Dealing with azoospermia?

[BrandyRelax]

They found 3 individual sperm, not vials (that would have been awesome). They did a biopsy, and did freeze the remaining tissue, so they can keep going through it. They didn't do a freeze/thaw test, perhaps because there were so few.

And the surgeon is going to see about some less proven meds he can put DH on. Given there is sperm there, although, quality is questionable, at least it's not maturation arrest, so they have to figure out how to improve the quality. We'll find out his suggestions on April 12th when we are there for the follow-up.

 

[Deb111]

Faali - welcome. You will get great support here.

Brandy - 3 is still 3 more than none we got 3 with nhs random biopsy. 2 normal and motile and one not moving like you if i remember our results correctly.

What are testoterone levels like?
Has dr mentioned what meds?
Would they use some of your eggs with dh's sperm and others with donor so you could at least use dhs small number without wasting eggs? I know they wont mix the 2 but may do separately?
Did they just do mtese on one side? What about next mtese - just left as they know they found some?

Google 'omega 3 and male fertility'. My hubby was on that prior to the mtese aswell as tamoxifen. It cant hurt x

 

[Deb111]

Duplicate

 

[MrsG30]

Girls/Boys
Can i ask? Weve come home to a letter for the urologist on 9th May, in the letter is states any SSR could take 6-9 month after the initial consultation?
in this time would they get me ready for IVF With a donor back up incase th SSr was a no go? or will there be mutliply things they will try before they get me ready?
My letter implies there expecting to find sperm and fresh sperm would need to be used therefore my bmi would need to be 30

Im confused at what is next.....

 

[Deb111]

I would say it depends on your clinic. Our nhs one wouldnt get me ready for ER at the same time as ssr because we didnt want a donor back up. When is your appt?

 

[rdleela]

Thanks! That makes sense now. Our specialist told DH that he should have both, but (understandably) he's not so eager to get the transrectal one (I guess that one is to check if there is a prostate issue). We haven't scheduled those yet....

Hey, ladies, yes, your DH's need both ultrasounds, scrotal and transrectal. The transrectal looks towards the prostate area. They need both in order to tell WHERE the blockage is - where it is will determine WHICH surgery your DH needs! Try to get both done ASAP - the transrectal in Alberta can only be done at a hospital with a Dr, so get your family doctor to order it ASAP, we had to wait almost 2 months for ours and it held up booking our surgery!

 

[AuCa]

Thanks for that info rdleela!
There's just always something that needs to be done which involves wait time, and nobody wants to order it, ugh. Out of some reason the first specialist (who ordered all the other tests) didn't want to order the ultrasounds yet (wanted to wait for results of genetic tests). And then of course DH doesn't have a family doc (yet), although I've been nagging him about it since a year.
I'll get on his case again today, hopefully he can get it booked asap (if not I might just ask our specialist if he would maybe change his mind...)

 

[BrandyRelax]

Faali - welcome. You will get great support here.

Brandy - 3 is still 3 more than none we got 3 with nhs random biopsy. 2 normal and motile and one not moving like you if i remember our results correctly.

What are testoterone levels like?
Has dr mentioned what meds?
Would they use some of your eggs with dh's sperm and others with donor so you could at least use dhs small number without wasting eggs? I know they wont mix the 2 but may do separately?
Did they just do mtese on one side? What about next mtese - just left as they know they found some?

Google 'omega 3 and male fertility'. My hubby was on that prior to the mtese aswell as tamoxifen. It cant hurt x

Deb - thanks for the reply, it really gives me hope. Were they able to do anything with the one that was not moving or did they just create 2 embryos with the moving ones?

His testosterone levels are in the normal range, definitely near the lower end, but clearly in the normla range.

The doctor didn't mention anything about meds because of his hormone levels so he just stayed on multi vitamin and folic acid, which is what the Urologist suggested now. He was on Omega 3's earlier, but it didn't change anything with the SA's, so he stopped taking them in January, but having done the google you suggested, I am kicking myself now - I didn't realize it made them more normal.

The Urologist is going to look into hormone therapy or something less proven since he knows there is sperm in there, and is just looking to improve the quality. We will find out what he suggests when we see him April 12th, but Dh is going for additional hormone testing in early April (a month or so after the surgery), so the Urologist has more updated and probably more detailed tests available to make a decision.

They said with a donor back-up, they just would use it if I had extra eggs and they had used up all of DH's sperm. It's not a big deal if we choose not to use Donor, but they just didn't want to waste the whole process, if we are okay with donor if DH's sperm won't work. We have to pay the $10K for IVF (since the only way they cover it, is if both my tubes were blocked). So because we're paying for it, they're okay with doing it, even if it doesn't result in pregnancy.

The mTESE this time, they explored both testicles and only found some on the left, so they'll only explore the left next time, since it's where they found sperm last time.

Brandy

 

[Deb111]

Brandy - the nhs destroyed our 3 sperm as they said their criteria for freezing is 100+. It was heartbreaking after the joy of finding 'some'. Thats why we went privately in the end. After tamoxifen and the mtese the private guy still only found 40ish.

What are your dhs fsh and lh levels like?

You might want to talk to your specialist about the impact on his already lowish testosterone levels. The more tissue they remove, the less ability there is to make testosterone so it can impact future health and mean trt. Just something to ask about so you are fully informed

Get dh back on the omega - youve got more than 3 months til next mtese

Im glad theyre being flexible about the donor back up. Its amazing how flexible people can be when youre the ones footing the bill

 

[BrandyRelax]

Brandy - the nhs destroyed our 3 sperm as they said their criteria for freezing is 100+. It was heartbreaking after the joy of finding 'some'. Thats why we went privately in the end. After tamoxifen and the mtese the private guy still only found 40ish.

What are your dhs fsh and lh levels like?

You might want to talk to your specialist about the impact on his already lowish testosterone levels. The more tissue they remove, the less ability there is to make testosterone so it can impact future health and mean trt. Just something to ask about so you are fully informed

Get dh back on the omega - youve got more than 3 months til next mtese

Im glad theyre being flexible about the donor back up. Its amazing how flexible people can be when youre the ones footing the bill

I had to dig through my old posts (back on Sept 5th) to find his FSH and LH, and it's 16 and 39, but I don't know which is which. The doctors say that his body recognizes that he's not producing sperm and is trying very hard to do so.

And it reminded me he was on CoQ10, not Omega 3... so that might be an option to try... definitely will mention it to the Urologist, to see how it would help whatever he is suggesting.

And of course... when I'm paying, they'll let me do whatever I want!!

Brandy

 

[Deb111]

I would think the higher is fsh and the lower lh. Those levels indicate primary testicular failure as they did in my hubby but you can never tell to what degree til surgery.As you say, the body is trying to fix it but the fsh can most likely still be pushed a little higher which could help production a bit as in our case. Ask about tamoxifen or anastrazole. I dont think it helps with abnormal sperm but as our urologust said - think of it like a factory - some production lines may be doing nothing, others might be making damaged goods, others might be stopping before the end of the line and some may be working fine. So MAYBE increase the number of sperm and find a few good ones?

 

[BrandyRelax]

I would think the higher is fsh and the lower lh. Those levels indicate primary testicular failure as they did in my hubby but you can never tell to what degree til surgery.As you say, the body is trying to fix it but the fsh can most likely still be pushed a little higher which could help production a bit as in our case. Ask about tamoxifen or anastrazole. I dont think it helps with abnormal sperm but as our urologust said - think of it like a factory - some production lines may be doing nothing, others might be making damaged goods, others might be stopping before the end of the line and some may be working fine. So MAYBE increase the number of sperm and find a few good ones?

I totally agree! I was hoping they would find enough to do IVF, but now I'm just happy that they found some, so that we can try again, and at least have some idea what is going on in there, and hopefully find a magic medication that will make them find some normal sperm on the next mTESE!

 

[MrsG30]

I would say it depends on your clinic. Our nhs one wouldnt get me ready for ER at the same time as ssr because we didnt want a donor back up. When is your appt?

Appt is exact 2 months today- From what I can make out from the letter, its the mtese that takes the time- the pesa/tese shouldnt be too much longer after the 1st app but it does state i would have to be IVF ready.
We are prepared to use a donor but a its a known donor he would need to get the ball rolling too as he has to go through the same process as any other donor

Guess the urologist guy will be able to answer this.

 

[Faali]

THAnk you so much everyone for your warm welcomes!
I feel so upset at times...sigh...but after reading so many sucess stories here,I am feeling more positive!
Our doctor has not prescribed any medicine/vitamins etc...and we have biopsy/TESE on april1!
I am so scared! Please do pray that we find at-least few sperms!
All the VERY best to each and everyone of you!! I am in the process of reading everyone's journey and I hope that someday we all will get our BFP!
xxx

 

[Izabela]

Hi Tulip. My DH has CF and he had sperm retrieval in November 11. They retrieve 6 ampules and the quality was good. His brother same condition and procedure has 3 lovely children, singleton and twins. All doing great.

I am not a carrier so the risks of a child with CF for us are relatively low. No issues with me. The hospital we use aims for 10 mature eggs, so quiet slow process and lower chances. The fertilization was always above 85%.

1st ICSI Feb 12; 1 embryo transfer day 5 BFN but ectopic. Tub removed at 7weeks and 3 days' blood test show normal pregnancy hormone' scan show tubal pregnancy with hearth bit. Full C section.
2nd ICSI July 12. Rushed still not recovered. 6 eggs retrieved. Only one transfered day 3. Hospital said high chances not prepared to put 2. BFN one frozen.

FET November 12 embryo did not expand BFN

3rd ICSI March 13. Waiting for 2 embryo transfer on Sunday day 5. Hope for luck.

Good luck with the retrievel and ICSI. All the best.

 

[AuCa]

THAnk you so much everyone for your warm welcomes!
I feel so upset at times...sigh...but after reading so many sucess stories here,I am feeling more positive!
Our doctor has not prescribed any medicine/vitamins etc...and we have biopsy/TESE on april1!
I am so scared! Please do pray that we find at-least few sperms!
All the VERY best to each and everyone of you!! I am in the process of reading everyone's journey and I hope that someday we all will get our BFP!
xxx

Hi Faali,

I think I forgot to welcome you yet
I wish you all the best for your TESE, hopefully they'll find something

 

[tulip11]

Hi Izabela good luck.. thanks

 

[Faali]

Thanks Auca! I just wish and pray that all of us find sperms eventually!
How long is the whole TESE procedure?i have read some people saying that it took hours and for some it was just about 30 min:/
xx

 

[tulip11]

Are there any side effects of sperms retrieval procedures later on tbh I am afraid of prostate probl3m ?

 

[Deb111]

Main thing i am aware of tulip is if they remove testicular tissue there is less there to produce testosterone. This is why they dont like to do too many procedures. Low test causes brittle bones so would need test replacement therapy if too low