testicle atrophy & Orchiectomy

[Joel9146]

Is testicle atrophy of both testicles a valid reason to ask a urologist for a Bilateral Orchiectomy

I have been on testosterone replacement for many years and both testicles have shrunk to about ¼ their original size.

[SharakoLunarWolf]

Yeah that pretty much means it is dead or doesn't work, I don't know if there is any sperm production, but If you don't want kids and you want to have an empty sack then ask for it, should be fairly easy to get the procedure done.

[Wellesley]

Is testicle atrophy of both testicles a valid reason to ask a urologist for a Bilateral Orchiectomy

I have been on testosterone replacement for many years and both testicles have shrunk to about ¼ their original size.

I would for the cancer risk. I am not a fan of the flat bag though, stupid floppy thing. I would have liked to have had mine removed as well.

[raymar2020]

testicle atrophy can lead to reduced blood flow in the testicles, and therefore they become a ptential source for infection. It should be fairly easy to get a surgeon to remove them on just that basis. If you are comfortable with the idea of not having them, then also request a scrotal reduction as well. The empty sack is for most kind of a pain to care for, and is frankly pretty unsightly as well.

As to Wellesley, ask your urologist, I am sure he'd easily agree to remove the flat bag for you.

Raymar

[clysmaniac]

Atrophy is certainly the basis for further evaluation but probably not enough alone to get them removed. (my opinion only) My testes were atrophied, very hard and totally numb. Sperm production was not an issue because of a previous vasectomy but a testosterone test showed they weren't making much of that either. An ultrasound showed that a surgical biopsy was warranted. The result of that was a diagnosis of "atrophied and infarcted". Even though I had told my doctor that it was fine with me that it they looked suspicious during the biopsy that he remove them them, he sewed things back up and wanted to wait another 3 months to see if they might recover. I made sure they didn't, but that's beside the point here. Anyway, in 3 months my testosterone level was at castrate level so he gave us the option to have them removed. He said they weren't causing any immediate problems but weren't working and who knows what might happen in the future. And then he mentioned the other big consideration, insurance. My insurance would cover it with the symptoms he found. It took another 3 weeks but soon I was nutless.

You've got the door open with whatever reason your testes aren't making enough testosterone. Was your testosterone just in the lower range of "normal" or significantly below the bottom of the normal range before you started TRT? Obviously they have atrophied since their job has been taken over by your TRT. Could they recover if you stopped the TRT? What is your insurance willing to cover and pay for? It looks like, in either case, that you'll be on TRT forever unless you decide to discontinue it so that shouldn't be an added cost consideration one way or the other. If you don't have insurance, can you pay for the surgery?

It looks like you are sitting with a pretty decent hand but need one good card to put you over the top. Good luck.

[Hash]

Joel9146 - You didn't affirm that you in fact want or are looking to be castrated though it's assumed. Atrophy is a valid reason, there is a greater risk of developing cancer in atrophied organs such as testicles, at least that's what I've read. My last remaining testicle was atrophied and when Dr. Kimmel removed it he said, "It's a good thing you had this removed, it doesn't look good, it probably would have caused you problems" though he didn't say what problems.

However, there is one thing that body builders use to get their atrophied shrunken testicles back to size and working again. Lots of body builders use and abuse steroids, thus, like yourself, their balls atrophy/shrink. Since they typically cycle steroids, they must restart their natural testosterone production which plumps up their testicles and they do this with a substance known as HCG (Human Chorionic Gonaptropin - not sure of the exact spelling). It's worth a look if you're not quite sure your ready for castration. Just saying.

http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/arc.../t-127383.html
http://anabolicminds.com/forum/igf-1...r-atrophy.html
http://forum.mesomorphosis.com/mens-...134259668.html

[Milkman]

Yikes.. I am in shock.. these posts suggest that these body builders are now eunuchs from steroid use..I thought this was a rare occurrence, but apparently not

[coinflipper_21]

I've asked, but my doctor says no. I'll try again on the cancer risk angle though.

[raymar2020]

Yikes.. I am in shock.. these posts suggest that these body builders are now eunuchs from steroid use..I thought this was a rare occurrence, but apparently not

I have a really good friend of nearly 30 years who lost his testicles to atrophy at age 17. He had been doing steriod cycles for 2 years at that point.He maintains that it is amazing how many of those really big body builders are gonad free. Some even opt to just have them removed at the first sign of trouble to eliminate any need to worry about it. Seems in that world there is a doctor or two who will snip away without all the hoopla.

There are also no real track records about how HCG affects the body in the long term. It may lead to other issues like cancer or heart disease.

Raymar

[chemcast scot]

So they might have big mussles but they dont have any testicles i will look at body builders in a new light

[nullorchis]

Sounds like a viable option.

Take Siterone (etc) to lower T to near castrate level.
After a year, complain of low T symptoms to Dr.
Get a T test.
Upon diagnosis of low T, have Dr. prescribe Androgel (etc)
Take HRT for a few years, resulting in a shutdown of testes.
Stop taking HRT to live a near eunuch life with low T. (now that balls are hard, small, maybe even dead)
With luck, maybe even need medical castration.

As desired take just enough HRT for good mental and physical health, but not too much to wake the sleeping dragon.

Results may vary, but seems worth a try to get around the system.

[Caith721]

Or, you could take finasteride (propecia, proscar) for a few months, stop immediately, and hope for post-finasteride syndrome.

[fhunter]

And hope for post-finasteride syndrome.

Very interesting read, thanks. Strangely, some symptoms described look like my experience with stopping androcur.

[Caith721]

Apparently, this syndrome affects only a certain percentage of the male population with a certain pattern of CAG triplet repeats in their DNA which code for the androgen receptor sites throughout the body. If I thought it would work for me, I'd be on it in a hurry.

[erikboy]

Or, you could take finasteride (propecia, proscar) for a few months, stop immediately, and hope for post-finasteride syndrome.

Thanx for sharing interesting link!
This leads me to thinking that good old surgical orchietomy is a safest way to get what many of us here want. Later it is possble to adjust hormonal levels if needed.
It appears that chemical castration could potentially be worse than orchiectomy, as T could be replaced while T receptors can't be replaced.
So, this is not as safe as thought.