Hydrocele, anyone had one or got any advice?

[BobsPigeon]

About March/April last year I was getting a bad ball ache and noticed swelling, obviously because of the whole covid thing I put off the doctors until August by which time it'd doubled in size, I consulted doctor google and knew it probably wasn't cancer or anything. The NHS was great and I had a scan within the week to be sure there was no solid mass. Doctor saw me off with some advice to wear a jocky when running etc and come back if it got bigger or became more uncomfortable.

Over Christmas it got much bigger and seriously uncomfortable, seemingly over just a few days, and it's now fking massive, I'd say not far off tennis ball size. I can't cycle, struggling to run and even wearing a jocky 24hrs a day for support I think its still getting bigger slowly. Rang doctor couple of weeks ago, she said there's no need to see me and referred me to urologist at the local hospital, but as you'd expect first available appointment is first week in April....

So... TLDR... will my hydrocele get bigger, go away on its own (I've read this is possible but doesn't seem likely). Is there anything I can do to improve my chances? My GP talked about draining it but Google says that is rarely a permanent solution.

[mcelliott]

Sorry I can't give much advise on your condition, but I do suffer from Varicocele which is a swelling of generally the left testicle, I think it's basically a varicose vein causing restricted blood flow. Like you it can be very painful, even touching them can feel like I'm being winded, lifting anything heavy or standing for long period make it worse, short of an operation there is no cure.

[lemonslap]

I had mine repaired in September 2019, mine first appeared on the right side in April 2019 and by the time of surgery it was the size of a mango... My understanding is that repair/removal is the only option as it’s a sack of fluid that drops from your stomach.

[CAPP0]

I've had one, and had it removed. You've probably read up on it, they have to do something like cutting the sac containing the fluid and drain it then stitch it back, iirc there is some risk of recurrence. Hasn't happened to me, mine was several years ago (not sure, 8/9/10 years?) and been fine since. I don't remember the procedure or the aftermath being all that terrible. Get it done though, mine got to the point where occasionally it would move and get trapped and that feels like an ongoing punch in the nuts, not good.

[lemonslap]

CAPP0 said:

I've had one, and had it removed. You've probably read up on it, they have to do something like cutting the sac containing the fluid and drain it then stitch it back, iirc there is some risk of recurrence. Hasn't happened to me, mine was several years ago (not sure, 8/9/10 years?) and been fine since. I don't remember the procedure or the aftermath being all that terrible. Get it done though, mine got to the point where occasionally it would move and get trapped and that feels like an ongoing punch in the nuts, not good.

Good to hear yours hasn’t come back, it’s not a operation I would like to have done again. I bled quite a lot and was going through 4 dressings a day for 2 weeks, I thought it would be keyhole surgery but they opened me up all the way.. The downside is if it gets big like mine was your ballbag is never the same again, the good thing is my friends never moan about vasectomy pain....

Edited by lemonslap on Thursday 21st January 16:48

[BobsPigeon]

Thanks guys, seems the idea it might go on its own is unlikely. Just a waiting game now.

[steveT350C]

I had one a few years ago that cleared up by itself.

[BobsPigeon]

Cheers man, that makes me feel better than a couple of the posts above!

[Leopard86]

I had this operation when I was 22! Took me 18 month of it swelling to the size of an apple before I worked up the courage to get the op.
Anyway...woke up with a little discomfort, discharged in a couple of hours. Some paracetamol and wearing a support for a few days. It wasn’t really that bad. Just take care for a couple weeks. Dissolvable stitches were a mercy! Thinking about the procedure was much, much worse than the actual event. 10 years on and no problems...only regret was not getting it done straight away.