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: 01-08-2008
Tue, 01-22-2008 - 11:43am

dear jenna,


congrats (if it's not too early to say that...). did you have your beta? your story gives me hope, and i'm hoping the best for you!!!!


-anna.

ana

mom to beautiful baby lia.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-19-2004
Fri, 01-25-2008 - 2:00pm

Anna,

Unfortunately my beta was low, and then declined. AF came on Tuesday. It was a chemical pregnancy/very early miscarriage. Very disappointing, but we will try again.

-Jenna

- Jenna
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2008
Sat, 01-26-2008 - 2:43pm

dear jenna,


i'm so sorry. the same thing happened to us in ivf cycle #1. first beta was 18000, second was 12000. for me, it was a devastating time, and please know that i'm here if you want some support.


best,


anna.

ana

mom to beautiful baby lia.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2005
Sat, 01-26-2008 - 6:13pm

Anna,

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you. Some weeks are so busy!

Well, this is the week for you! I hope all is a success and you have good news to report in a little over 2 weeks--a Happy Valentine's Day gift!

We were happy to find out that dh's anesthesia will be $750. We were expecting it to cost in the thousands. Dr.'s fees are $2000. We're still waiting on hospital fees. Hopefully my stocks will still be worth something by the time of his surgery!

Take care!

Callie

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2008
Sat, 02-02-2008 - 9:05am
hi callie and jenna,
bad news. when we got to the clinic on thurs for the transfer, they told us that we had no embryos that made it to blast, and they had thawed all 12 of them. (they did try to call us, but we had already left home since we're far from there.) in cycle 1, they did a day 3 transfer, and the 3 remaining embryos didn't make it to day 5 to freeze, so it seems that we can't produce embryos that make it to blast stage. they know there are male issues, and there could also be issues with the eggs given that i have pcos-like ovaries. we're meeting with the doctor this coming thurs (we met with the head nurse and head of the lab) but i'm not hopeful that he'll give us the option to try again. we're both still in shock. some crying, feelings of panic and dread and anger. but i don't think it will sink in until we talk with the dr. i feel like i will never get over this, and don't know how i can even get on with life. everywhere i turn there are pregnant women and babies. even on tv i have to keep flipping channels. even commercials aren't safe. anyway, just wanted to share this with people who can understand how i feel.
-anna.

ana

mom to beautiful baby lia.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2005
Sat, 02-02-2008 - 10:19am

Oh, (((Anna))),

I am so sorry to hear this news. I was really hoping that you would have good news to share! No one deserves to go through this infertility nightmare. Allow yourself to grieve. You need time to scream and cry, and then hopefully you and dh can discuss what other options you have. I know it seems like there's a pg boom across the country, and they're rubbing our faces in it! I'll be curious to hear what the head nurse and head of the lab have to say.

Incidentally, I, too, have PCOS, and my re has not made any mention of the quality of my eggs (other than in reference to my age). I don't know what having PCOS would do to the quality of eggs; I'm only aware that it affects ovulation.

When our IVF cycle didn't work (we only had 5 embies: 3 did not make it to blast, and the 2 transfers did not implant), dh and I could only assume it was because of the TESA/ICSI procedure. The sperm that were taken were immature. In looking for a reason, that's all we could come up with, and I was so upset over the negative news, that I did not want to meet with the re.

Please take care of yourself and let yourself do what you need to do to get through this. It's the only way to see what's on "the other side" (of this grief)and feel better again. But give it time. We've all on this board been there in some form or another and feel for you.

Callie

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2008
Sun, 02-03-2008 - 9:09am
dear callie,
thanks for your kind and understanding words. the nurse and head of the lab said that the re will really have to figure things out, but really this is a bad thing. we know there are male factor issues, and with pcos there may be egg quality issues as well. the only way i'm managing is by not really letting myself believe that this is really happening. i will let you know what the re says on thurs.
best,
anna.

ana

mom to beautiful baby lia.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2005
Sun, 02-03-2008 - 9:06pm

(((Anna))),

I know you're in the pit of despair right now. Please know my thoughts are with you and I pray your dr will give you some hope when you meet with him.

Callie

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-19-2004
Thu, 02-07-2008 - 3:46pm

Anna, I am so sorry. ((((HUGS)))) It must be so heartbreaking and disappointing. From what I have read when the embies don't develop well before day 3 it usually indicates an egg problem, when they konk out after day 3 it usually indicates a sperm problem.

If it appears there is just no way DH can biologically father a child would he and you be open to donor sperm. I know it is definately and option for us, but we are trying IVF again as our sperm dna fragmentation test indicates we should have a good chance with ICSI still.

There is also a in vitro maturation technique they can do for PCOS now, if that is the problem.

Good luck and I hope you find the answers that work well for your family soon.

-Jenna

- Jenna
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2008
Mon, 02-11-2008 - 9:05am
hi callie and jenna,
thanks so much for your supportive words. jenna, the head of the lab told us the same thing about embryos developing on the "energy" of the egg for the first 3 days, and then the sperm takes over. we met with our re on thurs, who said that for sure there's a sperm issue that is unfixable (ie: hormone treatment would have no impact) and the odds of a 3rd cycle working are incredibly low. he said that with my ovary profile (ie: tons of eggs), there's a 1 in 20 chance that the eggs will never work, but those odds are pretty good. while he does not recommend doing a 3rd cycle in the same way, he suggested a 3rd cycle using part donor sperm and part dh's. last time they got 23 eggs, so they would split them up, and hope that some embryos develop, while giving us a shot at using dh's sperm 1 more time. also, since we'd be using "good" sperm (the donor's), it will tell us if my eggs are good or not: if embies develop to blast, my eggs are fine, and even if the cycle doesn't end up working, it means we can go to IUI with donor sperm and chances are it will work eventually. so that's what we're going to do. it will probably mean doing a retrieval end of march, and then a frozen transfer a few months later (he wants to get lots of eggs again, and doesn't want me to hyperstim). i always said i would never use donor sperm, and tortured myself with that thought for years. but now, i guess because i have to be, i'm okay with it, as is dh (he believes in nurture over nature). it's been really odd starting to look at donor profiles, but it has given me some hope again, finally. i was so hopeless this last cycle, but finally feel like *maybe* we have a chance at this. how are things going with you? callie, how are you doing with the waiting?
best,
anna.

ana

mom to beautiful baby lia.

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