Hello!

A little less than 2 months ago, I noticed a small, painless lump just below my left testicle. Obviously, it gave my reason to be concerned, so I immediately scheduled an appointment with my family doctor. Two days later (on the 24th of June I believe), I went to my appointment, and he examined both testicles and the lump as well. He seemed very confident that it was nothing at all to worry about and that it was most likely a "spermatocele" which could easily go away within the next week or two. He said that IF it doesn't go away in another week or so, I could get an ultrasound just to be extra sure that it is nothing else, but, with great confidence, he assured me that it was 99.9(something)% likely that it was nothing to worry about at all and that I should be fine (and not need an ultrasound).

For the first week after my appointment, not much changed. During the second week, I thought that perhaps it had begun to shrink just a bit. I was fairly relieved and thought "it should be gone now before too long."

About three and a half weeks after my appointment, it was still there. I began to get a bit worried, so I called the doctor's office and talked with a nurse over the phone about what was happening. It was still painless and very much separate from the testicle, but it was still there (even if it was about the same size or smaller). She delivered my message to the doctor I had seen, and he said that there seemed to be no need for an ultrasound and that I should just let it be and let nature take its course.

Since that point, I have noticed it change slightly in shape/consistency. Sometimes it seems to be harder, and other times it seems to be almost the feeling of a small cluster of veins (yet still cyst-like). It seems to have either stayed the same size or gotten just a bit smaller, but I'm not entirely sure which.

About two to three days ago, I noticed that my left testicle has begun to ache ever so slightly, but it's just enough to be rather annoying. When I sit down or when I lay in bed, I tend to notice that "aching" feeling less; when I walk around for a while, it seems to ache more. It is not "painful" at all in the sense that it is a "shooting pain" or anything like that; it just "aches" and sort of "hurts" a bit. Also, I've noticed that, just above my right testicle, there seems to be a tube or vessel of some sort that seems "harder" than usual. It doesn't seem to be a cyst or anything of that sort (if it is, it's incredibly small); it just seems to be one random tube that is a bit harder than usual. The other testicle is completely fine.

Some additional information that may be helpful: I am 21 years old patientold and in pretty excellent health otherwise. I stay active (go to the gym 3 times a week on average-- not an exaggeration, I promise), and I intentionally try to eat healthy every day. I'm also 6'7" tall and about 190-195 lbs. I have had no serious medical problems to date, and I am not on any medications of any kind.

I'm asking online first because I just got back to my college campus (which is 5 hours away from home) to begin RA training, and, unfortunately, they don't have a doctor visit the campus until classes start up (and training is another 10 days yet). I'd prefer not to go to the hospital or anything of that sort if this is not a big deal (I've read that spermatoceles can potentially stick around for a while and that they can even begin to ache in some cases). If it is a big deal, however, I want to know so I can take care of it. Thank you!