I posted this down in the Medically Needed section. However since things are progressing I thought I'd move over here.

Saw my PCP today & had my wife along for the visit. My PCP is open to the idea of recommending me for an Orchiectomy. She is going to have a referral scheduled to a Urologist group that do these type of procedures here where I live. Like I said in my earlier posts this scares the C**P out of me! My PCP did however see in the long run where this could be the best option for me.

One question that I do have & maybe someone can answer is this. I'm a very active person both energetically & physically exertion wise. How long can I expect before I can get back to heavy, repetitive lifting after an Orchiectomy?

Thanks!

bigdude1 (imported) wrote: Thu May 14, 2015 6:41 pm I posted this down in the Medically Needed section. However since things are progressing I thought I'd move over here.

Saw my PCP today & had my wife along for the visit. My PCP is open to the idea of recommending me for an Orchiectomy. She is going to have a referral scheduled to a Urologist group that do these type of procedures here where I live. Like I said in my earlier posts this scares the C**P out of me! My PCP did however see in the long run where this could be the best option for me.

One question that I do have & maybe someone can answer is this. I'm a very active person both energetically & physically exertion wise. How long can I expect before I can get back to heavy, repetitive lifting after an Orchiectomy?

Thanks!

Your recovery period would depend very much on the method of removal. Mine were removed scrotally and within less than 24 hours, I was driving a stick shift car. I was advised to take 2 weeks off work after the surgery, but was pretty much doing all my normal activities after 3 days. I also had absolutely zero pain as a result of the surgery.

I can't speak as to inguinal removal, but I do think that the recovery period would be a bit longer, probably about the 2 week period that my urologist advised.

Don't be scared, I have read many of your previous posts and you will recall that I was one of those that advised removal. The great thing about being a eunuch on HRT is that you have total control over your sex drive. I keep my T level on the low side and I don't have the old imperitive to get inside a woman and have full intercourse. I can now lie with her and kiss and cuddle and enjoy her playing with my equipment without feeling the total need to penetrate her. If I desire to actually penetrate, then I simply up my T dosage for a few days and then it is possible again.

I can quite honestly say that getting castrated is one of the very best things that has happened to me in the last few years. Another advantagge of not having testicles is that you will never again get lover's balls.

Good luck for the future.

I am very active at the gym and was castrated by a urologist through the scrotum. I was down for a good 3 days and not back at the gym for a good week. I took it easy for maybe another week before I started lifting and doing hard workouts.

I think everyone heals differently. I swell up and usually emit a lot of interstitial fluid. I would highly recommend that if yours is through the scrotum, you ask your doctor to take off as much of the cords that he can. My doc left them and tried to suture them in a ball at the end of each cord. He thought that might create at least the appearance of balls, but it did not work. The wads of cord and sutures swelled up and took a long time I heal. Now I just have small lumps that look like nothing.

Send me a private message if you want more info. Would be glad to chat. Good luck.

bigdude1 (imported) wrote: Thu May 14, 2015 6:41 pm One question that I do have & maybe someone can answer is this. I'm a very active person both energetically & physically exertion wise. How long can I expect before I can get back to heavy, repetitive lifting after an Orchiectomy?

Normal activities can be done same day (for me anyway) or maybe after a day or two. I was supposed to wait 2 weeks before doing any lifting and 3-4 weeks before doing any heavy lifting. However, since I had no pain I of course did not listen to the doctor. About a week after the surgery I did some heavy lifting of 150-175 lbs and the straining caused bleeding which turned into really painful hematomas and that caused a world of problems. I would say don't plan on doing any heavy stuff for at least two or 3 weeks, maybe longer depending on what you mean by heavy and how well the cords are tied and what material and method they use.

From another angle...after castration, you are going to loose a lot of energy and it's going to be a mission for you to pick up heavy loads. You will have to go on T if you want your energy levels and strength back.

YodaNell (imported) wrote: Fri May 15, 2015 8:56 am From another angle...after castration, you are going to loose a lot of energy and it's going to be a mission for you to pick up heavy loads. You will have to go on T if you want your energy levels and strength back.

I'm taking Depo Provera shots every two weeks now & my T levels are almost Zero & I've got plenty of energy. In fact I loaded 1/2 a semi by hand with 42 pound steel bars (about 26,000 pounds total on our part) with another guy 2 days ago. It took us about 3 hours & we had to lift them about 3 feet in the air & then toss them up on the trailer but we got it done without a whole lot of trouble so I'm not too worried about energy levels.

Everyone is different, however, YodaNell is telling the truth as is common for most eunuchs. Without testosterone, most castrated men lose energy, lose muscle mass, and lose motivation/desire. The other thing that needs to be told is that after castration, for most eunuchs, there is a dangerous depression that sets in and can be deadly. This can vary too, depending on the eunuch, but for most it's a dangerous dilemma. I never thought about depression before being castrated, but this type of depression can be overwhelming, debilitating. So if your going to be castrated, stay in touch with your doctor and ask about depressive symptom's following castration. I would not recommend taking standard depression drugs like Abilify, just ask to be placed on a low dose regimen of testosterone.

I am two weeks out from my radical bilateral orchiectomy. My urologist took a different approach so as not to be too invasive. He performed a radical orchiectomy via a single midline scrotal incision. He was able to go high into the inguinal canals and ligate my spermatic cords, and remove about 12cm of each. His goal was to give me what I wanted, in the least invasive way. He could only do this because he was convinced that there was no cancer present (and the pathology report supported his assumption). His method may have been less invasive, and less of an opportunity for infection, but it wasn't necessarily the best for recovery. I had major swelling and bruising, the latter even high into my lower abdomen, and throughout my taint and lower butt cheeks. This was probably due to the fact that I was split open and clamped (sorry for the graphics), therefore, the area was fairly traumatized. I will only have a single scar up the raphe of my scrotum, that will be hidden by my flaccid penis, so it's probably best this way. Another result is a "hardness" of my scrotum in the front of the Left implant. The doctor said it's caused by bruising of the Dartos muscle, the muscle that contracts the scrotum to control temperature along with the cremaster muscle. He said it will dissipate over time, and my scrotum will return to being supple and elastic. Despite the issues, I'm glad I got rid of my damaged testicles, and have removed any future cancer risk.

Scarring can also be strange. I was also done by a single midline incision on March 15th last year and this evening I looked at my scrotum in the mirror and the scar has totally disappeared.

I haven't checked in for a while so here's the latest update. I saw my Psychologist today to get her blessing. We discussed how long I've been on Depo-Provera now at the current level I'm on which is now about four months or so. The results of help stabilize the mood swings on my Bi-Polar have been nothing short of phenomenal! My nearly out of control sex drive is gone! Any anger issues that I had to really fight with that was associated with my Bi-Polar are pretty much a thing od the past! I'm sooooooo much happier now! After all of our discussions my Psychiatrists told me that the decision to have an Orchiectomy is a personal decision but with the remarkable progress that I've made with the Depo-Provera combined with facing the possibility of losing insurance in the next few months that will pay for either the surgery or the continued Depo-Provera treatment + the fact that I really don't want to have to go get a shot in my butt every two weeks for the next 10 or 20 years, she did give her blessing!

One thing that is really amazing is that my energy level is still remarkably high! I own a company & we operate in the Energy Industry. This summer we worked outside in the Heartland Heat in the broiling sun from 6:00 am until 2:00 or 3:00 pm. I'd come home so soaked in sweat that even the dollar bills in my wallet were soaked! Day after day I got out there with me in my early 50's I'd be out there busting my butt, working just as hard, and in fact many times outworking, guys 20 - 25 years younger than me to the point that they couldn't take it & quit!

The key point here is I about 99.975% certain is not my T-Count but my diet. I'm extremely careful, especially in the heat what I consume! First I don't consume ANY alcohol & that includes anything that is Zero Calorie & has Alcohol Sugars. That will kill you in the heat! I make sure I consume at least a Gallon of Good Fluids a day, sometimes 5-6 quarts! I'm a BIG Guy with VERY LOW body fat so I consume lots of Protein Bars, about 3-4 a day & usually 1 energy bar midday. No white bread. Might as well eat sheet rock! I schedule at least 8 hours sleep & stick to it! You'd be amazed at how much energy a good, healthy diet & exercise will give you!

I just gave the above paragraph to show that a person can still have a ton of energy if you really apply yourself even if you don't have T in your system! I'm living proof!

Here's something funny for ya'all! Now that it's quite so hot any more we're starting a little bit later & working until 5:00 pm. I've got a really bad habit of getting what crew has come to name the "5 O'Clock Rush!" When someone says that it's getting close to 5:00 or I see that it's anyhere from 4:30 to 4:45 I cut lose! I get a burst of energy that's out of this world! It's like the Hulk Syndrome! I start grabbing pipe & everything else & work like a Mad Dog! My guys are ready to drop & going like I'm qualifying for the Indianapolis 500! They figured out about 2 weeks ago that between 3:00 & 3:30 I'm having a Protein/Energy Bar! Hey! That engine don't run without fuel! Now they threaten to hide my Protein Bars!

So guys, want energy? See a Nutritionist (& maybe a Trainer!)

I'll keep ya'all posted on what happens next as I'm fixing to go see the Urologist.

BTW- I'm about as nervous as one can get! This is not an easy decision or some small step! This to me is a life changing decision & procedure! Any thoughts on that?