Hello and this sucks- Intro

mommy2C

Hi Ladies,

I used to post many months ago on TTC. Then I came back and briefly posted on the TTCAS board but ended up taking a break and then came back to lurk while we started our fertility testing.

We have a 2.5 year old daughter and have been ttc our second (and final) child for 17 cycles with absolutely no luck. We started seeing an RE at the big fertility clinic in our city at the beginning of October. My bloodwork all came back normal including the cd 21 progesterone, my uterus is normal and my tubes are open. The only thing they noticed were slightly polycystic looking ovaries but since my bloodwork is normal and I have regular cycles my RE isn't concerned. It took us 3 cycles to conceive our daughter so obviously (foolishly?)we were shocked to have difficulty this time.

This is where is gets interesting (apologies if it isn't!)but my H's SA came back as containing zero sperm which knocked us off our feet and baffled our RE given that he easily fathered our daughter and had another pregnancy way in the past with his high school girlfriend (the pregnancy was terminated) so, at one point, he had sperm and now he has none.

Needless to say, this is devastating and we are both experiencing so many emotions. He says he feels inadequate and told me the other day he worries I will love him less and possibly leave him. None of which is true of course and it kills me that he feels this way. I love him so much and we are in this together. I feel so helpless and silly for having hope every cycle when it was simply not even a possibility and the sadness is out of this world for both of us.

The next step is for H to give a repeat sample and have some indepth hormonal bloodwork done as well as some genetic testing. He does this on Monday. He sees a MFI urologist at our clinic in January and then a following with our RE at the beginning of February. They will call us with the the results of the SA and hormones next week although I don't really expect a change in the SA.

Anyway, it looks like IVF with ICSI and sperm retrieval is likely what we will be pursuing in the future. I just hope they are able to retrieve enough sperm but I can't obsess about that too much since we aren't even near that stage! I hope you don't mind if I hang out and participate with you on this board. I will also probably reintro on TTCAS. Thanks for reading!

pettycrocker

Yes, definitely do another SA and then maybe another one after that. When was the last time he ejaculated prior to this test? That can sometimes greatly effect the outcome, but 0 seems extreme, I'd be wondering it the test was faulty. Especially because he's made babies in the past. That just sounds so fishy. 

Take a deep breath and get more testing. Good luck. Honestly I wouldn't make any plans for IVF until you can get some more definitive answers. 

pettycrocker

Also if he on a multivitamin? That's always a good place to start. There are some vitamins that are formulated specifically to improve a mans sperm, so maybe you can check those out?

https://www.amazon.com/Fairhaven-Health-FertilAid-Men-Caps/dp/B0006HDOSM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416004246&sr=8-1&keywords=fertile+aid+for+men

And there's been some success with Clomid for improving sperm as well. Plus make sure he keeps hydrated, it seems like a small detail but drinking plenty of water can be benneficial for the little guys. 

lawmom747

I agree with @potatocastillo - sounds like more testing is in order.  DH's sperm looked dire back in 2011 but in 2014 they look stellar - so many factors.  But DH has consistently taken a multivitamin and significantly increased his water intake.  Good luck!

Frenchteachermama

Welcome! Wow, I would be totally shocked too. I agree with the advice that PPs gave you! Please keep us posted.

mommy2C

Thanks ladies! Yes, it does seem suspicious to me too. Our RE double checked to make sure the right report was in the right (electronic) file and it indeed had H's name on it. Of course, that doesn't mean that there wasn't some kind of mistake made. I hope that is the case.

He had ejaculated 2 days prior to the test and gave his sample at the RE's office. He does take a vitamin but he could definitely stand to increase his fluids so we will definitely work on that. I'll also take a look at the Fertilaid for men as well. Nothing could hurt at this stage of the game.

The RE was totally mystified. I guess they don't see this as a cause of secondary fertility all that often. She said that if the result is accurate that something major has happened in the last 3 years for H to have no sperm and we will find out what it is. She says she will try whatever she can to get us pregnant without IVF but to know that it might be our only option. We will definitely pursue it if we need to although probably is a little premature to be worrying so much about it right now. At least we both are on the same page about fighting this thing!

sailorgal

Welcome and sorry to hear!

All good advice up there and hope the next one is much better.

We were told to make sure it's specifically a men's multivitamin (rather than just any multivitamin so maybe check that out if he's not already on that). Although really I doubt that would make a huge difference of 0 to something spectacular.

Fingers crossed it was just a screwed up test.

mommy2C

Thanks @sailorgal‌! He actually doesn't take one specifically for men so that is good to know. I know it won't make sperm magically appear but, given that the doctor said that he more than likely has some sperm in his testicles that aren't being ejaculated, it certainly can't hurt to make sure the ones that may be there are good quality.

jen4ny

Welcome and good luck. I hope that maybe the next SA has a better result for you. 

fuzzbumble

Welcome! I am so sorry, that would be a crushing blow. Like potato said, repeat, repeat. Hopefully the next dr has ideas as to why and how to fix it! Good luck!

efhoping2010

I am sorry you are dealing with this, my DH has never had any sperm due to his dx of azoospermia because of atypical cystic fibrosis.  I know the devastating situation no matter what the cause, my DH just feels like less of a man and hates anything IVF since that is our only option ever.  So big hugs and if you end up going the IVF/ICSI with some type of sperm extraction surgery route, I am happy to share our experiences with all of this.  Take care.

mommy2C

Thank you! You're all wonderfully supportive and I hope I can return the favor. I will definitely ask the urologist to repeat it again when we see him in January. I hope it is just a fluke or mistake but bracing ourselves that this may really be how things are now.

@efhoping2010‌...I'm sorry for your situation too. I'm trying to be supportive of him but I know my reassurance can only help so much unfortunately. It really is a crappy position to be in to say the least. It still feels surreal and so hard to go from actively trying to just...not all of a sudden. I will definitely call on you for sure as we move further along this path!

pdxveg

Welcome!  I am sorry you are going through this.  I would be equally as shocked with that result.  Our IF is totally on my shoulders so I understand how your husband is feeling.  I hate that anyone has to feel those feelings.  

I hope that he has much better numbers on his next test.

mommy2C

pdxveg said:

Welcome!  I am sorry you are going through this.  I would be equally as shocked with that result.  Our IF is totally on my shoulders so I understand how your husband is feeling.  I hate that anyone has to feel those feelings.  

I hope that he has much better numbers on his next test.

Thank you! I wish I could shoulder it for him and honestly, I fully anticipated it being "me" so I guess that just added to the shock.

Jodee37

I third (?) the rec to get more SAs done. I'm sorry you find yourself here. Wishing you guys luck.

CeCe8579

My husband has MFI. I would definitely recommend at least 3 SA's in a row to really be able to diagnose MFI. I would also question that test being faulty since he has been able to have a child with no assistance not long ago. I would as the urologist to look into any diseases or disorders that could case something like this as well. I am so sorry and I know how hard this is. My husband had good SA's and has gotten me pregnant twice although I was unable to carry either one then all the sudden his SA was bad, then good, then horrible. His urologist discovered that he had extremely low testosterone that continues to drop but the cause is unknown so far. I hope you can find some answers and things will turn around for you!

GraceyandTroy

Wow, so I know you posted this a couple days ago and I'm late reading and responding.  So everything advice-wise has already been offered.  But I still wanted to chime in and say how sorry I am to hear this news for you.  I can't imagine getting a report like that.  I really hope you get better news after further testing and that you don't have to go the IVF route.  

Davie813

Welcome!  I agree that the results sound a little off and hope you get better ones with more testing.

mommy2C

Thanks for all the amazing replies. I'm sorry that some of you ladies here are also experiencing MFI but it is comforting to know we aren't alone as we travel down this path.

H did his second SA this morning and went for his hormonal bloodwork as well. I plan on calling the RE's office tomorrow to confirm that they will provide us with the results of both prior to our Urologist appt in January. Hopefully they will. I'm not sure if we can wait 2 months to know if his hormones are involved. Lots of waiting involved in this process.

I will say that we discussed possible donor sperm if we absolutely can't get sperm from H and he is quite open to it. It is a viable option to complete our family although I can't totally wrap my head around that yet but, at this stage, it is totally up in the air about what direction this will go so I can't agonize too much.