Success stories with Male Factor Infertility

[foquita]

that's fantastic, i really hope you get your bfp before your IUI in feb we've been trying for about the same time, i'm april 2011

 

[28329]

Hi ladies. I just wanted to pop in to say never loose hope. My DF's sa wasn't good. Low motility ,morph and count. We was told we needed ivf with icsi but couldn't get help with funding for it. We lost all hope completely and just got on with our lives. I was starting to beleive I'd never give my fiance a child. But then on cycle 15, almost 16 months into ttc, we bd once in my fertile stage and thought nothing of it. A couple weeks later I realise I was 2 days late for the witch but believed I ovulated later than I thought. But at 20dpo, 3 days late I tested with a cheap £1 shop test and got a beautifully dark bfp and realised I was 4+2. But the professionals told us that any natural conception would end in mc. Well, as you can see by my ticker I'm 20 weeks tomorrow and 3 days away from finding out if we have a blue or pink bump. everything is going well and my faith in miracles is restored.

Keep going ladies. You'll get your well deserved bfps. Problem is, some ladies have to wait longer than others.

 

[goldstns]

Hello Ladies, I see this tread is kind of dead, but I was hoping to be apart of it.

My dh has 0% morph. Our fertility doc just told me he would try IUI 3 times and then IVF (which he has more hope for), but Im scared to spend that kind of money without the confidence we will actually come out of it with a baby. Also, what I don't get is they doc said that 0% morph means 0% of his sperm can permeate an egg. So what does it matter if they put my egg and his sperm side by side (aka IUI) if they can't permeate anyways.

 

[Mrs G]

Hello Ladies, I see this tread is kind of dead, but I was hoping to be apart of it.

My dh has 0% morph. Our fertility doc just told me he would try IUI 3 times and then IVF (which he has more hope for), but Im scared to spend that kind of money without the confidence we will actually come out of it with a baby. Also, what I don't get is they doc said that 0% morph means 0% of his sperm can permeate an egg. So what does it matter if they put my egg and his sperm side by side (aka IUI) if they can't permeate anyways.

Hi
They usually recommend icsi for mf problems, where they put the sperm into the egg rather than leave them to their own devices! We had success with our first icsi, then a natural bfp a year later, which sadly we lost. I've just started down regging for fet as we have 2 frosties.
I know how tough it is, but there is hope.
Xx

 

[melly2]

I'm jumping on this thread, too. My husband had 2.5 million, 11% morph, and 25% motility. We suspect it is due to multiple hernia surgeries and he had testicular cancer two years ago and had one testicle removed. I am dead set against IVF, so we're working on getting his sperm count up. Currently I have him on Fertility Blend for men, and a slew of other vitamins, Chinese herbs and weekly acupuncture. I'll keep you posted in three months. Fingers crossed that it gets better! I swear, if I can get his count up...then there's hope for a majority of the men out there.

 

[Nadhoo]

my DH had SA count 70 (i forgot the unit ) in march 2012 .. it fell to 50 by oct 2012 .. and finally after several tests of mine (HSG, hormones) and treatment (clomid with trigger) we showed him to a urologist .. when SA was done it was decreased to just 11!!!!!

the urologist said it maybe cause of a prostate infection .. and antibiotics was given for a month .. and clomid also was given for him for a month to stimulate sperm production .. after one month his count has raised to 40 again .. and the doc told us that we shud be able to conceive with that result ..

 

[Kzee]

Wondering if there's any more MFI success stories out there?

My OH had a low sperm count from the last SA (13mill) It had improved this time to 25mil which was great, however, they did the separation of the sperm, or washing at it was only 0.1mil. So gutted! This isn't even enough for IUI. He tested positive for MAR, which is some sort of antisperm cells which she thinks is causing the count to diminish so much. So it's IVF for us.

I'm so upset. I really thought that we just hadn't been lucky before and it would happen soon. Now it looks so bleak and it would be crazy to think we could do it alone.

I want to be hopeful, Although having hope isn't a great thing either as I feel like I'm in denial and that somehow we'll be one of those couples who miraculously get a BFP now we've been referred to IVF - which will inevitably lead to disappointment every month again. BUT I guess it can happen, like you guys...! Congrats to you all who got your BFP, especially naturally, so amazing.

Any more stories? Particularly with washed sperm or MAR? Thanks so much in advance xx

 

[Regalpeas]

Congrats to 28329! Makes me smile! our count was 8mil viable that was last year. We haven't been back any time soon as we've been focusing on changing our lifestyle.

 

[Faith4Baby]

I am not sure how active this thread is, but I would love to join in.
DH and I have been TTC for 2 years this month.
Today we just did our 7th and last (I pray) IUI.
DH has low semen volume and low counts.
He was started on a slew of vitamins and Clomid in June of 2012 after several washed counts of less than 1 million.
After 3 months of the vitamins & Clomid we began IUI. Our first IUI his washed count was around 13 million (not sure exact number).
On our 3rd IUI (with me on Femara 7.5mg's CD 2-6) we conceived (Nov 2012) this pregnancy unfortunately ended in a missed AB (miscarriage) at 8 weeks. We waited 2 months and began IUI again. Today was our 4th IUI since MC and our first using Femara/Follistim our washed count today was 8.9 million. I would love to keep you all updated on how things go. If this cycle does not work out we will be moving on to IVF/ICSI sometime late in the summer.
I know how difficult this can be, especially having to go on lots of medications personally to work with the male factor issues. This had been very difficult on both my DH and myself as I am a high risk labor and delivery RN and work every day to bring everyone else's little miracles in to this world.
I pray everyday for my fellow infertility women and would love to get this thread going again if other's are willing.

 

[goldstns]

Faith, so sorry you are dealing with all of this! It is stressful and must be really hard doing your line of work right now. If you could go back to the time when you were making a decision of IUI or IVF would you say you are happy you chose to try IUI? Or do you wish you went straight for IVF?

 

[Briss]

my hubby's results are just getting worse after 8 months on a very extensive list of supplements his sperm count dropped to all time low 1 million with only occasional motility I think his problem was that he wanted to lose weight and went to the extreme of starving himself for a month. hi did lose 3 sizes but I guess it affected his sperm. he has since quit beer and took up running. we are due to repeat his test in July. at the moment it just seems hopeless but I cant get my head around IVF yet though I do know with my high FSH and low AMH our time is running out.

 

[Faith4Baby]

Goldstns- In all honesty I would not have changed a thing. I know that may sound weird, but I really wanted to conceive with IUI. I want my DH to feel he can do it & for some reason if we conceive with IUI I will feel we have a better chance of doing it on our own next time. I am just weird about the natural selection thing and feel we have learned a lot in the process, both about our physical & mental health but it has also made us work together, work to understand each other and feel more like a team.
I do however feel now, we have given it all we have in the IUI world and if this cycle does not work we are ready to move on. We have proven we can get pregnant with IUI and I just pray we will prove it again this month.
If you don't mind me asking what are your DH's counts? Is volume an issue? What supplements do you have him on? Please let me know if I can help provide any further info for you.

Briss- Keep in mind it takes 90 days from the time the sperm is made till the time it is ejaculated. So what ever your husband was doing 90 days ago impacts what is produced and ejaculated now, plus what ever he does within those 90 days will impact how well they develop and mature. It is difficult to keep good habits and nutrition for 90 days, but at least they can make changes. We can't do anything to change the eggs we have. Does your husband see an infertility urologist? Has anyone suggested starting him on Clomid? It made a world of difference for my DH!

As for myself- I am feeling super crampy today. One day past ovulation and the 2WW begins! I really need to focus on writing my thesis paper and getting what needs to be done done for graduation. I am wrapping up my Masters and have less than 2 weeks left. I have a huge thesis paper due this coming Tues and my last presentation do next Tues then I am done!!! Trying to stay focused on that for now. Praying this 2WW fly's by!

 

[Briss]

faith, thanks. our FS is refusing to refer us to urologist and would not prescribe chlomid to my DH we will have to go private if we want some answers.

can anyone recommend a good urologist in London?

 

[Faith4Baby]

Briss-No offence but with that type of issue why wouldn't they want to refer him. My insurance refused to pay for IUI or IVF until my husband saw a urologist that specialized in male infertility. He may have a vastocyle (sp?) or some small issue that could be fixed very simply. Just a note on the Clomid, My insurance will not pay for it for DH because it is not FHA approved for use in men, however along with some minimal lifestyle changes and some vitamins his washed count went from 500,000 to 15 million in 3 months. Now it has dropped a bit since then but it now stays around 8-12 million (washed). I have the name of a top notch male infertility urologist in the US at Johns Hopkins Hospital, that is a world renound hospital, maybe he has some connections in London?
BTW I have officially added you to my prayer list!
So sorry for your troubles

 

[Briss]

Faith, thanks so much! wow from 500,000 to 15 million - it's like a miracle! Our FS said (without asking him to do any bloods) that my DH has no hormonal issues because he would not have got 12 million a couple of years ago. but how can she be sure he has no obstruction or something else. She just said his SA was never good enough and we should do IVF, end of story. I ask her to refer him to urologist every-time and she just says there is no point. we are in the UK so we do not pay for NHS I guess that's the reason - lack of financing. We just have to go private.

 

[juhnayrae]

Hi ladies! I shared earlier in this thread, like several months ago and even though we ended up getting our bfp I still subscribe to it because I really feel for everyone that has to deal with male factor infertility issues.

Thinking about each one of you daily! Male factor infertility is so hard, it can feel pretty hopeless and I know it's easier said than done, but don't give up!

 

[Regalpeas]

Hi Juhnayrae, Can you post the link again please?

 

[goldstns]

Faith: Its his Morph (0-2%)
SA in Feb:
Volume 4.5 1.5 - 5.0
Concentration 37.5 >20 x 10^6/mL
Motility 69 >= 50%
Forward Progression 2+ >= 2+
Total Motile Count 168.75 >30 x 10^6
pH 8.0 7.4 - 8.5
Strict Morphology 0 >=14% =Normal, 5-13% =Reduced Fertilization Potential, <=4% = Abnormal
Viscosity Value 1+
Motility Rate 2+ >= 2+
% Viable >= 50%
Total Viable >= 17 x 10^6/mL
Motile Cells
Concentration 25.88
Total Count 116.46 >= 15 x 10^6
Amorphous head 77
Large head 0
Small head 0
Elongated/Tapered 3
Bent midpiece/neck 7
Cytoplasmic droplet 0
Coiled Tails 6
Two Tails 0
Two Heads 0
Acrosomal Deficient 7
Immature 0
WBC's 0
Sample Complete collection

SA in May (last week)... I think he may have waited too long to have this SA (like too many days between ejaculation, because hes gave 6mL)

Volume 6.0 1.5 - 5.0
Concentration 7.5 >20 x 10^6/mL
Motility 62.5 >= 50%
Forward Progression 2+ >= 2+
Total Motile Count 45 >30 x 10^6
pH 8.0 7.4 - 8.5
Morphology
Strict Morphology 2 >=14% =Normal, 5-13% =Reduced Fertilization Potential, <=4% = Abnormal
Viscosity Value 3+
Motility Rate 2+ >= 2+
% Viable >= 50%
Total Viable >= 17 x 10^6/mL
Motile Cells
Concentration 4.69
Total Count 28.14 >= 15 x 10^6
Amorphous head 73
Large head 0
Small head 0
Elongated/Tapered 2
Bent midpiece/neck 3
Cytoplasmic droplet 0
Coiled Tails 13
Two Tails 0
Two Heads 0
Acrosomal Deficient 7
Immature 0
WBC's 0

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

I'm glad I found this thread - it is so positive and inspiring that despite the odds things can still happen! For those of you wanting to chat I'm here too and hoping that one day I can add my own success story! Of course I'm always on the look out for any advice and suggestions as well to you all and for those of you that are pregnant congratulations - hope you are all doing well in your pregnancy

 

[Victoria79]

Hi ladies,
Just wanted to tell you dont give up and theres hope!! After ttc for 8 months and a miscarriage my Dh had 3 sperm analysis with 2-3 months in between, first one showed count 21mil/ml and %0 morphology, %55 motility, the second one 18 mil/ml with ok morphology (but it was WHO criteria which is less strict) but lower than average motility (around %40), and the last one 7 mil/ml, with %60 motility and %7 morphology. We were very confused, all was different but after a few months from the last analysis (we decided to try on our own a little more as dr advised) i got my bfp (its after about 1.5 yrs since we first started to ttc) and now i am 12 weeks 5 days pregnant, everything fine so far but still praying soo much!!! Dont lose hope for natural pregnancy with only low morphology, if count is around 15-20 mil/ml average and esp if you are younger and trying for less than 1.5 yrs, it may take a little longer but theres hope!!! If it doesnt happen and taking longer your chances should be fine with IUI or IVF. Praying for all of you, best of luck!!!!