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Recovery after a varicocele embolization

Posted , 33 users are following.

Howard31850
Howard31850

I had a bilateral VE 2 weeks ago. It went well but I am still having a lot of testes discomfort (they hurt to the touch)and my bag of worms on the left testicle has not improved. I was wondering what the recovery has been like for other guys who have had this procedure. Am I expecting good things too quickly? How can you tell if it has in fact worked? Thank you. Howard

3 likes, 82 replies

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  • rory06390
    rory06390 Howard31850

    Edited

    For me the bag of worms went away but the discomfort still remained, this is my 5months after my surgery
  • roger46028
    roger46028 Howard31850

    Posted

    Hey - how are things going for you? I had this done a bit over 3 months ago and have had a continuing pain in the area of the embolisation plus some other weird side effects. My varicocele went away same day but came back 2 weeks later.
    • Howard31850
      Howard31850 roger46028

      Posted

      Hi Roger,

      I think it would b worth having a scrotal ultrasound to see if the varicocele has returned. What are the "other weird side effects" you refer to?

      I am 6 weeks post-procedure and have not seen any benefits. My scrotum is still heavy and the bag of worms is still there on the left side. I had a lot of pain for 3 weeks in the scrotum and a fever. My uro said it epiditimytis and gave me an anti-biotic called Keflex which seems to have worked. Watch for a PM from me. Good luck, Howard

       

    • roger46028
      roger46028 Howard31850

      Posted

      Thanks very much Howard. Sorry to hear it hasn't worked yet. Yep have had an ultrasound which has confirmed the varicocele has reoccurred. It resulted in some teste pain which was bad but only intermittent and then the return of the heavy feeling. But this doesn't bother me so much.

      My pain in the nuts doesn't sound as bad as yours but i also had fever for a period post the embolisation. Perhaps a reaction to the sclerosant? This cleared but still feeling not quite right. The other side effects have been circulatory in nature (increased pressure in legs), bad bowel and bouts of mental fogginess.

      My IR said it can take up to 3 months to see the effects, though mine, whilst a "technical success" has not worked due to collateral blood flow. They said i had more collaterals than usual and is why they used a sclerosant. The IR offered to put more coils in though i politely declined.

      Do you mind if i ask how they diagnosed epiditimytis? Do you also get any abdomen / flank / back pain or just in the testes?

      Also appreciate the pm. Keep us informed of how you get on or if you have any questions. I know how confusing it can be.

      Best of luck. I hope it works out for you!

    • Howard31850
      Howard31850 roger46028

      Posted

      Hi Roger - the diagnosis of epiditimytis was made just over the phone based on my symptoms which was severe scrotal pain on both sides for a few weeks afterwards and a fever. The Keflex seemed to work ok.

      I've also become constipated since the procedure which is interesting but it could be from all the drugs. Milk of Magnesia works best if taken intermittently.

      All the valves in both gonadal veins were shot. I asked my IR to be careful to seal any collaterals which he claims to have done during the procedure. Apparently I had several well-developed ones. I was also his first patients without coils though he has 30 years experience and is a very nice doctor. I guess we will see what happens. I don't have your other symptoms though ( I am always foggy-brained!) and I hope your are not related to the coils.

      Howard

    • garyword
      garyword Howard31850

      Posted

      Hello Everybody, how is it going now on a longer time?

      I'm interested to know how everybody is doing after this tough beginning...

      I had embolization yesterday.

      Best Regards,

      Gary

    • manish0822
      manish0822 roger46028

      Posted

      bro , i'm getting abdomen and back pain. no scortal pain now , my VE was done on 6th of march

  • tom61213
    tom61213 Howard31850

    Posted

    I had a varicocele embolization with coils carried out coming up to 10 years ago now. Best thing I did! This was after a failed surgery. It took about 6 months for the pain including the swelling to go. Try not too get down you need to give it chance to work. However you also have to realise there is a chance it might have to be repeated varicocele can be a nightmare to get rid of. I had to have surgery and embolization. Interesting you had it without coils a friend of mine had it without coils and his didn’t work either. He ended up repeating it with coils and that worked. I haven’t had any reoccurrence yet but I always worry about the varicocele coming back.
    • Howard31850
      Howard31850 tom61213

      Posted

      Hi Tom - thanks for your response. I had a scrotal u/s 2 weeks ago and just got back the results. Seems my right varicocele was fixed ok but on my left side the u/s showed a prominent varicocele plus thrombosis (blood clots) in the veins when I did the Valsalva maneuver during the u/s. So that is a bummer! There were no indications of other issues like hydroceles, epditimysts, twisting of the vas deferens etc.  These blood clots are new and are due to the embolization since my scrotal u/s before the procedure did not show that problem. I will have my follow up with my IR next week so I'll see what he proposes. I'll post here what happens. Good luck to you. Howard

    • gyula02939
      gyula02939 tom61213

      Posted

      hi I read your comment about your successful intervention I had my VE 7 Weeks ago and I still have groin pain and swelling on the left flank area I can’t really sleep on left side. but if I’m not really doing nothing just lying on the bed one day is getting better litle bit if I start walking my pain and swelling is back and i Still have pain . between anus Scrutton when im siting Still really painful Do you think this is Normal I have to give more time I’ve been to A&E 4 times i had ct scan the doctor said is Everything looks normal thank you for your response

    • cali-mike1970
      cali-mike1970 Howard31850

      Posted

      Hey Howard, i am considering the GG procedure for growing bph but my ultrasound indicated a 5cm cyst at the head of the epidymis and that's what you said got activated by the new blood flow. I have a large grade 3 on my left testicle and believe the cyst is on the smaller right one. Do you think it was just that you didn't go to the right IR or could this have happened with Dr. Goren or someone who has done 40 of these procedures? I guess I could ask them if they've seen issues with cysts.

      Are you sure you had a cyst? Hope you are still responding to others.

      Would you advise varicocele micro surgery instead given all the issues you've seen here? I have been in touch with the Goren docs in Israel and they say that's another option that would work for back flow BPH, just more invasive than what they do. Put both procedures at over 90% success rate.

      Thanks,

      Mike

  • dean40515
    dean40515 Howard31850

    Edited

    I had a varicocele embolization done around 3 weeks ago for a grade 3 varicocele (very noticeable). I just wanted to reach out to those of you who are worried about the procedure to not shy away from it just because of experiences you have read online! Although I cannot say it has been a 100% success yet, the procedure was absolutely painless and I was in and out of hospital in under an hour, I took painkillers a couple days after as advised and have experienced absolutely no pain after the procedure. I am going to give you a few tips on how to avoid any complications as well as an update on how my varicocele is now.

       I did not eat anything on the day of the surgery, I also did not masturbate as I have found that masturbation definitely makes my varicocele worse and more prominent. I rested for 2 or 3 days after the procedure and did not lift anything heavy (try not to lift anything if possible). I also did not masturbate for a whole week, it might be hard for some but believe me if you do this you should definitely see an improvement in the first week. My varicocele has improved a lot, most of the time it is barely noticeable! It is worst after I masturbate but still atleast half the size it once was, the veins can take even a few months before they dissappear completely so be patient. abstain from masturbation, eat as healthy as possible, drink lots of water and get plenty of rest and you'll be fine. Remember, the reason you see so many negative experiences online is because those who've had success don't write on these forums. I have decided to because I know the worry varicocele causes and just thought id put a few minds at ease

    • roger46028
      roger46028 dean40515

      Posted

      Thanks for sharing Dean. Glad you've had a positive experience. May i ask what sort of embolisation you've had? Was it coil or sclerosant or both?

    • garyword
      garyword dean40515

      Posted

      Hello Everybody, how is it going now on a longer time?

      I'm interested to know how everybody is doing after this tough beginning...

      I had embolization yesterday.

      Best Regards,

      Gary

    • luke64647
      luke64647 dean40515

      Posted

      Thanks for being the 1 person i can find online who has had a positive experiance Dean! I got my letter today to say im having my VE done in Exeter on 15th Feb 2020.

      Ive found so many bad experiances, people

      thinking they are allergic to the metal in the coils, people having flank and back pain! That it’s nearly cared me out of it! Yes the dull ache is annoying, and it means that I mostly have to sleep alone as I need all the duvet between my legs. But I’d rather that then be in other chronic pain or not able to do fitness anymore!

      You’re experience has made me think that maybe it’s just the bad people write up, and it’s very unlucky for people to have issues from this that make their life worse !

      If there are more positive experiances out there, please share! Just under 4 weeks to go!

    • tom61213
      tom61213 luke64647

      Posted

      I had a positive result from embolisation too. You are always more likely to hear the negative stories online. I had mine done 11 years ago and have had no complications and have been pain free since. Good luck for the 14th.

    • md720
      md720 dean40515

      Posted

      thanks for your advise . I have been suffering from varicocele for 6 years . I went to doctor but he said he cant help me . I checked online there many treatment for varicocele . it bacame really hard for me now to carry on .can you please tell me where can I find treatment for this issue ? thanks

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