# swollen epididymis?



## sam-eye-am (Jun 30, 2004)

Anyone else dealt with this on a chronic basis? I am starting to think biking is what causes my problem. 

Everything I read on the web about epididymitis relates to an infection and that with time, it will go away. Well, mine has been swollen for at leat 9 years ( I am 31 now). Was found during a physical exam and since I didn't show any other signs of infection and wasn't painful, it was dismissed. 

A year or two ago, another doctor questioned it following a physical exam. This time he ordered an ultrasound. I got asked a bunch of questions, particularly if I have ever tried to have kids (have not tried) and do I feel pain. According to the doc, my ultrasound indicated that my epididymis was just filled with fluid and better left alone if it doesn't hurt. 

Well, occasionally, I do have some aching. And, lately, I can't ride seated for very long before it feels like both testicles are going numb. I'd say the most I can do is about an hour on the road bike (gotta ride it sometimes to keep the legs in shape since I currently live in mtn biking purgatory with the closest decent trail a 55 mile one way drive). The road bike seems worse than the mtn bike as I am leaned over quite a bit more. But, if I am riding a trail wher I am in and out of the saddle frequently, it doesn't seem to be much of an issue. 

Yes, my mileage is up quite a bit this year. Probably 1200 or so trail miles and another 1000 miles or so on the road bike in the past year. I have tried different shorts from expensive pearl izumi lycra shorts, to cheap ones, to baggies. I have tried a few different seats, though on the MTB, the WTB Rocket V seems the best for me. I have tried varying the position of the seat fore/aft and angle. But, nothing seems to help.


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## RocketDog (Sep 15, 2005)

See your doctor. I'm certain that there are things that they can do to help. The first thing that a doctor might suggest is anti-inflammatories, so you might just try yourself and see if ibuprofen before a ride helps.

Also, I think that aching and numbness could possibly be seperate issues. Numbness is very common in male cyclists, aching is not. Keep that in mind.


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## Fattirewilly (Dec 10, 2001)

Not chronic, but once (5 years ago) I had a painful swollen epididimitis (sp..) issue. Felt like a constant kick in the nuts. Doc asked if I'd been messing around, std related...Married nope. Figured the infection was from a nasty hot tub or funky sewer smell spandex while waiting 4 hours for a friend at the ER without changing out of the cycling clothing.

I sought out a urologist who was a cyclist (figured it was a good idea) and found one. He didn't see anyway it was cycling related. If anything, he said I was in better shape than 99% of his clients. Anyhow, I got ultrasounded to make sure it was nothing serious and a few pills took care of it.

I get numbness occassionally, but it happened both before and after. Two kids, no worries. Good luck.


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## fastmike926 (Oct 8, 2006)

A few years ago when I was doing a lot of road biking I had this problem. It felt like I got kicked in the nuts, but the pain had lasted a couple of months. I went to the doc, and he put me on some anti inflamitorries and after a couple of weeks it was better. I stopped the pills, and it came back. I took the pills for another month and it finally went away for good.


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## GreenLightGo (Oct 24, 2006)

I had an episode in early 2005 - before I got back into MTB'ing (i.e. not biking related b/c I hadn't ridden in 8 years), medication should clear it up. At the time, I had 4 children, had been married for 12 years, etc. I wouldn't let it linger, get another ultrasound as well. Symptoms are very similiar to testicular cancer.


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## RockyRider (Nov 21, 2004)

*It happened to me this summer*

I had noticed pain for over a month and found a lump on one of my self exams so saw the doctor right away thinking it might be cancer. I was lucky and it wasn't but I was also lucky to have a cyclist for a doctor who referred my to a urologist who was also a cyclist. I had an ultrasound, and other clinical tests done and found out it was an inflamed epididymis. Luckily mine responded to ibuprofin and with some seat position changes it hasn't been a problem since.

When I was diagnosed my doctor also told me it was most commonly caused from an STD but since I wasn't in that risk group and since he's also seen it many times among cyclists he was confident that was my problem. All it takes is trauma to the epididymis just like any other part of the body to inflame it and cause other problems. I ended up dropping the nose of my saddle and keeping back off the nose in bumpy areas- especially climbs and I've been fine since. Funny thing is before I got it I'd never heard of it; once I was diagnosed I find out a number of my friends have also got it from cycling. It's just not something that most people talk a bunch about among friends so I never knew.


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## Sakai (May 1, 2006)

Has anyone had shooting pains in that testicle or epididymis, when it was inflamed, i've had this problem for about a year, went to two doctors, they did nothing, does anyone have any ideas or advice. thx...freaking out!! :madman:


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## bearmeadowbomber (Jan 13, 2004)

*Ouch*

I had this for about 6 mos. You went to the doctor, so hopefully that ruled out serious issues like cancer, etc.

What worked for me, and I did not change training volume, was lots of water, frequent release (Ahem, I'll leave that up to you to figure out, I tried to get the doc to write a prescription for this to give to my wife... ), wear supportive shorts, boxer briefs worked for me, and take ibuprofin as needed. Still, somedays felt like a kick in the groin, testicle, lymphnodes, muscle, hard to believe the amount of pain/discomfort it gave me.

In time it went away and haven't had a problem for about a year now.


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## Sakai (May 1, 2006)

Thanks for the reply, yea a couple of other people said that the ibuprofen works but i dunno how often to take it, maybe i'll just take it when it bothers me or is inflammed, hopefully it goes away, im crossing my fingers. Thanks again for the info.


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## El Caballo (Nov 22, 2004)

+1 on "frequent release". At least every couple days, and every day is good if you can. Blue balls will make it much, much worse - don't start something you can't finish, and don't let a woman do it to you either.

For road riding, get a noseless saddle, like these:
http://www.bycycleinc.com/index.html
http://www.hobsonseats.com/
Even better, ride a recumbent.

Anti-inflammatories will only help if you stop doing the things that are irritating the problem.


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## jdd (Feb 9, 2009)

*epiditimytus?*

I was diagnosed with epiditimytus (sp?) over 10 years ago - severe pain etc... and after many trip to different doctors and lots of antibacterial pills etc..I finally went to my last urologist - got blood tests and an ultra sound - all with positive results - meaning no evidence of infection. The urologist recommended a physical therapist for stretching exercises to "cure" the pain. I didn't go to the therapist because I know how to stretch. It works! For the first time in over 10 years I have been basically pain free for several months- every time I feel a twinge I make certain to do some vigorous groin - back stretches and get relief. this is probably not for everybody - I'm sure some do have the infection but man I wish some one had told me years ago to try this and it would have saved a lot of pain and anxiety.
Find a good urologist get the blood tests etc and try the stretches...


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## Natedogz (Apr 4, 2008)

bearmeadowbomber said:


> I had this for about 6 mos. You went to the doctor, so hopefully that ruled out serious issues like cancer, etc.
> 
> What worked for me, and I did not change training volume, was lots of water, frequent release (Ahem, I'll leave that up to you to figure out, I tried to get the doc to write a prescription for this to give to my wife... ), wear supportive shorts, boxer briefs worked for me, and take ibuprofin as needed. Still, somedays felt like a kick in the groin, testicle, lymphnodes, muscle, hard to believe the amount of pain/discomfort it gave me.
> 
> In time it went away and haven't had a problem for about a year now.


X2....................not fun. Good advice that worked for me too. Been years, but I have had a slight recurrence once or twice over the years. It seems that too much release...especially very forceful release, too frequently can cause it too....not really sure how mine first got started, but all the above advice and regular release works for me. :thumbsup:  Definitely see a doctor if you havne't yet! And keep us posted.


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## Claud Hustler (Jun 21, 2011)

*All on my nutsack*

I know this thread is old but I found this very useful in diagnosing myself during an episode of testicular pain. Therefore I would like to pass on some knowledge i hope someone else may find helpful on the subject of a swollen epididymis.
Ill begin with when it started, it was approximately 3 months ago now, it seems a lot longer than that though, I had purchased a GT bike from a friend after my bike had busted after a whole summer of biking the previous year. I was biking about 30+ miles a day with friends and couldn't wait to get back into it. The gears had got tangled in the wheel in the middle of nowhere one day and i was forced to wrench them off and walk it all back home in need of a new derailleur and a set of gears. A few weeks later id come to buy some new gears eager to be out on the bike again but was unable to locate the same ones. I bought some on ebay with the hope they would fit and being inexperienced with bike gears fitted them as best i could but i had no cable to the gears so i just wrapped the chain round the hardest gear and continued pedaling everywhere on this one gear for weeks. I had stopped by a river one day to find this strange twinge of pain popping up in my testicle. I ignored it and it kind of went away whilst i was pedaling but when i came to be still again i could feel it again. I found this forum a few days later after searching and found that the biking could be a problem, especially not having biked so many miles on this new bike before I made an appointment at the doctors concerned and being cautious as when i was a kid i had suffered from a twisted testicle, even more bizzarley i couldn't feel the pain i was meant to and they were unsure to operate. So being worried this may have happened again i got to the doctors just to make sure it was an inflamed epididymis. Due to a large amount of old age pensioners in my town its nearly impossible to get a doctors appointment, they tell you to ring up at 8am in the morning when they open and hope to get one, I couldn't get one and had to go to the next town for their other surgery and see a doctor there. This doctor was useless, he didn't ask me any questions, it felt like he couldn't wait to get me back out the door, he was vague in answering my questions, he had a feel around and confirmed my suspicions, that it was the epididymis. He told me to take time off for rest (he even got the doctors note wrong and had it end before i was to work) and to take ibuprofen to solve the problem. I took his advice and when and got some, had bed rest (not too much though i don't like doing nothing) after a few weeks the ibuprofen hadn't touched it, i was still in the same boat so i went back saw another doctor and was told that the ibuprofen wouldn't touch it and the previous doc should have advised me to take double strength ibuprofens. Now this is where it gets a bit more confusing. The symptoms of my inflammatory caused me to feel lower back pain, all my muscles down my legs felt strained, particularly the inner thighs, my gut felt funny, i wasn't crapping like normal and i slowly became unable to walk properly, having to hold on to things whilst trying to move, it was quite strange and worrying that walking had now become difficult. I had to take more time off of work. Id had 3 different doctors feel my balls at this point and i was beginning to get strong pains in my left knee which then went to my right aswell a few weeks later.I made an appointment about my knee and testicle pain again and at his point had taken nearly 100 ibuprofen, half of which were double strength ones you have to eat with when taken due to the risk of stomach upset and bleeding. I was still in the same boat as I had always been except all the doctors i saw didn't have a clue, it was like slamming my head against a brick wall, they were telling me all of which i knew and giving me no good advice. I had a blood test to make sure it wasn't an infection, the results came back clear so he put me on an anti inflammatory called Motifene for the epididymis for a course of 3 weeks but i was still none of the wiser as to my knee which i had thought was part of the same problem the whole time, later on after seeing physio the lady diagnosed me with runners knee; where the tracking of the kneecap is slightly off. This drug seemed to work I felt like i was getting better slowly but as the 3 weeks came to a close i went back to see the physio lady who advised me to keep cycling to strengthen the knee. Overjoyed i went straight out on the bike and I overdid it just happy to be out again for a consecutive couple of days. The Motifene had run out but my dad had a box in the cupboard from when he had a frozen shoulder so i kept popping his after the 3 weeks course to keep this strange leg pain away. It feels like i've battered my legs, like i've just done a marathon on them. Anyway after the biking i decided to stop taking my dads Motifene pills and see what happened. The leg pain came back worse, all my muscles feel strained and the inflammatory has returned to the epididymis. Most likely due to riding the bike cross country again. Last night i felt the twinges of pain return to my nutsack and have had to book another doctors appointment and travel to the next towns doctors again to see the useless one for more advice. I shall be asking to see a specialist as none of these doctors know what they are doing. All three looked at my knee and didn't pick up on the fact that it was slightly over to the left and one of them told me my epididymis wasn't inflamed even though i could feel it was. One thing i forgot to mention was that all this pain started on the left side of me then traveled over to the right. The original inflamed epididymis was the left one, which now i have no problems with, it has somehow transferred to the right one just like my knee pain has spread into the right one also. Its been nearly 4 months in total and so far i would advise just taking that rest no matter how hard it is. I ended up having to go into work a couple of times a week and i was going out socially and walking long distances i shouldn't have been which has all prolonged the healing process. If id taken the rest I'd probably be okay now. I just hope its not chronic. I need to get back on the bike! Id like to add on the end here that i didn't have my saddle very high on this bike and it is a very soft one.


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## dstaks (May 10, 2011)

Sakai said:


> Has anyone had shooting pains in that testicle or epididymis, when it was inflamed, i've had this problem for about a year, went to two doctors, they did nothing, does anyone have any ideas or advice. thx...freaking out!! :madman:


Not inflamed? If that's what you asking yes! To first start off, I had varicocele surgery. Went normal on my left side. I was diagnosed with epididymis about a year ago got some pills and took care of that. Now starting about a 2weeks ago I am getting left testicular pain, burning/urge to pee, lower back pain, and left groin/thigh pain. Ultrasound normal, no uti, urine analysis fine, no messing around/std's, prostate fine, kidneys fine, blood work fine, and the doc. tells me weird everything is normal... IDK...Well thanks but why am I in pain? Both urologist can't tell me why. I am taking an antibiotics right now and anti inflammatory pills, not really helping. Now I gotta go get something shoved up my urethra in a week, not looking forward to that. Hopefully I get better. When I ride I use a jock strap without the cup in it so it keeps everything tight, kinda helps with the pain... But yes it's getting annoying :madman: Maybe blues balls? I am completely astonished and fed up with urologist, all of them are a bunch of walking d-bags and have an attitude, maybe just mine do idk. I have better luck at the local pediatrician, where I will be going tues. Fed up really...


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## MHBUK (Mar 29, 2019)

I have it too. I had it 12 years ago and it resolved eventually but it has returned. No infection so probably mechanical in origin. These things help: sitting on a neck cushion (with balls over the gap) - on a chair that is. Topical ibubrofen gel (not with any other additives, as in "deep heat" preparations!) - I can't take the tablets for more than a couple of days as they give me mouth ulcers and indigestion. Keeping off the bike - I'm nearly ready to get back after three months - very frustrating. Tighter underpants - I like loose briefs but I've had to go a size smaller and that helps - wear them in bed too. Sleeping with a pillow between your upper and lower knee also helped when it was at its worse. It's better in the mornings, exacerbated by walking more than a km or so and by walking briskly, but it's a balance, you need to keep exercising. If I swam I'd try that. I'm 67, btw. I have had an ultrasound scan which confirmed the diagnosis. I also had pain in the inner thigh on the same side as the inflamed epididymis.


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