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caitb13

Hello!  This is my first time posting to a board on the bump, although I've been lurking over the past few days and getting a feel for this community :-) 

I'm 28 years old and I've been married to my high school sweetheart for three and a half years. I've always known that I would need some type of fertility treatment due to very few and irregular cycles (2-3 a year, unexplained). We decided to stop using BC in September 2015 not really trying, not preventing either. Knowing if we got pregnant it would be fine, but also knowing in my heart of hearts that it was pretty unlikely.  My mom had similar cycles and used Clomid to get pregnant with me in the 80s, so since adolescence I knew this was the route I was likely to take and had made peace with that emotionally a long time ago.  

In September 2016 we decided to take the plunge and pursue fertility treatment. I had one cycle of Femara and responded well. We had timed intercourse and was told to come in the next day to be "swabbed" to see if my dh could possibly need to be tested for fertility issues. The doc said that in a normal swab he would count 10 swimmers, but there were 0.   We were referred to urologist and began a long waiting game of tests. Long story short, while my dh's hormonal and genetic tests all came back normal, he produces very few sperm that can only be accessed through aspiration.  We went from thinking I'd have to just take a few pills to being on the fast track to IVF within a month.  As I'm sure you know, it was an emotional roller coaster with tears, sleepless nights and a fair amount of stress as we waited for various test results to come in.

They did a biopsy in January and found some good quality sperm, but not very many. They froze the sample, but recommended that we do an aspiration the same time as my ER to  guarantee there aren't more eggs than sperm.  Since then, we've been working around my dh's work schedule as well as the clinic's and urologist's schedules to get our IVF on the calendar. 

Now, it's right around the corner! I begin Lupron shots Wednesday morning with tentative ER scheduled for April 14. We're both nervous and excited to get started. Since we've been benched for so long I'm feeling emotionally stable, but I also remember how quickly things got stressful and emotional before, and I want to surround myself with a supportive community that understands this process before we begin. 

Thanks for reading my post, and I look forward to getting to know all of you! 

[Deleted User]

Hi!  Wow, I am tearing up here so excited for you to start.  We are still getting a more detailed diagnosis but long story short we went from TI and progesterone after O, to our only option likely being aspiration and ivf with icsi, too.

Omg I just want to give you the biggest hug. ❤ It's earth-shattering.  It's really so indescriably devastating and it just happens so fast, like 0-60, boom. just like that.  We found out around September too, but we had to wait for various f/us with multiple specialists, plus DH dragged more recently on his genetic testing, so we're finally just waiting for that to come back, have our NEXT f/u etc.  We are OOP so that may slow things down a little but that's okay too I guess.

Very-near next step for us I'm sure will be his biopsy. ***snipped***  I know there are other women here whose husbands have had biopsy/aspiration, so you're not alone in that part, either, some of whom even have outside babies now!  There is hope! :)

So excited for you to be starting your cycle! Fx Welcome! ❤

funkykey

Welcome @caitb13 - best of luck to you with this upcoming IVF cycle! FX!

AngryBull

Welcome!  I'm so sorry you find yourself here but I think you will find tons of supportive ladies on these boards.  It's very exciting that you get to start your IVF cycle soon - best of luck to you during the cycle!

HottLemonade2886

@caitb13 Welcome! My husband and I had to jump right to IVF with ICSI because my husband had a blockage so we can only use aspirated sperm as well. My husband did have a biopsy before we did our cycle and that didn't thaw well so he needed to do another aspiration the day of ER. It's not easy for a man to be okay with getting multiple needles in their testicular while still being awake so I give the men that need to a lot of credit. Unfortunately our first round ended with no normal embryos. I tell you this just to give some advice. My doctor recommends PGS testing especially when using aspirated sperm because there is a higher chance of chromosomal abnormalities. I'm not sure if you were planning to test your embryos so I figured I'd mention it. Also my doctor recommended my husband start taking some vitamins that help with sperm quality so you might want to ask your doctor of your husband should start any since it can't hurt. 

caitb13

Thank you, thank you @funkykey and @AngryBull ! 

Thank you for the warm welcome @BusinessWife - it is indeed a stressful time! Waiting for genetic testing is so hard - it seems to take so long to get the results back. I'm still learning the lingo, What does OOP mean? I'm sorry, I'm still learning the lingo, and I didn't see the acronym on the welcome board. 

Good luck with your husband's biopsy. If it's any consolation to you guys it was a very quick procedure and we got the results immediately. My dh didn't think it was that bad - he rested a lot the day of and after the procedure - but he isn't really bothered by the idea of going through it again. We got an oxy perscription, but he didn't end up needing it and was fine with ibuprofen.  

Thank you for sharing your experience @HottLemonade2886. I'm sorry your first round wasn't successful. Have you decided if you're going for a round 2? Since there were so few sperm in the biopsy, the urologist actually told my husband not to change anything in his lifestyle - same diet, exercise routine, not to start any extra vitamins or supplements in case his body reacts poorly and reduces or ceases production. Basically, she wants everything to stay the same!  We haven't discussed PGS testing with our doctor yet, but I will definitely keep your experience and advice in mind when we do. 

HottLemonade2886

@caitb13 We are doing a second round. Starting stims on Monday. Hopefully we have better luck this round. It's interesting to hear that with low sperm they want no changes but it makes complete sense. Hopefully you guys will get a nice amount of sperm from the aspiration the day of your ER. It sounds like you both have a good attitude toward the whole process and that's great to have. Staying positive will definitely help with the stress of the process.

AngryBull

hey @caitb13 - learning the lingo takes forever (at least it did for me!). OOP means "out of pocket," as in no insurance coverage and having to pay for everything yourself.

caitb13

I've got my FX for you @HottLemonade2886!! I hope this round goes better for you. It feels like we've been benched for so long, we're just excited to be getting started! 

Thanks, @AngryBull! I'll get it all down eventually. 

AlohaKumu

Aloha and welcome, @caitb13. We're also looking at getting IVF with ICSI since we learned my DH's diagnosis. (DH was supposed to have a biopsy at the end of the month, but they are trying to push everything together since we are on a short timeline.) It's still sort of early in the process for us, so I'm sure we are all going to learn from one another.

caitb13

Thanks, @AlohaKumu! Looking forward to learning from each other as we go through this process. Good luck moving forward!!