Long Intro/Male Issues (dd ment'd)

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2005
Long Intro/Male Issues (dd ment'd)
69
Thu, 12-20-2007 - 9:24pm

Hello!

My name is Callie (36) and I used to lurk on this board for awhile. I have a very long intro, if you'll bear with me. This will all lead to a question I have regarding male factor infertility. Dh (42) and I have been TTC#2 for about 1 1/2 years now. Dd was conceived via IUI due to a relatively low sperm count. I, too, have PCOS, and have developed, since dd's birth, hypothyroid.

Fast forward about 3 years, and we are ready to contemplate #2. After, haphazardly trying on our own for about 6 months, we decide to contact our re who helped us with dd. Since it had been a few years since our last visits with him, we went through the whole battery of tests again. It was discovered that dh's sperm count is 0. He was tested 2 more times. All 0. We were referred to a urologist who insulted my husband's anatomy, and told him that he should just tell me "Sorry, honey". We went back to re and demanded another referral. We were sent to an outstanding urologist who ordered her own tests. Again, sperm count is 0.

We are now up to May 2007. After discussions with her and our re as to how this could possibly be when we were able to conceive dd (albeit artificially), we are forced into the conclusion that it must be some genetic "time bomb" that "shut down the sperm factory". B/c he wanted closure on this issue, dh ordered a testicular biopsy to determine the cause. While we wait for the pathology report to come in, we both are working on ourselves to deal with the fact that we are done having children, and that our dd will not have any brothers or sisters. We are at relative peace with this when we get the results that the "factory" is working just fine! I should say here that through physical examination and u/s, there were no varicoceles (sp?)or blockages immediately visible. We were then offered two options from his urologist. Either microsurgery to correct whatever the problem is that is preventing his sperm from ejaculating or IVF with ICSI. We had hope again! We opted for IVF.

This brings us to today and my question. I am due to have my official b/w done tomorrow to see if I am pg from the ET which was done on 12/10. I can feel AF knocking at the door, and have had 2 BFNs on POAS. I will POAS again tomorrow morning before going in for the b/w, but of course, it will be the same answer. Due to insurance, we could only do IVF once. Since this option looks like it will be a bust for us, we are looking into the reconstructive/microsurgery next. Does anyone know anything about this? I suppose it would help if I knew exactly where dh's problem lay, but I hope to have those answers when we see her on Jan. 3. I've heard that it could take up to 18 months for "things" to start working again. I'll be 38 and dh will be 44 by then! Has anyone had any experience with this? Any info would be appreciated. :)

Callie

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-19-2004
Mon, 12-31-2007 - 1:41pm

Callie,

I have had to reassure my DH as well. He knows how important having children is to me, and is well aware that I broke it off with the BF immediately before him who wanted to marry me (and I was in love with) because he didn't think he wanted another child. DH has said that "just me" will be enough to keep him happy for the rest of his life if we can't have kids, but I told him that is not the case for me. Perhaps that is one reason why he is so eager/willing to try donor sperm, he does not want to be the reason that holds me back from having the baby he knows I want and need to be happy...and perhaps he is afraid if he did, he would lose me. I admit, though I would like to have DH's bio child, not being open to donor sperm, should it prove necessary, would simply NOT be acceptable to me. I made a point of telling DH that I would marry him all over again and knowing he had MFI would not make any difference in my decision. That he is the best thing that ever happened to me and I am grateful to have him in my life every day, no matter what happens. He said he needed to hear that, and I think it made him feel better. You might also ask him if he would think you less of a woman if you had an infertility problem, say your tubes were damaged? If he is still having issues, or if you are, couples therapy may help. Infertility is so stressful. We can all use support :)

As for embryos, at my clinic grade 1 OR 2 is good. Grade 1 is the best, but most people don't get many of those.

I hope you have a wonderful NYE and very happy 2008!

-Jenna

- Jenna
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2005
Thu, 01-03-2008 - 9:35pm

Thanks! You, too!

Callie

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Sat, 01-05-2008 - 10:46pm
I am sorry if this sounds totally wacky, but I have heard of chiropractors being able to help men with this type of issue that you mentioned. I also recently started seeing a chiropractor. I've had serious lower back pain for a long time, crippling back pain in fact; and was starting to suspect this might be causing problems for me conceiving. I started reading materials in his office, and read about a man who was sterile who started getting the spinal adjustments and within a couple of months, his sperm count was well above average.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2005
Sun, 01-06-2008 - 12:12am

Thanks! I will relay the message to dh. He's been wanting to see a chiropractor anyway b/c he has also had some back issues. It couldn't hurt!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Sun, 01-06-2008 - 3:43pm

I really do think seeing

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2005
Sun, 01-06-2008 - 4:04pm
Maybe we'll look into it. His urologist has dx him with Vasal Obstruction, but she's not even sure if that's what it is. She'll know when she gets in there during the surgery. We are baffled. 4 years ago he had normal/low counts, now nothing. He's had a biopsy done of his testicular tissue and was found to still be producing sperm. It's just not getting out. We've scheduled his surgery for March 14. Of course, insurance will not cover it. Do you have any details about this man you read about--if he was diagnosed with anything, and how long after seeing the chiro did he return to normal? I'm curious.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Mon, 01-07-2008 - 4:03pm
I went to my chiropractor again today, and the book is called Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul. This is the book that has the story about the man who was cured of his sterility- the cause was a "pinched nerve" somewhere between his brain and reproductive organs. (You could probably find this book on Amazon).
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2008
Tue, 01-08-2008 - 5:42pm
this is my first time chatting, so bear with me! we are dealing w/ MFI (sperm count = 0). DH had testicular biopsy/TESA to extract sperm. i have pcos-like ovaries. 1st IVF/ICSI cycle failed. in the midst of 2nd cycle (they froze everything since they thought i would hyperstim). we have 12 frozen embryos, but i'm not hopeful any of them will make it to day 6 for transfer. apparently with MFI, it is usual for embryos not to make it past the first few days. i am having such a difficult time getting through. it seems liek everyone can get pg but me and i feel like my body is useless. DH is very supportive, however it doesn't make any of these feelings go away. i feel completely isolated and alone and am hoping to give this chatting thing a try!

ana

mom to beautiful baby lia.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-19-2004
Thu, 01-10-2008 - 1:38pm

Anything can happen. We are also dealing with MFI and while ours is not as severe as yours it is enough to pretty much make it next to impossible to get pg without IVF/ICSI. Anyway I just wanted to tell you that in our failed IVF cycle we had 12 embryos, 6 of which fertilized normally and were noted at the 2pn stage. While 6 embryos did stop developing early, and growth was a bit on the sluggish side overall, we had 6 embryos make it to blast/early blast (1 grade 1, 3 grade 2, 2 grade 3), and we just had a FET of 1 grade 2 blast (decent chance) and 1 grade 3 early blast (poor chances) left over from the fresh IVF on Tuesday (one grade 3 early blast did not survive the vitrification). So maybe your results will be better than you think. Good luck and I hope your FET is a success!

We are going to do the scsa diagnostics sperm DNA fragmentation test.If our FET fails, and the test is OK, we will do IVF again with my DH's sperm. If it is bad, we will do IUI with donor sperm. If it is medium, we may do 1/2 donor 1/2 DH sperm in IVF. Dealing with MFI is hard, and I want to feel like we gave it our best shot to have DH's biological child. But with no insurance coverage and limited time (I am 39 1/2) everyone has a point where they need to move on to the next step. Donor sperm is an inexpensive solution and it helps many couple create their families- much less expensive than donor egg. I have found the Donor egg/ Donor Sperm TTC forum to be helpful. Also the IVF board is great. Good luck! Do you know when your FET will be?

Good luck, and I hope you find these boards as helpful as I have,

Jenna

- Jenna
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2008
Sat, 01-12-2008 - 9:57am

jenna-


thanks for the support. i've just started estrogen pills, with a projected date for FET jan 31. i'm so scared the frozen embryos will not survive the thaw or make it to blast stage. apparently, it is very common with MFI that the cells slow down after the first few days and don't make it. last cycle, we had 6 eggs, 5 fertilized, 2 made it to 8-cell, and we had none to freeze. this cycle, we had 23 eggs, only 12 fertilized (they freeze right away, so they haven't had a chance to develop yet) and i'm just so afraid we'll have nothing to transfer. i feel like crying all the time, and feel like i can't escape people talking about pregnancy and children (even on tv!). DH is very supportive, but it's really hard on him to see me like this, and i try to pull myself together for his sake. it's a really rough road, but i do feel so fortunate at least to have the opportunity to try.

ana

mom to beautiful baby lia.

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