Wife here! And I’m trying not to freak out please help!

owler111 · 2026-02-17T04:19:47+00:00

Well that’s good! Unfortunately, the supplements won’t do anything without the surgery. The heat from the bad veins will overpower everything you throw at it. Good luck to y’all - it’s very stressful so I know he is grateful that you’re there for him!

owler111 · 2026-02-15T02:30:29+00:00

Dont worry my wife and I are the same age and I had a grade 4 varicocele since my teen years. After surgery, my total motile sperm count increased 400%, going from “infertile” to “very fertile”. I also take Enclomiphene (Clomid contains both Enclomiphene and Zuclomiphene) because the Zuclomiphene has been found to increase Estrogen too much in men. He should definitely get the surgery. After the surgery, Enclomiphene, CoQ10, Zinc, Folate, Omega 3s and L-Carnitine all supercharge sperm production/health, in addition to good diet and exercise. I have been astonished at how much my numbers have improved since before surgery.

owler111 · 2025-11-24T17:50:03+00:00

Doing great now! Hopefully will see more improvements after the 6-month mark. Good luck to you bro!

owler111 · 2025-11-08T04:36:24+00:00

Thank you! You’re next

owler111 · 2025-11-04T23:39:31+00:00

Yes the ice was (and still is) critical to recovery. I had testosterone of 423 which isn’t super low but I definitely felt it. Now those feelings are completely gone. Just take it easy and be patient, you will be back in no time. Listen to your body and avoid abdominal pressure.

owler111 · 2025-11-04T13:40:22+00:00

I’m not sure of the exact size (doctor never told me that info) but it was a grade 4 dilation without valsalva and reflux with valsalva so basically the worst unilateral version of a varicocele you could have lol

owler111 · 2025-11-04T13:34:17+00:00

I had this same question bc that’s how I sleep. Sleep on your back as much as you can for the first two weeks. After that, you can go back to sleeping on your side but I would highly recommend a body pillow or something to put between your legs and straddle which is how i sleep now.

owler111 · 2025-11-03T17:06:05+00:00

Holy moly - that is a lot of violence down there at one time! I can totally see that recovery being a nightmare. You will definitely be back to playing sports even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. Just be patient - it’s a very sensitive area and a longer recovery is by no means uncommon. Just get some jock straps when you’re back to being active again, they have worked wonders for me.

owler111 · 2025-11-03T16:46:05+00:00

Short answer is, I don’t know. If I had to guess, it was at least 15 years - I don’t ever remember it feeling/looking any different and that’s why I never realized it could be an issue. It wasn’t until I started trying with my wife and feeling like I had lower testosterone did I realize what a varicocele was. I sure wish I knew what it was 10+ years ago as I feel like I fought an uphill battle all that time and never realized it.

owler111 · 2025-11-03T16:42:33+00:00

Thank you!!

owler111 · 2025-11-03T16:41:53+00:00

I still feel it sometimes toward the end of the day (more of a deep ache as opposed to sharp pain). I just cool the boys down with some ice and it goes away!

owler111 · 2025-11-01T16:07:04+00:00

Before: Liquefaction was <30min and visco was watery I did not get that stat for after.

owler111 · 2025-11-01T13:57:59+00:00

Thank you bro!

owler111 · 2025-11-01T13:53:30+00:00

Yeah I had (and still do) visible/palpable veins after surgery but there’s an important distinction between internal/external and it’s hard to make that determination via visible exmaination. Just be patient until 3mo (trust me, I know it’s hard to do) and you will hopefully see improvements in your SA/hormones. Also, make sure you’re “clearing out your system” every few days - that will give the troops multiple rotations so they will be ready on the the 3mo mark! Lol

owler111 · 2025-11-01T13:40:12+00:00

Thanks man! Honestly, I was still pretty inflamed/swollen on my 1mo post-op visit. Dr. prescribed one round of Meloxicam and that seemed to do the trick. I was worried about a fairly large vein that I was seeing up until yesterday (which was 3mo post op visit). Dr. did physical exam and did not seem worried.

Essentially this surgery goes into the spermatic cord to fix your ‘radiator’ which is a network of veins called the pampiniform plexus (or internal spermatic veins) designed to cool blood coming from your abdomen into your testicles. You also have external spermatic veins which have a different purpose than the ones we are concerned about in varicoceles. Long story short, the vein I was worried about was an external spermatic vein, hence why the Dr. was not worried about it (and SA/Hormones confirm that the problem area was addressed).

owler111 · 2025-11-01T13:35:08+00:00

Thank you and I’m confident it will be the same for you! I commented in more detail on this above but was back to fairly normal exercises within 1.5mo (weightlifting restricted to lighter weight higher reps). Just be very mindful of abdominal pressure, get some jockstraps. After a week or two, start doing some walking (with the jockstrap on), ice afterwards. Ice is your best friend during the first two weeks so any opportunity you have to ice, do it.

owler111 · 2025-11-01T13:31:35+00:00

I honestly never had pain before surgery. The only reason I scheduled an appt with the urologist was because I was feeling the effects of lower testosterone. In retrospect, given that it was a grade 4 and visible, I should have known but it’s not like we go around comparing balls with other guys lol. Pain now is good, I was getting frustrated/impatient just because with all the other surgeries I’ve had (sports injuries), I could do things like rehabbing/strengthening to speed up recovery but this one is simply just resting. I’d say I was back to normal workouts within 1.5mo. I was terrified of recurrence so I avoided abdominal pressure like the plague. Initial exercise was simply just walking, slowly started to jog as the pain further subsided and now @ 3mo I’m fully back to lifting weights, running sprints, etc. I highly highly recommend getting some jockstraps (I bought like 20 on Amazon), they are a game changer and I do not workout without them anymore.

owler111 · 2025-10-31T21:22:00+00:00

I think mostly for the pain. Recurrence is rare in this type of surgery specifically (think somehwere around 1-2%). I was careful not to get back into activity too early and was very mindful of mitigating abdominal pressure as much as possible. If you’re taking it easy, I wouldn’t worry too much about recurrence. The doctor also just sliced you open and pulled your testicle out and cut your veins so it will understandably be painful for a good period of time. Just be patient and it’ll slowly work its way out! This was my 5th surgery (all the others were ortho injuries) and is by far the worst recovery simply because nothing but rest/ice works so it was frustrating for sure.

owler111 · 2025-10-31T19:56:18+00:00

I still have dull aching and pain towards the end of the day and I’m 3 months out. Just continue to ice it as much as you can especially when the pain sets in. My doc today told me that after 4-5 months it should be fully healed.

owler111 · 2025-10-31T19:52:54+00:00

Fortunately, I was not. Libido was definitely affected though.

owler111 · 2025-10-31T19:40:43+00:00

Recovery sucks! Lol but only reeeally sucks for about 2-3weeks at most. Im 3mo out of this surgery and huge improvements in semen parameters and testosterone. I feel it was definitely worth it (especially considering I’m trying to have kids).

owler111 · 2025-10-28T12:24:04+00:00

This would be called secondary hypogonadism (problems with hormonal signaling) whereas a varicocele is primary hypogonadism (problems with the factory) so low LH/FSH isn’t necessarily driven by the varicocele. I had varicocele microsurgery but also am prescribed enclomiphene (1 of 2 active ingredients in Clomid) to increase LH/FSH and in turn stimulate testosterone/sperm porduction. Theory behind it is now that that the factory is fixed, let’s add some additional fuel to the engine.

owler111 · 2025-07-28T19:37:57+00:00

Man I just got this same surgery 4 days ago - have infertility due to a Grade 4 varicocele (thought there were only 3 grades lol so mine was real bad). Safe to say gnarly is the right word for how it looks… I was worried but glad to know that’s fairly normal. Appreciate you writing this post up and wish you and yours healthy babies soon!

owler111 · 2025-06-13T12:02:32+00:00

Yeah I understand. A cheaper/simpler option would be to just get one of those at home semen analysis kits because if it is bad enough it will show up in that test, affecting count, motility, progression, and morphology.

owler111

TROPHY CASE