TheJailer521
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Varicocele Emobolization complete about 15 hours ago.
So far 0 pain, they gave me 4 ibuprofen post op which I didn't need.
Overall it was a painless experience, but it does take ALL day. I checked in a 11 am, and didn't get to go home until 7 pm. After check in, you hit pre-op, then to meet with the Doc. He explained exactly what he was going to do, and what he was going to look for. He answered all of my questions and was very detailed overall. Of course I had to ask when I could get back to lifting and he said about a week. But then said that doesn't mean 100% in a week, he wants me to ease into it a bit. He also described how our body is great at adapting and may find other routs to cause the varicocele again, which if happened I can do the micro surgery.
They then brought me into the surgery room and put me on the table. It was supposed to be a "Twilight surgery" with fentanyl and some form of anti anxiety med, and zophran. However once the zophran and fentanyl went in my agitation level spiked, the room started slowing down and I was fighting it. Nurse asked "You bp went up, how are you doing?" I said my anxiety is through the roof. She said ok Ill do another dose....1hr later I heard them asking me to take a breath and hold it while they ran contrast dye. Surgery was over, and I slept through it.
I asked what type of material they used for the coils and they said nitinol (Nickel/titanium.) I asked how many coils it took, and they said "10 at about $90/piece that was an expensive vein!"
They showed me the imaging of what they did and it looked similar to the online pictures I had looked up. They also said they checked the right side but everything there was functioning fine.
I was then brought up to post op where I had to lie flat for an hour, 45% for an hour or so, then upright, then walk around about 3 hrs total.
The varicocele used to take up the entire left side of my scrotum and felt VERY full. Today its about 75% reduced and the veins are not full at all.
That's about all I can think of, I will update with progress.
*Update: 24 hrs in there is finally a little bit of pain on my right hip, which was the catheter entry point opposite side of the coils. I would rate the pain somewhere between a bruise, and a lightly pulled muscle. Nothing crazy but figured I would update for anyone considering the procedure.
*Day 4 update:
Varicocle is down 85% of what it used to be. I read it can take up to 6 months for it to go away, but amazing progress so far.
Pain on the right side has been gone for a day or so, replaced by intermittent pain in the vein on my left side. Again nothing Ibuprofen cant handle.
Sleep has been different since the surgery, I remember my dreams EVERY time I fall asleep now, and seem to hop right out of bed. I always thought I slept well in the past, but was always sluggish waking up and only would occasionally remember dreams.
Morning wood: Every day for the last 3 days, compared to once every 2 weeks before. Possibly a sign of test levels normalizing.
Increased sensitivity: I was not expecting this but it makes sense. With the grade 3 varicocele, my left nut was essentially locked into place when I stood up for the last 14+ years. Now that its free hanging it is a lot more sensitive, and something I will have to account for.
Thats all I can think of for now, more updates to follow
Update Cost: (Thank god for insurance!)
Surgery:
Total allowed charges: $ 23488.55
Total annual deductible: $ .00
Total coinsurance: $ .00
Total copay: $ 20.00
Your total responsibility: $ 20.00
Total paid by plan: $ 23468.55
Imaging:
Total charges for this claim: $ 13837.98
Total allowed charges: $ 13422.84
Total paid by plan: $ 13422.84
I was expecting a few thousand maybe, but 36k is just crazy!
So far 0 pain, they gave me 4 ibuprofen post op which I didn't need.
Overall it was a painless experience, but it does take ALL day. I checked in a 11 am, and didn't get to go home until 7 pm. After check in, you hit pre-op, then to meet with the Doc. He explained exactly what he was going to do, and what he was going to look for. He answered all of my questions and was very detailed overall. Of course I had to ask when I could get back to lifting and he said about a week. But then said that doesn't mean 100% in a week, he wants me to ease into it a bit. He also described how our body is great at adapting and may find other routs to cause the varicocele again, which if happened I can do the micro surgery.
They then brought me into the surgery room and put me on the table. It was supposed to be a "Twilight surgery" with fentanyl and some form of anti anxiety med, and zophran. However once the zophran and fentanyl went in my agitation level spiked, the room started slowing down and I was fighting it. Nurse asked "You bp went up, how are you doing?" I said my anxiety is through the roof. She said ok Ill do another dose....1hr later I heard them asking me to take a breath and hold it while they ran contrast dye. Surgery was over, and I slept through it.
I asked what type of material they used for the coils and they said nitinol (Nickel/titanium.) I asked how many coils it took, and they said "10 at about $90/piece that was an expensive vein!"
They showed me the imaging of what they did and it looked similar to the online pictures I had looked up. They also said they checked the right side but everything there was functioning fine.
I was then brought up to post op where I had to lie flat for an hour, 45% for an hour or so, then upright, then walk around about 3 hrs total.
The varicocele used to take up the entire left side of my scrotum and felt VERY full. Today its about 75% reduced and the veins are not full at all.
That's about all I can think of, I will update with progress.
*Update: 24 hrs in there is finally a little bit of pain on my right hip, which was the catheter entry point opposite side of the coils. I would rate the pain somewhere between a bruise, and a lightly pulled muscle. Nothing crazy but figured I would update for anyone considering the procedure.
*Day 4 update:
Varicocle is down 85% of what it used to be. I read it can take up to 6 months for it to go away, but amazing progress so far.
Pain on the right side has been gone for a day or so, replaced by intermittent pain in the vein on my left side. Again nothing Ibuprofen cant handle.
Sleep has been different since the surgery, I remember my dreams EVERY time I fall asleep now, and seem to hop right out of bed. I always thought I slept well in the past, but was always sluggish waking up and only would occasionally remember dreams.
Morning wood: Every day for the last 3 days, compared to once every 2 weeks before. Possibly a sign of test levels normalizing.
Increased sensitivity: I was not expecting this but it makes sense. With the grade 3 varicocele, my left nut was essentially locked into place when I stood up for the last 14+ years. Now that its free hanging it is a lot more sensitive, and something I will have to account for.
Thats all I can think of for now, more updates to follow
Update Cost: (Thank god for insurance!)
Surgery:
Total allowed charges: $ 23488.55
Total annual deductible: $ .00
Total coinsurance: $ .00
Total copay: $ 20.00
Your total responsibility: $ 20.00
Total paid by plan: $ 23468.55
Imaging:
Total charges for this claim: $ 13837.98
Total allowed charges: $ 13422.84
Total paid by plan: $ 13422.84
I was expecting a few thousand maybe, but 36k is just crazy!
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