Bike - problems down there

guys a bit of a private problems and cant get much help where i live.
So after a bout of covid - suddenly i had problems with cycling. My left nut feels for lack of a better word tight. Best described it feels like when you wear too tigh of underwear. And no its only left one. Its not really a pain but discomfort.
I did go to a urologist - he jus treated the pain suspecting some nerve inflamation. After three weeks of nsaids i got rid of it, but after two weeks it came back and again after biking. And after cycling this tighten lasts a few days.
to preempt questions
1 .yes dont wear tight undewear
2. i can now feel disomfort already when i put bibs
3. it happens on my TT saddle (ISM) and on my roadie saddle (Shimano Stealth)
4. nothing changed in my set up - pre my covid i was doing 3 bikes a week twice tt on he trainer 90mins and once 4-5h on roadie

looking for ideas what could it be as i went back to the urologist and he is sending me to “pain” doctor… (had my ESA tested and came good)

Unfortunately, I don’t have much medical advice. But the only time I ever had issues was a big tt block of training after a race. I thought I had put my saddle back to the same height after travelling, but it was a little bit higher than before. I figured out this was the cause (combined with ungodly levels of stress in my life) after I went through a series of tests that came up good. Doesn’t sound like its your scenario but doesn’t hurt to triple check.

Best of luck!

Of course, Covid is a bit of a mystery as to what it can do the body over time, but that aside, if it’s a purely a physical matter…here are my thoughts. In no particular order, try nerve flossing (yes, this is a real thing); get a bike setup done (regardless if you’ve had one done before, as our bodies change over time and our fascial lines getting stuck can change our shape on the bike); add an extra gear to cause more upward pressure to help take pressure off your pelvis; stand more during your rides (this is tough to do, but it can relieve pressure down there); consider a split seat or possibly even a nose less seat (like VSeat). Best of luck. Cheers, Mike

Sorry, I don’t have answers but I do have a few thoughts after injuring myself in countless ways over 25+ years of tri:

  • NSAIDS is not (never?) a solution. It might make things feel better temporarily but it is not fixing anything.
  • As the other poster said, get a new bike fit. It can’t hurt but it doesn’t sound like the cause in this case.
  • This isn’t normal. If this were me, I would go to a general practitioner (I think they are also called internal medicine) that I trust and start from there and I would pursue the problem until there was a good outcome. I have had bad experiences starting out with a specialist. Look for a GP that is old, skeptical and well recommended.

I haven’t heard of this issue before but it sounds concerning. Unfortunately some medical experts can be dismissive at the first claim trying to rule something out as being the ‘best case scenario’. I would either revisit the same urologist and very admittedly tell them the issue is persisting beyond what the symptom treatment could rectify, or find another urologist. My wife has really helped me learn that when it comes to medical care you have to be the best advocate for yourself, and if something doesn’t seem right you have to tell them and persist. Once again, an unfortunate reality. Really hope you get this squared away in a timely manner.

I’d stay away from pain managers. I had what felt like a “testicle pull” if you will. Turns out I had a hernia that I couldn’t physically feel with self exam. For me, the hernia caused an uncomfortable feeling not only at the testicle but upstream and down stream from it. So maybe when riding its pulling the entire chain connected to the testicle in some way.

After my hernia repair all of it went away…

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