Fifty Plus (50+) - Epididymitis

Anyone here ever suffer from this, and if so, what did you do about it?

Yes. I saw a doctor right away.


Edit: If you have epididymitis, you don't need to be told that it can be extremely painful. You should probably not plan on riding a bicycle until you get it cleared up. A little swelling in the scrotum goes a long, long way.

Yes. I saw a doctor right away.


Edit: If you have epididymitis, you don't need to be told that it can be extremely painful. You should probably not plan on riding a bicycle until you get it cleared up. A little swelling in the scrotum goes a long, long way.

I don't know what it is, I've never had to my knowledge, Skipper's description is scary, but the name is really really funny. Say it several times out loud and you'll be the hit of the party.

You would most likely know if you have ever had it. Check this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epididymitis for more info.

I've had it twice. No fun at all. Second time lasted well over two months. Saw the urologist both times and he said it usually clears up on its own, but gave me antibiotics which didn't do anything.

I had what felt like a third nut, went to the doctor. There was no pain but he explained that if it burst it would not only be very painful but also serious requiring emergency treatment. This was 35 years ago. I don't recall him calling it epididymitis . . . but I know that the resulting surgery was called an epididymectomy [sp?].

I took that opportunity [being under a general anesthesia in a hospital] to have a vasectomy also. Actually, the epididymectomy took care of one side . . . the vasectomy the other. Painless!

Definitely see a urologist!

DON

Sometimes you can get a form of epididymitis even years post vasectomy from sperm leaks. You can try antibiotics although it usually doesn't help as this kind is non infectious. In fact, in the good old days a vasectomy was sometimes done supposedly to prevent infection from travelling upstream from the prostate to the epididymis. Not done anymore, though, or at least very rarely. I sometimes think historically this was used as an excuse to sneak vasectomies into Catholic Hospitals! Hah!
I sound like a salesman, but if you are unlucky enough to develop an epididymitis this is another great reason to ride a recumbent. Seriously...

I appreciate the responses. I began to feel like I was the only one dealing with this, and one riding partner said there was no way most folks would want to even talk about this. I guess because it can often be considered a sexually transmitted kind of thing. Although, I've done some additional research and spoken with my physician and the belief is that I'm one of those rare folks who run into this from strenuous exercise with a full bladder. This actually makes sense since the outbreak occurred the day after I didn't stop to relieve myself and pushed ahead with one of the hardest climbs I've done in years. In fact, the climb was so hard for me that I almost didn't make it. In any event, I'm trying to figure out how long I'm going to be nursing this. I did take the antibotics for two weeks and that helped, but it's been over a month with on and off again 'discomfort". I've never been quite as focused on seat position as I am these days. Oh, well I guess time will tell.

About 15 years ago I experienced severe pain in the scrotum, and a urologist declared that I had an inflammation, probably torsion-related, of an epididymis appendix: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendix_of_the_epididymis

I ran a minor fever one night, but otherwise simply rested, although the urologist mentioned options of an antibiotic or even simple outpatient surgical removal of the offending structure, if it did not self-resolve within a few days (fortunately it did). For the pain, I took a few aspirin (my analgesic of choice) per day and intermittently used an ice pack wraped in a cloth. When I needed to get up and walk around, wearing a jockstrap seemed to control the pain somewhat.

The urologist said that no one really knows the cause of non-STD, non-vasectomy cases, such as mine, but I have always wondered whether cycling might have had something to do with it. Anyway, all's well that ends well, although it certainly was more than a bit of a pain to go through this.

More on epididymis torsion:
http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic595.htm

More on epididymis torsion:
http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic595.htm

Thanks for the link.