Questions about DH's FSH and Testosterone

OtterPop1 · September 2010

I know someone just asked about this (or something like it) not too long ago, but I've looked through past posts and simply can't find it. I think maybe Stick Around or L&R had a link to a helpful website, but my mind is just completely blank right now.

DH had his SA and blood work done about a week ago. The doctor mailed the blood work results, which we got today, and added a note for DH to make a follow-up appointment two weeks after the SA.

Anyway, the blood level info just lists what DH's levels were and what the "reference ranges" are with no explanation or anything. (Grrrrr)

The paper says the reference range for FSH is 1.3-19.3 and testosterone is 175-781, but when I look online the numbers (especially for testosterone) are different. DH's FSH is 23.3 and testosterone is 179. These seem fairly high and low respectively.

Has anyone's DH had blood work done? Does anyone know anything about these numbers or what they mean for our TTC efforts? I'm a little worried, and I hate to wait until at least next Monday to find out anything.

I know this is long, so thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Stick Around · September 2010

Hi, lady. I didn't post a link, but I can tell you high FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) isn't considered a good thing, but neither is low. We heard sometimes it can be linked with testicular failure if it's low. And the low t could confirm that. BUT........ good news is, many testicular failure problems can be treated, such as vericoles (I don't know if I'm spelling that right), which are tube blockages that would be causing low t and thus blocking the production of sperm. MH does not have that problem, so surgery won't help him. MH has really low FSH, which also is responsible for good sperm production.

179 is really low for t. MH's 1st blood work put his t at 210, which his Uro said was that of an 85 year old man. (We were given a normal range of 300-1,200) He wants MH at 1,000. MH's been on CLomid since August and his t has gone up to 635. His FSH went from 1.5 to 3.6. (We were given a normal range of 1.7-11.2) He also has been taking multivitamins per Dr.'s orders and he's been prescribed Cialis for those "must perform" moments. I dunno if YH has libido/ED issues associated with his low t, like mine, but if he does, I know a lot about that, as well. So my advice is to not get discouraged. MH and I pretty much thought our only option to have a baby was IUI and then somehow last month, after only 4 months of trying, sperm met egg. Unfortunately, those little cells never made it into a little person, but my Dr. (and lots of other Dr.'s and research) said that as many as 75% of first pregnancies end in m/c, many women just don't know it because they're not charting.

OtterPop1 · September 2010

Thanks for the info! DH doesn't have any libido/ED issues, so the low t level was a bit of a surprise for me. If 300-1200 is normal, then I guess 179 is really low. Poor DH. He has a job interview tomorrow, so he isn't really trying to find out much about these numbers tonight. I'm not sure if I should tell him or just wait for the urologist to explain things.

The urologist did find a varicocele (sp?), but he didn't really say much about it. Maybe he was waiting to see what the test results were. DH only has one testicle, so I guess the varicocele may be a bigger problem than if he had both.

Thanks for the encouragement! My heart kind of sank as I started looking things up online. It's good to know that there are some things out there that can maybe help. I'm really curious now about what the SA results will be. I assume low testosterone affects sperm production?

Has your DH had any side effects with the Clomid?

Kathy4678 · September 2010

Hello- MH has Low T also and I agree with Sticks- 179 is super low for Testosterone.

I also agree with her about not getting discouraged. My best advice is to find a GOOD urologist! We went through three doctors before finding someone who would help treat the Low T without hurting our chances of having a baby.

Good Luck to you!

OtterPop1 · September 2010

Kathy4678:
Hello- MH has Low T also and I agree with Sticks- 179 is super low for Testosterone.
I also agree with her about not getting discouraged. My best advice is to find a GOOD urologist! We went through three doctors before finding someone who would help treat the Low T without hurting our chances of having a baby.
Good Luck to you!

Thanks Kathy! My OBGYN referred DH to this urologist for testing, so I'm assuming he's good. I guess we'll see what he has to say next week and go from there.

Good luck to you, too!

Stick Around · September 2010

Otter*Pop:
Thanks for the info! DH doesn't have any libido/ED issues, so the low t level was a bit of a surprise for me. If 300-1200 is normal, then I guess 179 is really low. Poor DH. He has a job interview tomorrow, so he isn't really trying to find out much about these numbers tonight. I'm not sure if I should tell him or just wait for the urologist to explain things.
The urologist did find a varicocele (sp?), but he didn't really say much about it. Maybe he was waiting to see what the test results were. DH only has one testicle, so I guess the varicocele may be a bigger problem than if he had both.
Thanks for the encouragement! My heart kind of sank as I started looking things up online. It's good to know that there are some things out there that can maybe help. I'm really curious now about what the SA results will be. I assume low testosterone affects sperm production?
Has your DH had any side effects with the Clomid?

Well the one testicle and the ver(insert letters I don't know here)e sound like the reason for the high FSH. Everything I've read said those v-things........ let's call them blockages for good measure....... can be treated with surgery. And also, if you get your SA and they find no sperm because of the blockage, and surgery isn't an option, I've also read (and heard from girls on the IF board) that if a blockage is the problem, he still could be producing lots of sperm, but they'd just have to be harvested out of the testes to be injected into you with a catheter......... like God intended! I know it's impossible, but TRY not to worry about it before you have to. YH will probably have to have lots of tests and several Dr.'s appointments before you actually get answers and not just worst-case-scenario what-if's.

So far, the clomid is working ok for MH. His only "side effect" so far has been a raise in his estrogen level, which they're "keeping an eye on." But Clomid raises testosterone in the testes, to allow for sperm production. If he had t injections, his pituitary wouldn't talk to his testes and tell them to make sperm because his blood would already think it had enough t, so his testes would shut down their t production, thus shutting down his sperm production.

Our Uro told us before we got out SA results that it "probably was going to be bad" based on MH's hormone levels. He ended up having a great count and great motility (forward movement) but poor morphology (shape). But the Dr. was surprised that it wasn't horrible. So you never know what will happen. And you could just get that miracle baby in the face of bad odds. Try and lurk around on the May 2011 mommy board and find a mommy-to-be called "Hels." She was dealing with MFI (male factor infertility) and was about to start IUI next month when she got KU this month! Her hubby has a blog, too. (fleakerslab.blogspot.com)

99luftballoons · September 2010

MH is going for a SA next week, so this is great info. Just wanted to say thanks

OtterPop1 · September 2010

Stick Around:
Otter*Pop:
Thanks for the info! DH doesn't have any libido/ED issues, so the low t level was a bit of a surprise for me. If 300-1200 is normal, then I guess 179 is really low. Poor DH. He has a job interview tomorrow, so he isn't really trying to find out much about these numbers tonight. I'm not sure if I should tell him or just wait for the urologist to explain things.
The urologist did find a varicocele (sp?), but he didn't really say much about it. Maybe he was waiting to see what the test results were. DH only has one testicle, so I guess the varicocele may be a bigger problem than if he had both.
Thanks for the encouragement! My heart kind of sank as I started looking things up online. It's good to know that there are some things out there that can maybe help. I'm really curious now about what the SA results will be. I assume low testosterone affects sperm production?
Has your DH had any side effects with the Clomid?
Well the one testicle and the ver(insert letters I don't know here)e sound like the reason for the high FSH. Everything I've read said those v-things........ let's call them blockages for good measure....... can be treated with surgery. And also, if you get your SA and they find no sperm because of the blockage, and surgery isn't an option, I've also read (and heard from girls on the IF board) that if a blockage is the problem, he still could be producing lots of sperm, but they'd just have to be harvested out of the testes to be injected into you with a catheter......... like God intended! I know it's impossible, but TRY not to worry about it before you have to. YH will probably have to have lots of tests and several Dr.'s appointments before you actually get answers and not just worst-case-scenario what-if's.
So far, the clomid is working ok for MH. His only "side effect" so far has been a raise in his estrogen level, which they're "keeping an eye on." But Clomid raises testosterone in the testes, to allow for sperm production. If he had t injections, his pituitary wouldn't talk to his testes and tell them to make sperm because his blood would already think it had enough t, so his testes would shut down their t production, thus shutting down his sperm production.
Our Uro told us before we got out SA results that it "probably was going to be bad" based on MH's hormone levels. He ended up having a great count and great motility (forward movement) but poor morphology (shape). But the Dr. was surprised that it wasn't horrible. So you never know what will happen. And you could just get that miracle baby in the face of bad odds. Try and lurk around on the May 2011 mommy board and find a mommy-to-be called "Hels." She was dealing with MFI (male factor infertility) and was about to start IUI next month when she got KU this month! Her hubby has a blog, too. (fleakerslab.blogspot.com)

Haha! Thanks for the laugh; I needed that!

Thank you for all in information. I really appreciate it, and it is so good to know DH and I are not alone.

MrsPBNJ0220 · September 2010

I just had to chime in and tell you, you really are not alone. I have had Sticks and Kathy both be very helpful for me as well. My DH has Low T, his was 183, and he actually only has one testicle (well he will tell you two, he likes to consider the dead one still there, I guess for his pride) as well. Either way he really only has one due to a testicular torsion from when he was younger. Unfortunately we have been getting the run around more htan anything. We were supposed to go to our PCP today to get the script for the SA, but they rescheduled for tomorrow, so we are hoping this will be the start of more answers.

Just chiming in to say you really aren't alone, and I'm really right there with you not knowing what is going on or what they will do. So Good Luck, and would love to hear how things go!

Good Luck again!

OtterPop1 · September 2010

MrsPBNJ0220:
I just had to chime in and tell you, you really are not alone. I have had Sticks and Kathy both be very helpful for me as well. My DH has Low T, his was 183, and he actually only has one testicle (well he will tell you two, he likes to consider the dead one still there, I guess for his pride) as well. Either way he really only has one due to a testicular torsion from when he was younger. Unfortunately we have been getting the run around more htan anything. We were supposed to go to our PCP today to get the script for the SA, but they rescheduled for tomorrow, so we are hoping this will be the start of more answers.
Just chiming in to say you really aren't alone, and I'm really right there with you not knowing what is going on or what they will do. So Good Luck, and would love to hear how things go!
Good Luck again!

That is the exactly what happened to my DH! I had never even heard of testicular torsion before I met DH.

Thanks for replying. I can't really explain how good it is to know we aren't alone!

Good luck with the SA! I hope it helps give you some answers and a plan. Likewise, I would love to hear how things go for you!

Thanks again and the best of luck to you!

Want a personalized experience?

Questions about DH's FSH and Testosterone

Re: Questions about DH's FSH and Testosterone

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

Want a personalized experience?

Questions about DH's FSH and Testosterone

Re: Questions about DH&#039;s FSH and Testosterone

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

Re: Questions about DH's FSH and Testosterone