Dealing with azoospermia?

[silverbell]

Happy New Year, girlies.

I'm so sorry to see a few new names over the past few days. It's very sad, but as always I'm pleased that you guys have found yourself here on this thread. Lots of words of wisdom, support and endless understanding.

What a beautiful post, Deb, and I really loved the sand picture - very fitting.

I'm so hopeful that this time next year there will be lots more ladies on this thread with either baby or pregnancy tickers.

 

[wibble wobble]

Happy New Year everyone xxx

I myself hate new year,it just reminds me of what I haven't achieved in the last year! Things that haven't happened (yet) and people that aren't around anymore. If only people really knew what was going on inside your head when they wished you a happy new year... I don't even like saying well it can't be any worse than last year... 2011 was a really crappy year but 2010 still ranks worse even tho back then I was oblivious to azoospermia and would have replied with bless you if someone had mentioned it back then

Welcome to the newbies, sorry you've found yourselves here, but it is a good thread with lots of support the people have tons of info between them...

I'm still classing myself as someone who knows very little and I'm unlikely to be of much help to anyone. Our azoo journey was quite short lived (hubby still has it) we just reached the end of that road with confirmation nothing could be done. Looking back it happened really quickly we got the first zero sa in mid march and by mid october we were talking through our other options to get our family. Those 7 months dragged by really slowly with plenty of low times and not many highs and I'm so glad that they are over and we can move on. My only advice to people just finding out is (and I know from personal experience it's difficult to do) try not to let the diagnosis consume you, don't live your life looking forward to the next appointment. Try to book in days/nights outs and breaks away to be a couple. Be hopeful but not too hopeful. It only knocks you harder and hurts more if you don't seriously consider all outcomes.

3 weeks tomorrow we have our next appointment with our consultant, I'm hoping that we're finally going to get referred to the donation co-ordinator and we can begin the countdown to hopefully starting diui. I'm also hoping that my test results are all normal. I did have an issue with my prolactin being high but I'm not going to consider having a problem until the results of the retest are through.... stress affects prolactin and who isn't stressed in december,when their shift started over an hour ago and some nurse is trying to figure out how to get blood out of a vein?!?

So here's to 2012 it's going to be a tough year for most of us on here, but some of us are going to be lucky enough to have our dreams come true and if we're not cuddling little babies by the end of 2012 we'll be growing fat with them

 

[wibble wobble]

Happy New Year, girlies.

I'm so sorry to see a few new names over the past few days. It's very sad, but as always I'm pleased that you guys have found yourself here on this thread. Lots of words of wisdom, support and endless understanding.

What a beautiful post, Deb, and I really loved the sand picture - very fitting.

I'm so hopeful that this time next year there will be lots more ladies on this thread with either baby or pregnancy tickers.

Good Luck for Dh's mtese I just noticed your ticker is down to 8 days. I'll have my fingers crossed that all goes well on the day

 

[CanadianMaple]

raelynn- It wasn't all that long ago that I was the same way. I could barely function. The thought of it was so overwhelming. It slowly got better and finally having a date on the calendar to see a doctor about it changed things dramatically for us.

I'm really nervous that IVF is going to be out of reach for us. DH is 43 and we just don't have the time to save. We're also going through the process of him adopting my child, his father has been MIA and stopped paying support. It will likely have to go to a hearing and cost a lot in lawyer's fees. We both have good jobs though and worry we may regret it if we don't do it. It's scary to think that our line of credit could suddenly become huge and not get a baby in the end. We're newlyweds too and haven't had a lot of time to save, especially with my student loans.

For those of you who had a partner do Tesa/Tese/Pesa/etc... Did they do it before you even started IVF to see how it looks or was it saved as a surprise the day before the ER?

 

[raelynn]

Well ladies, we just received the call for the results of the 2nd SA. Same results as before, no sperm present. I guess I'm an official member of the dealing with azoospermia club

DH is currently very dismissive. This is hard for him to accept. We're going to make an appointment with the fertility specialist next. What should we expect to happen there? Just wondering what our next steps will be...hopefully we can move forward fairly quickly though it seems everything in dealing with infertility takes forever.

 

[Deb111]

For those of you who had a partner do Tesa/Tese/Pesa/etc... Did they do it before you even started IVF to see how it looks or was it saved as a surprise the day before the ER?

Most clinics will do it beforehand as it is a lot of expense and a lot to put YOUR body through to possibly find no sperm. If a clinic is prepared to do it all at the same time, they usually want you to have a back-up donor so as not to waste the woman's cycle.

My hubby had had TESE on the NHS and they found 3 but discarded them. This told our private consultant that he was pretty sure to find 'some' and therefore he didn't insist on a backup xx

 

[Deb111]

Well ladies, we just received the call for the results of the 2nd SA. Same results as before, no sperm present. I guess I'm an official member of the dealing with azoospermia club

DH is currently very dismissive. This is hard for him to accept. We're going to make an appointment with the fertility specialist next. What should we expect to happen there? Just wondering what our next steps will be...hopefully we can move forward fairly quickly though it seems everything in dealing with infertility takes forever.

I'm so sorry raelynn

Check out the first page / first post of this thread under one of the 'spoliers' - there's some info there ablut what to expect at first appts and what you might want to ask xx

 

[CanadianMaple]

I'm sorry. I found the confirmation just as hard. My husband was very dismissive for the first few weeks, especially while I was still crying all the time. I think he was crushed and seeing me so upset threw him into protective mode.

I'm not sure what to expect with the fertility clinic either. I'm glad you asked.

 

[tigerlily1975]

Happy New Year lovely ladies

I hope you all enjoyed the festive period. I ate waaaaay too much, so definitely need to start cutting back again. The consultant always nags me about my weight (curvy size 14s can't have ICSI I guess!), but we've a few months before our next visit, so it's Rivitas and Zumba for me!

A big 'Hello!' to the new lasses. Even though we've known for some time, it's still something that's always sitting in the back of your mind. Finding this group and the wonderful women on here has been a life-saver. Not only for the wealth of information, but it's the support, the positive stories and mostly just knowing that someone else is going through it too. That you're not alone in trying to deal with this.

As for 2012, I think Deb put it perfectly, you want to approach a new year with new hope, but you also know that this could be the year when your greatest fears are realised.

BUT I just wanted to share a story with you that, well, is probably not great for all of us right now, but it's HOPE for couples who may have this problem 10 years from now:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8988011/Scientists-grow-sperm-in-laboratory-dish.html

Wouldn't it be great if couples never have to go through any of this, ever again?

On that little bit of good news, i'm going to say tara and send you all BIG and tonnes of good luck!

C xx

 

[Pink Lolly]

Wow that's amazing!!

 

[Sar187]

Becky-It is a hard decision to make. Just take the time and make sure you make the decision that is best for you and your DH. I have really found that when they prefer to do the TESE depends a lot on where you are at. I know for these ladies in the UK most places prefer to do the TESE beforehand to make sure there is a chance. Over here in the US most clinics prefer to do synchronous cycles where Egg Retrieval and Sperm retrieval are done on the same day. The clinic I went to actually did my retrieval first and then once they knew I had viable eggs did DH's Retrieval. They did recommend a Donor back up however we declined that option. The reason they do it like that is because they want things to happen as quickly as possibly and like to use Fresh sperm for the first IVF cycle, They also prefer over here to only do one surgery on DH, which leads them to preferring a synchronous retrieval.

raelynn-So sorry to see another new face here. This thread has some great information in it and lots of reasons for the azoospermia diagnosis.

Wibble-Don't feel too bad about the weight 2 back to back fresh cycles of IVF/ICSI added about 8lbs for me. Add to that bloating and I haven't been able to button my pants since 2 days before my EC.

Viola-Welcome to the group though I am sorry to see yet another one joining us. There are a lot of stories on here and a great group of ladies.

Nikalicious-I agree with the other ladies that fudging a little in certain situations is not a problem. Also since you know that can be a side effect of the meds I would think they would not make you try for a year anyway without getting tested. Best of luck! DH's SA was ordered by our family doctor, and he just had to go to the local hospital with the lab requisition, he was then referred to a fertility urologist after getting the results.

deafgal-Welcome, you really have found an awesome group here. You will go through so many emotions with this diagnosis. Just know we are all here to help you along the way.

AFM-My Beta results have been great, My clinic requires 4 blood draws to make sure numbers are rising as expected and my HCG Beta numbers were 11dp3dt-116 14dp3dt-310 16dp3dt-681 and 18dp3dt-1730! They were very happy with them as am I. I am scheduled for a first u/s to get a look at the baby or babies on Jan. 9th. I am still in disbelief that this 2nd cycle worked and after over 3 years of trying I am really pregnant.

I have never been a fan of the new year, but I am praying that 2012 brings some good progress and hopefully some bumps and babies for everyone.

 

[Bookworm]

So to those of you who have already got your precious bundles - thank you for giving us hope. Make sure you don't forget us and 'visit' us whenever you can

thanks for that Deb, I know it's still very early days for us; I've been lurking around since our good news but not sure about posting...

 

[Sar187]

Apparently the computer lied when it said my post wasn't posted....so disregard this one .

 

[deafgal01]

Thanks Sar. Just had my ultrasound/intravaginal one today. Now we just sit tight and wait for the next appt in 2 weeks. I wonder what they will want to do in order to help us to get pregnant.

 

[Deb111]

AFM-My Beta results have been great, My clinic requires 4 blood draws to make sure numbers are rising as expected and my HCG Beta numbers were 11dp3dt-116 14dp3dt-310 16dp3dt-681 and 18dp3dt-1730! They were very happy with them as am I. I am scheduled for a first u/s to get a look at the baby or babies on Jan. 9th. I am still in disbelief that this 2nd cycle worked and after over 3 years of trying I am really pregnant.

I have never been a fan of the new year, but I am praying that 2012 brings some good progress and hopefully some bumps and babies for everyone.

Sar - those betas are fab!!! Can't wait to hear how many you've got in there! xx

 

[snd80]

Tiger- AWESOME article! I wish I could sign up my hubby for the research!!! LOL! TY for sharing!

 

[mumanddad]

i hope this is a positive year for this group, and hope more ladies get there BFPS!!

Hello to the ladies who have recently joined- sorry you are going through these tough times x

 

[Deb111]

Fab article Tiger! Thanks for sharing xx

 

[deafgal01]

Ok, my husband's blood results came in today. He's scheduled to have another blood draw tomorrow to check the levels again to make sure they got it right but his prolactin is high and the testerone is low. I keep remembering I read something about that somewhere in this forum or something but I can't find it now. Help? I'm trying to prepare my mind for what possibilities this would mean for us.

 

[Deb111]

Deafgal - I think it was one of my posts that you are talking about - we thought hubby had high prolactin levels at one point.

Check out page 51 of this thread

Good luck and let us know how tomorrow goes xx