Scared about having Orchiectomy

Hi. It's a day case surgery and you'll be looked after very well. It's not a complicated or risky procedure. They normally do it under general anesthetic but when I had mine done back in April they did a spinal nerve block instead due to covid risks.  If your experience is anything like mine you will be tender and walking gingerly for a few days. I was running up the stairs by about day 4, and I actually went out for a short run on day 14. But people heal at different rates so I don't know if my experience was typical or if I got very lucky.

I didn't go for a prosthetic as my surgeon was quite blatantly trying to talk me out of it. I'm glad I made that decision because everything felt completely normal straight away. I'm married, but I think I would still opt to not have the prosthetic even if was younger and single, but again everyone is different.

By chance I had full spectrum blood tests 8 months before my cancer including testosterone levels. My testosterone levels hardly dipped from that baseline after the procedure, and have increased by a further 18% since I started weight training a few months ago. Life hasn't changed for me at all and there is no reason why it should negatively impact you either. 

It is natural to be worried about this, but there really isn't much that can go wrong, and hopefully it will be the end of your pain and increase the quality of life for you.

Best wishes to you

Hi Teahupo, thank you for your reply, very much appreciated. 

I'm sorry you had cancer, and glad you are now on the road to recover.

I'm 48 years old, married and have two wonderful daughters, so I have no concerns about losing a testicle in that sense.

I am somewhat concerned about my testosterone dropping and the side effects that it may cause, weight gain, less energy etc. Have you noticed any change in your weight or energy levels, has your remaining testicle grown is size? I understand sometimes the remaining testicle has to pick-up the slack and can often become larger is size.

I'm 47.  I was a bit worried about perhaps having to artificially manage my testosterone levels, but as I said, they didn't dip significantly and they are now higher than before this whole saga. No change in my energy levels, sex drive, mood or anything. My body is responding well to the weight training and I'm in really good shape. And that is after a cycle of chemo in May in addition to the operation in April.

Actually I might have slightly less energy but I put that down to the change in my fitness regime. I used to do a lot of cardio in the form of swimming and running, but now I am only doing strength training. Also my red blood cell count is towards the bottom of normal range whereas my other blood counts recovered to middle of normal range after my chemo. So I'm pretty sure my slight drop in energy isn't related to testosterone levels.

I think the remaining one has got slightly bigger and firmer, but if it has changed it was a very slow process.

Thanks bud. 

Were you going to the gym before the opt or started going after to keep fit, has your weight or body shape changed since the opt? 

I wont be having a prosthetic, I don't fancy anything swinging in my sack that could cause me pain, I've had enough pain to last me a lifetime. 

I lost a lot of weight and got fit about 5 years ago. I've managed to keep within a good weight range and fitness level since then.  Prior to my cancer and lockdown 1 I was going to the gym doing light workouts to improve my swimming and going for the occasional run. My local pool then closed until April next year for a full refurb so I switched to heavier weight training just for a change.  I'm putting on lean muscle and increasing in strength in response to the training.

I’m alive, thank god.

It’s all done, I had the procedure yesterday, it was a simple orchiectomy as I did not have cancer, the incision was through the centre line of the scrotum. 

Recovery time now I guess, too early to tell if it’s worked or not, the next few days/weeks I should know more, but so far I feel great, no pain, just an ache, no bruising, only a bit of swelling.

They’ve actually sent my nut off for analysis, I hope they find a problem with it, that would make it all worthwhile if it was found to be troublesome.

That's great. Sounds like a slightly simpler operation as they didn't have to cut through muscle. I'm sure you'll recover quickly, and I really hopes it puts and end to your pain.

Thanks mate. I'm still quite sore, a very tight ache/pain along the pelvic line, feels like where the cord was cut, is this normal?

Update. One week post op and I feel better, each couple of days is an improvement, it sure does feel like healing pain.

The pelvis area is a little swollen, it feels hard when I press, I can feel the end of the cord where it was cut, it blooming hurts lol.

I’m getting an ache down the leg, but it definitely feels like it's coming from the swollen area where the cord got cut, I guess when the swelling goes down the aching should stop.

I feel positive that it has worked, it all feels different down there, it does feel like the trigger point has gone.

It all still seems to work down there I’m glad to say, the wife and I haven’t fully tested everything yet, but so far so good. Appearance wise it all looks OK, I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m happy.

I’ve noticed that I don’t have to keep adjusting myself down there to get myself comfy. I would always have to adjust the right testicle to stop it from hurting, especially when laying in bed, but I no longer need to do that now. The testicle was most certainly troublesome, I’m glad it’s gone.

To those of you who have had a orchiectomy, did you get an achy pain in the groin area what feels like the cord, did you get an ache down your leg after the procedure?

Really happy that it looks like it's sorted your problem out - that's great news.  I didn't have any pains down my leg. My remaining nut did occasionally ache very slightly. It sometimes still does but it's getting less frequent and milder.  It sounds like most of us on here had a slightly different procedure, so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. Glad you're on the mend.

G