new way out.

Ultrasounds didn't show anything helpful, my surgeon has recommended shortwave diathermy to break down scar tissue but I'm pushing to get a special MRI (MR venogram) to see if i can get better imaging

**Has anyone else had a superficial penile vein get blocked or caught in the scar after a varicocelectomy?**

If you had these kind of new, squiggly veins pop up on your shaft because of the scar, did it actually clear up on its own with time, or did you need a doctor to release the scar tissue?