At this point, can varicocele surgery help my testosterone level?

Hi,
I started TRT back in October of 2013. I've always used hCG throughout my TRT. Even though my LH and FSH was low normal, I was diagnosed with hypogonadism due to grade 2+ varicocele on my right testicle and a grade 1 varicocele on the left one. The docs have always urged surgery but I've been scared s**tless of surgery down there.

I've been dealing with testicle pain on the right side since I was 25 years old. I'm 40 now. As I've gotten older, the pain has gotten worse. Now it's gotten to the point that it hurts to sit down. Even with the pain, I'm still scared of the surgery. I'm meeting the doc next week to talk about my options but I have one question.

I've been on TRT for 27 months now. My testicles have not shrunk and I've been on hCG the whole time. The doc did ay that my testicles are on the smallish side before we began TRT. He said that was due to the varicoceles. My levels before TRT was 290 and 277. Do you think this surgery would get me back to normal levels?

My doc thinks it "might" but he can't give me a guarantee. He can't even guarantee that the surgery will get rid of my pain. He can guarantee that he can get rid of the varicocele but he said that since I've been dealing with pain for so long, it's now 'chronic' and there's no guarantee that it'll go away since I'v been living with it for so long. He also said that there's no guarantee that my testosterone levels would return to normal since I've had the varicoceles for so long and I've also been on TRT for so long. I've also been dealing with fertility problems (bad sperm mobility, abnormal sperm, inconsistent sperm counts) and the doctor said that's due to the varicoceles too.

Has anyone here ever dealt with varicoceles? Has anyone ever had the surgery?

Thanks

I can't speak to the surgery itself, but one thing to keep in mind is that it can he challenging to do a re-start after being on TRT for awhile and at age 40 you may not have the levels of T you want after restarting anyway - so TRT *may* be a good thing to continue even after the surgery.

Henry, personally I would have the surgery. I would thoroughly research the surgery and make sure I have a good experienced surgeon.

I can speak to the surgery. I underwent it some years ago and found it to be easy and recovery was rapid. I had a minor bump in my testosterone level, but it was not sustained. Still, I am happy to have gotten rid of the varicocele and the (in my case) minor discomfort it was causing me.

Thanks. I'm going to meet up with him. I really would like to get rid of the pain.

Henry - I've had varicocele since 14, I'm now 44. Urologist said it's minor and although I clearly have the 'bundle of worms' and have had a lump on the left testicle for 30 years, I have no pain and doc said the best he could hope for with surgery would be an increase of only 75 on my total test. I don't have pain so I left it alone. Your case sounds worse than mine plus you have pain. I'd consult another doc and get his opinion. Not sure the increase in test will make enough of a difference for you. Your motivation would probably be to reduce the pain.