[Feathers42]

Hi everyone, I just found out yesterday that my husband has a zero sperm count from a sperm analysis that he had done. Can anyone offer us any advice or hope? Has this happened to anyone? We have an appointment with a Urologist, but it's not until march.

[txjovigal]

Welcome, Nicole..

I am Esmy, I am one of the cohost here with Brandi and while my DH was not at zero % he was at 4 %. Going to the urologist is the best thing. Mine went on a 3 month vitaman treatment and Clomid to see if it would increase and while he did get more sperm they just weren't that good.

I wish you luck! and again Welcome!

[~April04~]

Welcome.

My advice would be to get a repeat SA done and get an appointment with an urologist.

[Brandiwine77]

Hi and welcome! I'm Brandi, one of your co-hosts. I agree with the other girls about getting a repeat SA done, along with the urologist. There could be several reasons why your DH doesn't have sperm present in his sample. It could be due to a blockage, or he could not be producing sperm at all. I know that there are some ladies here that are dealing with either zero sperm, or pretty close to zero sperm. I don't have a lot of advice on that issue for you, so I'm hoping they can give you a lot more insight. Stick around here with us, we'd love for you to be part of our board.

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

Thats why we're using donor sperm but you can sometimes take sperm directly from the testicles. richmond_girl is the one who knows all about sperm so hopefully she will reply.

[richmond_girl]

Hi. Zero sperm is a condition known as azoospermia. First, make sure your DH really had ZERO sperm and not NEAR-ZERO sperm (oligospermia) or DEAD sperm (necrospermia). It makes a difference whether you have zero or one, as odd as that sounds.

Assuming your DH really has ZERO sperm, there are two types of azoospermia: obstructive and non obstructive. Obstructive means there is something physically blocking sperm from getting out of your DH's body; it generally indicates an issue with sperm delivery. Common causes include scar tissue, damaged or absent vas deferens (tubes that carry sperm from the testicles and out the body), or varicoceles (a varicose vein in the scrotum). Some of these are treatable, others are not. For those that not, there are ways to work around them (for example, getting sperm directly from your DH's testicles or epididymus, as Heather mentioned). So, there is hope. Non-obstructive azoospermia is a bit more complicated. This generally indicates an issue with sperm production. Your DH's body is just not making sperm, which is harder to fix. Common causes include testicular failure, hormonal imbalance and chromosomal diseases (such as Klinefelters). Additionally, not to get all technical here, but the issue may not even be sperm production, but sperm maturation. The difference being that with the latter, your DH's body is producing sperm, but for some reason they are dying before they can mature fully and go where they need to go. In order for sperm to mature, there must be certain types of cells to carry sperm through the 5 stages of development. If you are missing any of these cells, sperm development can completely halt. Some of these issues related to sperm production and sperm maturation can be fixed, others cannot. But even for those that cannot, there are again ways to work around it, so don't worry just yet.

Your best bet is to see a urologist asap. They will need to do a bunch of testing to find out what the cause of your DH's issue is. They will do a physical exam, ultrasounds and bloodwork to determine if your DH has obstructive or non-obstructive azoospermia. That is the first step and your treatment will depend entirely on the kind of azoospermia you have. (Your urologist may also test DH for a condition called retrograde ejaculation where sperm actually gets pulled back into the body - the opposite way it's supposed to go- each time DH ejaculates. There is a test called postejaculate urinalysis that can rule this out pretty quickly.) Options that may be available to you include hormonal therapy, Clomid, vitamins, and various sperm extraction techniques such as TESE, PESA, MESA etc (worthy of their own post and easy enough to google if you're interested).

Bottom line is, don't lose hope. Prepare for a long, emotional, exhausting journey, but know that there are ways to get pregnant with today's incredible medical technology as long as you have the resources and the faith to keep going on.

Good luck - Juli

PS - ladies, I know way too much about this stuff

[richmond_girl]

richmond_girl is the one who knows all about sperm so hopefully she will reply.[/b]

LOL Heather you crack me up. Should I add that to my resume??

[Feathers42]

Thank you so so much for all this information, I'm printing it out and doing more research so we are prepared for our appointment with the urologist. I just pray there actually is some sperm in there, even if only a few.

Hi. Zero sperm is a condition known as azoospermia. First, make sure your DH really had ZERO sperm and not NEAR-ZERO sperm (oligospermia) or DEAD sperm (necrospermia). It makes a difference whether you have zero or one, as odd as that sounds.

Assuming your DH really has ZERO sperm, there are two types of azoospermia: obstructive and non obstructive. Obstructive means there is something physically blocking sperm from getting out of your DH's body; it generally indicates an issue with sperm delivery. Common causes include scar tissue, damaged or absent vas deferens (tubes that carry sperm from the testicles and out the body), or varicoceles (a varicose vein in the scrotum). Some of these are treatable, others are not. For those that not, there are ways to work around them (for example, getting sperm directly from your DH's testicles or epididymus, as Heather mentioned). So, there is hope. Non-obstructive azoospermia is a bit more complicated. This generally indicates an issue with sperm production. Your DH's body is just not making sperm, which is harder to fix. Common causes include testicular failure, hormonal imbalance and chromosomal diseases (such as Klinefelters). Additionally, not to get all technical here, but the issue may not even be sperm production, but sperm maturation. The difference being that with the latter, your DH's body is producing sperm, but for some reason they are dying before they can mature fully and go where they need to go. In order for sperm to mature, there must be certain types of cells to carry sperm through the 5 stages of development. If you are missing any of these cells, sperm development can completely halt. Some of these issues related to sperm production and sperm maturation can be fixed, others cannot. But even for those that cannot, there are again ways to work around it, so don't worry just yet.

Your best bet is to see a urologist asap. They will need to do a bunch of testing to find out what the cause of your DH's issue is. They will do a physical exam, ultrasounds and bloodwork to determine if your DH has obstructive or non-obstructive azoospermia. That is the first step and your treatment will depend entirely on the kind of azoospermia you have. (Your urologist may also test DH for a condition called retrograde ejaculation where sperm actually gets pulled back into the body - the opposite way it's supposed to go- each time DH ejaculates. There is a test called postejaculate urinalysis that can rule this out pretty quickly.) Options that may be available to you include hormonal therapy, Clomid, vitamins, and various sperm extraction techniques such as TESE, PESA, MESA etc (worthy of their own post and easy enough to google if you're interested).

Bottom line is, don't lose hope. Prepare for a long, emotional, exhausting journey, but know that there are ways to get pregnant with today's incredible medical technology as long as you have the resources and the faith to keep going on.

Good luck - Juli

PS - ladies, I know way too much about this stuff [/b]

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

LOL Heather you crack me up. Should I add that to my resume??
[/b]

yep :biggrin: I plan to add that my doctor said I have a "beautiful reproductive system" to a personals ad if I were to ever end up single again.

[~~*Ashley*~~]

Hey there. I'm dealing with the same situation you are. We were also gives the news of a 0 sperm count. When we first found out, I was thinking "is that even possible?" But after doing research about it i've came up with the same information that Juli has given you. We have not yet seen a urologist yet. He is getting a 2nd SA done with our current family doctor, then those results will be forwarded to our urologist. So were getting this whole mess straightened out. We are willing to try any and everything to have a biological child so i'll keep you both in my prayers Look forward to getting to know you and hopefully we can help each other along on this crazy journey.