Specific questions regarding my VARICOCELE--cost, sexual function/size recoveries?

[TX4theWIN]

Ok, this is my first thread here and I'm desperate for advice. I've read through every page of the other varicocele threads on this forum, but I have specific questions regarding my varicocele. I would prefer that only people who have gone through the surgery respond.

A little background:

About a year and a half to two years ago is when I started to notice that my erections were becoming more and more difficult to maintain. Sex did not feel as pleasurable/intense as it used to be. About a year ago I started waking up without erections--then loss of random erections throughout the day started to become less frequent. And it didn't stop there, my nuts started to feel numb and shriveled during the day and certainly lost size and volume, especially lefty. At night they get really saggy and hang very low. These things were beginning to make me depressed. Up to a little over 3 years ago I was the horniest person I knew. I was (and still am) obsessed with sex and orgasms. I'd have up to 4 orgasms a day whether it be from sex with my GF or masturbation.

In addition to these symptoms of impotence, about 6 months ago I began to occasionally get an ache in my left nut. At first I just thought it was from f*cking my GF with too much vigor, however the pain would come on even when no sex took place (which at this point was normal as my impotence was in full effect). So, I first suspected maybe testicular cancer was the culprit. I examined balls closely and instead of finding a tumor I noticed a few thick veins running down the side of lefty. After doing a bit of research online I have determined it a varicocele, and probably a grade 3.

So, my questions are as follows:

1. After having the microsurgery, did anyone's sexual function return to normal or very close to it and remain PERMANENT? And being that I'm only 28 years old, are my chances still good in terms of getting it back without the use of any hormonal drugs?

2. After surgery, did anyone's balls return to normal or close to normal size without the use on any testosterone drugs?

3. What is a good ball park ESTIMATE of the cost of the microsurgery for those who are uninsured? I know it'll vary by region/doctor etc., but I'm just looking for a rough estimate.

Like I mentioned earlier, I am 28 years old. I am 5"8" and about 150 lbs. I don't smoke (anything) and I rarely drink. I am in good physical shape as I work out 2-3 times a week.

I've been quite depressed about this ordeal. I miss the intense pleasure and good f*cking that I have always enjoyed up until 3 years ago. I think I might also add, as I've seen other here mention, that I would practice the "hold back" method while masturbating or having sex to prolong the pleasure. I'm not sure if this was partially responsible for my varicocele or not, but I'm suspecting not.

 

[southpaw41]

The fact that you began experiencing your impotence symptoms 1-1.5 years ago and only noticed the varicocele 6 months ago may mean varicocele is not the culprit. A good doctor and labs could confirm other issues (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, etc). Have you had a doctor confirm it is in fact varicocele? Have you had an ultrasound done?

I've had grade II varicocele since I was 14 (now 23) and never had impotence issues until about 1.5 years ago.

1.) I had conventional surgery on 2-11-10 and it did not solve my impotence issues. I did the surgery because my fertility was **** and did actually have fertility improvements after getting the surgery done. I highly doubt any kind of varicocele surgery is going to correct impotence issues.

2.) Both my nuts are about the same size (both before and after surgery).

3.) I believe my conventional surgery was around $20,000. I highly recommend you get medical insurance if you don’t have any.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Imeniaan]

The fact that you began experiencing your impotence symptoms 1-1.5 years ago and only noticed the varicocele 6 months ago may mean varicocele is not the culprit. A good doctor and labs could confirm other issues (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, etc). Have you had a doctor confirm it is in fact varicocele? Have you had an ultrasound done?

I've had grade II varicocele since I was 14 (now 23) and never had impotence issues until about 1.5 years ago.

1.) I had conventional surgery on 2-11-10 and it did not solve my impotence issues. I did the surgery because my fertility was **** and did actually have fertility improvements after getting the surgery done. I highly doubt any kind of varicocele surgery is going to correct impotence issues.

2.) Both my nuts are about the same size (both before and after surgery).

3.) I believe my conventional surgery was around $20,000. I highly recommend you get medical insurance if you don’t have any.

Good luck and keep us posted

did you consider the fact that the varicocele was already there, but he couldn't notice it, feel it, because it was a grade 1 varicocele? so it still is possible that the varicocele is the culprit here.

 

[southpaw41]

did you consider the fact that the varicocele was already there, but he couldn't notice it, feel it, because it was a grade 1 varicocele? so it still is possible that the varicocele is the culprit here.

yes I just wanted to point out there is a possibility that the varicocele isn’t the primary cause of the symptoms. But that cannot be determined without labs

 

[TX4theWIN]

The fact that you began experiencing your impotence symptoms 1-1.5 years ago and only noticed the varicocele 6 months ago may mean varicocele is not the culprit. A good doctor and labs could confirm other issues (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, etc). Have you had a doctor confirm it is in fact varicocele? Have you had an ultrasound done?

I've had grade II varicocele since I was 14 (now 23) and never had impotence issues until about 1.5 years ago.

1.) I had conventional surgery on 2-11-10 and it did not solve my impotence issues. I did the surgery because my fertility was **** and did actually have fertility improvements after getting the surgery done. I highly doubt any kind of varicocele surgery is going to correct impotence issues.

2.) Both my nuts are about the same size (both before and after surgery).

3.) I believe my conventional surgery was around $20,000. I highly recommend you get medical insurance if you don’t have any.

Good luck and keep us posted

From my research I suspect that the varicocele has been there for years, but just within the paste 6 - 8 months developed into grade 3.

And $20,000?...holy ****. I really hope I can find a more reasonable rate. I cannot in any way afford medical insurance. Where's Obamacare when ya need it???

And that makes me even more depressed knowing that the surgery didnt help your impotence issues...hopefully I'd have better results. Also, I'm really desperate for the surgery as I can't even run anymore cuz my ball will hurts afterward :crying:

But more than anything I wish I could have my normal sex life back...

 

[southpaw41]

From my research I suspect that the varicocele has been there for years, but just within the paste 6 - 8 months developed into grade 3.

And $20,000?...holy ****. I really hope I can find a more reasonable rate. I cannot in any way afford medical insurance. Where's Obamacare when ya need it???

And that makes me even more depressed knowing that the surgery didnt help your impotence issues...hopefully I'd have better results. Also, I'm really desperate for the surgery as I can't even run anymore cuz my ball will hurts afterward :crying:

But more than anything I wish I could have my normal sex life back...

Yea surgery is expensive no matter what it is. Heck I think getting my wisdom teeth removed was like $1500.

Just because it didn’t help my impotence issues doesn’t mean it wont help yours. From my research on varicocele each case is different. Some people have pain and others don’t, some people have fertility issues and others don’t, some have impotence issues others don’t, etc.

I have also read the giant varicocele thread here and it seems like the consensus was that people who had impotence issues going into the surgery didn’t see much improvement afterwards.

I would however recommend you have surgery done especially if the varicocele is causing you pain to the point were you cannot run.

As far as getting your sex drive back you will have to get various labs done to see if your causes are primary (testicles) or secondary (pituitary, adrenals, thyroid, etc) and go from there.

 

[Markw82]

I would highly recommend the surgery. I am 27 and have noticed some T levels improvement since the operation 6 months ago.

 

[TX4theWIN]

I would highly recommend the surgery. I am 27 and have noticed some T levels improvement since the operation 6 months ago.

Could you tell me how much you paid for it? Did u suffer all the negative sexual symptoms pre-surgery? Right now my tool functions at like 80% of what it used to...

Did your ball or balls shrink at all and if so did they regain any size since the surgery?

 

[jrvswim]

I am a 21 year old college student who had the surgery done at Virginia Urology in Richmond, VA. THe surgery there costs 4 thousands, but if you are a poor colleget student they will give it to you for free for the tax write off --- did for me.

 

[RockyD]

Well I guess I'm old skool here cuz I had my varicocele surgery almost 20 years ago. Best thing you can have done IMHO.
No "micro-surgery" back then when I had it done....they would cut you open at about the belt line and tie off the vein. Your body absorbs the tied-off vein over time. I was left with a 1 1/2" scar but to this day I have zero signs of a varicocele.

Reasons as to why I had it done..Besides the "dragging" feeling there is the visual aspect. I had a bad one over my left testicle..felt like worms in there.
It made me very self-conscience around g/f's at the time!
But unlike you I never had[or have] an impotence problem either.

Anyways..Get it done..you won't regret it.

Oh yeah..back then my insurance paid for EVERYTHING! Not now though..glad I did it back then.

 

[krlos86]

damn :s

 

[Intellectual]

I went through micro-surgery in june and no change in libido, the veins have shrunken somewhat and the pain has reduced considerably. My docs kept telling me that varicocele has no effect on testosterone and i'm beginning to believe them.

I had similar symptoms that point to low T but after surgery, there is no change. You should look for other medical causes, for example i did some blood tests for celiac disease and it came back + and i'm being scheduled for an endoscopy to confirm it.

 

[TX4theWIN]

So I'm probably going to be getting the surgery done within the next couple months. I didnt ask the doctor what type of surgery it'll be and he didn't say, so Im not sure if its the traditional or micro.

I've been really depressed about my severe ED and loss of libido at this point. I barely can get hard and have even lost most of the pleasure sensation in my tool.

Im even more worried as no one has yet posted that they've recovered their sexual functions after surgery. Should I not be anticipating a recovery in that department post surgery? Like everyone else has said, when I mentioned whether or not a varicocele can affect libido he said in a very arrogant way "absolutely not".

 

[K1212]

the "holdback" method is what brought on my varicocele

I was in a ****ed up masturbation session, I was looking for something to explode my load to, I could not find it and I accidentally came before I wanted to

I was so pissed off that I came that I immediately began masturbating again even though my body told me not to

Since then my life has been a nightmare

Now about 2 years and 3 months later, my varicocele is huge, my testicles are now shrinking to nothing and the pain is ridiculous and does not go away

I did not want to have surgery because I heard of bad side effects and it just freaked me out, but now I have no choice, my testicles will eventually disintegrate and the pain is just ridiculous

as far as "libido" I assure you it effects the testicles, the heatness of the varicocele eats away at the testicles and it eventually shrinks them, if a doctor tells you otherwise he is a fool, the bigger your testicle the more sperm and testosterone you produce, and all that other wonderful stuff that makes being a man awesome

and I am in denial, I had huge balls before and a high testosterone, I am hoping if I have surgery they can regain function and I can feel somewhat like a man again, even though I have read no stories that give me any optimism and it is probably physiologically impossible to have your balls regain size after they have atrophied, I am not someone who can go on TRT so if I have the surgery and my balls do not regain size, I do not know how I can live with this

 

[TX4theWIN]

the "holdback" method is what brought on my varicocele

I was in a ****ed up masturbation session, I was looking for something to explode my load to, I could not find it and I accidentally came before I wanted to

I was so pissed off that I came that I immediately began masturbating again even though my body told me not to

Since then my life has been a nightmare

Now about 2 years and 3 months later, my varicocele is huge, my testicles are now shrinking to nothing and the pain is ridiculous and does not go away

I did not want to have surgery because I heard of bad side effects and it just freaked me out, but now I have no choice, my testicles will eventually disintegrate and the pain is just ridiculous

as far as "libido" I assure you it effects the testicles, the heatness of the varicocele eats away at the testicles and it eventually shrinks them, if a doctor tells you otherwise he is a fool, the bigger your testicle the more sperm and testosterone you produce, and all that other wonderful stuff that makes being a man awesome

and I am in denial, I had huge balls before and a high testosterone, I am hoping if I have surgery they can regain function and I can feel somewhat like a man again, even though I have read no stories that give me any optimism and it is probably physiologically impossible to have your balls regain size after they have atrophied, I am not someone who can go on TRT so if I have the surgery and my balls do not regain size, I do not know how I can live with this

Its ruining my life too. are you getting the surgery anytime soon?

 

[TX4theWIN]

Anyone else have any stories of recoveries? I need some hope...

 

[Markw82]

I was in your exact same situation, and I know that anxiety. I was looking at HRT, I even went to an anti aging clinic to talk with them, and get blood tests. I decided to not take the hcg prescribed, and have done a lot of research of how to heal naturally.

go on search engine type in "boost your low testosterone", that site is great for info. You need to first off eat only organic food, no gmo at all. That means no franken food - corn chips, pop, anythuing with soy. Instead for munchies for example : I buy a bag of organic chocolate covered peanuts instead of twinkies. Buy grass fed beef, eat high quality honey, free run eggs etc. Drink filtered water reverse osmosis only, you need to get rid of the fluoride you're ingesting from tap water, this impacts the thyroid, which is a big cause of hormone imbalance. Try to meditate and think positive towards the future. Lay out goals and things to make you happy.

I am taking 5 grams of L-Glutamine powder each day. This will boost HGH (human growth hormone levels) in your body up to 4 times the normal amount. To give you an idea when we're very young we have large amounts of it, as we age we end up with trace amounts near the end. It basically makes us grow and keeps us strong and healthy and young.

Supplementing with this I believe will help regrow the testicles a bit, naturally. Especially in an age range of 20s to 30s. It is proven that addolecent variocele surgeries end up with testicle regrowth. Seems after age 20 it is more rare for regrowth. But I believe boosting your hgh naturally will help reverse that a bit.

I am also supplementing with high quality orgnaic cacao powder. It gives you a hit of zinc, and magnesium gives me restful sleeps. You take a scoop in a cup, put in boiled water and sweeten with honey or real maple syrup. It will be the best hot chocolate you've ever had. In the mornings wake up take the l-glutamine powder in juice or water and then have a quick 10 min intense workout. Then eat breakfeast after eggs and bacon, or peanut butter and bannana sandiwch. I read eating the protein after the intense work out also boosts hgh. Supplement with Vit D drops. One bottle gives you 365 drops, each drop is 1000 IU.

I also massage my testicles from time to time, as per advice on the site. This supposedly helps grow them bigger, but I do notice a slight T boost from doing it for about 5 min. I've taken DIM, and trying other supplements to lower my estrogen. I am still looking into other supplements and finding a good balance for myself.

It's been 8 months since surgery and I do feel a bit hornier, and am starting to wake up with morning erections again. It feels empowering. I have faith that after your surgery, you follow these steps and you at the very least will improve your T a bit, and hopefully regrow the damage done..it is possible. Maybe we'll have to go on T in the future, but honestly medicine is fast forwarding a lot. We may get new tests someday..15-20 years? Look up regenerative medicine. check this out.

"At the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in North Carolina, Dr. Anthony Atala and his colleagues have successfully extracted muscle and bladder cells from several patients' bodies, cultivated these cells in petri dishes, and then layered the cells in three-dimensional molds that resembled the shapes of the bladders. Within weeks, the cells in the molds began functioning as regular bladders which were then implanted back into the patients' bodies.[10] The team is currently working on re-growing over 22 other different organs including the Liver, Heart, Kidneys and Testicles.[11]"

 

[K1212]

I was in your exact same situation, and I know that anxiety. I was looking at HRT, I even went to an anti aging clinic to talk with them, and get blood tests. I decided to not take the hcg prescribed, and have done a lot of research of how to heal naturally.

go on search engine type in "boost your low testosterone", that site is great for info. You need to first off eat only organic food, no gmo at all. That means no franken food - corn chips, pop, anythuing with soy. Instead for munchies for example : I buy a bag of organic chocolate covered peanuts instead of twinkies. Buy grass fed beef, eat high quality honey, free run eggs etc. Drink filtered water reverse osmosis only, you need to get rid of the fluoride you're ingesting from tap water, this impacts the thyroid, which is a big cause of hormone imbalance. Try to meditate and think positive towards the future. Lay out goals and things to make you happy.

I am taking 5 grams of L-Glutamine powder each day. This will boost HGH (human growth hormone levels) in your body up to 4 times the normal amount. To give you an idea when we're very young we have large amounts of it, as we age we end up with trace amounts near the end. It basically makes us grow and keeps us strong and healthy and young.

Supplementing with this I believe will help regrow the testicles a bit, naturally. Especially in an age range of 20s to 30s. It is proven that addolecent variocele surgeries end up with testicle regrowth. Seems after age 20 it is more rare for regrowth. But I believe boosting your hgh naturally will help reverse that a bit.

I am also supplementing with high quality orgnaic cacao powder. It gives you a hit of zinc, and magnesium gives me restful sleeps. You take a scoop in a cup, put in boiled water and sweeten with honey or real maple syrup. It will be the best hot chocolate you've ever had. In the mornings wake up take the l-glutamine powder in juice or water and then have a quick 10 min intense workout. Then eat breakfeast after eggs and bacon, or peanut butter and bannana sandiwch. I read eating the protein after the intense work out also boosts hgh. Supplement with Vit D drops. One bottle gives you 365 drops, each drop is 1000 IU.

I also massage my testicles from time to time, as per advice on the site. This supposedly helps grow them bigger, but I do notice a slight T boost from doing it for about 5 min. I've taken DIM, and trying other supplements to lower my estrogen. I am still looking into other supplements and finding a good balance for myself.

It's been 8 months since surgery and I do feel a bit hornier, and am starting to wake up with morning erections again. It feels empowering. I have faith that after your surgery, you follow these steps and you at the very least will improve your T a bit, and hopefully regrow the damage done..it is possible. Maybe we'll have to go on T in the future, but honestly medicine is fast forwarding a lot. We may get new tests someday..15-20 years? Look up regenerative medicine. check this out.

"At the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in North Carolina, Dr. Anthony Atala and his colleagues have successfully extracted muscle and bladder cells from several patients' bodies, cultivated these cells in petri dishes, and then layered the cells in three-dimensional molds that resembled the shapes of the bladders. Within weeks, the cells in the molds began functioning as regular bladders which were then implanted back into the patients' bodies.[10] The team is currently working on re-growing over 22 other different organs including the Liver, Heart, Kidneys and Testicles.[11]"

how big was your varicocele, and how much did your testicles shrink

And I do not put much stock into medicine, I think there is a natural way for everything unless you have some physcial ailment and there is no cure, and this might be it, I would put more faith into stem cell research, but I doubt the regrowth of testicles is high on their list

and the fact that the evil Republicans look to stop stem cell/alternative medicines any chance they get can squash those hopes

 

[Markw82]

It was a large bilateral varicocele, more shrinkage on the left than the right. I'm hoping within 2 years I can regain normal functioning again and regriowth as long as I take appropriate supplements, and hold out till better HRT technology. If you;'re young avoid HRT if you can. I already feel much better, and like I say I'm having morning erections now, they were non existant before the surgery.

 

[TX4theWIN]

Im so depressed. i wish i woulda caught the varicocele earlier--before it created the sexual problems. now im probably ***ed. Im just HOPING that ill get back to normal, how I was before. trying to get the surgery is also an obsticle. it like you gotta jump through hoops with these doctors for them to do it. they seem more worried about being sued than fixing their patients.

this last year and a half has been pure hell for me. I loved having sex and i miss the intense orgasms and pleasure. I cant live like this the rest of my life!!

markw82: if you were to measure how much youve recovered sexually in percaentage terms what would you say youre at? 80% of what you used to be? 70% maybe?

 

[K1212]

It was a large bilateral varicocele, more shrinkage on the left than the right. I'm hoping within 2 years I can regain normal functioning again and regriowth as long as I take appropriate supplements, and hold out till better HRT technology. If you;'re young avoid HRT if you can. I already feel much better, and like I say I'm having morning erections now, they were non existant before the surgery.

was your shrinkage alot? I waited to freaking long, a year ago my varicocle was not big and the shrinkage was not a whole lot, but like an idiot I kept on masturbating, now the varicocle is huge and painful and my balls are ridiculously small

what a nightmare this thing is, just completely destroys a life

and of course I will keep complaining rather then do something about it, mainly because of the cost of the surgery and I still do not trust the surgery

 

[Mrmanguy84]

Can't figure out how to PM you.

TX4 - did you have the surgery? How are things now? I sure hope you reply.

 

[otofori]

hey mate. i recently found that i have varicocele and im having a lot of problems dealing with it and i dont know what to expect. it has been 8 years since your post. if you see this comment can i make u a few questions of how it went after. thanks. all the best