Dealing with azoospermia?

[Deb111]

Hia Deb! I've been following your thread and just wanted to wish you and hubby best if luck for the 28th. I'll be keeping everything crossed for you! Xxx

Thanks Much appreciated xx

 

[waitingginger]

Hi Lemongal!
Welcome to the thread! my oh was exactly the same about seeing the urologist but really its such a short appointment i think once he can get over the first the rest of the appointments wont be so bad! as OH really doesnt mind now he says that there is just no way of it happening naturally he says he would walk round the hospital with no trousers on all day if it meant he could ahve just one child! The worst thing for my OH so far was the ultrasound as they do touch and move around your balls for about 15 mintues!! i always find it best not to tell him whats actually going to happen in there because once he is the room he doesnt have much choice! lol!

and an update form me:
after being reffered in August i hadnt heard anything from St Marys so phoned them and they hadnt recivced our referral letter. so had to phone around and get it faxed to them!
Phoned them again today and they have got and they are waiting for some more clinics to be added on and we should get a letter with our appointment by Jan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bloomin jan just to wait for a letter about when our appointment is!!!!!! and its a different doctor to the one we were referred to!!!!

I ahve so many questions for them cant belive its going to be so long before we even get to see anybody and then we ahve to go through the SA testing all over again before even thnking about SSR!!! GRRRRRRRR!

 

[lemongal7]

Hi waitingginger - thanks for the info. Glad to hear the Urologist appt isnt so bad. I have talked about it with DH, and he seems ok, just wants me to call and ask the office what they do so he's prepared. I think he's the type where he has to work himself up to doing something and the more he knows what to expect the better. Feel so bad for your guy...so sad to have that kind of diagnosis and not be able to conceive naturally. What a heart break.

Stinks you have to wait so long to find out more. Two and a half months from now - geez! I'm in the US and we have private insurance, so I've thankfully been able to get most appts within a couple weeks of calling. Sorry you have to wait so long for answers...it is a frustrating battle when you have to wait so long in between treatments and exams.

By the way - I like the verse from Samuel you quoted...when we first started having trouble, I read through that book and it was and is still a great encouragement. I'll be praying for your guy and my guy to miraculously create some spermies!!!

 

[Flake-y]

Well girls, I am now thanking my lucky stars that we were able to go private...

We were referred to urology in March this year, & were told it would be prob a 12 week wait for an appointment. I phoned in May & was told that it was more likely to be August before we got an appointment so we decided to go private.

Guess what came in the door today? Our appointment! For the 12th of November! 8 months after our original referral; am I just expecting too much or does that seem like quite a long time to wait?

Am so glad we just went private!!!

 

[waitingginger]

It is very hard for the men i think because they dont articulate how they are feeling! i know my OH wants children more then anything and it breaks his heart even holding his baby nephew at the minute and we go out with all our family and the talk has sunddenly turned to what to get the kids for xmas and when to have another and we just look at each other feeling completely left out!! i would like to say it gets easier with time but i am not sure it does perhaps because it has still only been 6 months with us and i cry at everything! but it certainly seems to be always on my mind!!!

8 months!!!!!! i am hoping mean as tho they are 'adding more clinics' the wait after Jan shouldnt be too long! but then by the time you include having to have the SAs done again, then the waiting list for SSR and then another waiting list for IVF/ICSI its going to take forever!!!!!

Once the wedding is paid for we are going to look at going private! i want this NHS process to hurry up but am thinking we also have plenty of time as even a 3 year wait on NHS would mean i was still only 28 and still plenty of time for private treatment!!! I think its just the wait to know what is actually wrong if there is any sperm in there thats killing me!!! the IVF can wait i just need to know if there is a chance!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you all have brilliant weekend!! I have a weekend of wedding dress shopping planned

 

[Flake-y]

Enjoy wedding dress shopping! Sounds like fun!

 

[Deb111]

Just an update with hubby's SSR results from today.

They found one healthy motile sperm immediately which we were told was really promising. But they only managed to find 2 more. We thought that meant there was at least someting to work with, but the NHS wont even bother to freeze them unless there are 100+ as they don't consider it a viable number

Right now it feels incredibly cruel that we had our hopes raised, that he's obviously capable of producing some, even though numbers are obviously low and that they've now been discarded.

Didn't help that the other 2 guys on for SSR today both had ample numbers of sperm found - I knwo that has no effect on our results, but still hard to hear

 

[Step Mummy]

Hi Ladies, it has been a long time since I was here last, we have been on a horrible journey. However it sounds as though no-one else has had a good time either - no good news has come in while I have been away.

Deb - I am so sorry you had your hopes raised - how cruel of them - what are you going to do now? Are you considering the donor route - how is your hubby doing?

Flake-y - fingers crossed for this IUI - are you taking the drugs or have you opted to go natural? Come on be the one to get some good news out to us all!!!!

The last time I wrote, I warned everyone to ask lots of questions after the SSR op so you know what to expect and know what to look for if things go wrong so you can pick them up quicker. DH had is SSR op on 1st September he is still on drugs to get better, one of his balls are still swollen, he is also still on prescribed painkillers.

The outcome of the SSR was no sperm at all, something to do with hormones, which was picked up in the blood tests and aparantly we only had a 10% chance of success but no-one told us this until DH was in hospital that morning of the op, so we might not have gone ahead had we know. He is producing sperm but they are not maturing. Our only option is the Donor, which we have agreed to go for, but are both struggling witht his still. I am "greiving" for not having my DH's baby, I think DH is dealing with it better than me - thank god he already has a son aged 18!

After the op DH got an infection and one ball swelled up to 4 times the normal size. The infection was treated with 3 weeks of anticiotics, during this time he was ill like having proper flu and was bed riden for the three weeks after the op and i had to have time off too to look after him. On 26th Sept he stopped the antibiotics and he was ok, we had a 2 week holiday planned in Turkey on 2nd Oct so this was really good news. However 2 days into the holiday the pain came back and he was on paracetamol constantly for the pain for the whole holiday. We were on a water sports holiday and he could not do anything so we literally spent 2 weeks on the sun bed doing nothing, which is nice for a couple of days but not 2 weeks - it ruined the holiday, it was very frustrating! he couldn't even walk around the resort it was too painful. When we got back he had a doctors appt, they have prescribed 1 months strong painkiller with anti-inflamatory. One ball is still quite swollen and when the painkillers wear off he is still in pain.

So all in all the last 2 months have been poo!!! We are very upset about having to use a donor and have decided to have a break now until after Christmas, so we can have some time not worrying and constantly stressing about the results etc, and of course during this time you can live in hope that everything will work out ok!

I wish you all well, and hope that one of us gets some good news soon!
XX

 

[Flake-y]

Angela; hope your DH is doing a bit better now! It is def a strain on them, esp when the outcome is bad news.

IUI cycle is with letrozole, I do ovulate on my own but cycles are pretty long so I'm happy with the drugs! Fxed for a +ve result, will keep you updated.

 

[Flake-y]

Didn't help that the other 2 guys on for SSR today both had ample numbers of sperm found - I knwo that has no effect on our results, but still hard to hear

They really shouldn't have let you find out about that! That's pretty poor.
You know, I was thinking today, that out of all the girls whose hubby's have had SSRs recently, none of us have had good results. I wonder if I had known this, would we still have gone ahead with the SSR? It might just be that we all have bad luck though!

 

[waitingginger]

Deb, i am so sorry you have had bad news!!! are you going to consider the donor route?

Angela, its sounds like your poor hubby has had a terrible time following his SSR!! i hope he gets better!! sorry you ahve had such a rubbish couple of months!!

I must admit having not started the process of SSR yet, i have been sitting here for the past month or so thinking OMG!!! whats the point nobody seems to have good news from these SSRs? maybe its rare to find sperm in an SSR. But i found on the fertility network webiste a forum specifically for the hospital we ahve been referred to and there are some success stories out there!!!

I do have an update on the long wait i was expecting for our first consultation at the clinic... on thursday morning before work i was having some PMT and had a bit of a weepy moment to W about not knowing when our appointment is and its taking so long etc! and then he phoned me at work to say a letter had come for our intial consultation for 22nd December!!!! woohoo!!! the weird part is last week we booked our wedding for 22nd Dec 2012!!!!!!!!!! i would never even of thought docs worked that late up until xmas! hoping its a good luck sign for us!!!

Hope you are all well!! and for you Jo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
x x x x

 

[Deb111]

Just found this information about a clinic in San Francisco.

https://www.theturekclinic.com/testicular-mapping.html

It's a really interesting read - tomorrow's task; to see if I can find anything like this in the UK!

 

[april4jdg]

I am sorry it has been awhile, we have been busy with work and other things... Dh had his pre surgery blood work done this past wednesday for the biopsy. They said it would take about a week to get the results back... He is planning to have the biopsy done the first week in December... They gave us packets on TESA, and cryopreservation... But I was kind of mad because, I am like, I don't think you are going to find anything...Giving us that packet just will get our hopes up... for nothing I am afraid... We have already started to talk about adoption... But DH says he has to get the biopsy done, so we will know we have exhausted all routes...

 

[Dancergirl]

Well, IUI #3 with DS was unsuccessful again. It was devastating all over again. I was again put on clomid for another try. This last Wed I went in for an ultrasound after I got a positive on my home ovulation test (I do ovulate each month) and my lining looked great... 16 and only needed to be 10! I also had 4 eggs rearing to go at the perfect size! So Thurs we went in for IUI #4 and am in the 2-week wait to find out if it worked. They also put me on progesterone since that was the only issue they had originally found with me.

We never did SSR with my husband b/c our urologist said it would cost a lot of money and we probably wouldn't find out any different news. I think in the future when we are not students and making more money we will get more tests done on my husband. Until then, really praying it works this month. If not, my dr. is encouraging us to do Gonadrotropin Therapy with injections in my rearend several days during the cycle and the cost jumps up quite a bit.

Really hoping to have good new for you all soon!

 

[Flake-y]

Dancergirl, Sorry for IUI#3, but fxed for IUI#4!!!

Forgot to update myself; IUI#2 bfn, moving on to IVF, starting meds middle of next cycle, metformin to prevent OHSS, then injectables at the start of the next, next cycle, EC prob end of January!

 

[Dancergirl]

Flake-y... so you only tried IUI with DS 2 times and now you are going start to IVF? We don't know if we will do IVF since it is not my husbands sperm, but still don't know since we have mixed feelings about it. But I guess it is either IVF or adoption, not really any other opinions.

Has anyone here tired the Gonadotropin therapy?

 

[Deb111]

Sorry to hear your news Dancergirl

Haven't heard of gonadotrophin therapy (unless it's also called something different) but am off to google it now xx

 

[Deb111]

So it's been a long and difficult couple of weeks but we've potentially had some encouraging news.

After finding out that Terry was in fact making 'some' sperm and being offered another SSR in 6 months time to have another 'pot luck' attempt, we started scouring the internet yet again for more info. Whilst Terry is prepared to discuss using donor sperm, he is not prepared to discuss it until we have tried something a bit more scientific in terms of finding sperm. I don't think his aunt's comments about using a donor help - it messes with his head and with it being his Mum's twin sister, I feel he probably thinks his Mum's views would be the same. The afternoon of the op, when he told her they'd found 3 but that it wasn't any good for the NHS, she said - "Oh well, I'm so glad they found some. You won't have to use donor now, but then you wouldn't have done anyway ... WOULD YOU!!??" and of course, Terry not wanting to offend, placates her.

Anyway, we stumbled across a website for the Turek clinic where Dr Turek does a sperm mapping procedure, where he can use a combination of up to 20 fine needle aspirations in each teste and ultrasound and has a much better chance of finding the areas where the sperm are in order to then go in and retrieve them. Only trouble is, he is is the US (San Francisco to be more precise! - which raises lots of issues for me, but that's a whole other story ...)

Anyway, we had a phone consulatation with Dr Turek today, who was incredibly positive, was thrilled to hear that they found some sperm but had the following concerns
- firstly he was shocked that the piece of tissue they took was 3-5% from either side - he said that that is WAY too much to be able to search through properly for sperm
- secondly, he asked what the clinic had done with the 3 sperm they found ; did they freeze them or use them fresh?? and was absolutely horrified to hear they'd just discarded them. He said they would use ANY they find that are viable and that the lowest limit of 100 that the NHS talk about would be like hitting a goldmine in an azoopsermic man

He instantly said that Terry should be on clomid and that that will naturally increase his testosterone levels. Our clinic dismissed it when I mentioned it and our GP said clomid was only for women - which I know it was originally, but I've read so much about men taking clomid too. He actually said it's not out of the question that clomid would help to the extent that he may be able to produce a sperm sample and they may find and be able to retrieve sperm for ICSI - that would mean it could even be done over here

Anyway, they have sent us some forms to fill in to request what they call a 'second opinion' and wants to see all Terry's SA results and blood test results. We didn't have a note of Terry's LH level but told him we were told it was 'within normal limits' - he said he needs more info than that as his actual level in relation to his testosterone is crucial whether it's in the normal range or not Then we have to get baseline blood tests and anothe SA done in 3 months time and then he will liase with our GP to get him started on 3 months worth of clomid and anything else he feels necessary and then get all results re-done in another 3 months and then we can go over there if we want and if still necessary and have the procedure.

Anyway, I'm not getting carried away or getting my hopes up, but it is so nice to hear someone being a bit more positive for once and not treating us like a statistic.

Sorry for the long essay, but I needed to get all that down whilst it's fresh in my mind xx

 

[Dancergirl]

That is great news Deb. I really hope this works for you and Terry! It is always nice when the Dr.'s talk positively about opinions still out there!

 

[Flake-y]

Flake-y... so you only tried IUI with DS 2 times and now you are going start to IVF? We don't know if we will do IVF since it is not my husbands sperm, but still don't know since we have mixed feelings about it. But I guess it is either IVF or adoption, not really any other opinions.

Yep, we were going to do another IUI, but we only have 5 vials of the donor sperm, and that's 2 gone already, so we thought we'd be better using it on the IVF which has a better chance of working than the IUI.

We don't want to use all the DS on failed IUI, then have to buy more, cause it's really expensive to buy; we'd like the sperm we have to be our whole family, and if we keep doing the IUI it's likely we'd need to buy more sperm, and we might not be able to get more from the same donor, also if we managed to get pregnant from this donor, then wanted another child but had used up all our sperm, we might have to choose a different donor which we'd rather not do.

It's all a bit complicated!!!