Dealing with azoospermia?

[Deb111]

Thanks Maria. We couldn't book our appt until we had the blood test results so I will get onto it tomorrow. It would be wonderful to finally find that missing piece of the jigsaw and to be able to treat it. Trying not to get too excited just yet though ...

 

[Deb111]

Hi girls

Just been doing some research into hubby's high prolactin levels and how it could be affecting our TTC issues.

I thought I'd post some of the info I've found here in case it is of use to anyone else at any point in their journeys


Men can also have high prolactin levels. Typically, these men have azoospermia , decreased libido and erectile dysfunction. While this is not common, if diagnosed properly, it can be very effectively treated with medications !

The hormone prolactin is generally only thought of as a factor in female infertility, but in fact, prolactin also plays a role in male fertility. If you are suffering from male infertility, you may want to investigate prolactin in order to find out if it may be affecting your reproductive capabilities.

Prolactin is a hormone that is secreted by both men and women. It is released by your pituitary gland, an organ responsible for regulating many of your body’s functions, including reproduction. The pituitary gland is a small, bean-shaped organ located in the middle of your brain. Your pituitary gland releases prolactin on a daily basis, both in the morning and throughout the night. Certain activities like sexual intercourse and exercise also cause your pituitary gland to release prolactin.

Hormones Regulating ProlactinProlactin is actually regulated by other hormones that your body produces. These include:

• dopamine (which blocks prolactin)
• serotonin ( which triggers prolactin release)
• thyroid-producing hormone (which also triggers prolactin)

Effects on Male Fertility
Like prolactin infertility in women, prolactin can also affect male fertility. In fact, if you have too much prolactin in your blood stream it can cause you to become infertile.

High prolactin levels have an adverse affect on the function of your testicles, and can cause decreased testosterone levels or abnormal sperm. This can cause serious problems when it comes time to conceive. Normal prolactin levels in men are typically less than 15 ng/mL. Elevated prolactin may indicate a condition called hyperprolactinemia, and this could account for your fertility difficulties.

Hyperprolactinemia
You can be diagnosed with hyperprolactinemia when you have more than 15 ng/mL of prolactin in your bloodstream. Symptoms of excess prolactin are often internal and difficult to see. Symptoms can include:
• decreased sperm count
• hypogonadism (in which your testes do not produce the right amounts of testosterone)
• decreased sex drive
• impotence

 

[waitingginger]

oh thats interesting! i have never had a full breakdown of my OHs blood results i think i am going to ask for one now though!!

I hope they do manage to get to the bottoms of everything for you soon!!! both our OHs got diagnosed in April 10 so i know its been a really long road to get thsi far for you!!
xxxx

 

[mumanddad]

Well oh has handed his 5 th test in today role on the 26th for the results. ... I dont want to wait

 

[babysoldier]

Hi ladies. Someone gave me a link to this thread because I am new to bnb.

My hubby got his SA results back today.. The count came back as zero. He has to do another one, doc said its just to be sure. He told me this morning and I havent stopped crying yet. But Im trying to be strong for him because he feels guilty coz he thinks hes let me down which he shouldnt feel, we are in this together and have been for 2years ttc.

I just need somewhere to vent. Some ladies in the same boat because I dont want to make him feel worse than he already does.

Thankyou

x

ps. what does azoospermia acctually mean? And does anyone know if it can be reversed?

 

[mumanddad]

Hello sorry you are going through this too my oh feels so bad about this too..

He has been given an option to have an operation to make sure there is no sperm hiding away..

Azoospermia can be just because of a blockage..

My oh has been reading about it loads and has realised he is now not the only person in the world to suffer from this.


Have they taken blood tests yet as they will test the chromozones (sorry about spelling)?

I hope this was just a dud test for you hun x

 

[waitingginger]

hi baby soldier.

and welcome to the thread although i wish you didnt have to be here!
Azoospermia is the complete lack of sperm in the semen.

There can be lots or reasons and they will investigate them all:
-blockage
-mumps
- undescended testicles
- genetic disorders e.g Kallmans etc
- hormone function
- paturity gland malfunction
-steriods

these are just some off the top of my head! you may want to do some google searching!!
Has you hubby ever had any problems such as undecended testicles, cancer or mumps?

I am really sorry your going through this and it is a grieving process and it will be really hard for you just as much as your hubby!! at first you think it will never get any easier and it prob gets worse before it gets better but it does get easier!!

probably next you will get referred to the fertility clinic they will do blood tests and ultrasound scans and prob more SA samples and then go from there!!

I hope you can read back and see the others posts from us all and see hoe our journeys have developed!!

we are all here to talk to

 

[babysoldier]

I'm so glad I joined this forum. I really did think we were alone. Now I know we arent it makes me feel a little better (not that i wish this on anyone!!).
Ive just emailed your reply to dh as he is in work on cerimonial today and it has made him feel better too.
Does anyone know if there are any sites like this one for men? Coz I know that men are a bit funny with talking about things like this and I thought well if I have people to talk to here, then surely there must be something for the men?!

xx

 

[Pink Lolly]

Hi ladies. Someone gave me a link to this thread because I am new to bnb.

My hubby got his SA results back today.. The count came back as zero. He has to do another one, doc said its just to be sure. He told me this morning and I havent stopped crying yet. But Im trying to be strong for him because he feels guilty coz he thinks hes let me down which he shouldnt feel, we are in this together and have been for 2years ttc.

I just need somewhere to vent. Some ladies in the same boat because I dont want to make him feel worse than he already does.

Thankyou

x

ps. what does azoospermia acctually mean? And does anyone know if it can be reversed?

Hi Baby Soldier,

Welcome to the group - sorry to read about your hubbies SA. We all know exactly how you feel, it is a devestating situation to find yourself in. Ginger is right,it does get easier, although I think the whole journey is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster!

You will get loads of support from all of the girls here xx

 

[Deb111]

Hi Baby Soldier and welcome

So sorry to hear your news

This site has been a god-send to me and to be able to chat with other people going through exactly the same is so helpful - ok, it's fairly possible that you could happen to know or meet someone face to face who has had IVF, but to meet someone face to face dealing with azoospermia is very unlikely. Unfortunately, people who haven't been through it are likely to make the usual "oh there's always IVF" comments but I guess it's a pretty uncommon thing so we can't expect them to understand.

I really hope your hubby's second SA gives you some positive news but if further investigations are needed, then we can, between us, give you a list of things to make sure get checked. Are you using NHS? One thing I was told was to check if they centrifuge the SA as this can sometimes identify the odd sperm that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.

As Ginger said, take some time to read through this thread if you get a chance. I know how confusing it all seems right now, and you should shout, cry, scream - do whatever you need to at the moment, because it sucks! but you will pick yourself up before long and you will find the motivation to do what it takes to fulfill your dream of having a baby together and in the meantime, we're all here to support you.

As for a men's forum, I'm not aware of one, but will post a message to the admin team and see if they could set one up - I think it would be great if our men could share some stories and give each other some support

Deb xx

 

[Deb111]

I found a couple of sites - this one has quite a lot of helpful info on, but not a very active men's forum - https://www.mensfe.net/

This one seems to be pretty active - I don't think it's a men's forum specifically, but there seem a lot of men posting https://www.fertilichat.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

I will see if I can get hubby to sign up and set up a thread and I will post the link if anyone else interested

 

[Deb111]

I've got hubby to set up a thread on this site if anyone's hubby's / partners want to share info or chat about azoospermia

https://www.fertilichat.com/showthread.php?p=588539#post588539

Hope they'll drop in and have a natter!

EDIT : ACTUALLY THINK I HAVE FOUND ONE WHICH MIGHT BE BETTER - WILL POST LINK TO THREAD TOMORROW

 

[babysoldier]

Aw Deb, You are AMAZING!!
Omg! I just clicked on that link, and have you seen the first reply? How supportive! (NOT) What an idiot!

Thankyou for your first msg aswell.. You are a very supportive lady and it made me sad that my only support network is virtual... I live a very long way from my family and friends and everything I know and have found it hard settling.. I am originally from Wales and, everything is just so different (Theres not many sheep here!!! haha) JOKESSS I have to take the mick outta myself lol...
Seriously though, thankyou, all of you.

Im off to cook a beef roast now... yummmm

xx

 

[april4jdg]

I am sorry, I have been crazy busy with work... Well, our 2nd iui got cancelled, because of the Clomid that I took last month- made me have 4 cysts on my right ovary that were all over 1 cm...so I have to sit out this cycle. I was so upset. But, what can you do? We start over next month with the donor - iui and see what happens... it is so frustrating!

 

[Deb111]

Aw Deb, You are AMAZING!!
Omg! I just clicked on that link, and have you seen the first reply? How supportive! (NOT) What an idiot!

Thankyou for your first msg aswell.. You are a very supportive lady and it made me sad that my only support network is virtual... I live a very long way from my family and friends and everything I know and have found it hard settling.. I am originally from Wales and, everything is just so different (Theres not many sheep here!!! haha) JOKESSS I have to take the mick outta myself lol...
Seriously though, thankyou, all of you.

Im off to cook a beef roast now... yummmm

xx

Well I was going to ask admin here to see if they could set something up and then I thought our men may prefer not to be on the same site as us so they feel they can maybe be more open with each other.

Waiting for hubby to access link from his email when he gets in and I will get link posted here. Yes I did see that reply - which is why I thought I'd look for something better! I guess it will develop into whatever our guys want it to develop into - support? info sharing? Will get onto him when he gets in

I know what you mean about the virtual support, but actually I think it's possibly the best support ever once you get into it - these are real people who know EXACTLY what you are going through. My mum is very supportive as are a few of my friends, but they don't truly understand and you get to a point where you think "I can't keep going on at them about it all - they will get fed up of hearing about it" but I've never felt that on here - there's always someone who's going through it all with you or who's been through it before

Hope you're managing to have a good weekend xx

 

[Deb111]

I am sorry, I have been crazy busy with work... Well, our 2nd iui got cancelled, because of the Clomid that I took last month- made me have 4 cysts on my right ovary that were all over 1 cm...so I have to sit out this cycle. I was so upset. But, what can you do? We start over next month with the donor - iui and see what happens... it is so frustrating!

Sorry to hear that April - I hope you are physically feeling ok?

Keeping everything crossed for your next cycle xx

 

[Deb111]

Firstly I apologise for the long post or if I've already said some of this after our last appt - but it's always good to keep a record of it all

- Terry's oestradiol is within normal limits but he feels this could be pushed down further and this will help

- His testosterone is still slightly low - so he wants to get his body to increase this naturally through the use of medication rather than just giving him testosterone. He says even a slight increase will help. I think I mentioned last time that he said that whatever level of testosterone shows up in the blood test; there is 10 or more times that amount in the testicles

- His FSH is slightly raised @ 17.5 and says this is the body's way of trying to get the testes to produce more sperm. His own body has only raised it slightly (I read that high prolactin will suppress FSH so will have stopped it pushing itself as high as it should be able to) but he wants to force it up to about 30

- He says the high prolactin is significantly high and it is very important to get this down

Whilst he can make suggestions about how to do all of the above, he wants Terry to see an endocrinologist next as he will have a much better knowledge of how all these hormone inbalances are affecting each other. We've seen an endo before, but now we have this high prolactin level, there should be a lot more that can be done

He says the endo will want to do an MRI scan to check what's going on with the pituitary gland but says it's probably just a harmless microadenoma if anything

Slightly disappointingly, he was pretty definitie about the fact that he feels natural pregnancy still cannot occur as the effects of high prolactin (in terms of getting back to normal sperm count) can take a year or two to undo and we don't have that time to wait and also the fact that the testicular biopsy wasn't normal suggest there will still be issues with there only being pockets of sperm - although trying naturally once hormones are treated can't hurt!

So our plan of action now is ...

1) Book appt with GP to get referral to endo in Coventry who mentions some of his specialist interests as being "thyroid, hypogonadism and androgen replacement" - sounds pretty good to me!

2) Have appt with endo to discuss hormones, medication and have an MRI scan and get some conclusions from him

3) When we have conclusions and a treatment plan from him, we have to go back to see "The Ram Man" who may add some other meds

4) 6 weeks after starting an meds he has to go back to GP and have blood tests re-done

5) Once we have blood test results, we have to go back to see "The Ram Man" and discuss results and Terry has to provide a sperm sample. If there are any found they will freeze them there and then

6) Then a further 6 weeks on meds and probably get me ready for ICSI so that when I'm ready for EC, they will get Terry to provide a fresh sample and use anything decent they find in that. If nothing or nothing any good, they will thaw any they found in SA (if anything was there in first place) and if all else fails, they will do microTESE there and then

So he said approx 18 weeks ahead from endo appt is the soonest things could be really happening in terms of microTESE / ICSI

But he said - it's all looking really good and these blood test results are definitely good news!

 

[babysoldier]

Oh Deb! Its brilliant that things are coming along! It may take a while but hey! At least its getting done!
Your doc sounds amazing!!
I can see why your able to give such good advice!! I just wish I knew enough to give you some words... All I can say is.. Im glad you found the strength to keep going, and as far as I can see... you're nearly there


Sorry to hear iui got cancelled April...
xx

 

[Deb111]

Still waiting for that other site to approve hubby's membership so he can post men's thread - but haven't forgotten

I was thinking, as I'm on school hols and have a bit more time, please let me know of anything that needs updating on first page - any dates of appts / scans / tests etc - especially the newbies

 

[mumanddad]

Ooo we are getting matts sa results on the 26th april and also seeing the fs x


hope you ladies are ok, i have had alot of tears today