Testicular Torsion?

[d_douglas]

Well, this is a gross thread either way

[redir]

Originally Posted by Aaron O

Seriously. Whatever happened, wishing the OP well and not going through that again.

It's just the Internet. I mean no harm. If the OP was like me he'd laugh. If he's not then I apologize. I've been through many biological events that in the end you just have to laugh at being human. I realize some don't though.

[brownhound]

Thanks for the thoughts, hive mind. No offense taken in any fashion - once you start to talk about your nads hurting on the internet, you need to gird yourself.

Sounds as if most here are pointing to kidney stone. The pain was mostly testicular, and I had/have some swelling there. There was cramping in the abdomen, but no pain in kidneys or elsewhere. Can't say I know other than the pain was primarily in the left nut.

In any event, I'll see a urologist to see if there are steps I can take in the event it was a kidney stone, aside from drinking water.

[seanile]

your urethra does run the gamut from between your legs to the tip, so the swelling could be from the passing of the stone, and then the fluid that was sent to the site is settling in your scrotum given you're standing.
kind of like if you busted your ankle, the blood and fluid settles in your foot.
good luck with it, get it checked out by the necessary docs no less. not something you'd want to mess around with if it's TT, and if it's stones, it's worth knowing how to prevent it or if it'll become chronic like it is for some people.

[bikingshearer]

Add me to the list of kidney stone survivors, and it sounds like a slow-motion version of my stone. It took me about an hour to go from blissfully napping to thinking (wishing?) I was going to die. Drugs in the ER made it bearable, time made it go away.

FWIW, the problem isn't getting the stone to go from the bladder through the urethra and out, it's going from the kidney into the bladder. As the ER doc explained it to me, that connecting tube gets reeeeeaaaaally narrow just before it empties into the bladder, and that's where stones hang up and hurt like nobody's business. I do know that when I actually peed the thing out (into the little strainer they gave me - God, did I fell like a wuss when I saw how small it was), I did not feel it at all. Not even a little bit. It would actually have to be a pretty big stone (as kidney stones go) to hurt going out the urethra.

As for kidney stones being the worst possible pain, I suspect every single woman who has ever given birth would disagree. Of course, the take-away from labor is usually a lot better, too.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by brownhound

Thanks for the thoughts, hive mind. No offense taken in any fashion - once you start to talk about your nads hurting on the internet, you need to gird yourself.

Sounds as if most here are pointing to kidney stone. The pain was mostly testicular, and I had/have some swelling there. There was cramping in the abdomen, but no pain in kidneys or elsewhere. Can't say I know other than the pain was primarily in the left nut.

In any event, I'll see a urologist to see if there are steps I can take in the event it was a kidney stone, aside from drinking water.

Well, a less likely possibility is some sort of hip flexor cramp/spasm. It can refer pain to the testes and abdomen, however so can the passage of a stone. While we are spinning hypothesis there is a muscle that controls the raising and lowering of the testes, if that were to spasm or cramp I can see how having your boys trying to be pulled into you abdominal cavity could hurt!

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by bikingshearer

Add me to the list of kidney stone survivors, and it sounds like a slow-motion version of my stone. It took me about an hour to go from blissfully napping to thinking (wishing?) I was going to die. Drugs in the ER made it bearable, time made it go away.

FWIW, the problem isn't getting the stone to go from the bladder through the urethra and out, it's going from the kidney into the bladder. As the ER doc explained it to me, that connecting tube gets reeeeeaaaaally narrow just before it empties into the bladder, and that's where stones hang up and hurt like nobody's business. I do know that when I actually peed the thing out (into the little strainer they gave me - God, did I fell like a wuss when I saw how small it was), I did not feel it at all. Not even a little bit. It would actually have to be a pretty big stone (as kidney stones go) to hurt going out the urethra.

As for kidney stones being the worst possible pain, I suspect every single woman who has ever given birth would disagree. Of course, the take-away from labor is usually a lot better, too.

My wife has had one kidney stone..and she said the pain was worse than both kid's births..and they were pretty 'traditional, drug wise(as in not much)...w/o getting into the nittygritty...

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

My wife has had one kidney stone..and she said the pain was worse than both kid's births..and they were pretty 'traditional, drug wise(as in not much)...w/o getting into the nittygritty...

For sure. My wife has had several stones and even had to have surgery to remove a big one. She said it was worse that both of our kids births.

[Alfa111]

I'm cringing. Good luck to the OP

[soulspinner]

I passed a 3/8 by 1/4 inch stone and as it moved into expelling position I had pain like you described...…………………….the onset is so quick and disabling. Up your fluid game and see a urologist. Drink more even while sedentary in case there are fragments in there.

[dddd]

I'm just back from running to drink all of a quart of water!

But what 'steve in SLO' said is another possibility, that a gas bubble in the gut perhaps tugged on something inside, possibly even a nerve.
I've twice been momentarily crippled by such an event, and have even experienced sudden-onset loss of leg curculation and subsequent cramping of leg muscles from same. A couple of runners that I know have had the same thing happen.
Writhing seems to bring relief at some point, it's a natural reflex that works.

Have passed a stone once with no notice, other than hearing an unexpected "tink" against the bowl. I gather that I was extremely fortunate.

[Dekonick]

Just a few pointers for anyone who *might* find themselves in a similar predicament:

If it were a torsion, (thats when one testicle 'spins' or 'twists' inside the scrotum and thus cuts off the blood supply) the pain would be intense. Further, no one should try to diagnose a torsion on the internet. If you even slightly think or suspect you have a torsion, get your ass to the ER because it is a urological emergency and requires emergency surgery, unless you want to end up like Lance... Down one... Not kidding. Having said that, in my 28 years in emergency services, I have never seen one. I hear about one or two a year.

Renal Calci - the dreaded kidney stone... These I see all of the time. They take down the biggest of the big, the baddest of the bad and turn them into wimpering, restless, helpless forms that contort into every shape you can imagine in their agony to try to pass tiny stones... The kidney stone is one of my personal indices of pain - I qualify a kidney stone as a 10 on a 1-10 pain scale when it is actively passing... This is another time you want to go to the ER. This is a legitimate time to use strong drugs - If I had a choice, I would want Diprivan, alas, that can't be so for us mortals we are stuck with opoids like morphine, fentanyl, and wi****wouldgoanyl...

Either way - flank pain, can't get comfortable, drink lots of water. If it won't pass, you WILL know and you will take a ride to the ER for pain management.
Ask your doctor, get your annual checks including a UA, and follow the diet they suggest that will limit your chances of developing these unfriendly killers of men... and women... well... they seriously hurt...

Stay hydrated!



And if your nuts start to swell, for gods sake - GO GET THEM CHECKED!

[Devotion]

I too had torsion at around 21...and the vomiting from intense pain...and the emergency surgery.

This was almost 20 years ago, so my memory isn't the clearest...(only the intensity of the pain)...but I do recall doctors describing to me that a testicle can sometimes become "untorsed" manually, or without surgery. I remember sitting in a hot bath before going to urgent care and it was the only thing that provided some relief. Doctors alluded to that possibly helping my situation, though I still had to have emergency surgery. So I suppose it could be possible that you got un-twisted and this helped the pain subside.

I remember doctors telling me that I had to stay off my bike, stay out of the ocean and avoid sex for a number of weeks. As a 21 year old single (surfer/cyclist) guy living in NYC, that was just about the worst news you can get at the beginning of summer!

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Devotion

As a 21 year old single (surfer/cyclist) guy living in NYC, that was just about the worst news you can get at the beginning of summer!

Yeah - I can only imagine one (or two ) worse things.

[Steve in SLO]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

While we are spinning hypothesis there is a muscle that controls the raising and lowering of the testes, if that were to spasm or cramp I can see how having your boys trying to be pulled into you abdominal cavity could hurt!

That would be the Cremaster muscle. It’s responsible for thermoregulation of your sperm as well as keeping the boys out of harm’s way in difficult (and fun) situations. Definitely a possibility, although I haven’t heard of anybody singling that out before.