Dealing with azoospermia?

[Kendall29]

Luvoboe,
It really does sound like we are on the same path! My husband definitely seems to have more testosterone. He does get irritated pretty quickly (kind of PMS'ing . He also has a ton more energy in general- no headaches although that symptom doesn't surprise me as hopefully all of those hormones are changing. I just hate this waiting! All of the other SA's we found out the same day- we may not know a full 72 hours after this one! I'm so glad to see someone else taking this treatment! Good luck on your husband's results and please keep me posted!

 

[silverbell]

Kendall,
I'm guessing, just from the way he's able to perform, (he'd kill me if he saw me writing about this!) at least his testosterone is good. I can only hope that the results will be good. It's been a few days so I think I will call to see if there are any results back yet.

I definitely don't want to dishearten you and I am praying for super results for your husband, but my DH has never had any issues at all in the bedroom department and he has low Testosterone and is about to start replacement. So it can happen. I do hope it's not the case for your partner though, Kendall. From what I have read it is quite unusual to have low Testosterone and no issues, though of course not impossible.

AFM- nothing to report.... still in waiting-limbo hell. Waiting on af to show up so I can start my first round of clomid and CD21 bloods after ov. May needs to HURRY THE HELL UP! I spend allllll my free time in the gym to make it go by faster, but it doesn't. That's about it for me! Oh, and guess we will start to official donor search and picking out "the one" next month! Guess that is something to look forward to!

Definitely something to look forward to! It's one step closer and once we got over the surreal feeling of picking the future biological father of our child, we actually quite enjoyed it. Not sure if that makes us crazy or not Spending time in the gym is all good, getting your body fitter for carrying that baby you so deserve.


AFM - we had some amazing news in the past couple of days in that the NHS has agreed to fund us for up to 6 IUIs. We were previously told there wasn't a chance in hell pretty much but they'd write anyway. It looks like somebody took pity on us and we're over the moon. On CD2 and start my injections tomorrow with IUI likely to be 26 March. So excited to be actually, properly TTC with no issues and as much chance of getting pregnant as any other fertile couple

 

[waitingginger]

hi all
I havent visited in a long time as its just been one hell of a long wait.

My OH soerm level now seems of settles around the 6mil mark, not enough to get pregnant naturally but enough to move forward with IUI or IVF. in the 2 years since his 0 sperm count samples we have not been on any sort fo fertility treatment wiating list and so now face a further wait whilst we come to the top of the list for treatment.

I am so glad that most of you ladies are getting further along with your treatment and will soon have beautiful babies in your arms!

Much love

 

[MJ73]

Hi Girls,

Wow, so much happening, so much to catch up on.

A huge, friendly welcome to all the newbies , you have found a great bunch of girls here. We all know how tough it can be, especially at the beginning. It is a constant process of ups & downs & dealing with the grief that things will never happen naturally. Just know that you're not alone & at least we're all in this together.

Waiting ginger that is great news, re the sperm count. My DH would love not to have to go through another TESE.

SB, so happy for you , that you have funding for IUI. You deserve it hun.

Deb, so lovely to hear things progressing well. A lovely strong heartbeat; what a blessing for you & Terry

SND, I know the waiting sucks, but not long now sweetie. You are so lovely stopping in to give out some love. I just wanted to pop in to have a moan

Canadian, not sure if you're still reading, but my heart goes out to you hun, we all understand & are here for you when you're able to face things again.

KB, thinking about you. Doesn't it suck living in Australia & needing to use donor sperm? Could they make it any harder? I feel for you hun. This journey sucks big time & having to go through all the added red tape & counselling just to access sperm is like rubbing salt into the wounds. I can recommend Helping the Stork book too. I've only just started it, but it offers good food for thought.

Sorry if I left anyone out.

AFM, well Mum came out of hospital today, she had some blood transfusions last week that seemed to help her recovery. So that is a big relief. Like I said on the FB page, I'm having one of those weepy, 'will it ever happen for us?' days today. Just feeling like it is so easy for everyone else (not everyone on here) & can't help at the moment thinking about the baby we miscarried & how old they would be now etc. Angry at God, angry at the world but hope I'll wake up feeling better tomorrow.

 

[snd80]

Oh, MJ, my thoughts and prayers are with you!

SB- That is sooooo awesome! Gosh, I wish the states were that great, but nooooo... *sigh*

Hope everyone else has a great day!

 

[silverbell]

hi all
I havent visited in a long time as its just been one hell of a long wait.

My OH soerm level now seems of settles around the 6mil mark, not enough to get pregnant naturally but enough to move forward with IUI or IVF. in the 2 years since his 0 sperm count samples we have not been on any sort fo fertility treatment wiating list and so now face a further wait whilst we come to the top of the list for treatment.

Hi waitingginger :wave:

At least you'll be on a list now - that's the final hurdle. You're nearly there Great news that the sperm level is 6 million. I know it probably doesn't seem great to the average couple and it's a shame you still need IUI or IVF, but of course to most of us that's an AMAZING number.

AFM, well Mum came out of hospital today, she had some blood transfusions last week that seemed to help her recovery. So that is a big relief. Like I said on the FB page, I'm having one of those weepy, 'will it ever happen for us?' days today. Just feeling like it is so easy for everyone else (not everyone on here) & can't help at the moment thinking about the baby we miscarried & how old they would be now etc. Angry at God, angry at the world but hope I'll wake up feeling better tomorrow.

MJ, I'm glad to hear your mother is out of hospital and recovering.

I think we've all had those days and I definitely hear you with the anger. Sadness, anger and frustration are the 3 words that most sum up my experience of infertility I would say. Thinking of you and hoping you feel better tomorrow

 

[nightdaze]

Sorry for not writing more personal messages to you all - but I am reading and getting to know where you are all at on this crazy journey.

We went back to our GP yesterday because we just don't really know what to do at this point. He has referred us to a urologist but we have no idea when that appointment will be - it could be months and months down the road. DH has done 2 SA and blood work (I should have checked what the blood work was for, I know they were checking testosterone and FSH and some other stuff).

So - it is going to be ages before we know anything. Do you guys have any advice on other tests we can do - genetic, etc. - in the meantime to make sure that once we do go to the urologist we will have all the information possible? I'm try to be proactive because sitting around is killing me. We are in Canada where there is no private health care which is great but in a situation like this I would happily pay someone to be seen sooner.

Also - does anyone else have a partner who has a varicocele? DH has had lots of problems with his and I know some doctors say that this doesn't matter with regards to fertility but I think it might have something to do with this - maybe it is wishful thinking.

Hope you are all well. xo

 

[silverbell]

So - it is going to be ages before we know anything. Do you guys have any advice on other tests we can do - genetic, etc. - in the meantime to make sure that once we do go to the urologist we will have all the information possible? I'm try to be proactive because sitting around is killing me. We are in Canada where there is no private health care which is great but in a situation like this I would happily pay someone to be seen sooner.

Hi night

I would definitely recommend trying to get the following genetic blood tests done: cystic fibrosis carrier, karyotype and Y-microdeletions. If any of these 3 are positive it can explain the azoo and may mean certain treatments are not an option. I live in England and had to persuade our doctor to do these tests after I'd taken it upon myself to find out the procedure. I did this by contacting the Pathology lab at our local hospital and asking them and explaining what it was for. They told us they would happily take the blood, but didn't have the knowledge or facilities to test it at the hospital and gave me the address of where the blood tests should be sent. We went to our GP and asked him for the blood form and I knew that once DH had had the tests taken he had to tell the nurse to send it to the genetics hospital address.

You'll most likely have to get used to doing a lot of your own leg-work I'm afraid, as the medical profession are really rather clueless about all of this. It stinks, but it's the truth.

Other than these genetics tests I'm not really sure what other tests would be required before you see the Urologist.

If I were you I would personally get a referral to your local Fertility Clinic or Gynaecologist in order that you can be checked over yourself and at least be 'on the books' ready for when your DH's investigations have been completed. This cuts a lot more waiting time out. My GP was initially a little reluctant, but I said I needed to know I was OK or we were just wasting our time getting DH to do all these tests!

It may also be worth getting the opinion of a specialist in this area. I know Dr Schlegel in the US offers phone consultations, though I do believe he usually needs to know the results of a few tests prior to that. I don't know much more than that, but hopefully somebody else will be along soon who knows.

I hope some of this has helped

 

[Deb111]

Nightdaze - a varicocele can definitely be a major factor in this and could mean he's making sperm but they just can't get out. I think SB has pretty much covered the blood tests / genetic tests, but there a thing to click on in the first post of the thread which suggests some things to check get done

 

[nightdaze]

Thanks Deb and Silverbell, you guys are amazing. I wish I could just have an appointment tomorrow to figure this all out but it is a long road ahead and I'm grateful to you for helping me out - this is all so new to me.
x

 

[Kendall29]

So we just got DH's results back from the RE after his 3 months of hcg injections. It was good news- there were 16 million total although only 1 million were useable. We are very encouraged by this although it is not enough to try IUI yet. I am thrilled that the number is above zero but I have to admit I was a little bit sad that we've got to wait longer now- I hate all of this waiting! But all in all, great news, great day!

 

[lbm2009]

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar situation to us. We had semen analysis done results came back showing only three dead sperm. Husband had undecended testicals that were fixed when he was young. He's had blood tests that all came back fine. So it looks like its a blockage. Where do we go from here? I need to loose 1 stone before they will carry on with tests. I just want a baby so much. I feel like my life has no purpose.

 

[deafgal01]

everyone! to all of you!

I guess I should update all of you on my dh. He went in for blood work test recently (Monday I think it was). Today we found out the medicine is helping his testosterone level to rise- but it's also making something else (he couldn't remember what) lowered so as a result, it's not doing the job, it's supplying oxygen and storing that in his fat. So they're going to start him on another medicine with the current one to prevent that and retest his blood levels in 4 weeks. No idea if this treatment is going to work or not for us. It seems like a very long wait... It's all we ever do (all of us- wait and test, wait and test)...

 

[silverbell]

So we just got DH's results back from the RE after his 3 months of hcg injections. It was good news- there were 16 million total although only 1 million were useable. We are very encouraged by this although it is not enough to try IUI yet. I am thrilled that the number is above zero but I have to admit I was a little bit sad that we've got to wait longer now- I hate all of this waiting! But all in all, great news, great day!

That is fantastic news, Kendall! No wonder you're both very encouraged. I know precisely what you mean about the waiting though and I know I can speak for every one of us here when I say we understand that any more waiting is frustrating and upsetting. It's all us azoo couples ever seem to be doing, isn't it? Fabulous news though - congrats!

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar situation to us. We had semen analysis done results came back showing only three dead sperm. Husband had undecended testicals that were fixed when he was young. He's had blood tests that all came back fine. So it looks like its a blockage. Where do we go from here? I need to loose 1 stone before they will carry on with tests. I just want a baby so much. I feel like my life has no purpose.

Hi lbm We all know that feeling, so you've come to the right place. Everybody's very nice and understanding here.

I would definitely get your DH referred to a Urologist so that they can do scans etc and check to see if there is indeed a visible blockage. If there is something causing a blockage then these are also the people who could treat that as necessary.

In the meantime I would certainly sign up for a well-structured diet program and lose that stone, as it'll speed things along and will mean they've no more excuses not to treat the both of you. Weight Watchers is fantastic and I've used their online program many times and lost easily with it. I'm not sure of any others as I haven't tried them, but I'm sure you can find one that will suit you.

everyone! to all of you!

I guess I should update all of you on my dh. He went in for blood work test recently (Monday I think it was). Today we found out the medicine is helping his testosterone level to rise- but it's also making something else (he couldn't remember what) lowered so as a result, it's not doing the job, it's supplying oxygen and storing that in his fat. So they're going to start him on another medicine with the current one to prevent that and retest his blood levels in 4 weeks. No idea if this treatment is going to work or not for us. It seems like a very long wait... It's all we ever do (all of us- wait and test, wait and test)...

Hi deafgal - I'm sorry about all the problems. Nothing's ever easy is it? I know just what you mean about the waiting. It really does suck. Fingers crossed that this treatment works better and in 4 weeks you'll be posting on here with some great news

 

[Deb111]

Great new Kendall - any progress is great!!

Ibm - definitely get a repeat SA done and make sure they centrifuge the sample. Even though some are dead, there may still be areas of the testes making perfectly healthy sperm

Deafgal - I can't remember what treatment your dh is on, but I know with Terry they put him on tamoxifen, which were great for his testosterone but also raised his oestrogen levels which cancelled some of the testosterone out. They put him on arimadex then which also raised his testosterone but didn't push his oestrogen up xx

 

[snd80]

Sorry girls, I am gonna throw a little fit....

My SIL just called and told me.... she's pg w/ #4! Really?! Now, grant it, she does know all the struggles we are having and we are close, but it's like OMG! Everyone around me lately is pg!

OK, rant over! On to the gym!

 

[lbm2009]

Hi deb111, we had two sa done, both were centrifuged one hand no sperms, the other had three. I have spoken to an ivf clinic and they have also suggested a urologist so ill call my husbands unhelpful idiot of a doctor who told us "you need ivf, go pay for it yourself" even though our pct offers 1 funded course.

Silver bell - I'm currently doing weight watchers, lost 1st 7 so far, should get this next stone off by may . I've tried slimming world but I always get stuck after a stone so weightwatchers works best for me.

 

[deafgal01]

Snd Rant away honey. We all have days like that. Hang in there- focus on losing that weight while you're waiting.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend. I know it could be better by getting bfps for all of us but that's not realistic- but hopefully soon we all will have a bfp.

Deb- how's your pregnancy going?

 

[wibble wobble]

Hey everyone just a quick check in to say hi. Hope everyone is doing ok.

Welcome to the newbies sorry you have to join us here though,it really does suck having a zero sperm count. It's good to be around people that know exactly how it feels so your less alone

It's my mums birthday today and mothers day tomorrow so I have plenty of gifts to spoil her with when I visit tomorrow. I've also bought my gran some flowers as she doesn't have any children anymore it must be so horrible to have out lived both your sons... I really don't know how she's managed to carry on.... I was thinking about it earlier and the worst thing I've ever had to do in my whole life is tell my gran that my dad had died, it's worse than suffering this long and tedious infertility journey. My gran is the most sweetest little old lady you could ever hope to meet and I destroyed her life one sunday afternoon... well cancer did!

Tomorrow is also the 1 year anniversary of the first ZERO sperm count... funny thing is now it doesn't seem like it's forever ago if that makes sense. I guess what I'm saying is that actually the years gone pretty quick even tho at some points it was dragging by so slowly that waiting for letters and appointments and operations was driving me crazy! I'm actually quite positive going into our appointment next tuesday now, I may have to wait a while for a donor match but everything else is done I'm good to go I just need that flag waving in front of me before I set off!!!!

 

[Deb111]

Pregnancy is going well thanks Deafgal - I'm exhausted like I've never known and seem to swing between constipation from the progesterone and the opposite from my IBS which has flared up since I've been pregnant so my stomach is often feeling horribly uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining; it's just not very pleasant especially when it's an area of my body so near to the baby, but I manage to be level headed about the discomfort (most of the time!) and not start thinking something's wrong.

Wibble - I'm glad you're feeling positive about things It can't be easy for your nan - bless her xx