r/varicocele

Hi. 38 y old here. On April 2026 i made this topic, where i talked about my surgery. Now I’m writing this post because I know there are people out there dealing with anxiety and pessimism just like me who need these kinds of stories—to keep hoping and believing that everything will be okay. If you are like me, I completely understand that it isn’t easy. Just thinking about these words brings back a wave of sadness, but please try not to lose hope. Keep moving forward, lean on your partner, and trust your doctors. It is not easy at all—I know, and I truly understand you. But I made it. And you can make it too, if you believe in it until the very end.

When I was going through my surgery and recovery, I spent hours scrolling through forums and drowning in medical studies. I took various supplements and researched endlessly to gain a sense of control, but it was a double-edged sword: while it gave me hope, it also heavily fueled my anxiety. I’m naturally someone who expects the worst outcome just to protect myself from disappointment.

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TL;DR: After 10 years and 2 recurrences (we weren's searching for a baby at that time), I had my 3rd varicocele surgery (Tauber Technique) in April 2026. Despite anxiety, pessimism, and obsessing over medical research/supplements, my wife tested positive just 2 months post-op! She is now 14 weeks pregnant. Finding doctors who actually listened made all the difference. There is real hope, even when you feel like expecting the worst.

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Our Timeline:

• Background: I had my first two varicocele surgeries 10 and 8 years ago, both resulting in recurrences. Since we weren't trying for a baby back then, I delayed further treatment.
• September 2025: My wife and I started trying to conceive. I started to take supplements (the most common you've already know if you're looking for a baby)
• April 2026: I underwent my 3rd surgery—this time using the Tauber Technique (Scleroembolization + Vein Ligation) on my left side.
• June 2026: Just 2 months post-op, my wife took a test and it was positive!
• Today (August 2026): She is officially in her 14th week of pregnancy, and everything is progressing smoothly.

What Helped Us Through:

• Finding doctors who listen: For someone who constantly overthinks and prepares for the worst, finding a medical team that actually listened and took my history seriously was my biggest blessing. Switching to the Tauber technique for my 3rd procedure made all the difference.
• Balancing research and peace of mind: Information and vitamins can help you feel proactive, but try not to let the research rabbit hole consume your mental health.
• Trusting the process: Facing a 3rd surgery was terrifying, but conception happened much faster than we or the doctors expected.

Thank you to everyone who supported my recovery posts four months ago. Feel free to ask anything about the procedure, recovery, or timeline. You've got this!

2 years ago at 24, only one simple epididymal cyst was detected on R side and only L sided Grade 1 varicocele was detected. Was advised tight underwear and avoid lifting but didn’t really care as there was no discomfort.

Cut to last month had some continuous discomfort for a few days (used to have some intermittent discomfort previously but nothing that altered my quality of life). Now 26, on USG B/L grade 2 varicocele diagnosed on USG Scrotum + 2x simple epididymal cysts on R side.

Doctor suggested microscopic varicocelectomy + cyst excision on the R side first because it was more in size.

Now 5 days post op, the swelling has gone down but feel a thick cord like and non tender epididymis and some mild discomfort. Doctor said it will go away with time.

Suggested supportive underwear and avoid lifting. Please looking for some suggestions. And when should I get the other side?

Hi,

32M 32F

TW: three losses all before three weeks. Wife has endo and coagulation issues. So not sure who caused the losses.

Varicocele with 33% dna frag. All other parameters are excellent. Varicocele was grade 2.

Met with a reproductive urologist today. Doc couldn’t be sure this was our cause of Mc. Doc didn’t push surgery per say…. Just said it’s an option. I asked about supplements and the doc was okay with supplements for three months as a conservative approach.

Any one have any advice or suggestions of next steps?

Hey guys, 15 year old here. Recently learned what a varicocele is and I suspect I have one on my left testicle. I don’t think it recently showed up I believe it has been here for at least a while. I have no symptoms like pain or anything at all which makes me wonder if I will ever need surgery for it or whether ai even have it. Can someone let me know a good way to try and self diagnose if I have it? Thanks.

34M. I had a grade 3 left varicocele treated with microsurgical ligation on April 17, 2026. The surgeon ligated at least 6 veins.

Unfortunately, I still have significant pain, sometimes worse than before surgery. Doppler at ~3 months showed a remaining 4 mm vein with reflux. I also have a mild right-sided varicocele.

My surgeon recommends waiting for now, but mentioned possible redo surgery later. I’m also considering embolization.

Has anyone had persistent reflux/pain after microsurgery that still improved after 3–6+ months? And if not: redo microsurgery or embolization?

I underwent subinguinal varicocelectomy 3 days ago.

After the surgery, the pain in my testicles has reduced a lot. I only have slight pain around the incision, and I'm taking the painkillers prescribed by my doctor.

The main reason I decided to have the surgery was because my testosterone had decreased a lot, and I was experiencing almost no sexual desire and delayed erections.

I'm wondering if anyone else underwent varicocelectomy with similar problems — low testosterone, very low libido and delayed erections.

If you had similar symptoms before surgery:

Did your testosterone improve after surgery?

Did your libido come back?

Did your erections become better?

How long did it take before you noticed improvement?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your recovery experiences.

Just had ultrasound (via nhs) yesterday and found 1.2 mm in both sides. However, when I did it a year ago it was grade 2 varicocele.

I had asked him to do while standing but he was not keen to.

Still having testicular pain but now it feels like it’s referred pain TBH

On 3 Aug I underwent a left transscrotal microsurgical Varicoelectomy. This meant that the cut was made on the scrotum itself, on the left side.

The rationale given by the urologist was that he could remove most of the faulty testicle veins without hurting the veins in the subinguinal area, that do not belong to the testicle.

Anyway, first week was hell. The aches and pains are definitely higher on the pain scale as the scrotum is covered in sensitive nerve endings. I used a walking stick to reduce the weight I placed on my left side.

I limited my movements to the bare essentials: toilet time and consumption of food. I iced my area for the first week to reduce the aching feeling.

To aid in my recovery, I religiously consumed chicken essence. The rationale was to consume simple amino acids that help to boost the physical recovery as fast as possible. If you do not have chicken essence, chicken soup is a good alternative.

As my doctor cut a lot of faulty veins, there was some blood congestion in the surgical area, I was prescribed pentoxifylline (varicose vein medication) to boost the blood flow.

Currently I'm on my 3rd week of recovery, the wound has sealed but I still would walk gingerly to prevent any physical exertion.

I have got recurrrance varicocele 2 years after microsurgery and classical embolization using glue. Months back IR suggested for trans scrotal varicocele embolization which means IR will access the veins through scrotum and block them using glue/foam. In this procedure they do not use catheter/cath lab, entire process is done under ultrasound machine using big needles by accessing scrotum. Currently I'm good.

Hi everyone. My husband (30) and I (29) tried for eight months before I fell pregnant naturally. I am five weeks today and haven’t done any ultrasounds so far. My issue is that the month we ended up conceiving we had already done some initial fertility testing and my husband’s results came back pretty bad: low count, low motility (morphology couldn’t be assessed due to low count) and high leukocytes. He was put on antibiotics and had been taking them for a week before I entered my fertile window.
My question is whether his poor results might affect how this pregnancy progresses. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I’m worried about a higher risk for miscarriage or any other abnormalities. I understand that dna fragmentation is what plays a real role in all of this, but unfortunately we do not have those results and, even if we had them, there’s not much we can do.
Thank you for your time and I apologise for any mistake, this is my first time posting and English is not my first language.

I am 14 and I have Grade 4 varicocele. I don't feel pain or discomfort at all but the varicocele can be felt and highly visible. I don't see any signs like antrophy but I have heard it has very high chances of infertility, antrophy etc so I am just scared if I could get these problems too.

My grade 4 varicocele is on the left. When I touch my sack around the balls, my left side still feels cold but less cold compared to the right side. Basically the left side with the varicocele is cold compared to my body, but not as cold as the right side of the testicle without varicocele. The varicocele disappears when I lay down and both sides become equally cold. My left side starts sweating a lot when I lay down. These symptoms were when my balls were loose. When they are pulled close to the body, the varicocele become invisible but can be felt when I press. When I sit the varicocele is still felt but not as large as when standing. When sleeping it's basically non existent.

Hey guys,
So I had varicocele surgery back in July 2023. Since then, I’ve been going to the gym on and off, mostly because I’m genuinely terrified of doing anything that might mess things up down there.
Because of this inconsistency, I’ve gained a good amount of weight. I recently found out that my varicocele has actually come back, which just made my gym anxiety even worse. For context, I’m 23M, 183cm (6’0”), and currently weighing 105kg (about 231 lbs).

Honestly, I’m pretty clueless when it comes to the gym. My main goal right now is just to lose the extra weight, fix my physique, and look good, but I *absolutely cannot* risk worsening the varicocele. I’m planning to get an embolization eventually, but it’s going to be a while before I do that.
Does anyone have a clear, straightforward workout routine for a beginner? What exact exercises should I focus on, and what should I completely avoid so I don't put any extra pressure on that area?
Any tips or similar experiences would be massively appreciated

I am 19 was diagnosed with varicocele and epididymitis at 16 have had no trouble with it the first few years but few months ago my balls have been getting quite a pain and it is more frequently happening now is that normal or should I look into getting checked again.

Bonjour,

J’ai 28 ans et cela fait un peu plus de deux ans que je souffre de douleurs testiculaires.

Tout a commencé en juillet 2024. J’étais au travail, principalement au bureau, et cela faisait environ 6 heures que je travaillais lorsqu’une gêne est apparue dans l’aine droite. Je me suis donc levé pour aller faire une intervention au cours de laquelle je devais notamment monter à une échelle. C’est à ce moment-là que je me suis rendu compte que la douleur venait en réalité de mon testicule droit.

J’ai ensuite passé une échographie Doppler qui a révélé la présence d’un kyste de 1,7 cm au niveau de l’épididyme droit. Selon les médecins, il n’y avait rien d’inquiétant et ce kyste ne pouvait pas être à l’origine de mes douleurs.

Quelques jours plus tard, les douleurs sont apparues dans les deux testicules, avec toutefois une douleur beaucoup plus importante à droite.

Environ trois mois plus tard, j’ai subi une intervention au niveau du rein gauche, où j’avais des calculs, afin d’écarter l’hypothèse d’une douleur provenant de ce problème. Malheureusement, l’intervention n’a rien changé.

Depuis, j’ai passé de nombreux examens et essayé différents traitements : infiltration du nerf pudendal, suivi dans un centre de la douleur, plusieurs traitements anti-inflammatoires, antidépresseurs utilisés dans le traitement des douleurs neuropathiques, etc. Rien n’a réellement amélioré la situation.

Il y a environ un mois, j’ai finalement fait retirer le kyste de l’épididyme, même si les médecins ne pensaient pas qu’il était responsable de mes douleurs. Je suis actuellement encore dans la période post-opératoire et j’attends donc que les douleurs liées à l’intervention diminuent. Malheureusement, j’ai peur que mes douleurs initiales soient toujours présentes une fois la récupération terminée.

Je me demande notamment s’il pourrait s’agir d’une épididymite chronique. C’est simplement une hypothèse de ma part, mais certains de mes symptômes semblent y correspondre d’après ce que j’ai pu lire.

Mes douleurs sont présentes en permanence, 24 h/24, mais elles s’intensifient après un effort physique, le port de charges lourdes, une éjaculation ou une position prolongée.

La douleur peut également prendre différentes formes : parfois une sensation de brûlure, parfois des décharges électriques, mais le plus souvent une sensation de lourdeur, comme si les testicules étaient pris dans un étau.

Si quelqu’un a vécu ou vit actuellement quelque chose de similaire, je serais vraiment intéressé d’échanger avec lui, notamment sur les pistes qui ont été explorées, les examens réalisés ou les traitements qui ont pu apporter une amélioration.

Merci d’avance pour vos retours.

Hi all,

Hope you are doing well,

I am suffering from infertility from last one year, on Jan I did my first semen analysis and it was very bad 1.7 million per ml and now doctor gave me clomid and some antioxidants for 3 month and on ultrasound there was vericoele grade 3,

Now there is no progress with the medicines so I went to another doctor and did my Embolization done,, prior to embo my SA was 3.5 m/ml and now after 35 days of embo i did SA again and it lowest of all times 1.1 million per ml,

.I am kind of very disappointed, not sure what to do,, I know it takes 3 month to show results but I wasn't ready to see this, please help and suggestions plz

Hi, I’m 19 and I’ve had enlarged veins in my scrotum for a long time. Both sides have enlarged veins, but the right side is noticeably larger than the left.
Recently, I’ve started experiencing some pain/discomfort, mainly late at night when I’m lying down and about to sleep. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with ejaculation/masturbation, so I don’t want to assume that’s the cause.
The enlarged veins themselves have been there for a long time, but the pain is a recent development.
Could this be a bilateral varicocele? Is it unusual for the right side to be larger than the left, and should that be investigated further?
Would a scrotal ultrasound with Doppler be appropriate?
I’m planning to see a doctor, but I’d appreciate any input, especially from doctors/urologists or people who have dealt with varicoceles.

Hi everyone. I’m coming on here to get some ideas on what you guys think. Some back round I’m 19. Almost 20. I’ve been incredibly active my entire life. I’ve been body building since I was 16. Skateboarding, snowboarding, spikeball u name it I’ve done. It. From what I understand my varicocele was self induced from years of continuous abdominal pressure. And not wearing scrotal support. I noticed it about a year ago. But I still had sex drive, got boners. U name it. I felt healthy. I was still incredibly active. But about 3 months ago I noticed it got pretty bad. Veins wrapped around my left side bulging. So I took it upon myself to manually stretch the veins out thinking it would get better. It didn’t😭. From there I caused by self pain for about 3 months. Which from what I know was a nerve strain. But since then. I can’t stop looking down. Every time I do it’s given me so much anxiety. So I got an ultrasound and I have varicose veins. Obviously. right now but they said eveything was healthy, no testicular atrophy. Etc. regardless. I’m so incredibly insecure about it now. It’s everyday that I don’t want to do any super active because I feel like it’ll get worse. I’m planning to get an embolization done in the next 5 months. I have a doctors appointment in a month or so. Hoping he can refer me to a radiologist. From what I’ve looked up. My area. Had some really high volume high end clinics. That would do a high quality procedure. I just want the veins to go away and least 80 percent I’ll be happy. I don’t want to ever worry about it. I’m just worried that I could have a reassurance. Which I don’t want. I’m not as active as I was through high school. I’m still working out. And doing other activities but not beating on my body to the extent j was. I eat healthy. And take care of myself. But like i said. A reoccurrence although they’re rare. I dont want it happening. I plan to be a firefighter. That’s why I want to get this done. Hopefully u guys can give me some input.

28 year old male, Has anyone else experienced an improving 3 month SA after a varicolectomy and then randomly had a very bad one 5 months post op? I’m hoping it is just a fluke and will continue to improve.

Hello

Did anyone have success in treating your varicocele pain after second microscopic varicocelectomy?

I have a recurrence. My previous surgery was done under surgical loupes not microscope 3-4 years back. The incision was big. Took long time to recover. I was taking regular ultrasound follow ups every 3 months post surgery. This past month it came back again. I'm having pain above the chord of the testes and discomfort.

Your comments will be truly appreciated. Thanks