Epididymis Problem...

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About a couple of weeks ago I noticed that the epididymis of my left testicle was slightly larger and firmer than the other side, close up to the testicle but not on the testicle itself. Anyway, there is no pain or trouble during urination or ejaculation and if I didn't go searching for this while in the bath I doubt I would ever know it was there. It doesn't even hurt to examine it. Physically, it doesn't feel the same all the time. For example, when I start to look for it, it's very hard to find, it almost feels like it's not even there. After a few seconds of examining the area it seems as if the epididymis has tensed like a muscle might do when stimulated and feels larger & firm until I leave it alone for another while. I've tried not to touch it too often, only while in the bath or shower. I wasn't into doing an exam much in the past so I can't say if it was alwasy larger on the left or not, I know that my left testicle has always been bigger, but thats normal as far as I know. I'm asking about this here becasue I don't have access to medical attention right now and maybe not for sometime. Any thoughts?Thanks

I think when guys start to explore themselves, they notice things that have always been there and/or are changing due to puberty. Then they freak out over things that are totally normal.

I've been done with puberty for maybe 6 years now, some might say I'm a man...Ok, so no one would say that, but you know what I mean I hope...LOLAny more thoughts??

Could be a varicocele. It's difficult to feel the difference between the swollen veins of a varicocele and the epidydimis itself, since the veins are sort of intertwined.

Doesn't that usually hurt?...Would I have noticed anything to alert me it was there, becasue I really had no symptoms of this until I just did a gerneral search down there...Could it be somekind of cysit(sp)...?

No, varicoceles often do not hurt at all. Only the very large varicoceles can cause some discomfort. About 15% of all guys have varicoceles, but a lot of these guys don't even know they have a varicocele because it doesn't bother them, and isn't large enough to be noticed.

Thanks for the information. On a side note, if one testicle is normally larger than the other one, should the epididymis of the larger testicle be larger that the epididymis of the smaller testicle???...Just curiousThanks

It could be, but not necessarily.

Well, one more question. Do you know of any issues that casue the epididymis to swell but often can suddenly go away again?...I guess what I mean is, is there any known reasons why it would become larger but only for a temporary amount of time??Thanks

have you fallen down recently. I had the same problem from a pinched nerve due to a fall on wet stairs. It can take nearly half a year to correct.

The only thing I can think of besides physical injury, is prolonged arousal without ejaculation might cause temporary inflammation of the epididymis. Infection of the epididymis is the only other common cause of inflammation, however that usually takes a while to clear up - it wouldn't suddenly go away.

Well, I can't seem to find a cause for it but it seems to have disappeared again, just as quickly as it came, so I"ll take that as a good sign...Thanks to all who replied....Later