Does Epididymo-orchitis Clear up on its own?

Men's health
1

I developed a sore testicle about 6 weeks ago. It was tender to the touch and hurt a bit when I walked. I went to the Dr after 3 - 4 days who did a thorough investigation and found a slight swelling of the epididymis but no lumps however he  did find a slightly uneven area on the left testicle he said to put my mind at rest he would order an ultrasound.

Because there was no obvious lump my ultrasound appointment was booked for 4-5 weeks’ time. As I get very anxious and can't help but google things it was a very hard 4-5 weeks however the pain went away after about 2 weeks.

I had the ultrasound and the radiographer talked me through it as she did it and found nothing concerning on the right testicle but did find what she described as evidence of an infection on the left. She described this as being the uneven surface of the testicle and she was sure it was nothing to worry about. Great I skipped out of that examination room felling lighter than air.

However the next day I received a phone call from my Dr (that is quick for the NHS!) who explained that the results showed evidence of an infection and that I would need a couple of weeks of antibiotics however that a specialist had reviewed my scan and had added a note to say if symptoms had not improved in 6 weeks that I should schedule another scan. My symptoms i.e. the tenderness in my testicle had disappeared about 1 to 2 weeks after they started. The Dr then withdrew the offer antibiotics (understandably) and said that I should just monitor the area and get in touch if the pain returned.

Now I am paranoid that the specialist found something that they wanted to make sure changed for the better over the next few weeks. Obviously with the pain gone and no antibiotics I doubt things will improve from what they were on the scan. Also can Epididymo-orchitis clear up on its own?

2

It might clear-up on it's own, but in most cases some medical intervention is required to treat the underlying reason for the infection.

The causes of an infection in this area are many and guesswork has no place in reaching a definitive diagnosis.

It is quite likely that what your doctor is doing is using the 'wait and see' approach which is quite common today. So they are probably waiting to see if the pain disappears, so if it doesn't just refer back to them without waiting 6 weeks.

3

Thanks for the quick reply. I agree they do like to use the wait and see method. The thing that was concerning me was the fact that it did clear up on its own about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Currently for example I have no pain so the symptons cannot "improve" however now I'm thinking does that mean there is no issue or that damage they saw on the scan was caused by somthing else?

4

Yes, I do get your point.

I think the point here is that epididymo-orchitis can among other things be caused by a urine infection, and not that I am suggesting that this in any way true of you , also a number of STI's including Chlamydia.

Their delay may have something to do with waiting to see if anything else erupts, so maybe it might serve you well if you were to ask your GP what the opinion is as to what caused this problem.

If the answer is that he simply didn't know, why not shock him and ask him whether he feels that the problem might have been urine-related, or maybe something else like an STI.

If he says that it could be an STI, then you have got him dead to rights, because then you can ask why have no tests been carried out to establish the veracity of that?