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Ache in right testicle, please help me figure this out

Posted , 5 users are following.

Ares1
Ares1

Hello! 41 year old male here. I had an ache in my right testicle that lasted about a week. It gradually got worse until about the 4th day and then started to dissipate. Eventually it went away completely, so I thought nothing of it and figured I had just slept on it wrong or injured it in my sleep.

Well, a few weeks go by and the pain has come back. It's been about another 5 days now where my right testicle just ACHES. It's like a dull, throbbing pain. It doesn't hurt to urinate or ejaculate. There is no soreness or tenderness when I touch and examine my testicle. The scrotum is not red, warm, or otherwise swollen. The only symptom seems to be the constant ache. It's also worse during the day for some reason. At night, it doesn't seem to bother me as much, which is very odd.

I already suffer from upper right quadrant abdominal chronic pain that, despite countless tests and getting 3rd and even 4th opinions, doctors have been unable to diagnose for the last 15 years, so adding this testicle pain to the mix is making me overly depressed and upset. I'm wondering if this new right testicle pain is in some way related to the URQ pain. Other than these two pains, I am in otherwise good health and have no other medical conditions nor do I take any prescription medications.

I've been searching google but nothing really seems to match. If I had epididymitis, wouldn't it hurt to touch? Wouldn't it hurt to ejaculate? I don't quite think this is it. If it was torsion, I'd definitely know. I'd be in extreme amounts of pain. So, considering this has gone on weeks and the pain is a dull ache rather than a sharp pain, I don't think that's it either.

I'm really at a loss here. I know going to the doctor is just going to be a series of frustrating and expensive tests that resolve nothing as usual.

I'm taking a 1000mg tylenol + 400mg ibuprofen combo every 6 hours to keep the pain at bay. It's fine short term, but I know I can't keep popping OTC pain meds like this forever.

Does anyone have any idea what could be going on here? After reading some of the other stories on this forum, I am absolutely terrified this is something I will have to learn to live with since it seems like many of you have never gotten a proper diagnosis.

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Ares1
    Ares1

    Posted

    Just an update to this. Pain finally got the better of me and I ended up going to the ER. I recommend anyone reading and having a similar issue - just go get checked out. You will be so glad you did for your peace of mind.

    Doctor said there are no lumps/bumps and did not detect any swelling or other abnormalities during the physical exam. I did 2 quick urine tests while in the ER. The first was just a general panel which came back OK. The second was to check for bacteria or STD, which I should get the results later this week. The doc said if it's epididymitis they will just call the pharmacy and prescribe an antibiotic for me.

    Overall, the doctor didn't seem too concerned since there was no swelling or anything, but told me to go do an ultrasound anyway. Which I should be able to do later this week or early next week and will update this when I know more.

  • daniel66921
    daniel66921 Ares1

    Posted

    Hi, I hope that the doctors you saw already checked for this but, have they confirmed you do not have a varicocele in your right testicle? These can cause a dull ache, often without any specific location, which can feed up as pain in the abdomen.

    Also confirm if you have 'bell clappers deformity', as if yes it could be that you are having intermittent torsion (i.e. your testicle is twisting but then untwisting on its own). This causes pain as the twisting causes some bruising/damage, but then subsides a while later as it heals.

    With regards to the URQ abdominal pain, could this be a trapped nerve? Sometimes called 'Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome'. I say this because I had LLQ abdominal pain which flummoxed every doctor I saw for about 2 years, they all assumed it must be something visceral going on inside my gut. Eventually I saw a much older doctor who was able to diagnose it immediately via a physical test called a 'Carnett test'. Usual cure is a shot of part anaesthetic part steroid straight into the site of pain, performed by pain management specialist (sometimes under ultrasound).

    Hope it all works out for you

    • Ares1
      Ares1 daniel66921

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply, Daniel! I read the link in your post for the vericocele and it mentions they are rare in men over 40 (I'm 41 and have never had any problems with the testicles before). I'm going on Monday morning to have an ultrasound done and hopefully it will shed some light on this. There is still no swelling, redness, tenderness, problems urinating, etc. The one and ONLY symptom is the ache in the right testicle. I'm even leaning towards pinched nerve at this point.

      For the URQ pain, they've told me everything from IBS to gallbladder to fatty liver to to ulcer to anxiety. An insane number of tests later and they just shrug their shoulders. No thanks to the doctors, I've finally gotten it under control myself for the most part with diet. Absolutely no alcohol or greasy food or it acts up. Losing weight helped a lot as well. It still acts up from time to time on it's own, but I've been able to keep it mostly under control and it doesn't dominate my life anymore. Back in the early days when it first started, it was pure hell dealing with it day after day.

      Thanks again for your reply! I will definitely update this thread after I get my ultrasound results back.

  • james98421
    james98421 Ares1

    Posted

    Hi Ares,

    What was the verdict? I'm in a similar position to you (just posted a discussion) with the only difference being it's the left side and I'm 29

    Hope you're doing ok

    • Ares1
      Ares1 james98421

      Posted

      Hey James, I'm ashamed to say I actually missed my ultrasound appointment due to oversleeping on accident. So now I have to wait for the new appointment which will hopefully be before thanksgiving but I will definitely update here when I get those results back.

      As far as the pain, it's been about 5-6 weeks now of dealing with this. I have good days and bad days. Some days it barely bothers me at all and other days it feels like someone is pulling on my aching testicle constantly. On those days all I can do is pop Ibuprofen, throw a heating pad on my groin, and relax the best I can.

      Thankfully the doctor did tell me everything at least looks and feels normal and there are no lumps/bumps/swelling so it's highly unlikely it's cancer or torsion which were my 2 big fears, but they won't know more until some more testing is done.

      I still have literally no other symptoms except a dull ache, so I'm even starting to wonder if it may be nerve related. Lately I've been feeling a very slight, but not painful tingling in my tailbone, hip, and right leg above the knee, which happens to be the same side of my body as the aching testicle.

      Thanks for checking up with me, I hope you're holding up too!

    • roy48731
      roy48731 Ares1

      Posted

      Hi ive been dealing with the exact same symptoms for about week. Any news on your ultra sound diagnosis?

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