Dealing with azoospermia?

[MrsC8776]

deafgal~ You should take as long as you want to tell other people. Honestly we haven't told any family about what we are doing. They know we are trying but they don't know the whole story. It's our business and we want to keep it that way for right now.

SunUp~ I hope your IUI went well today. Fingers crossed for you this month. Good luck in the 2ww. It's always the worst for me.

MoBaby~ I know I have already replied to you about your surgery but I just wanted to send you some

Deb~ That is so exciting! Not much longer now.

cosita~ I don't know much about the results you are asking about but I'm glad the ones you have look good.

Ladies who are doing IUI... Is there anything you are doing to help your odds? I know this is a common question but I'm wondering if I should do anything besides just take the clomid.

 

[Stinas]

Sunup -

MoBaby - wow...you have a lot going on, but its better they found and took care of all of this now rather than later. IVF is not too far away! yay!

cosita - You should never feel bad for wanting a little break. Its overwhelming a lot of the time....we all need it from time to time. Everyone is more than happy to help each other even if they pop in and out.

 

[Step Mummy]

Hi Ladies,
I guess it is time I joined this thread....
My husband & I have been TTC for a year now. He had testicular cancer in his early 30's. We finally sought help from a FS after his initial SA showed what we were initially told were very few sperm....but we were under the impression that there were at least some... (the analysis was done at our local small town hospital)...We have since done two more SA at the FS office and now we are shocked to learn that he has NO sperm...mind you that we were told the results after driving 2 hours to the office for our follow up to find out when I needed to start meds for IVF w/ ICSi. We had NO idea this is what we were going to hear.
To say we are devastated is an understatement. The FS basically said our only option is donor sperm.
Now reading through this thread, I'm wondering if an appointment with his urologist might be in order? Could he maybe have sperm somewhere that a doctor can access them???

Hi Chick, I am so sorry, I know exactly how you feel, we also found out 2 1/2years ago that we had no sperm at all coming out, we had the SSR (Surgical Sperm Retrieval) op in which they operate by cutting into the testicals and take out tissue which can contain the sperm, unforunately for us this was not a sucess, but for many it is. We are doing donor sperm IUI now.

However I do not know if the op is a possibility for you, as for us there was no reason, through all of the tests, why DH was not producing any sperm and he had a son who is now 20, so it was possible for us that they would find some.

I really know what a tough time this is for you and I am so sorry to hear you are in the same position a I am, no-one can really understand how much you have to greive for the loss of your DH's baby. I can only suggest that you both take up the offer of councilling and take the time to talk to each other. It took me many months to deal with it before I could even consider looking at donors, on the otherside many people can just get on with it straight away, everyone deals with things differently. The only thing I can say now is that I wished I had just got on with things sooner, as I would not still be messing around and dealing with everything now.

GL xx

 

[Deb111]

Quick update girls - looks like we're 'probably' team NHS scan was not great and neither was the sonographer

 

[tigerlily1975]

Quick update girls - looks like we're 'probably' team NHS scan was not great and neither was the sonographer

Aww, that's wonderful! How exciting.. you can buy all those cute little dresses! I had an inkling you were going to have a gorgeous girl!



C xx

 

[SunUp]

Deb... Sorry your not 100% sure, but team pink is AWESOME! So excited for you!

AFM, IUI2 didn't go so well, as I have felt terrible ever since So, I think I am out this time... :/

 

[tigerlily1975]

Sun: Big on their way to you. Are you sure?

C xx

 

[tigerlily1975]

oh okay...darn, im starting to rack in the points then! myomectomy, uricornuate uterus, ivf/icsi, history of miscarriage. hmm what else can i thrown in lol. all of ths discovered/happened whilist doing ivf!

Aww, Mo blimey, you've been through a lot in a very short space of time. I hope you're continuing to recover well and as Deafgal said, at least it means you'll get special treatment when you are pregnant.



C xx

 

[esuzanne]

I too, feel bad as it seems I only post about myself and asking for your help. There is alot going on with everyone and that is wodnerful to see, even if there are some bumps along the way. Can you ladies imagine if this were 12 years ago? Our options would have been very limited! Thank goodness for technology...sometimes haha

Deb--a sweet little girl!! Soo exciting! And how exciting that you were able to feel her! I will continue to think of you and hope for smooth sailing the rest of the way!!

Chick & Hopeful--Welcome! Sorry that you find yourself here...but I am slightly new and these ladies are absolutely wonderful!!! It is amazing to know there are so many people out there going through this as well! Good luck to you and keep us all updated!!

 

[esuzanne]

So at the urologist appt they took blood and now come to find out, the lab messed up and only ran the test for testosterone!! Grrrr! So he went in today for more blood and hopefully we will know the results by Friday. I was hoping we would find out before the biopsy next week in case it will change that. His testosterone was 383.7....I have read online that the range starts somewhere at 290 and goes up. You know with the wonderful internet, I also read that even if they are in the 300s it is still not good. Any ideas?

I mean I guess we should go ahead with the biopsy and if it turns out he just needs testosterone treatment, that would be great! What do you think?!

 

[tigerlily1975]

Hi esuzanne

Ah, how annoying! Hopefully they'll have the results before your appointment. I used to work in a Pathology department & most blood tests can be run in a day & the results go straight onto the computer system, it's generally getting the letters out that takes time!

My DH's bloods all came back normal, aside from a slightly raised FSH, so we still don't know to this day what the cause of the Azoo is. Which meant that our only option was to go for the surgery. I think some ladies OH's on here had low testosterone and they were treated for that (I'm looking towards our fountain of knowledge Deb here!), so hopefully someone more informed (that's all of you!) will be able to offer some advice.

Good luck!



C xx

 

[snd80]

Deb- Team pink!!! How exciting!!! Little girls are so much fun, and allllllll the cutesy stuff for them!!! But whatever it is, as long as it's healthy, who cares!!!

 

[esuzanne]

Ok soo...DH just let me know that the nurse from Urologist called and said that his FSH and LH were high, while prolactin was normal. She said that the dr will give him a call tomorrow to explain. ??????

 

[Deb111]

Suzanne - I'm not sure what the testosterone level would be over here - we measure it differently - my hubby's was 4 ish - normal is 8 and above

in terms of the raised FSH and LH - make sure you ask the actual figures. If it is raised, it means that his body knows there's a problem and is trying to fix it. Usually means there isn't a blockage. If it's not too high and his testosterone is low, they may be able to try something like anastrazole or tamoxifen

 

[Sar187]

Whew I think I just made it through over 50 pages of posts in order to catch up.

Sorry I haven't been on to update lately but with trying to get the house ready for this baby, getting my gardens ready and planted to hopefully help make some extra money this year and everything else we have going on, I haven't been finding the time to sit down at the computer a whole lot.

I'd like to welcome all the new ladies, even though this isn't a place anyone really wants to be it is a great group with tons of great information!

Deb-So glad to hear things are going well for you. Those first flutters are just so amazing! You will be amazed at how fast they turn into big kicks!

LuckDragon-Congrats on the BFP! So happy for you!

rdleela- I know that many many pages back you were asking about others with blockages. My DH actually has a blockage that was caused by 2 separate hernia surgeries one at 5 months and one at 4 years old. We were told that in his case because the scar tissue would be located so high up on the vas deferens that corrective/bypass surgery would have less than 5% chance of working to allow enough sperm to pass through for a natural conception, I think it was a little over 15% chance of it working to allow some sperm but not enough for natural conception. We were told that most likely even if the surgery worked to allow some sperm we would still have to do IVF/ICSI we would just be bypassing the TESE surgery. However with the TESE surgery we were given an 85% chance of retrieving usable sperm. We decided financially and statistically we would be better off to forget the corrective/bypass surgery and go straight to the TESE. They were able to find sperm and used 1 vial for that fresh IVF/ICSI cycle(failure) and froze another 6. We used one of the frozen vials for our 2nd IVF/ICSI cycle(success) so now have 5 left.

Those of you ladies doing IUI or IVF with failed cycles, I'm so sorry and praying for good news for you soon! Failed cycles are tough and no matter what you question yourself but know that there is nothing you are doing wrong!

So glad to hear so many ladies moving along in the process and making some good progress!

AFM-I'm almost 29 weeks along now and things are still going really well. My biggest issue right now is heartburn no matter what I eat, and tums have become my best friend. I'm also having issues with sleeping well but experimenting with pillows seems to be doing the trick. I passed my gestational diabetes test and bloodwork came back normal except for slightly low iron levels. They put me on an iron supplement and told me it was nothing to worry about. We chose not to find out the sex, but Baby M is extremely active and pretty much any time I'm not moving it is. DH loves watching my belly move as the baby wiggles and kicks.

We actually have an appointment tomorrow to be screened for a possible home birth with a Certified Nurse Midwife, so may be transferring providers. The nursery is coming along and we have actually started putting stuff in there. A close friend, my cousin and my future SIL are also planning a shower for me next weekend on the 23rd so I am looking forward to that.

Sorry to those of you that I missed, hoping that things are going well!

 

[Deb111]

Sar - it's lovely to hear form you and I'm so glad things are going so well

 

[tigerlily1975]

Hey Sar

Wow, 29 weeks!! That's fantastic! It's good to hear all is going well and I hope you're able to have the home birth. One of my friends had her second child at home and said it was wonderful.



C xx

 

[MrsC8776]

Quick update girls - looks like we're 'probably' team NHS scan was not great and neither was the sonographer

Thats so exciting! Yay for team pink! Will they do another just to be sure?

Deb... Sorry your not 100% sure, but team pink is AWESOME! So excited for you!

AFM, IUI2 didn't go so well, as I have felt terrible ever since So, I think I am out this time... :/

I'm sorry that your IUI didn't go well.

So at the urologist appt they took blood and now come to find out, the lab messed up and only ran the test for testosterone!! Grrrr! So he went in today for more blood and hopefully we will know the results by Friday. I was hoping we would find out before the biopsy next week in case it will change that. His testosterone was 383.7....I have read online that the range starts somewhere at 290 and goes up. You know with the wonderful internet, I also read that even if they are in the 300s it is still not good. Any ideas?

I mean I guess we should go ahead with the biopsy and if it turns out he just needs testosterone treatment, that would be great! What do you think?!

Fingers crossed they get the results before your appt.

Whew I think I just made it through over 50 pages of posts in order to catch up.

Sorry I haven't been on to update lately but with trying to get the house ready for this baby, getting my gardens ready and planted to hopefully help make some extra money this year and everything else we have going on, I haven't been finding the time to sit down at the computer a whole lot.

I'd like to welcome all the new ladies, even though this isn't a place anyone really wants to be it is a great group with tons of great information!

Deb-So glad to hear things are going well for you. Those first flutters are just so amazing! You will be amazed at how fast they turn into big kicks!

LuckDragon-Congrats on the BFP! So happy for you!

rdleela- I know that many many pages back you were asking about others with blockages. My DH actually has a blockage that was caused by 2 separate hernia surgeries one at 5 months and one at 4 years old. We were told that in his case because the scar tissue would be located so high up on the vas deferens that corrective/bypass surgery would have less than 5% chance of working to allow enough sperm to pass through for a natural conception, I think it was a little over 15% chance of it working to allow some sperm but not enough for natural conception. We were told that most likely even if the surgery worked to allow some sperm we would still have to do IVF/ICSI we would just be bypassing the TESE surgery. However with the TESE surgery we were given an 85% chance of retrieving usable sperm. We decided financially and statistically we would be better off to forget the corrective/bypass surgery and go straight to the TESE. They were able to find sperm and used 1 vial for that fresh IVF/ICSI cycle(failure) and froze another 6. We used one of the frozen vials for our 2nd IVF/ICSI cycle(success) so now have 5 left.

Those of you ladies doing IUI or IVF with failed cycles, I'm so sorry and praying for good news for you soon! Failed cycles are tough and no matter what you question yourself but know that there is nothing you are doing wrong!

So glad to hear so many ladies moving along in the process and making some good progress!

AFM-I'm almost 29 weeks along now and things are still going really well. My biggest issue right now is heartburn no matter what I eat, and tums have become my best friend. I'm also having issues with sleeping well but experimenting with pillows seems to be doing the trick. I passed my gestational diabetes test and bloodwork came back normal except for slightly low iron levels. They put me on an iron supplement and told me it was nothing to worry about. We chose not to find out the sex, but Baby M is extremely active and pretty much any time I'm not moving it is. DH loves watching my belly move as the baby wiggles and kicks.

We actually have an appointment tomorrow to be screened for a possible home birth with a Certified Nurse Midwife, so may be transferring providers. The nursery is coming along and we have actually started putting stuff in there. A close friend, my cousin and my future SIL are also planning a shower for me next weekend on the 23rd so I am looking forward to that.

Sorry to those of you that I missed, hoping that things are going well!

Just wanted to say congrats I'm kinda new in here so I think I missed your news back when you found out.

 

[raelynn]

Deb - Team pink is great!! How sweet Sorry the sono wasn't great

SunUp - Praying that you'll start feeling better and this IUI will be a surprise success!

AFM - I had my baseline ultrasound and blood work this morning. Everything came back normal. My RE said my ovaries were looking 'happy' so I'm all set to start stims on Saturday. My meds were delivered today to but the Lupron trigger is mysteriously missing. That is kind of important... Left a message for my nurse tonight to see if it was even sent in the prescription and if it was I'll have to get on the phone and fight with the insurance pharmacy to fill it. Grr

 

[rdleela]

rdleela- I know that many many pages back you were asking about others with blockages. My DH actually has a blockage that was caused by 2 separate hernia surgeries one at 5 months and one at 4 years old. We were told that in his case because the scar tissue would be located so high up on the vas deferens that corrective/bypass surgery would have less than 5% chance of working to allow enough sperm to pass through for a natural conception, I think it was a little over 15% chance of it working to allow some sperm but not enough for natural conception. We were told that most likely even if the surgery worked to allow some sperm we would still have to do IVF/ICSI we would just be bypassing the TESE surgery. However with the TESE surgery we were given an 85% chance of retrieving usable sperm. We decided financially and statistically we would be better off to forget the corrective/bypass surgery and go straight to the TESE. They were able to find sperm and used 1 vial for that fresh IVF/ICSI cycle(failure) and froze another 6. We used one of the frozen vials for our 2nd IVF/ICSI cycle(success) so now have 5 left.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Sar! I am so happy to hear that IVF/ICSI worked for you guys! Congrats!

I've read a few different research reports on the vasoepididymostomy (VE) micro-surgery my DH is having (they are going to attach the vas defrens directly to the epididymus), and the success rates are very similar to IVF/ICSI. And our surgeon also believes our chances for a natural conception after surgery are comparable to IVF/ICSI. And it's free and IVF/ICSI isn't! lol