Hernias and hydroceles, as well as general advice on the Bathmate

Butters65

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Hi all,

As the title states, I wanted to shed some light here on the Bathmate and its involvement with hernias/hydroceles.

I would also appreciate any input from people who have cured a hydrocele naturally (or how they got one in the first place), and if there is/was any association with the hydrocele from an inguinal hernia.

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Back in April 2019 I bought my first Bathmate x30. Myself and my urologist are convinced that I created a small opening at a weak-point in the abdominal wall (at the testicular canals), and injured my scrotum in the process (thus the reason for the hydrocele, or arguably the hernia later on depending on how you look at it).

My .02 on the Bathmate is that you can very easily hurt yourself if you're not careful. This should be common sense, but the reality is, it is far easier than people make it out to be.

My biggest suggestion is to stick to air pumping entirely, and to never touch a Bathmate unless you get the Xtreme version with the handpump. I discussed this with Dr. Gittens (a urologist here in Philadelphia), and he has seen Bathmate induced hernias that start out as a small opening in the abdominal wall atop the testicular canal (which lets a little fluid drain into the scrotum, and then a hernia later on). Overtime, that canal can let a little sac of fat/intestine peak through giving the patient an actual hernia. The way the Bathmate cup sits on the pelvic region meets up directly at the endpoint of both testicular canals. Think of a cup with a paper towel over the top of it - the other end (the bottom) is where the Bathmate can sit, and the paper towel on the top end represents your abdominal wall.

If you use a regular Bathmate with no hand pump, the pressure that is created from pushing the Bathmate into your pelvis, and then releasing, is enough to create abnormalities at an already weak-point in the male abdominal wall. This can lead to fluid leakage through that canal, or an actual hernia out of the gate depending on how extreme it is. If you have a Bathmate without a hand pump, I would advise only pushing down at 25% increments to alleviate the pressure put on the pelvic area and to ease the increase of pressure throughout the exercise.

I recently posted here about low T, which I cured naturally, but am still left with a small inguinal hernia and - potentially associated - hydrocele. I am under the impression that the hernia is causing my hydrocele, but the there have been cases of people just having hydroceles (either from infection, cancer, or naturally (cycling can create hydroceles)). I have an appointment next Monday to discuss aspiration (in the event that the Bathmate created a one-time hydrocele), or hernia repair if Dr. Gittens prescribes it. Other than that, my hormonal levels returned to normal after I eased up on long-distance running and ate more carbohydrates.

That said, I wanted to make this post as a sort of "live and learn" type of experience that may help some others avoid this issue. This is a logical explanation of an issue that can arise when using the Bathmate, but I do not want to discredit those who have had no issues using their Bathmate either - more power to you.

I experience a puffy scrotum from the fluid retention, as well as a mild hard flaccid case. I can feel my hernia and push it back it if I take a finger and insert it up the canal (anyone can do this), but that is a temporary fix and will not stay up long enough to give the fluid a chance to be re-absorbed into my abdominal wall.

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I am probably going to end up curing this with a three step process:

- start out with an antibiotic to ensure there is no bacterial infection in my testicles (I recently had an ultrasound done, and no cancer). The reason I want to try this first is because at the end of 2018, I had an abnormal bacterial infection that was originally thought to be chlamydia or gonorrhea, but turned out to be green discharge from a bacterial infection. If the antibiotics get rid of my hydrocele, then I'll know what to focus on next and how to alleviate infections moving forward/why they're happening.

- Try aspiration of the hydrocele. If it returns (which I assume it will), then it's safe to say the hernia is causing it. If it doesn't return, then I'm going to chalk it up as a one-time occurrence from the Bathmate when I used it for the first 2 or 3 times.

- Get the hernia repaired with stitches (no mesh, as Dr. Gittens said it was small enough and I am young enough to do well with just stitches). This will also include drainage of the hydrocele, and then I'll be in recovery mode for 3-4 weeks if not longer.

Either way, my goal here is to get back to my low-hanging sack that I was proud of, and to not experience any discomfort like I currently do from the scrotal swelling. The hernia does not cause me pain at this point, though the hydrocele is creating a slight dull ache in my right testicle (my hernia is also on my right side - it is inguinal but very small). I also don't want to be infertile, which is another reason why I'm getting this taken care of.

I will post updates here as my next appointment is the 4th.

Live and learn, I suppose - happy to elaborate on anything here if needed.
 

incogneeetoe

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Looking forward to updates!