introduction and male factor infertility

kjk024

Hello! My husband and I, after trying to conceive for months and months without luck, went to a fertility specialist in April. At 25 and 26, me with regular cycles and both of us physically fit... we didn’t expect to have issues. Here we still are. 

I could be wrong, I haven’t been on this forum long, but I seem to be a bit peculiar to this forum in that our struggles to conceive fall entirely into my husbands court. He has a sperm count of zero on multiple analysis. It’s been weeks and weeks of testing, blood work, procedures, and an excruciating amount of wait time for both of us. We still don’t know why he has a count of zero, but through a process of elimination, it is almost certainly a genetic mutation of sorts where it simply... doesn’t happen. We are still waiting on genetic tests to come back to confirm the doctors suspicions. 

I was put through the ringer as well, blood tests, ultrasound, and hysteroscopy. All is well in my realm, at least as far as those tests can reveal. Now my primary job is supporting my husband as he begins to cope with the idea of sperm donation and generally accepting new information about himself. He seems scared that I will feel slighted for marrying him or that I will blame him for our struggle, emotionally and financially, to start a family. I reassure him the best I can that the thought never even enters my mind. This is just the journey we were set to take. 

Anyway, that’s my story and my introduction. I hope this can be a source of support for me and that I can somehow offer support to others. Regardless of who or what the factor is, infertility has proven to be a terribly hard ride, and I fear I have barely started. 

Wishing you all all the best. Thanks for having me. 

ndz2018

@kjk024 Welcome and I'm sorry you find yourself here. Unfortunately I have met quite a few women on here who are in a similar situation as you. You're not alone. Hoping you can find some peace in the results from your genetic testing and move forward with whatever you and your husband decide. 

more14

Hi @kjk024. I'm sorry to see you here and hope your stay here is short ❤️
Our IF is also due to male factor. For us the problem is motility and count and my husband has been struggling with guilt ever since we started IF treatments. 
There is little I can do except to tell him he's being silly and that I married him for who he is and not the number of children he can or cannot help make. I know it makes him feel more useful in the process when I let him do things for me, so I do even if it's things I rather do myself.

It's hard - we need to support our SO at the same time we ourselves need a lot of support because the treatments are not easy.

I hope this forum will be a source of strength for you and that your journey to achieve the family you both obviously want, will be as short and as easy as possible!

GL!

katie35

Hello @kjk024.  Sorry you find yourself here.  I am in a semi similar situation to you.  My husband's sperm count was also found to be zero.  We found out that it was due to a genetic mutation which caused him to not have any vas deferens.  So he has sperm, they just don't have a way out . For this reason we are on the  IVF with ICSI path.

I am hopeful this forum can help support you!! There are lots of good people here with tons of good information.

ChristenMA83

@kjk024 Our fertility issues are male factor as well.  I've been through all the tests and so far they haven't found a contributing female factor.  We're doing IVF with ICSI - DH's counts are low across the board but especially low morphology and 1% if I remember correctly.  I hope you can find support here and good luck on your journey.

[Deleted User]

Welcome!!! And (((huge hugs))) ❤❤❤

***lurking from PAIF***

We received an azoo diagnosis as well.  It was truly devastating.  We went through all the testing on both sides, and unfortunately, we don't really have a, "reason," we just know that he doesn't have vas tubes.  But they didn't find any known genetic cause of it, either. :/

Obviously, we had our turn though the ringer.

**TW retrieval results**
<div class=" Spoiler">But luckily, he did have a successful retrieval!  I went through two back-to-back retrievals myself, and we ended up with seven well-graded, non-pgs frosties!!!</div>
****TW**** loss and success ****
<div class="Spoiler">Sadly, our first FET did not work, but our second one did(!), and we are now several months KU with our first.</div>
It was definitely a huge blow realizing that IVF was our only chance at having a baby, but we worked through processing it all together.  And the healing came in layers and in waves.  TBH, it still hurts.  But we made it through, and we are so much stronger for it!

If you use the search tool, there are other azoo grads, who may or may not be as active anymore, but may help you feel less alone, just knowing that the road you are travelling, may be more well-worn than you think.  Feel free to PM me anytime as well. ❤

*typo/words

AlohaKumu

Hi @kjk024. We are also MFI here. Over a year ago, we discovered my husband has a 0 count confirmed by multiple SAs. Eventually they diagnosed him as having AZFc, a microdeletion on his Y chromosome. Although some AZFc individuals are able to successfully retrieve sperm through the TESE or m-TESE procedures, we were not able to do so. We currently have two remaining embryos created using known donor sperm and are dealing with my recent diagnosis of endometritis.

My husband took it very hard when we got his diagnosis and faced the unsuccessful surgical results. It's been a process of supporting one another with love and care along the way, since this is a tough, tough journey.

leilee101

Hi @kjk024 so sorry to see you finding yourself in this situation. Like @AlohaKumu and @BusinessWife (hi ladies!), my husband was also diagnosed with azoosprrmia. I know how devestating that diagnosis can be, especially to our husbands. It sounds like you are on the right path, and it seem like you are already bracing yourself for it being a long one. If all genetic (y chromosome and Karotyping) come back normal, your H might be a good candidate for the mTese surgery. As @BusinessWife and @katie35 said, their surgery was a success - mine was not. We have moved forward with donor sperm and I’m currently in the TWW of our first IVF cycle. So all of us have started in the same place (ZERO sperm), and ended up on very different journeys. But either way, we all have the same end goal. So please know you are not alone!

Wishing you you the best and hope that you guys can figure this out. Please PM me if you ever want to ask any questions or just vent about how shitty it is, because it is. 

alexandrabarros

@kjk024 Welcome to the group! We are glad to have you. Hope you can find the support you need. 
Sorry you have to go through all this. My husband also has a zero sperm count. He even went through surgery to see if they could find something but there was nobody home. I don't think he will ever be 100% ok with a donor sperm, but he says it gets better every day. We just need to keep supporting each other, it's a very hard thing to accept but time was the best medicine for us. 

We started IVF in March and now we are going to our second FET in July.  

Hope all goes well in your journey!

littlebeastshaya

Hi there! how are you doing? I hope you are doing fine. We are doing great. I read your post. TTC is very hard. It is the hardest time of a woman's life. It requires a lot of patience. Don't lose hope. Good things come to those who wait. I think you need to be by your husband side this whole time. Infertility has a great effect on mental health. Hope all goes well for you guys. Take care. God bless.

melissa022

Hello! How are you doing? Thanks for sharing your story. From your story, people will get awareness of male factor infertility. People should have known that infertility is not always related to women. Well, I am so sorry to hear about your DH infertility. It is good that you support your partner. I hope that you will parents soon. Best wishes

anared

Hi @kjk024 I completely understand what you are going through. It is not easy trying to support yourself and your spouse during infertility.

My husband also has MFI except his falls entirely with morphology. Our RE had said it is less than 1%. Which makes it nearly impossible to conceive naturally and our IUI chances are less than the normal range. I have had six so far and I will know the outcome of the last IUI this weekend. We are now in the pre authorization process for IVF.

Wishing you lots of luck on this journey!