Dealing with azoospermia?

[Deb111]

Oh April, I'm so sorry hun and to have the added problems with the anti-biotics too - I bet you're exhausted

When you get the pathology report through, I would definitely have a chat with Dr Turek - we haven't decided which way to go yet, but we had a totally free 10 minute conversation with him, which was really useful

Thinking of you both
Love and hugs
Deb xx

 

[Hopeful27yrs]

Our year started with reconsulting our urologist who's said we have a less than 2% chance of anything being retrieved at SSR and even less chance of any viable usable sperm *if* anything is found. DH had hormone tests repeated and they indicate what we suspected - that nothing is going on. We've decided to go to the LWC in July and start planning for IUI then.

 

[april4jdg]

i saw that Dr Turek had the 2nd opinion clinic- and it was like 700.00 I think... But a free 10 min conversation... FREE! sounds good! I just am at a loss right now... plus my flexible spending account at work is hasseling me about paying for Dh's biopsy... to the tune of 1,420.00 and I am like, give me a break!!!!!

 

[Deb111]

Go to the link and you fill in the form - we got an email reply within an hour, but may take longer with the weekend.

https://www.theturekclinic.com/male-fertility-consultation.html

Then we arranged a time and phoned at that time and were put through to Dr Turek. Obviously we had to pay for the phonecall, but it's worth a few £'s or $'s just to get his opinion.

No point doing it until you have pathology results though and useful to have any other blood test / ultra sound results in front of you if you have them xx

 

[Flake-y]

i saw that Dr Turek had the 2nd opinion clinic- and it was like 700.00 I think... But a free 10 min conversation... FREE! sounds good! I just am at a loss right now... plus my flexible spending account at work is hasseling me about paying for Dh's biopsy... to the tune of 1,420.00 and I am like, give me a break!!!!!

So sorry to hear the news April, hope DH is ok & recovering from his allergy too.

Sertoli Cell Only syndrome is what my DH has, this was only diagnosed once we had the pathology report though.

Hope you are ok.

 

[Nayla82]

Huge Hugs April

You have all been in my prayers. I hope and pray that you get answers very soon. My heart breaks for you dear. As Debs mentioned Dr Turk will only say its impossible when it really is! Im sure he will give 150% of his knowledge and expertise before he says explore other avenues.

I wish you all the best Hun and do keep us updated

 

[waitingginger]

Hi all!!

Just stopping by quickly to update you on our appointment at the fertility clinic this morning!

Well we met with Doctor Sajjad at St Marys hospital had to have some blood testes repeated and another sperm analysis because it was done back in April and we have been messed around and she doesnt have all the results that she would need but she said the bloods she did may point towards a problem with the paturity gland not releasing hormones properlly to the testicles and that injections may help! she cant give us anymore info until all bood test results are back but she did say it isnt a genetic condition as has XY chromosones as expected.
So we arent any further on but the fact she is saying about hormone levels and injections and things has given me so much hope that maybe there is something they can do. as i have been sitting here for months thinking there isnt any hope and we will have to use a donor.

W has to give in his next SA on 28th Jan and he has to go and produce it at the fertility clinic so that if any sperms do turn up they can freeze them!!! We made another appointment to se Dr Sajjad too but the receptionist said the next available one was 27th July!!! we booked it but she said we may get sent another appointment for before july!!

She really knew her stuff and is very very academic but very knowledgable. wish we would of been reffered correctly in the first place as if we had seen her first like we were suppossed to we would of been so much further down the line!!! she said still another 12-18 months from this point!!

I know your IVF is planned soon Jo!! hope its all going ok!!
x x

 

[Step Mummy]

Hi ladies, I hope you are all well, and struggling on!

You may remember me, it is sometime since I last joined in, I am the one whose DH had the SSR and got the infection.

I would absolutely love to be thinking about donors and babies, but unfortuantely we have been to hell and are still there! DH's infection got worse and worse, the doctors have ignored us, would not refer us back to the specialist who did the op, I had to do this myself in the end. basically the infection turned the testicle huge - as big as all that baggy skin could allow, then it burst at the start of Dec - it turned into an abscess!! how did the doctors not see this - god only knows! We should have been referred back for scans etc a long time ago.

DH cannot walk far, cannot do any excercise, feels rough from the drugs, has to change a dressing down there every 3 hours, we have no life at the moment, he is only just managing to go to work as he is office and car based.

Finally we got back to see the specialist who was horrified he had been left and the doctors had told us to stay away from the hospital and A&E, he could not believe it. DH is now on a final 2 week course of antibiotics and if this doesn't show an improvement then he has to have a serious op which could result in losing the testicle.

All i can say to anyone who is considering an op - ask what to expect, what to look for when things go wrong, listen to your own intuition and go to A&E, don't be put off by the doctors telling you not to. at one stage I spoke to a doctor or NHS Direct Doctor twice a day for a week and they all said try and stay at home away from the doctor until your referral with the specialist which was a week away. He could not even get up for a wee and was peeing n a bottle, his ball was massive and as a result it popped (and then he could then not move so we couldn't get to A&E, so i called NHS direct again, and still they tell you to stay out of hospital, at that stage i should have called an ambulance).

I hope someone can learn from our expeirence, the main problem was no doctor really knew what they were dealing with as this is a new proceedure, also our first and only meeting with the specialist was 10 mins, thats not enough to discuss the proceedure and how to look after it afterwards and what to expect, we had never had ops before so had not idea what happens with swelling etc. When I collected him from hospital the nurses gave us paracetamol and ibuprophen and no dressings or instructions, as again they don't have the time. So you need to make sure you take the time.

All in all we have discussed donors and after all of this this is what we will do, but first we would like our lives back, for DH to be healthy off painkillers, no longer having a hole in his ball that is constantly pussing and just to be happy again, all before we take the next rollercoasting of trying to get pregnant! I think we deserve to have a holiday too (we have had to cancel two now - I booked a holiday each time it seemed he was getting better - but this time I will wait until he has been recovered for a month!)

I hope this helps someone make an informed decision! I don't wish to be the voice of doom, but if no-one tells their story then no-one can learn from it!

Good luck to all, I will try to access the site a little more now,
best wishesXXX

 

[waitingginger]

Oh my god step mummy!!! i cant believe all of that has happened! your poor hubby!!! i hope he is finally getting on the mend and getting lots of special attention after all of that!! x x x x

 

[Deb111]

Waiting ginger - Your FS sounds great! I'm impressed that they're getting hubby to do his next sample somewhere that they can freeze anything they find - very good planning. I'm also really interested to read about the hormone thing as my hubby has low testoserone and also underactive thyroid. I'd be grateful for any info regarding this as and when you get it

Step mummy - so sorry that this has all been such a nightmare for you but hope that hubby is now finally on the mend and that you can get that well deserved holiday

xx

 

[Pink Lolly]

Hi All

Just popping in to say hello! It seems like loads has been happening already this year!

Flakey - how is your IVF going? You must be so excited to be finally starting it! Fingers crossed for you hun xxx

Waiting Ginger - Glad that you have finally seen someone who can help you, sounds like it was a positive appointment for you!

April - so sorry to hear your news. I hope you and DH are hanging in there.

Step Mummy - So sorry to hear of the trauma you have been through and thank you for sharing your story. I think we are all in the unknown and the more clued up we are on the good and bad sides the better. Lots of love to your poor DH X

We have our appointment this Thursday so will pop by again and let you know how we get on.

Lots of love to you all xxx

 

[Flake-y]

Omg stepmummy, your poor hubby! Glad he had finally seen the specialist & is on he mend. Y'know when we left the hospital we were also given no care instructions, what to expect etc, I had to phone to find out when DH was to take his dressing off!

Hope you manage to get a holiday soon!

 

[waitingginger]

Hi Everyone

Just a quick update from me. We have had a letter from our appoinment last week with the results of the blood tests on. OH wouldnt read ti word for word over the phone so only have the info he has remembered which goes along the line of 'Testosterone normal' 'FSH and LH inappropriatley low' the Dr reccomends we dont have a the SSR and has reffered to see another Dr. someone called Dr Woo i dont know what they do might need to ring up if the letter doesnt expand.
From my understanding i think that is fairly good news as sounds like it is a hormone inbalance and i am sure she said if this was the scenario she would look at the injections. We are now wondering if when OH fractured his skull when he was a child and was on a life support machine has done something to his paturity gland which controls these hormones as oen of the questions the doctors alwasy ask is have you had any head injuries.

Anyway enough of my ramblings i am off to do some googling lol!

Hope you are well! atleast we half way through the week!!
Much love

 

[waitingginger]

Sorry mean to post this in my journal now i cant see how to delet it!!!

Hormone imbalance
Unlike the woman, hormone imbalances in the man are not a common cause of fertility problems . These problems can stem from organs as far apart as the brain or the testicles, and can show up in blood tests. They can arise because of:

Head injury
A tumour in the pituitary gland at the base of your brain
A tumor in the adrenal gland, above the kidneys.
Malfunctioning of the pituitary gland
Cirrhosis of the liver
Conditions present from birth, such as and Klinefelter's syndrome (47, XXY syndrome)
A thyroid problem
One problem is that of hyperprolactinaemia (a high prolactin level). This is usually caused by a pituitary malfunction or tumour; and can be detected by a blood test. Patients with hyperprolactinemia often also have decreased libido and may be impotent. Treatment with bromocryptine to suppress the high prolactin levels is highly successful in achieving pregnancy.

Another problem is that of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (poor function of the testes because of inadequate stimulation of the testes by the gonadotropic hormones, FSH and LH produced by the pituitary). Most hypogonadotropic patients are hypogonadal - that is, they have low levels of the male hormone, testosterone. This means they have poorly developed secondary sexual characters ; an effeminate appearance; scanty hair; decreased libido , and small flabby testes. This can be confirmed by blood tests which show low levels of FSH and LH. This can be treated by replacement therapy with the gonadotropin hormones - HCG and HMG. These are expensive injections and a fairly long course of treatment is needed for them to work , but they are effective in enhancing sperm production in these men.

Well we can rule out the hypogondal part because W has normal testosterone and is defo not 'effeminate' ha ha he is so muscly and covered in body hair. hope we see the doctor soon!!

 

[Deb111]

Linzie - we NEED to see a bump pic of your eggplant!!!! xx

 

[Flake-y]

Linzie - we NEED to see a bump pic of your eggplant!!!! xx

I was thinking the same thing!!!

 

[loobylou_01]

LOL! i will try! am off work this week and nothing doing tomorrow so i will make it my aim of the day!! i am rubbish!! xx

 

[Nayla82]

Hi All

Waiting Ginger oh thats excellent news!! im so made up for you. Hopefully with the right drugs and getting everything balanced he will be able to produce some good healthy sperms for ICSI!

Jo- your definitely in my prayers really looking forward for your , Your really deserve it after all that you have been through

AFM It has been the craziest 5 weeks off my life, From finding our my husband has zero sperms to a couple of sperms, Now I have been told that i can start my treatment ICSI at the start of feb which is just over 10 days away!
Im really am so confused/excited/nervous etc etc as were still waiting to see has the Clomid increased his count to a decent number??

The FS is 100% informed of where we are with the Urologist and said it should not be a problem what so ever and wants to prepare my body in Feb all ready for Marchs Cycle?? Again my husband feels the same as me not sure whether we go ahead and wish for the best or get our fears ironed out...

Were going on Monday to chat to the Urologist tell him is it worth preparing my body in Feb for Marchs cycle or should we wait?? I will be elated if he says we can go ahead with the treatment, the thought of him saying yes really brings tears to my eyes but we definitely need to know ASAP as the FS wants me to take blood test when my period comes, again thats only 10 or 11 days away

I will keep you all updated, it just seems the rollarcoster has already started before the treatment!

I so wish that Happiness will hit me again...

Lots of love and luck to everyone else in here, and Looby lou wow not long left for you Hun hope pregnancy is a smooth ride xx

 

[Pink Lolly]

Hi All,

Just an update as we had our appt with the consultant today....here is what happened.

First of all they asked us both some questions and checked our eligibility for funding etc. Then she said I will need to have an internal scan on Day 10/12 of my next cycle to check my uterus and ovaries- they would have done it today but I'm too far on in this cycle so I have to ring them next time the arrives to book it in for next cycle! For once I can't wait for the , should be here next week so scan in about 3 weeks!!

They checked through my blood results sent by my GP and said they all look good but they have taken some more today as there were a couple of other things they needed to check for - AMH (ovarian reserve), Rubella and Chlamydia antibodies (that could indicate blocked tubes). However, they did say they're not anticipating any problems as we have an obvious reason already with DH - but they have to check everything.

As for DH....his blood test results were there but his GP only tested for Testorerone which came back normal, not LH or FSH. The nurse took some more blood today to check his LH and FSH levels too. They have also sent another blood sample away for the Genetic side of things and the results will be back in 3/4 weeks for that. I am not really sure what this is though, although she did explain I can't remember!

DH also needs to be examined which he is dreading - I would have preferred it if they did that today to get it done and out of the way because he will be worrying about it now! But that is going to be with a different consultant. They said they would request that now and the appt will prob come through for March and by then all of our results will be there and we can then discuss the way forward at the same time!

All in all I feel like it went really well, they were all so lovely at the clinic and I'm happy that things are moving forward.

I'm also glad to see your good news Ginger - its fantastic that they are going to look at injections for DH! Fingers crossed for you!

Nayla - very pleased to see that things are also moving on for you! That is so quick which is great because the waiting is the worst bit of it all. Will your DH be having an SSR or are they hoping the chlomid will have worked by then?


Sorry for such and long post and thank you to you all! When the consultant was talking to us today I was so familiar with the tests and terms etc already because I have learned so much on here and it is so good to feel well informed. to you all xx

 

[Flake-y]

Glad things are going well pinklolly! Hope your DH survives his examination...not the nicest thing but has to be done!!!