[tasjaanalee]

<span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS">SO hi all I'm Tasjaana 25, and DH is Aaron 31. We've been trying on and off for about two years, and consistantly since Dec. 07. I had been doing a lot of research on infertitlity lately, kinda preparing myself for the testing, etc that was looming... but male factor never occurred to me (I figured the problem was with me... it usually is, haha), and there isn't a lot of information out there...

Well, last night we got the news that the hubby has a count of zero according to a test done for other issues (has to do with testosterone levels and whether the medication was affecting production, etc...), so it isn't a as sensitive as a test done for infertility...

So, long story short, what now?? I don't know what dotors to contact and what's going to happen from here on out (testing wise, etc), since his regular endocrineologist was less than helpful. What kind of doctor do I contact? An RE or a Urologist? Do I get testing done too to rule things out?

Sorry to be so long winded and everything... I'm just really lost and would be ever grateful for any information (and support, since I don't really know who I would talk to about this)... Thanks so much...</span>

[MXmom]

I don't know the answers to your questions, but I do remember reading that the medications that they use to increase testosterone levels can cause zero sperm count levels. One woman had a doctor change the meds to something that would encourage her husband's body to make his own testosterone, as opposed to the medication he was currently taking that were a synthetic version of testosterone. His counts returned to normal 3 months after changing medications.

[kticesk8s]

When I was in a similar situation, I started seeing an RE to prepare to do IVF, and DH saw a urologist that specialized in male fertility issues. We were referred to the urologist by the RE. So, I'd say that the first action for you is to make an appointment with an RE (or talk to your primary care doctor about getting a referral, if you have insurance coverage and are part of an HMO).

[txjovigal]

I agree with Katie.

Your story sounds alot like mine. I blamed myself for 5 years before getting DH test and finding out that he was the problem all along.

I went to an RE and he went to Urologist. If you find an RE you like, he/she may recommend a good urologist that they work with.

Hugs! and Good Luck!!!

There are alot of options out their now and days... IVF, IUI and even donor sperm!!

[tasjaanalee]

<span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS">MXMom- He's already off the synthetic, but I hadn't heard of any meds that stimulate production. I will definitely look into that!

Katie and TXJ (Esmy? is that your name, I love it!)- We got him into a urologist with a referral from our GP, I just have to see whether anyone will be willing to run the standard tests on me yet, since the problem seems to be with him (we all know how annoying it can be to try and make these things happen with insurance and all, ugh). So I'll check with my gyn and see if she can help or refer me to an RE.

Thank you all so much, I really just didn't know where to start....

So I assume from here on out I can prepare for a lot of poking and prodding and sitting on cold metal tables in my underwear... ...?</span>

[.H.e.a.t.h.e.r.]

my SO has a zero count too.

they did all the testing on me too just to make sure they knew what they were working with.

I had CD3 blood work,an HSG, ultrasound of my ovaries & was made to chart for a few cycles.

Once they determined there was no issue on my side they left me alone.

we use donor sperm so i have no idea about the urologist or anything.

my SO's issue has been known by his mother basically since his birth so whatever testing he had done it was when he was a child.

[kticesk8s]

Fertility clinics deal with a "couple," but in actuality, it is the woman who is the patient, even if there is nothing wrong with her. Our only problem is male factor, and here's how the whole process worked....

1) DH was referred to a regular urologist, where it was found that he had a terrible semen analysis
2) We immediately decided to start fertility treatments, so I went to my primary care doctor, and he referred me to an RE
3) We had our appointment with the RE, where the RE recommended a "better" urologist - the one he went to first was not a specialist in fertility therapies, so untimately he wasn't all that qualified to help us with our situation.

If you do undergo any fertility treatments, your RE will need to work hand-in-hand with your DH's doctor to get anything done. The majority of the treatment will be taken care of through your RE though. The only thing DH's urologist did were the microTESE surgeries that went along with our IVF cycles. Also, something to keep in mind - urologists who aren't trained in fertility techniques often deal with sperm issues incorrectly, for example, supplementing testosterone in men with low testosterone levels often harms sperm production, but not all non-fertility-specializing urologists know that.

[richmond_girl]

Welcome. I'm sorry you have to join us but you are in good company.

We are suffering from severe MFI as well. We found out in October that DH has severe oligospermia. We were devastated and shocked. Our stories are very similar - we started TTC in 12/07 as well. For those first 10 months I assumed the problem was me (DH has never even got a cold in his life, whereas I, on the other hand, always seem to be plagued by some issue or other). Well, turns out DH doesn't even have twenty sperm in a "natural sample". They don't know what's causing the oligospermia (very low sperm count), and they've decided that it's cheaper/faster for us to do IVF w/ICSI and TESE than try to diagnose/correct the underlying issue (which they suspect is a blockage, and trying to diagnose/correct a blockage often does more harm by causing more scar tissue which creates more blockage and leads to more infertility).

Once we found out DH's results, we set up an appt immediately with both a urologist and a RE. The ladies are right that you will be the RE's patient and DH's will be the urologist's patient. Our urologist / RE work in the same fertility clinic which made it easy for us. The first thing they did was take a second sample to confirm the first test wasn't a fluke (it wasn't - in fact, the second SA was actually much worse - although when you're talking about 20 sperms to start with, "worse" is arguably relative). Then the urologist did some bloodwork and exams on him to rule out stuff like kidney failure, testicular failure, etc. After all that came back clear, the RE and urologist jointly recommended IVF w/ICSI and TESE for us. We are schedule to do the TESE (extraction of sperm directly from testes tissue) on 1/30/09 and if they find sperm, I will start my IVF protocol that same week. The urologist will do the TESE, the lab will do the cryopreservation (freezing of sperm since we are doing the TESE in advance of the IVF), and my RE will manage my entire IVF cycle include my monitoring, egg retrieval and transfer.

We were able to jump straight to IVF because our insurance is pretty good and because I had already done my share of testing PRIOR to DH's sperm issues being discovered. I had all my CD3 and CD24 bloodwork done, clomid challenge, ovulation testing, etc. The only thing they had me do extra was the HSG. As soon as my uterus/tubes came back perfect, we got the official green light to move into IVF.

The next few weeks/months will be ROUGH. Take it easy on yourself and expect a roller coaster of emotions. You will feel sad, mad, angry, disappointed, resentful, bitter, shocked, and probably even some denial at first. These are all normal so come to this board whenever you need some support. These ladies are all wonderful and I wouldn't be here still TTC if it weren't for them.

[kticesk8s]

Here are a couple of other communities that have quite a few women in this situation (there are very few women on JM that are dealing with severe male factor):

www.ivfconnections.com - very active for everything IVF
www.rubber-ducky.org/carolynsboards - not too active, but a good resource anyway

[txjovigal]

<span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS">
TXJ (Esmy? is that your name, I love it!)-

So I assume from here on out I can prepare for a lot of poking and prodding and sitting on cold metal tables in my underwear... ...?</span>[/b]

Yes, Esmy is my name... its short for Esmeralda...


And, you wont be in your underwear.... you will be nude from the waist down!!! HA HA

If you go to an RE, they should get you tested to rule you out!! Good luck!

[~April04~]

Welcome! I'm April (22) married to Jeff (22).. We're on Month 14 of TTC our first, DH has a low count, low morphology and low motility.

[Brandiwine77]

I'm Brandi, one of your co-hosts. Sorry it has taken so long for me to respond, but my computer and internet have been misbehaving, lol.

The other girls have given you a lot of excellent information. They have pretty much covered all the bases, so I just wanted to add Good Luck, and stick around for a while, we'd love to have you as a member. I really hope you enjoy it here and I hope you get some answers soon & that you get your BFP!

[tasjaanalee]

Hi all, sorry I haven't responded to each post, but it's been a hectic week.

I just wanted to say again how INCREDIBLY helpful everything has been. It's a lot easier to have at least an overview of what's coming... Thank you thank you ladies

Just to catch you all up: DH has an appointment with a Urologist (specialized) the week after next, and I have yet to get through to my Gyn, but when I do I'm going to ask her to start testing, as well as reccoment an RE. We'll also ask the Urologist who he usually works with, and compare the two RE's and see who we like better... I feel better just having a place to start .

So I'm going to try to hop in on the other topics with you all and enjoy myself a bit, I've had my time to brood, now to get me *ss in gear and try not to think about it, haha.