My Varicocele Makes Me Depressed

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TreasureVibe

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Magnesium made mine greatly improve. If you took vitamin D and your Varicocele got worse, that’s a major clue. It’s well known that Vitamin D causes people symptoms when they’re low in magnesium.
I stopped consuming so much calcium and started with around 800 mg magnesium throughout the day. It doesn’t happen overnight, but I got better after a few days. I’m not going to tell you what to do, just what worked for me.
What form of magnesium did you take and at what dosages? Also though, if a deficiency of magnesium is a cause of varicocele, why does it almost always happens specifically on the left side, and not the right? The fact that it specifically happens on the left should point at something more complex than just systemic magnesium deficiency right?

I don't think blood flow is really a problem. The main way that varicose veins mess with blood flow is by letting some blood flow backwards.

Studies have shown that testosterone and seminal quality decline over years with varicocele. It won't be as bad for an 18 year old with one as a 40 year old with one. Testicular damage is the main issue. We know this because men with varicoceles often develop softer than normal testicles.
Would blood flow be a problem in the presence of muscle compression, compressing the vein?

Also,
Haidut mentioned before that varicoceles are very likely caused by the estrogen boost at puberty.
What exactly does this mean, I mean does the testicle actively secrete estrogen? Or does testosterone get aromatized to estrogen in the left testicle? What I specifically mean is, if an excess of estrogen in the body causes a varicose vein, why does it always happen in that particular spot at the left testicle, and not somewhere else?
 
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i think it's from estrogen being too high, it's definetely from your hormones being out of wack that is for sure
 

Daft

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Didn't read whole thread yet, but will chime in. I can understand the experience of how horribly ruinous this is to quality of life

Psyllium husk, consistently over time, I believe cured me of a chronic Varicocele with chronic pain and vein swelling, if I'm correct in thinking that's what I had, in the testicles. Also like others here suspecting coinciding hemmorhoids, I had chronic horrible hemmorhoids/bowel pains/constipation/ also chronic lower belly swelling causing a hernia. Psyllium is a different type of soluble fibre with different effects than other fibres. There are many types, educate yourself, eg lignins, pectins, which ferment different amounts. I believe high surface area to weight ratio of fibres is what relieves pressure in bowel preventing issues from chronic pressure. Your biota adapts to the fibre you intake over time.

Probiotics probably over time helped fix it all, as the cause seems to be dysbiosis causing improper formation of stool and inflammation. Fibre seems, as a prebiotic for good bacteria, protective against such dysbiosis and disorder of bowels.

Again this is all gathered from my very real experience. Important point is OVER TIME and being consistent, seeing slow changes over time, and eventually the disordered organ lapses out of a chronic inflammatory or disordered state, no longer dips back to terrible place it was

And much more it's complicated, alot more probably led to the success but I'm trying to emphasize these. Another thing undoubtable was citric acid in foods(eg magnesium citrate, as RP pointed out, but also OJ, as others on the internet will corroberate) inflamed hemmhoroids acutely and horribly, seems via acidifing the blood, but now when healed it is no longer sensitive to those

When I had poorly formed bowel movements, I'd often get the swelling of the veins in the testicles before that.
 

Rock_V

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Last February I wrote a post explaining my situation, and how I felt that a varicocele was making me feel incredibly depressed, along with a vast range of other symptoms such as low libido, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, low testosterone, brain fog, general sadness and low self esteem. I would also suffer from stabbing pains in my kidney area, which I was baffled by at the time. Prior to and during this time I ate quite a typical Peat-ish diet, comprised of dates, rice, potatoes, orange juice, beef, butter, olive oil, etc (Very low PUFA, all organic, plenty of calories) thinking this would be the optimal for my sexual health and wellbeing.

In April of last year, after many setbacks and after nearly a year of trying desperately to get the operation that I wanted, I eventually received a microsurgical Varicoceletomy at the UCLH London. Even in my pre-operation chat, the andrologist was determined for me to agree to an embolisation procedure (essentially where they insert a catheter and they place coils in your main spermatic vein) which I rejected, after being offered this by multiple doctors and specialists on multiple occasions. Having done a lot of research into varicoceles and how to treat them, I was terrified of encountering anymore undesirable symptoms, particularly if I'd have had to have another operation to remove the coils if I started feeling pain. I was convinced that the microsurgical approach was going to be successful, and I was right.

After about 6 weeks, and only minor scarring on my pubic area which is barely visible now, there was almost a full return to normal function, morning wood was back consistently, my sense of confidence returned, my energy was more stable, I was more motivated. At that point I was ecstatic and to this day I'm so glad I had surgery. However...

As the weeks went by I started to note a decline in sexual function again around summertime, and looked to my diet which each day contained a good quantity of dried fruit, around 100-150 grams, usually raisins or dates. Now from Sep 2014 - Sep 2016, the house which I lived in with my parents was damp and we were unknowingly breathing in mould spores for that entire time. All the signs were evident, but none of us connected the dots between the mycotoxins we were inhaling and the terrible health consequences we were suffering. Only now when I look back do I feel so stupid for not realising sooner, being as health conscious as I was, and now realising how harmful moulds can be. I began to notice that anytime I ate dates or raisins I began to feel incredibly miserable and tired and would get a huge stress response that would last the entire day. It seems to be the case with anything that could be mouldy: dried fruit, stale grains, corn, certain chocolate variates. As soon as I removed those products from my diet (quite difficult), my health and wellbeing returned and is continuing to improve.

The kidney pain, which I suffered from quite frequently earlier last year was probably an indicator that my kidneys had been harmed by something I was regularly exposing my body to. I'm not a big believer in Traditional Chinese medicine, but they always claim that the health of the kidneys is second to none when it comes to male vigor and mine were in agony every night consuming raisins daily.

In October something extremely spooky happened. I decided to supplement Olive Leaf extract in high doses, primarily due to its purported fungal detoxifying effects and its beneficial effects on the kidneys and hormones etc. What harm could it do? Within two weeks I got the worst case of appendicitis the surgeon had ever seen, and had to be rushed into hospital with a gangrenous appendix on the brink of toxic shock. If anyone has any ideas why that might have been let me know. But I've speculated that the detoxifying effects of olive leaf were too much for my appendix to deal with, overburdening it, flooding it with toxins and basically killing it.

Anyway mate, with regards to the varicocele, it's your call, but I would recommend to anyone to go for this procedure if you can, as there are very few complications involved afterwards and I've only felt benefits.
 

AretnaP

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What exactly does this mean, I mean does the testicle actively secrete estrogen? Or does testosterone get aromatized to estrogen in the left testicle?

Both, estrogen also gets made in the fat and skin, I believe.

What I specifically mean is, if an excess of estrogen in the body causes a varicose vein, why does it always happen in that particular spot at the left testicle, and not somewhere else?

I don't know for sure, it may just be the position of the vein or the structure of them. Varicose veins in women are usually in the legs, rather than other places.

What's important to keep in mind is that several studies show a decline in testicular health and hormonal status over time with varicoceles, the softening of the testicle seems to be a product of damage to it in the form of oxidative stress and inflammation.
 
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TreasureVibe

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Didn't read whole thread yet, but will chime in. I can understand the experience of how horribly ruinous this is to quality of life

Psyllium husk, consistently over time, I believe cured me of a chronic Varicocele with chronic pain and vein swelling, if I'm correct in thinking that's what I had, in the testicles. Also like others here suspecting coinciding hemmorhoids, I had chronic horrible hemmorhoids/bowel pains/constipation/ also chronic lower belly swelling causing a hernia. Psyllium is a different type of soluble fibre with different effects than other fibres. There are many types, educate yourself, eg lignins, pectins, which ferment different amounts. I believe high surface area to weight ratio of fibres is what relieves pressure in bowel preventing issues from chronic pressure. Your biota adapts to the fibre you intake over time.

Probiotics probably over time helped fix it all, as the cause seems to be dysbiosis causing improper formation of stool and inflammation. Fibre seems, as a prebiotic for good bacteria, protective against such dysbiosis and disorder of bowels.

Again this is all gathered from my very real experience. Important point is OVER TIME and being consistent, seeing slow changes over time, and eventually the disordered organ lapses out of a chronic inflammatory or disordered state, no longer dips back to terrible place it was

And much more it's complicated, alot more probably led to the success but I'm trying to emphasize these. Another thing undoubtable was citric acid in foods(eg magnesium citrate, as RP pointed out, but also OJ, as others on the internet will corroberate) inflamed hemmhoroids acutely and horribly, seems via acidifing the blood, but now when healed it is no longer sensitive to those

When I had poorly formed bowel movements, I'd often get the swelling of the veins in the testicles before that.

Thanks for your input, glad to see it has helped you. I will add psyllium husk and probiotics to my protocol. Colon inflammation and enlargement could definitely play a role, since the scrotal veins runs right next to it. Also indeed citric acid is something I will avoid.

Makes sense. I think my pains got worse after a possible xenoestrogen exposure.
I remember taking american ginseng capsules once, and it made my varicocele painful alot. American ginseng is a potent xenoesrogen. I have found out since then that in men, estrogen can cause varicose veins, but in my case it could have just temporarily caused pain, as I think varicocele is caused by a multitude of factors. Colon inflammation, muscle compression could play a role too I am convinced.

Last February I wrote a post explaining my situation, and how I felt that a varicocele was making me feel incredibly depressed, along with a vast range of other symptoms such as low libido, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, low testosterone, brain fog, general sadness and low self esteem. I would also suffer from stabbing pains in my kidney area, which I was baffled by at the time. Prior to and during this time I ate quite a typical Peat-ish diet, comprised of dates, rice, potatoes, orange juice, beef, butter, olive oil, etc (Very low PUFA, all organic, plenty of calories) thinking this would be the optimal for my sexual health and wellbeing.

In April of last year, after many setbacks and after nearly a year of trying desperately to get the operation that I wanted, I eventually received a microsurgical Varicoceletomy at the UCLH London. Even in my pre-operation chat, the andrologist was determined for me to agree to an embolisation procedure (essentially where they insert a catheter and they place coils in your main spermatic vein) which I rejected, after being offered this by multiple doctors and specialists on multiple occasions. Having done a lot of research into varicoceles and how to treat them, I was terrified of encountering anymore undesirable symptoms, particularly if I'd have had to have another operation to remove the coils if I started feeling pain. I was convinced that the microsurgical approach was going to be successful, and I was right.

After about 6 weeks, and only minor scarring on my pubic area which is barely visible now, there was almost a full return to normal function, morning wood was back consistently, my sense of confidence returned, my energy was more stable, I was more motivated. At that point I was ecstatic and to this day I'm so glad I had surgery. However...

As the weeks went by I started to note a decline in sexual function again around summertime, and looked to my diet which each day contained a good quantity of dried fruit, around 100-150 grams, usually raisins or dates. Now from Sep 2014 - Sep 2016, the house which I lived in with my parents was damp and we were unknowingly breathing in mould spores for that entire time. All the signs were evident, but none of us connected the dots between the mycotoxins we were inhaling and the terrible health consequences we were suffering. Only now when I look back do I feel so stupid for not realising sooner, being as health conscious as I was, and now realising how harmful moulds can be. I began to notice that anytime I ate dates or raisins I began to feel incredibly miserable and tired and would get a huge stress response that would last the entire day. It seems to be the case with anything that could be mouldy: dried fruit, stale grains, corn, certain chocolate variates. As soon as I removed those products from my diet (quite difficult), my health and wellbeing returned and is continuing to improve.

The kidney pain, which I suffered from quite frequently earlier last year was probably an indicator that my kidneys had been harmed by something I was regularly exposing my body to. I'm not a big believer in Traditional Chinese medicine, but they always claim that the health of the kidneys is second to none when it comes to male vigor and mine were in agony every night consuming raisins daily.

In October something extremely spooky happened. I decided to supplement Olive Leaf extract in high doses, primarily due to its purported fungal detoxifying effects and its beneficial effects on the kidneys and hormones etc. What harm could it do? Within two weeks I got the worst case of appendicitis the surgeon had ever seen, and had to be rushed into hospital with a gangrenous appendix on the brink of toxic shock. If anyone has any ideas why that might have been let me know. But I've speculated that the detoxifying effects of olive leaf were too much for my appendix to deal with, overburdening it, flooding it with toxins and basically killing it.

Anyway mate, with regards to the varicocele, it's your call, but I would recommend to anyone to go for this procedure if you can, as there are very few complications involved afterwards and I've only felt benefits.
Thanks for your input, saddened to hear how it negatively affected you post-surgery though. Raisins and dates are very high in potassium, this could've caused the kidney problems. The appendicitis also sounds really weird, I have used olive leaf extract before, at 1000mg per dosage max. but have never had any problems with the appendix because of it. It could have coincided with the usage of olive leaf extract, or perhaps the olife leaf extract triggered some kind of immune response due to it's anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. I have visited an urologist before who said the varicocele he didn't want to perform surgery due to the risks of surgery, I suppose. I generally dislike the idea of having it surgically removed, because my logic tells me it would not treat the root cause which is still unknown right now.

Both, estrogen also gets made in the fat and skin, I believe.



I don't know for sure, it may just be the position of the vein or the structure of them. Varicose veins in women are usually in the legs, rather than other places.

What's important to keep in mind is that several studies show a decline in testicular health and hormonal status over time with varicoceles, the softening of the testicle seems to be a product of damage to it in the form of oxidative stress and inflammation.

Thanks for your advice, I will definitely try a new protocol with all the suggestions I have had here and report back on any findings.
 

Wagner83

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Any idea how to solve that contracted pelvic floor issue? I have varicocele and suspected hemorroids too.
For some reason I forgot about this yoga pose for ages: List Of Things That Kill Erectile Quality Or Cause ED
An other thing which I find helps: in bed, right before sleep, lay on your back, put the soles of your feet against each other with the heels close to the butt (without forcing). Try to be relaxed and start breathing and push your pelvic floor out as you do, no need for major force, if you expel gas and are propelled against the wall facing your scalp, it is too much.
Pelvic tilt, tight hip flexors, poor position and therefore sitting too much are likely to play a part.
 

raypeatclips

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For some reason I forgot about this yoga pose for ages: List Of Things That Kill Erectile Quality Or Cause ED
An other thing which I find helps: in bed, right before sleep, lay on your back, put the soles of your feet against each other with the heels close to the butt (without forcing). Try to be relaxed and start breathing and push your pelvic floor out as you do, no need for major force, if you expel gas and are propelled against the wall facing your scalp, it is too much.
Pelvic tilt, tight hip flexors, poor position and therefore sitting too much are likely to play a part.

Thank you, I will try out some of those.
 

Memento

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I remember taking american ginseng capsules once, and it made my varicocele painful alot. American ginseng is a potent xenoesrogen. I have found out since then that in men, estrogen can cause varicose veins, but in my case it could have just temporarily caused pain, as I think varicocele is caused by a multitude of factors. Colon inflammation, muscle compression could play a role too I am convinced.

Oh yeah, these kind of vascular changes won't happen over night. 20+ years of sedentary life, obesity, beer gut, ruptured appendix, hemorrhoids, alcoholism, ***t diet, smoking etc. might have something to do with mine.
 

Philjay

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Provirion got rid of mine. So I think it was maybe oestrogen related, interesting about intestine inflammation and left testicle issues, mine was in the left testicle, but the provirion stopped it after 1 week.
 
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TreasureVibe

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Provirion got rid of mine. So I think it was maybe oestrogen related, interesting about intestine inflammation and left testicle issues, mine was in the left testicle, but the provirion stopped it after 1 week.
For how long and at what dosage did you take it? And for how long did you have a varicocele prior? And was there any particular event before you've developed the varicocele that could have something to do with the cause of it?
 
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Philjay

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For how long and at what dosage did you take it? And for how long did you have a varicocele prior? And was there any particular event before you've developed the varicocele that could have something to do with the cause of it?

I developed mine from sprinting, I had it about 1 year before trying provirion after a close friend a doc suggested trying it.
I was using 50mg ed, and I remember realising on the 8 th day it wasnt bothering me. Its never come back.
 
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TreasureVibe

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I developed mine from sprinting, I had it about 1 year before trying provirion after a close friend a doc suggested trying it.
I was using 50mg ed, and I remember realising on the 8 th day it wasnt bothering me. Its never come back.
Did your friend specify why it would work? I am thinking of trying either aromasin or proviron, or both.
 
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TreasureVibe

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I developed mine from sprinting, I had it about 1 year before trying provirion after a close friend a doc suggested trying it.
I was using 50mg ed, and I remember realising on the 8 th day it wasnt bothering me. Its never come back.
Could anyone elaborate on why Proviron worked to cure his varicocele? All I know so far is that estrogen can cause varicose veins, as was proven in a few studies...
 

Ulysses

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Aspirin, being a blood thinner, could theoretically diminish the symptoms of varicocele by promoting the flow of blood through the vein, yes?
 
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TreasureVibe

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Aspirin, being a blood thinner, could theoretically diminish the symptoms of varicocele by promoting the flow of blood through the vein, yes?
Yes but if the proposed cause is muscle compression it would be like a bandaid on a flesh wound, in other terms not so effective.
 

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Hello guys, I made an account so I could respond but I've been a longtime lurker of this cool forum.

I was wondering, did the people here who claim they have cured their varicocele actually had it confirmed on ultrasound that showed reflux during valsalva? You can only be absolutely sure you have one when it is diagnosed properly. Please, do not give people false hope that you self-cured your supposed varicocele when you may not actually had one in the first place. A swollen vein isn't necessarily a varicocele and can just be caused by inflammation or some kind of an infection, or as has been suggested here by muscle compression and a tight pelvic floor. I say this because I speak from experience.

A little backstory of mine: I developed a large varicocele basically overnight which I attribute to an incident of constipation and impatience on the toilet. I had it confirmed on ultrasound. Six months later I underwent an embolization that fixed my varicocele for about a week before it came back even worse than before. But what was even worse than that were the nightmarish symtoms caused by the coils. One of the coils was also placed partly inside the renal vein. About seven months later the coils were succesfully removed during another surgery in another hospital. The doctors did so by removing the entire left spermatic vein and this somehow at least significantly reduced if not fixed the varicocele. I say this because ever since that surgery the spermatic cord of the left testicle is still swollen to some degree but not quite the same as it was when I had a real varicocele. It now feels like one swollen tube whenever I stand up and then decreases in size after prolonged standing while it previousy was a large hard mass that felt like a bunch of grapes that increased in size throughout the day and was visible through the skin.

Since the surgery I've had two more ultrasounds, because I thought that because of the swelling the varicocele had returned, but each time there was no reflux visible on ultrasound. Also, since that surgery my libido has returned to how it was before I got my first varicocele and whenever my hands are warm the scrotum feels cold as its supposed to. My left testicle also increased in size since the surgery while my right decreased which may be the reason why the left still hangs lower. So even though I technically no longer seem to have a varicocele the fact that the spermatic cord is still swollen remains a big concern for me. I've been told that because the main gonadal vein is removed bloodflow needs time to stabilize through other veins which may be the reason why there is still some swelling. I also still have some neuropathic sensation whenever I lay on my back that can be agonizing, which is a leftover of the embolization symtoms. Also, the muscles in the lower abdomen and back are still tight which was also a result of the embolization. So I'm suspecting that this muscles tightness put pressure on the nerves and veins and cause the swelling hence why this topic is of interest to me. I'm also going to look for a second opinion from another urologist and have yet another ultrasound, because previously it was only done in suspine position and I want to completely rule out a varicocele in standing position too. I'm definitely going to try some of the advices given here because I believe that in my case it can be beneficial and perhaps bring relieve and cure my remaining symptoms.

Anyway, long story short, have your alleged varicocele confirmed on ultrasound before stating you have one or claim you cured it yourself, because I tend to believe a real varicocele can only be fixed with surgery and internet claims, even though it may very well be true, is anecdotal evidence at best.
 
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TreasureVibe

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Hey there and welcome to the forums! I had my varicocele officially diagnosed with an ultrasound by the urologist and radiologist!
 

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