Dealing with azoospermia?

[Arimas]

BettiS- My DH had to do SAs monthly until they did his TESE, first a biopsy to see if they find sperm, and the second when we had the sperm tissue extracted to use for IVF.

I guess you can wait the three months, but did they give him anything to take medicine/vitamins to help with sperm production?

 

[tigerlily1975]

Well hello girls

DH's urologist visit was yesterday.

The doctor did a scrotal exam and could find nothing out of the ordinary; testicular size and prostate are fine.

He also did a doppler test and couldn't find anything wrong.

They took some blood and did all the necessary testing and the doc just phoned him and said that his bloodwork had all come back 100% normal. EDIT: Doctor phoned me later the same day and said that his TESTOSTERONE was normal but his LH and FSH were both slightly elevated.

He didn't do a follow-up semen analysis, he wants DH to go for that in December (3 months after previous one - that means new sperm production before then, if there is any production taking place).

He also tested DH's urine and could find nothing wrong there, and no sperm in it.

I had thought that there would be a sign from the blood tests of what was wrong, but now everything has come back normal. What is causing the problem then?

The doc said that microsurgery to fix possible problems with his vas deferens would likely be ineffective and an unnecessary expense and that most likely we would have to do TESE and ICSI anyway. Could there have been any other signs of vas deferens problems in the tests done?

I'm confused

Hi BettiS

Just wanted to say that all my DH's blood work came back normal (slightly raised FSH, but still within normal range), so we still don't know to this day what caused the Azoo.

It's one of those really annoying conditions where everyone seems to have different results and different outcomes. You will get there, though

C xx

 

[BettiS]

Hey!

Nope, no vitamins or supplements were even mentioned. Think once we visit the FS maybe he will have suggestions and instructions.

One ray of light is that the fertility clinic we are being referred to only has a 2 week waiting period for an appointment, so we can be helped quickly.. Bad news is that theyr TESE prices are a bit higher than other quotes I have gotten.

Lol TMI but it's like DH is a rabbit since his diagnosis. He cannot leave me alone! Guess it's because the pressure is off now?

 

[Arimas]

Yea maybe the FS will be more informative as to what you need to do now.

Thats good its only a two week waiting window

Hopefully the TESE will be a one time thing and you can pay it off quickly, ask if you can be on a payment plan to pay over a time period.

 

[Deb111]

BettiS - a slightly raised fsh and lh indicate some degree of testicular failure but it also means that his body has recognised there is a problem and is trying to fix it. It potentially means, as in my hubbys case, that meds such as tamoxifen or anastrazole may help to push the fsh and lh even higher in order to drive sperm production. In my hubbys case, his testosterone was low too

 

[BettiS]

Thanks girls. Of course, I hope that meds will help, especially hoping that if there isn't sperm yet, that the doc will prescribe meds to help produce some, even if they don't come out.

Really emotional today since my class of matriculants had their last day today and I've been teaching them for 5 consecutive years. Feels like my own children are leaving me

 

[rdleela]

Hi, everyone! I've been quiet because DH has just been recovering from his surgery. Yesterday he was 22 days past surgery, and I really, really wanted him to wait another week to have sex, BUT he convinced me yesterday, lol. He was wanting to for the past week but was holding off. Really, only the first two weeks post surgery were awful, and he said everything felt fine when we did it, no pain! So, we didn't wait as long as I wanted to, but the fact that he's feeling so good makes me feel ok about it all.

So anyone wondering about surgery to repair a blockage on their DH, please PM me or read my journal, link below.

We bought our own microscope, so I think soon we'll try scoping to see if we've got anything, although with my DH's surgery, it's highly unlikely to see any swimmers at the beginning, it takes at least a few months post surgery due to the time it takes for the swelling to go down in those tiny, little tubes!

We have decided that if by February we don't see any swimmers, we will be scheduling IVF/ICSI for July. (I don't want to get preggo in March, April, May or June, for multiple reasons.) I turn 34 in May, so yeah, really want to get the show on the road!

 

[BettiS]

Lol rdleela I really love your pic!

AFM...I keep on wondering if it wouldn't be worth it to go for a follow-up SA sooner than December. Problem is that it's so frickin' expensive! I'm just so scared that it will turn out to have been a "misfire" (sorry for the weird terminology, haha).

Will just try to hold out for another month and then go. Might try to get the appointment with the FS around then and then maybe he will send DH for a SA again.

 

[CanadianMaple]

Deb- Can you update the front page to say my dIUI cycle was canceled on cd13 and we now have to move on to injectables or IVF. Waiting for an appointment to see the RE for a new plan.

 

[WannabemomRN]

Is anyone willing to relay the emotions their DH's went through after being Dx with azoo? Mine was silent after 1st SA, slightly angry after the urologist (which blood work showed a FSH of 36) but physical exam was normal, next SA scheduled for Monday. He has been bitter and angry towards me this week. Out of nowhere asking what I would do if he didn't go through with all of the testing. So adding to my already frayed nerves is this mean DH. I'm trying to keep my chin up, but this man is testing my wits all of a sudden. I want a baby more than anything, but not at the cost of my marriage

 

[Stinas]

WannabemomRN - Im really sorry dh was diagnosed with azoo. It is a true test to marriage I can tell you that. The emotions he is going through is normal. There are a lot more to come so tell him to prepare himself and not to put his anger towards you because it wont change the diagnoses. Every azoo is different and has different outcomes. You can see just by reading the front page or through some of them.
Once you diagnosed, it is all about anger, so try to be patient because its a big thing for a male(us too but men are babies and react differently than we do lol)
I wish you the best of luck and know that all us azoo ladies are all here for one another!!!

CM - Its never ending for you! Im sorry....I hope you find your answers soon! Lots of hugs to you!

Deb - I am officially PUPO! We transfered one frozen embryo this am!! It thawed nicely. They rate them differently for frozen he said....out of 100% ours was 70% which he is is not that great, but it was showing expansion and growing at a good rate. I thought that was great! I was waiting for the call saying it was not alive. I kept thinking of your story and it gave me a ton of hope! Thank you!

 

[Deb111]

Fab news stinas!
We were told anything over 50% is fine for transfer - seemed bizarre to us but 70% isnt bad at all and the fact its re- expanding well is great news.

So sorry about your news CM hope youre doing ok x

I will update you both on the front page when i get on the computer

 

[deafgal01]

Mine was silent. He did not get angry with the diagonsis - it's more of "being angry won't change anything so no point in wasting energy on that" for my dh so he dealt with it different than I did but he did cry once and needed extra support from me cuz it made him feel less of a man but once I assured him of my love and that it does not make him less of a man, we were able to move beyond that and look into treatment options. I'm sure he has his moments like I do when he feels like life is not being fair.

 

[BumpHopes]

For mine, he was really angry hurt and upset. He thought he let me down and his family down and that him on his own wasnt enough for me. He was angry and we did row because he had to vent, and i just let him. Its taking me a long time to believe me when i say he is enough, hasnt let anyone down. The most important thing to me is him. I think that is my fault in part, i went to crazy baby lady when we was trying for so long. Bt we are more chilled out now. I think you need to give him time. Chose next step when ready but everyone is different and i know every Azoo is different and couples treat it differently. I just reassured all the way im not going anywhere and we talked about everything, giving up, trying tese and donor IVF.

Good luck Stinas. I dont know much about these things but 70% sounds pretty good right? How you feeling?

 

[Stinas]

Bump - I know I thought it sounded pretty good to me! Heck, im just happy it survived the thaw. We had a perfect hatching embryo the first time and it didnt work, so I can care less about percentages now. I feel fine....PIO is killing me and had a splitting headache today(prob not related)....other than that, FET's are sooo much easier!

 

[Pink Lolly]

Hi Girls,

I know most of you know Deb, so thought I'd stop by to say you might like to visit her journal

Deb - I hope you don't mind when you see this xxxx

 

[WannabemomRN]

Thanks!

 

[deafgal01]

How is everyone holding up in their journeys?

 

[BettiS]

Hi girls

Just wanted to let you know that my OBGYN FINALLY called to ask if I wanted a referral to a FS. He said his receptionist would be calling me by Friday to go and fetch it at his office. Once I have it I will give the FS a call and make an appointment. I corresponded with the clinic by e-mail and they said that from the date of the call, the appointment should be around 2 weeks later.

So here we go on our crazy ride...

 

[deafgal01]

Yay Betti!!!