Hi Everyone :)
So, this is actually my first post on the forum. I've been following and learning lots from here for a few months now, and I've been wanting to share this information for a while as I think it could enlighten people about something which is fairly common and appears to cause pretty sinister symptoms.
I am a 20 year old male and have a left sided grade 3 varicocele. For those who have no idea what a varicocele is ( I didn't ) then google is probably your best answer for an in depth explanation, but basically it is just enlarged veins of the scrotum, which feel like a bag of worms. The blood in these tortuous veins becomes stagnated leading to diminished blood flow to the scrotum and a subsequent potential cascade of problems that stem from poor testicular function. Varicocele is the Number 1 cause of male infertility, and I can tell you from my own personal experience that the symptoms that have been most pronounced are erectile dysfunction + desensitised, very low/zero libido, brain fog and general low mood and tiredness.
I believe I acquired the varicocele during adolescents where I also had gynecomastia, a condition believed to be caused by estrogen. So it came as no surprise when I found this study which found the condition was significantly correlated with varicocele: Relationship of adolescent gynecomastia with varicocele and somatometric parameters: a cross-sectional study in 6200 healthy boys. - PubMed - NCBI
This study shows that patients with varicocele had significantly lower levels of DHT, which probably explains some of the libido problems, and the distinct lack of facial hair I have:
Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone seminal plasma levels in varicocele patients. - PubMed - NCBI
At 20 these conditions are obviously unusually, especially considering my low prolactin level of 3 ng/ml. It seems despite all dietary and lifestyle interventions, nothing seems to turn these symptoms into remission. It also seems to have increased my TSH. Thyroid hormones made in testicles maybe?
The main reason I wanted to post this is because for many years the varicocele had only very subtle symptoms, which weren't vividly noticeable. I still had a low libido and lack of confidence but I thought this was just a 'teen' thing and that eventually it would all subside. It wasn't until it enlarged to a grade 3 early last year (able to see veins outside the scrotum) that I put 2 and 2 together.
So for men who're not feeling 100% you may want to get checked out, and get it fixed. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them.
So, this is actually my first post on the forum. I've been following and learning lots from here for a few months now, and I've been wanting to share this information for a while as I think it could enlighten people about something which is fairly common and appears to cause pretty sinister symptoms.
I am a 20 year old male and have a left sided grade 3 varicocele. For those who have no idea what a varicocele is ( I didn't ) then google is probably your best answer for an in depth explanation, but basically it is just enlarged veins of the scrotum, which feel like a bag of worms. The blood in these tortuous veins becomes stagnated leading to diminished blood flow to the scrotum and a subsequent potential cascade of problems that stem from poor testicular function. Varicocele is the Number 1 cause of male infertility, and I can tell you from my own personal experience that the symptoms that have been most pronounced are erectile dysfunction + desensitised, very low/zero libido, brain fog and general low mood and tiredness.
I believe I acquired the varicocele during adolescents where I also had gynecomastia, a condition believed to be caused by estrogen. So it came as no surprise when I found this study which found the condition was significantly correlated with varicocele: Relationship of adolescent gynecomastia with varicocele and somatometric parameters: a cross-sectional study in 6200 healthy boys. - PubMed - NCBI
This study shows that patients with varicocele had significantly lower levels of DHT, which probably explains some of the libido problems, and the distinct lack of facial hair I have:
Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone seminal plasma levels in varicocele patients. - PubMed - NCBI
At 20 these conditions are obviously unusually, especially considering my low prolactin level of 3 ng/ml. It seems despite all dietary and lifestyle interventions, nothing seems to turn these symptoms into remission. It also seems to have increased my TSH. Thyroid hormones made in testicles maybe?
The main reason I wanted to post this is because for many years the varicocele had only very subtle symptoms, which weren't vividly noticeable. I still had a low libido and lack of confidence but I thought this was just a 'teen' thing and that eventually it would all subside. It wasn't until it enlarged to a grade 3 early last year (able to see veins outside the scrotum) that I put 2 and 2 together.
So for men who're not feeling 100% you may want to get checked out, and get it fixed. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them.