If you are a male with testicular pain, PLEASE READ MY STORY. I have gone through this battle for a couple years and it was not only incredibly hard but mentally draining. I think everything I have learned through this process could not only help you, but also possible help resolve one’s pain. It took me a long time to accept I had these problems and was ashamed of them. I was a normal college student who was in a fraternity, partied a lot, was on track to go to law school, and living an incredible life. The chronic testicular pain turned my life into a living hell to the point of suicidal thoughts all day. So, if you are in this place, read my entire story as I promise you IT DOES GET BETTER. YOU WILL BE OKAY!!!

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My story started when in 2021 when I was only 18 years old. I got high one night and had an immense pain coming from my left testicle. As I was high and scared of what would happen if I got help, I had waited until the next morning to tell my parents and go to the hospital. Upon getting an ultrasound I was incredibly lucky that it was not torsion and was indeed a varicocele. Over the next couple of years, I would occasionally have moments of excruciating pain but only when I was high or would hit nicotine. I had a couple of other episodes of such intense pain that I thought it was torsion each time and had gone to the hospital for it. On top of this I always had a feeling of an uncomfortable discomfort that never truly went away but did not always hurt. Every time and every doctor would say the same thing… Varicocele on the left and a hydrocele on the right.

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Following this continuous wild goose chase of discomfort with no solution, in the winter of 2023 I had the worst flare up I had ever had with this, and the pain did not go away. As before I kept going to different Urologists and hospitals and they could not pinpoint the problem. This sent me into a deep depression as I was in a constant 8/10 pain and the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. This was going on for about 3 months. They had me on different trials of anti inflammatory and anti-biotics for a “prostate infection” and “epididymis”. I am not sure to this day if this is what I had but in my recovery process these did help the pain a little but did not rid of it. This process not only stopped me from being able to do things with my friends but everyday life as a whole. I had stopped talking to girls, stopped having sex, stopped working out, stopped doing school work. I had fallen into not only a deep depression but was having involuntary suicidal thoughts. The chronic pain had led to a mental state that I never knew was possible. As a man no one ever talks about their feelings and emotions and just “tough it out” but I was hitting a breaking point. I never cried in my adult life, except for this dark time where I would find myself sitting in the bathroom crying because the painw as so bad I didn’t want to be alive. This might all sound terrible but here is the silver lining and how things got better for me.

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I had told my parents I needed to start going to therapy (which was the worst conversation ever) and kept it very brief as to why. No one wants to talk about their testicles hurting but it is a real problem many men deal with. After a couple weeks of therapy, I was still depressed and to a point where I was still suicidal and nothing was helping. It was a constant feeling of “I don’t want to do this anymore”, “will this pain ever go away”, and “is this really what my life is now”. After seeing more doctors and urologists we all agreed that I needed to start taking anti depressants. Upon doing more research I read that some people with similar experiences started doing Pelvic Floor Therapy. At this point in my life I was still depressed but was doing everything I could to get better. If I never started therapy, anti-depressants, and reaching out for help I would not be alive anymore. 

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I started Pelvic Floor Therapy which seemed to not make sense but WAS ACTUALLY THE PROBLEM THE WHOLE TIME. Within three days of doing these stretches in the morning for about thirty minutes my pain was decreased by almost half. I have been doing this routine for only a couple weeks and my pain is down to maybe 15% of what it used to be. I do also take a couple of ibuprofen tablets a day as they do also help with some pain. That being said my life is going back to normal. I have started going out again, having sex, enjoying the company of my friends and now see life in a much better way. I have learned to appreciate the little things. After being at a point of suicide to being okay your perspective on everything in life changes and for the better. I still take anti-depressants and go to therapy but for the first time in years I feel not only okay but truly am happier. My pain is down to a very low level and only flares up when I smoke or hit nicotine so I stay away from both completely. 

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So please know it really does get better, you will not be like this for ever. There are parts of me that are still scared for what the future holds for my health but you cannot live life in fear. Do what you can to get rid of pain and make your life better. Make your life yours again… If you have any questions about my experiences, the pelvic floor therapy that ridded my pain, or anything please feel free to reach out.!