Male Factor Roll Call

[beauty]

Well we kind of just kept going, no way letting it affect my sex life..
I mean Im not expecting a BFP out of it tho naturally and it would be great if we got one, but doesnt mean im not gonna enjoy sex and stick to it as and when we require not as and when it has to be in terms of the fertile time!!

I kind of feel bit better in ttc, (i mean more relaxed) knowing that we been referred for IVF / ICIS but also knowing i havent got to check my calender as and when to get the nookie in or as and when my period is due, you know what i havent checked my CP since finding all this out at december time, i kind of feel bit stress free with ttc..

Not saying i dont want a BFP cause believe you me i do and so does my OH so much but i am not letting it come between me and oh or our lives..

I got to the point not so long ago where i was so low, sometimes feel like that now especially with everyone else expecting babies but sometimes thinking positive and thinking it can happen keeps your going inside and keeps the baby and ttc issues alive..

Positive thoughts, make a postive mind, thinking it can and will happen might well make it happen xxxx

 

[hopesforababy]

It is a major blow to know that your chances of conceiving naturally are virtually nothing, especially to the man. In our situation, we knew as soon as DH was diagnosed with testicular cancer that our chances went down the drain. We couldn't even try for a year and a half until he finished treatment and got his final go ahead from his dr, but in the back of our minds we still hoped that we would have our baby. Hearing it from my dr. that it wasn't going to happen was sad, but we had already kind of accepted it. Up until that point, I was peeing on ovulation sticks, BD'ing every other day, keeping my butt propped after BD'ing. You know, all the tricks. And it was a chore during that week. But we aren't even doing that any more. Only the spontaneous lovin' these days! Much more relaxed and not so stressed wondering if it is or isn't going to happen. We are on the IVF/ICSI route now and they told us to try to NOT get pregnant while on injections as those hormones could hurt the baby should we become pregnant naturally (which I know we won't; but miracles can happen).
It sucks that we have to go through IVF or any kind of fertility treatment, but I am feeling much more calm and relaxed knowing that I wasn't doing anything wrong and that I don't need to jump through any hoops during OV to try to make it happen.

 

[grneyednurse]

So true hopesforababy. I go up and down, but I must keep trying as my hubby hasn't given up and therefore i won't give up on him. I would like to say just forget it, but he still has hope. I do too, but am a bit more realistic -I won't tell him that

 

[Leila Fae]

LeilaFae - while looking for your diary I found your thread about the light AF - me too! I keep thinking it can't be good and lo and behold when I had the scans during IVF I only had 7 mm in lining which is low with all the hormones so we're on to something.... keep an eye on it and get yourself tested for hypotyroidism if you can

My diabetic consultant has asked me to get the GP to test my thyroid function but I'm not sure if that's because of the diabetes or because of the TTC. Either way, it'll be good to know.

 

[BigFoot1980]

I was wondering if we could also share the list of supplements if any, for your DH.

My DH is taking
Wellman
Vitamin E 400IU
Vitamin C 500 mg (hoping to increase to 1000mg)
Grape Seed Extract 200mg

I have no known issues except for a tilted uterus so unsure about what to take apart from Folic acid, Considering Royal Jelly and Spirulla! I also try to drink REd Rasberry Leaf tea from CD 1 to ovulation along wit EPO.

 

[beauty]

I have no where given up, i have NEVER EVER been pregnant, NEVER had the a sniff of a BFP EVER and neither has my OH, none of us have any kids or ever been pregnant.. of course its hard its hard seeing everyone around me who have kids or who have ever been pregnant before its hard. Its also hard not knowing how it feels to be told your pregnant or even to see two lines on a pregnancy test, i would most no doubt faint if i ever see them lines..

I cant even see two lines on an ovulation stick.. I have just stopped with all the charting, ovulation sticks etc, i mean it does get too much after ttc for like nearly 2 years now.. I mean i feel like i was bogging me and oh down with the every day testing and checking my CP only so long you can do these things without feeling like its not getting anywhere.

Of course I have my up and down days like most ladies on the LTTC its freakin hard, more harder than I can express in writing..Today is no doubt one of those days..

But I wont give up, my oh hasnt given up, he keeps me positive, saying it will happen and it can happen so thats what i have to keep telling myself..

Of course at the age of 27 i didnt ever think i would be going down the IVF/ ICIS route EVER but i am going to have too unless someone blesses me from above before hand.

However I so want to see two lines, i so want to go through pregnancy I so want to see my OH faces when i make him a dad, and i am willing to do anything to try to achieve that like most of u ladies on here.

I wish you ladies loads of luck, remember things can happen, there are a few ladies on here who have gotten BFP on low sperm and other major fertility problems so it can be done just dont give up!!


Sending loads of baby dust to you ladies
xxxx

 

[MissAma]

Hubby has what we think is secondary hypogonadism (pituitary prolly-just had an MRI) and has had 1 SA: 50,000 or 1-2 sperm seen per microscopic field.

A girl after my own heart! The Viking veto-ed my buying a microscope I fear

Click around and you will find specific stats. It does say if woman has no problems and is under 35 and only problem is male factor (if she had children before this is even better) it's the most successful category to be in.

YAY for us! Sarcasm aside we are the most successful category on paper!

I have been wanting to ask a question for a couple of days now, I hope it is ok. How has finding out about your OH problem affected you ttc? We found out last Friday

First off, you just found out, my heart goes out to you, I remember the shock, the pain, the rage, all the stages of grief really.

There was no more TTC I was mad!

I was mad at destiny, mad at the odds, mad at the science and even mad at the Viking for a while there. And then I sprung into action, researched all I could, took out a huge loan and booked us in a go for a private ICSI round abroad. That was my answer to dealing with the emotional pain of finding out we're infertile. And while I deplore the impulse-based financial decision I am glad it happened, it accomplished several things: A. let me know where ARE Clives somewhere trapped inside and we must keep fighting and B. let me relax after a long while and let us be a couple again, love making included and TTC like mad excluded.

Give it some time till it sinks in though, keep going this cycle if you must but then sit down, breath in and establish some goals, some deadlines, some options. You'll feel better I think.

My diabetic consultant has asked me to get the GP to test my thyroid function but I'm not sure if that's because of the diabetes or because of the TTC. Either way, it'll be good to know.

When you get that checked make sure you get the right test not the run-of-the-mill one GPs recommend. Check https://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ as they have a list of what tests are needed and if you can't find them PM me, I did the leg work already and managed to get some of those online specialists to give me a list of what is needed and will be happy to send it to you.

Also ladies, I've updated the overall list. Whoa, who knew there are so many of us!

Chocci - when you are ready for it let me know so that I can put Success Story next to your name!

 

[tickledpink]

Another one here with a male factor issue.

Hubby had an operation a couple of years ago for something called 'varicocele'... something to do with the veins in the scrotum that can effect sperm structure, function and production. It didn't make a single bit of difference, infact it's getting worse.

Back in August 2009 it was
Count 9.1mil
Motility 34%
Morphology 8%

December 2009
Count 2.5
Motility 12%
Morphology - insufficient sampe...

They now seem to think that he has a low SC because of some strong medication he took as a teenager for bad acne.

Our consultant at the local hospital has sent us back to the local GP who has been asked to refer us for IVF through the NHS. So it's now back to the waiting game... It's taken us three years this month to get this far!

 

[grneyednurse]

Oh wow tickledpink..they do say that treating varicocele doesn't work. Was the med Accutane? I know about getting a diagnosis for male factor...it takes forever and usually there is little to do to correct any problems. My hubby has been through an SA, labs, an MRI and fianlly the I.M HCG. 2 weeks into it, but I wish we had the money to just jump into the ICSI, but we have no choice other than to pursue this for now until we have the money. It is such a tough road and sometimes makes me wonder if God exists at times.

 

[suzie7]

Hey ladies, it's good to read these. I sympathize with all of you and know exactly how you feel.

How long should one wait until going down the IVF/ICSI road? My DH "wants a chance to improve" but if I'm being realistic, the chancesof us naturally increasing his count into the "normal" range are low.

The FS told us that "technically speaking we are not yet infertile because we haven't been trying for a year. Your both still fertile. You ovulate and he has sperm so it CAN happen. There's just a small chance it will happen."

is that suppose to be hopeful?!

 

[FBbaby]

Thank you everyone for your comments on ttc. I have read so many things on the internet, but one site that caught my attention was a forum where two sperm specialists (can't remember their official medical title!) answered anyone's question.

From their point of view, a bad sperm sample is rarely as bad as what fertility specialists makes them to be and that especially in relation to morphology, so even though I don't want my hopes raised falsy, it has encouraged me in the decision to definitely continue ttc, not actively, but at last insuring bding every 2 days during the fertile week.

suzie, sorry if you've said already but has your OH tested twice? It certainly would seem that results can change quite significantly when done two-three months apart. The specialist on the forum said that icsi should never be suggested after a second SA has confirmed the first. The decision whether to rush to go via the icsi route depends on funding age, and desperation to become a parent asap. I'm 39 so if 2nd test comes back no better, even though it is such that it isn't impossible to fall pg (I actually did once), there is no point to wait if we consider going that route.

 

[tickledpink]

Oh wow tickledpink..they do say that treating varicocele doesn't work. Was the med Accutane? I know about getting a diagnosis for male factor...it takes forever and usually there is little to do to correct any problems. My hubby has been through an SA, labs, an MRI and fianlly the I.M HCG. 2 weeks into it, but I wish we had the money to just jump into the ICSI, but we have no choice other than to pursue this for now until we have the money. It is such a tough road and sometimes makes me wonder if God exists at times.

Hubby can't remember the name of the med. We're talking 25 years ago My parents have offered to pay for us to go privately but we've waited this long, a few more months won't hurt... plus I need to come off anti-depressants before we can start. Bloomin typical. But if they'd just pulled their finger out months ago, I would need the meds

 

[DragonMummy]

We have only had one SA and have been asked to go back for another go as morphology came back only 6%. But I have him on a little regime to try and help that. Am hoping he just cracked out a bad wristful on that day!

 

[chocci]

Chocci - when you are ready for it let me know so that I can put Success Story next to your name!

Still early days yet mate hehe, still papping my pants for scan, wont seem real until then, for now just a simple bfp will do

Hey it was second icsi not third.... i explained in your journal though

For me girls i was at first slightly grateful to find out the problem was not me, i think everyone feels like that, then i realised it was still a problem so didnt really matter who it was with.

I have gone from feeling sorry for my ikkle hubby to feeling mad at him for having problems which make us have to go through this, to thinking i dont care how we get our baby, if ICSi is the way then at least i have learned a hell of a lot more throughout this process and us girls know and WILL know how INCREDIBLE even managing to get pregnat is.

I started this process so neive and have learned so much not only about IVF / ICSI but about me, about how i deal with things and about other people too, some good some bad. People can be very compasionate and I have found the least likely people have been very supportive and upsettingly some people in my life have shown themmselves to be incredibily selfish. I think thats one BIG lesson i have learned... many people are very wrapped in their own worlds.

To be honest this process opens our eyes to the world and makes us stronger, it's not something i would wish on anyone BUT there are some bonuses.......WE will ALL LOVE our children and be eternally grateful for them when we get them, i am not sure people who dont have to go on this horrible infertility journey will have quite the same vision and experience of parenthood as us girls WILL have!!!

I have learned never give up, it WILL happen, just takes some of us that little bit longer than others!!!

xxx

 

[chocci]

Oh mate and you missed the zoo out of Idiopathic OligoasthenoZOOspermia for my hubby, not sure why it has the zoo in it cos i thought that ment none but hey thats what the doctor said hahahahaha.... makes no odds i suppose Idiopathic Oligoasthenozoospermia simply means SHITE sperm, dont know why they dont just say that haha

 

[hopesforababy]

AMEN Chocci!! None of us will take our children for granted, and we will be thankful for 2am feedings and poopy diapers. While it won't be easy, we will all know that we worked hard to get to that point and be happy to be there.

Baby dust to all!!

 

[lady blush]

Hi can i join the list please. we have been LTTTC for nearly 6 years with male factor DH has low sperm morphology (7%) currently awaiting for IVF on the NHS. i have PCOS to top it all off.

 

[grneyednurse]

What I don't understand about male factor infertility is the fact that most of it is idiopathic in origin and few treatments available that actually work...meaning doctors don't know why this happens in most cases! It is so frustrating! I mean when a woman has problems usually there are treatment options! I am so hoping my hubby's HCG injections help, but am not depending on it! I hope I made sense as I am sooo tired tonight, but am determined to post anyway!

 

[chocci]

hey grneyednurse, i think it is idopathic simply becasue there has been little investigation into male infertility over hte years....us poor women always got the blame, even if they could not prove the infertility and it was classed as "unexplained" we still got the blame..... however things are changing, there is a lot more research these days, they are attributing more and more cases of unexplained infertility to male factor, they are identifying that sperm is actually causing far more problems than thye first thought, i.e. a man can have 120mil sperm and be completely infertile but another man can have 8 mil and have 4 kids..... they now realise they have a lot to learn, i think over the next few years there will be great discoveries regarding male factor problems

 

[suzie7]

From their point of view, a bad sperm sample is rarely as bad as what fertility specialists makes them to be and that especially in relation to morphology, so even though I don't want my hopes raised falsy, it has encouraged me in the decision to definitely continue ttc, not actively, but at last insuring bding every 2 days during the fertile week.

suzie, sorry if you've said already but has your OH tested twice? It certainly would seem that results can change quite significantly when done two-three months apart. The specialist on the forum said that icsi should never be suggested after a second SA has confirmed the first. The decision whether to rush to go via the icsi route depends on funding age, and desperation to become a parent asap. I'm 39 so if 2nd test comes back no better, even though it is such that it isn't impossible to fall pg (I actually did once), there is no point to wait if we consider going that route.

this is so encouraging to hear!!! Thank you! We have only had 1 SA done and are suppose to have another this week. We're thinking of postponing though because prior to the 1st analysis, we were on vacation over Xmas and took lots of long steams and hot tubs. I'm thinking of waiting at least another month before the 2nd SA so he can properly replenish. It takes 3 months to create new sperm.

I am getting more hopeful. There are several girls on another forum who were getting ready for ICSI due to low count and conceived naturally. I think it will happen but it may just take some time.

Plus, I have read of several cases where men were able to naturally increase their count into the normal range.

How many SA have you done?
PS-I'm on CD 21 too! No symptoms though!