Introduction- IUI, AMA, MFF

jazziep

Hi - First time posting. Please be patient as I'm trying to learn all the abbreviations. My Husband and I have been trying for a long time to get pregnant. It took me even longer to get him to agree to fertility testing as he was confident "It would happen and it would be as it would be."
Now I'm facing AMA(38) and we've learned that my husband has a challenge with his fertility due to his diabetes and a testicular torsion when he was a boy.
We're doing our first attempt at IUI this cycle and they want us to do back to back (two IUIs during the same cycle) because of his diabetes. They've also had us on an extremely low carb diet designed to boost our egg and sperm quality.
Between the IUI drugs, the diet, and the long fertility struggle we've faced, I guess I'm posting for the first time because I've found this whole thing to be extremely isolating. The meds have caused a lot of side effects over the last three days also: mood swings (crying easily), diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, difficulty sleeping while also being drowsy, and irritablity.
Any stories of success for those with AMA and mff issues would be appreciated.
The tests showed I have a good egg reserve despite my AMA so I am trying to remain hopeful.
Please wish me luck and prayers would be appreciated. Sending everyone in the community good baby making vibes as well.
Much love,
Jaz

ndz2018

Hey @jazziep sorry you find yourself here with us. Funny my H also had a testicular torsion when he was a boy too. However when he did IVF with his ex wife(over 10 years ago when he was later 20s early 30s) his sperm count was fine.. fast forward to now he’s 43 and has MFI low count, low morph and on the lower side of normal motility. Mainly because of that and I had just 37 at the time she said due to that and our ages she didn’t want to waste our time with IUI and went straight to IVF. We did our retrieval back in Dec and now have 5 PGS normal embryos waiting for us next month. I also Had a septate uterus that I had surgery on earlier this year and some unforeseen things happen that delayed our process but we are moving forward in Aug. 
Im sorry the hear you’re struggling with the meds, diet and the isolation especially ... it sucks but this community has been a saving grace with tons of support! There is usually a monthly IUI group you should jump in and introduce yourself:) 
Did they say how many IUIs you have to do before considering IVF? Is IVF an option? I know Some people are covered and unfortunately some are completely out of pockets.

anared

@jazziep Welcome! Sorry to hear of your struggles. But nice to hear your egg reserve is good! I am not in the exact situation you are in but I have done 3 or 4 back to back IUIs. It is really not so bad its just more time consuming because you have to be there a few days in a row.

My husband was also hesitant about getting a sperm analysis. I had already done the majority of my tests months in advance before he was backed into a corner to do it. The RE said we go no further until you get a sperm analysis- I don't know why my husband thought you can just jump to IVF without it. Well turns out he has severe MFI, less than one percent morphology. He still didn't go to the urologist like suggested so we just moved forward with IUIs. I did 6 all of which failed and now I am on my first IVF cycle. I found out after the fact that we could've jumped right to IVF because of the MFI- the sperm are unable to penetrate the egg due to their abnormalities. 

I understand the isolation all too well. I only told a few friends back when I started the IUIs but I don't keep them in the day to day loop. And none of our family knows because my husband had a conflict with some of my family and it is a very touchy situation so I personally didn't want any more stress and chose not to say anything. It can be really lonely but you will find camaraderie here and I hope it makes this process somewhat easier. Good Luck!!!

jazziep

NDZ2018, I'm so happy to hear about your embryos and will keep you in my thoughts in August! I appreciate the support and kind words.

My insurance covers 6 IUIs. So I wanted to try IUI first, especially since I've always been very sensitive to medications. We're doing back to back IUIs Friday and Saturday if the meds worked. I'll find out tomorrow at the follow up. That will bring us to 4 left.

I'll look out for the monthly groups! Thank you.

jazziep

anared, thank you for your kind words. My husband's morphology was 1%. I'm hopeful that it will work but very scared it won't. The cost is so prohibitive for IVF. I know my doctor offers financing but I wanted to see if this would work first since IUI is covered. 
Best of wishes on your IVF journey!