Yeah my one is on the left side too. Due to the anatomy of the human body, varicoceles occur on the left side the majority of the time; isolated cases on the right side are rare and can indicate a different underlying problem.
My one causes me discomfort, especially on a hot day when my testicles hang low and also whenever I lift weights. It hasn't affected me in any way, I blow big loads and bang bitches with no issues. I haven't tried to have a kid yet so I don't know if it is affecting my fertility. That's another reason why I am getting the surgery. One thing about varicoceles is that the effects of it are extremely individualistic. One guy might have a huge grade III varicocele and have no issues and be able to have kids with no problem. Then another guy might have a small grade I varicocele and run into a host of issues which stem from the varicocele. It's one of the reasons why there is so much controversy and opposing views on this topic. When somebody starts researching about varicoceles they go down a path like this:
The place where varicoceles are discussed the most are bodybuilding forums. If you visit forums like anabolic minds/t-nation etc, this is a issue that is regularly discussed. One of the most comprehensive threads out there discussing varicoceles is the one below:
http://anabolicminds.com/forum/male-anti...ffect.html
The thread used to be 80+ pages long so I don't know what has happened to it. However even if you read through the entire thread multiple times (as I have), you still don't arrive at a definite conclusion regarding the true effects of a varicocele and the benefits of surgery. Something which really annoys me in that forum and also other forums is that guys post complaining about their varicocele and decide to have surgery to fix it. Then instead of posting the most valuable piece of information regarding how surgery went and how they are faring x months down the line, they decide to stop posting. You also get a sense that there are too many variables involved with the problems that these guys are having to arrive at a conclusion. They are on steroids, aromatase inhibitors, serms, Hcg, the works. So when they start complaining about hormonal, testicular, fertility, sexual problems etc and how they are convinced it's because of their varicocele, it becomes extremely difficult to view it objectively and in a scientific manner where there is a cause and effect relationship free of all other variables. Personally I feel that unless somebody has a HUGE bilateral (on both sides) varicocele that has caused significant testicular atrophy (shrinkage) then it shouldn't affect testosterone levels. This however is virtually unheard of.
If you research varicoceles it's inevitable that you will also stumble upon the fertility forums. Here girlfriend's and wives who can't get pregnant post about how their 'DH' (yeah I didn't know what it meant either, it stands for Dear Husband) has a varicocele. After searching these forums, there are a handful of cases where the guy has gotten surgery and his sperm count drastically improved. Key note here is handful. There simply aren't enough threads and cases to make a definite conclusion and feel that the results are statistically significant.
The misc over at bb.com is also a place full of guys with varicoceles. There are a lot of threads there about this and quite a few guys there have gotten surgery to fix it. The same problem happens here too where guys stop posting x months down the line about the results. However I found that there are enough guys there who have posted positive results about their surgery.
Then you come across a multitude of general medical forums where varicoceles are discussed but these are the equivalent of yahoo answers and I don't rate them at all.
Lastly are the medical journals. There are a number of studies and research about varicoceles and they normally conclude with 'There was a statistical significance in the increase of sperm quality and size of the testicle after microsurgical approach.....however surgical approach remains a topic of controversy. However increasingly results and studies show that if the patient meets a number of specifications, then surgical approach should be looked at....'.
After years of research, I have found that the gold standard to fix a varicocele is via 'microsurgical sub-inguinal varicocelectomy'. This approach virtually eliminates risks of complications such as hydrocele formation and inadvertent severance of the testicular artery. It also has the lowest rate of recurrence. DO NOT have your varicocele fixed via the inguinal approach or laparoscopically or worst of all via embolisation. Your surgeon might want to fix it via these methods but that alone is an indication to find another surgeon. Do your due diligence as although this is a common surgery, the amount of unnecessary complications and problems that can arise is not to be taken lightly. If you cannot find a surgeon in your area who specializes in microsurgery and has performed a number of micro surgical sub-inguinal varicocelectomy's then look further. If you need surgery and this is not an option, then I would advise you to not get it fixed until you have the ability to find a surgeon who meets these requirements. Once you're cut, you're cut and there is no going back.
Edit: Somebody posted the below in another thread which I strongly advise also:
My one causes me discomfort, especially on a hot day when my testicles hang low and also whenever I lift weights. It hasn't affected me in any way, I blow big loads and bang bitches with no issues. I haven't tried to have a kid yet so I don't know if it is affecting my fertility. That's another reason why I am getting the surgery. One thing about varicoceles is that the effects of it are extremely individualistic. One guy might have a huge grade III varicocele and have no issues and be able to have kids with no problem. Then another guy might have a small grade I varicocele and run into a host of issues which stem from the varicocele. It's one of the reasons why there is so much controversy and opposing views on this topic. When somebody starts researching about varicoceles they go down a path like this:
The place where varicoceles are discussed the most are bodybuilding forums. If you visit forums like anabolic minds/t-nation etc, this is a issue that is regularly discussed. One of the most comprehensive threads out there discussing varicoceles is the one below:
http://anabolicminds.com/forum/male-anti...ffect.html
The thread used to be 80+ pages long so I don't know what has happened to it. However even if you read through the entire thread multiple times (as I have), you still don't arrive at a definite conclusion regarding the true effects of a varicocele and the benefits of surgery. Something which really annoys me in that forum and also other forums is that guys post complaining about their varicocele and decide to have surgery to fix it. Then instead of posting the most valuable piece of information regarding how surgery went and how they are faring x months down the line, they decide to stop posting. You also get a sense that there are too many variables involved with the problems that these guys are having to arrive at a conclusion. They are on steroids, aromatase inhibitors, serms, Hcg, the works. So when they start complaining about hormonal, testicular, fertility, sexual problems etc and how they are convinced it's because of their varicocele, it becomes extremely difficult to view it objectively and in a scientific manner where there is a cause and effect relationship free of all other variables. Personally I feel that unless somebody has a HUGE bilateral (on both sides) varicocele that has caused significant testicular atrophy (shrinkage) then it shouldn't affect testosterone levels. This however is virtually unheard of.
If you research varicoceles it's inevitable that you will also stumble upon the fertility forums. Here girlfriend's and wives who can't get pregnant post about how their 'DH' (yeah I didn't know what it meant either, it stands for Dear Husband) has a varicocele. After searching these forums, there are a handful of cases where the guy has gotten surgery and his sperm count drastically improved. Key note here is handful. There simply aren't enough threads and cases to make a definite conclusion and feel that the results are statistically significant.
The misc over at bb.com is also a place full of guys with varicoceles. There are a lot of threads there about this and quite a few guys there have gotten surgery to fix it. The same problem happens here too where guys stop posting x months down the line about the results. However I found that there are enough guys there who have posted positive results about their surgery.
Then you come across a multitude of general medical forums where varicoceles are discussed but these are the equivalent of yahoo answers and I don't rate them at all.
Lastly are the medical journals. There are a number of studies and research about varicoceles and they normally conclude with 'There was a statistical significance in the increase of sperm quality and size of the testicle after microsurgical approach.....however surgical approach remains a topic of controversy. However increasingly results and studies show that if the patient meets a number of specifications, then surgical approach should be looked at....'.
After years of research, I have found that the gold standard to fix a varicocele is via 'microsurgical sub-inguinal varicocelectomy'. This approach virtually eliminates risks of complications such as hydrocele formation and inadvertent severance of the testicular artery. It also has the lowest rate of recurrence. DO NOT have your varicocele fixed via the inguinal approach or laparoscopically or worst of all via embolisation. Your surgeon might want to fix it via these methods but that alone is an indication to find another surgeon. Do your due diligence as although this is a common surgery, the amount of unnecessary complications and problems that can arise is not to be taken lightly. If you cannot find a surgeon in your area who specializes in microsurgery and has performed a number of micro surgical sub-inguinal varicocelectomy's then look further. If you need surgery and this is not an option, then I would advise you to not get it fixed until you have the ability to find a surgeon who meets these requirements. Once you're cut, you're cut and there is no going back.
Edit: Somebody posted the below in another thread which I strongly advise also:
Quote:Quote:
(I'd get a male doctor for something like this, I wouldn't trust a female on something as important as this, but that's just my thought on it). I chose a highly rated doctor who wasn't too old, nor too young (More than 40, less than 60)