[tuie]

Hello eveyone my name is Theresa Im 28. My Hubby is 42 and we have been ttc for 3 years. The first 2 years we werent to serious. But we have been actively ttc since June 2008. I got my on August 1 st 2008. M/c on Sept 2nd. We tried for another year before getting any testing done. We just found out DH has a ZERP sperm count. So now we are talking about using donor sperm and IUI. Any words of wisdom?

DD Mia is 3 years old

[Kris79]

tuie - Welcome! I'm sorry to hear about your m/c last year. I am also doing IUI w/ donor sperm because DH has no sperm. We have been trying since February 2009 and am not in the two-week wait for IUI#5...we will be able to test early next week to see if we get that BFP. There are a number of other gals on here using donor sperm. Our doctor told us it can take a little longer when using donor because the sperm has been frozen and because you only have that one shot at it each month. I did three unmedicated cycles and I'm not sure I'd do that again if I had it to do over again. I have had very minimal side effects from Clomid and I had two nice big follies this time. I can't help but think that if I'm able to get pregnant, I would be pregnant by now if we'd been using Clomid from the start. That's just my opinion though...

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do...you may also want to check out the Azoospermia thread under "Causes of Infertility/Male Factor Infertility. There are a lot of ladies going through the no sperm dilemma over there and it's a great supportive group.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[tuie]

Kris - How do I put my signature and info on the bottom of my posts?

[tomekwa]

Tuie - Dh and I used donor sperm too. I'm in the same boat as Kris is. Both our DHs have the same genetic problem and have zero sperm.
I chose a more aggressive path. They told me that I might have PCOS and then I asked about the rates of pregnancy with Clomid vs injectables.
I tried one cycle with clomid and had zero response. I had one follicle that grew a little then it stopped.
I then, checked with my insurance and they covered infertility meds.
Needless to say I moved on to injectables. I did a total of three cycles with Follistim. It worked for me!
I'm 2 days away from being 12 wks pregnant.
I'm super excited and I have to say this....I think because it took a little while to work, the "issue" of us using a donor is no longer there.
Dh is SUPER happy that we're pregnant and we can't wait to meet our little one.

Good luck to you.

PS: To add a signature go to User CP on the top left, there you should be able to find an Edit Signature, click on that and you'll be able to create yours.

[honey15390]

hello,
I don't know if you have read my story. But my DH and i also used donor sperm. Luckily he has a identical twin that offered to help us out so there you know now that my DH twin helped us. I just had my IUI done on today and hope everything goes well. Its not so bad using donor sperm. My husband also had zero sperm due to a birth defect that caused him to not have sperm. It hurt us in the beginning but i think that things worked out ok and things were just designed this way for a reason. hope all goes well with you! and i will be for you to get and to all .

[TBar]

Hi all...

I just finished my 3rd DIUI and AF arrived today.... !!! I have to do my signature with my history, but to give it now... Last year I did 4 unmedicated DIUI cycles and on my 4th I got a BFP. Sadly I lost my angel at 7 weeks!!! Saw the heartbeat on a Wednesday, lost it 5 days later!!! Now I'm back and SO frustrated that 3 cycles later still no BFP. I've done 2 unmedicated and 1 with 50mg of Clomid. I'm wondering if I should try Clomid this next cycle? I ovulate fine, but I want every opportunity to try and make it happen quicker!!! My issue is the clinic I go to has me come in for an ultrasound when taking clomid and it's an expense issue. Wondering if others have to go through that?? Also... is it worth taking if I O fine?

[dylansmommy]

honey i just wanted to say i think that is so cool of your dh twin to help you both out...good luck to you

tbar if you ovulate alright i would think you would not need clomid since that is all it helps you to do..do you know if you have any other underlying issues have you had an hsg done?..has your dh had an analysis..I know how expensive the u/s can get I do have insurance but have to pay 20% and last month I had 5 u/s becuz i only have one good tube so had to make sure the right side was responding.....good luck to you I know how hard it can be ..I am

naomi

[Kris79]

TBar - I too ovulate fine, but the thought behind using Clomid is that it likely gives us two good follies to aim for with the lower counts of donor sperm. Seems like usually we have between 10-20 million sperm as opposed to ladies using their DH's sperm who usually are over 40 million. I did the unmedicated cycles to no avail and I feel more confident that Clomid will help us get our baby sooner.

[mooodyb2000]

I have to agree with the donor sperm being your one shot. I mean I had to purchase mine from a cryobank and it's around $400 a vial, so I don't do b2b iui. They guarantee a minimum number of sperm and motility % and my RE's office recommends them and says they have a good reputation.

[AngelJourney]

I have to totally agree that using DS is a "one shot" deal. My RE doesn't do b2b IUI in any case as she ran a study at OSU and determined that there isn't a significant increase in BFP in b2b IUI over "one shot" IUI.

I also have to second the motion of using a fertility medication (Clomid or Femara) even if you ovulate with no problem. I too ovulate just fine, but got a BFN on my first un-medicated IUI. Because of the cost of DS, and the fact that I'm ready to be a mom, I'm not doing unmedicated again. I'm using Femara (Clomid is off the table as I'm a migraine sufferer), to help increase the # of follies so maybe I can increase my shot at getting preggo.

On a side note, DS can have higher #'s at times. Our DS had a count of 73 million with 60% forward progression. My RE was very excited (so were we). I'm hoping to have the same or similar counts this time around too.

Good luck to us all and hopefully the is on the way for all of us!

[smiley]

I just wanted to give my 2 cents! My DH has 0 sperm due to a vasectomy many years ago (partially done for medical reasons)- we attempted a reversal a year and a half ago and nothing. We started with IUI and DS. The first was unmedicated- it seemed like a waste and when reviewing with my RE several cycles later she only counted it as half a try???? it did cost me a less with monitoring etc but the DS is expensive. I tried 4 different donors (due to counts and availablitiy) did 5 IUIs (4 of them involved b2b iuis)- 1 natural, 2 with 50 mg clomid and 2 with clomid and follistim injectables.....NOTHING

So I really don't mean to be the downer b/c it does happen with DS for many but not me and I had all the testing and O on my own always regualr etc etc and nothing. So we are in the process of a 1 month break for me to regain some sanity and are starting the IVF process. In retrospect (hindsight is truely 20/20) I wish we would have skipped the reversal and gone straight for this. We would probably at least be pregnant by now and have frosties for another try. Insurance only covered pre testing for me and luckily 75% of meds...but everythign else has been and will be out of pocket.

I think all of the companies have guarentees on the quality but it is not what most people have with fresh tries. If it guraentees 10M...that is before they wash it so I wouldhave like 6 when done. The last cycle we even douobled the vials so I had like 20 M each day and still nothing...I thought that would be it.

So don't want to be a downer just wihs I had heard a story like this I would have gone straight for drugs...just gives you more control and the last 2 times I had 2 follies. B/c of my age they didn't want more than that but I think another 1 or 2 would have been better shot. So pay attention to whats going on and how much you are spending. I think there has to be a time to stop the madness. I am going to a fertility center so probably pay a little more than some but less than others and I have already spent a small fortune- I actually don't want to konw how much. I figure I will find out for sure when I do taxes and will hopefully be pregnant by then and not care as much. they have no doubt IVF will work and I am in a guarentee program now so I get 6 fresh attempts and frozen ones too and if I don't DELIVER a baby I get 100% of my money back. We have spent so long playing the odds and doing waht we should do per Drs and research...I'm done and going for it.

I'm so sorry any of us have to deal with this especially when we already have to deal with using DS. Good luck to all of you ladies- I truely understand. I have seen successful stories out there with DS so I don't want to bring anyone down just share my not so great story.

[TBar]

yeah... I'm thinking maybe I should give clomid another shot! I did have an HSG and everything is fine! Actually got pregnant right after the procedure!

kristen... do you have to go in for an u/s a week or so after the insemination to check for cysts (I think that's what they look for)?

I get b2b inseminations too. I'm not to thrilled about the count though. My clinic washes the sperm and my 2nd one this time only had 5 million! I think that is low, but they told me it's fine. I'm thinking I should call the sperm bank and find out what the guarantee is!!

[dylansmommy]

tbar it might make you feel better..my re told me when i had my first iui that anything over 3mill and they get the same pregnancy results (percentage wise)..that is my particular clinic but by that standard 5 mill would be just fine..good luck
naomi

[tuie]

Thank you all for the info. Im stilll holding onto hope that he is "fixable". He has his first appt with the urologist on Friday. We are hoping and there is something we can do. He has 5 kids, so we cant understand why he has a ZERO count.

[tuie]

Honey I think its awsome that your DH has a twin and your using his sperm. I will for you to get your .