[dkhrbh]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone's DH has taken HCG to increase sperm count. Did the HCG work? and if so how long did it take to increase sperm production. His urologist is telling us 6-12 months taking 3 shots of HCG weekly. That just seems like such a long time esp when we have been TTC #1 for 5 years. My DH testosterone level is low and thus making his sperm count 2 million. He is having an MRI to check pituitary gland Friday. Hopefully we will know more after this. Also how much does HCG cost?

Sorry so long but just have lots of questions.

[SFBaygirl]

Hello!

I know that there are several ladies on the azoo thread in this section whose DH's used HCG. I do believe that it did increase T levels. I am not sure about the sperm count. Of course azoo (0 sperm count) is much more severe than the low sperm count so the HCG may be more effective. You may want to check out the huge thread or ask the question there.

Best of luck.

[crob]

you can read in my signature when my dh started hcg and what it did to his counts. you can always try iui's when the counts get a little higher. i think our clinic recommended at least 5mil to do an iui. however ,not sure why none of that ever worked for us. maybe i was too stressed out. my dh took 3cc hcg every other day. we would get 5 vials for the month and i think it was liek $250-270. somewhere in that neighborhood. i have ordered from ivpcare and schrafts...check prices...they'll give you a quote. also, when you order the meds, they'll give you free syringes, sharps container, alcohol swabs, etc, just ask for them. it definitely raised my dh's testosterone. he was around 200 when diagnosed w/ low testosterone and the last time they checked him on the straight hcg he was around 1000 (too high in my opinion). he's on a mixture of hcg and testosterone right now (dr wanted to put him back on straight testosterone but i said not until we have the baby b/c the testosterone killed all his sperm) and he says he doesn't feel as good as he did on the straight hcg. i guess since the hcg makes your body make testosterone naturally, it makes you feel better than just taking testosterone injections.

[SFBaygirl]

1000 T level does seem rather high. Certainly the upper range of normal. I think it also depends on their age. My DH's T level went from ~150 to over 900 on the Androgel which he is no longer taking. He didn't really feel any different interestingly enough.

My DH's case is complicated by the fact that for many years due to a back injury and subsequent failed surgery, he was on mega doses of strong opiods. I know this affects T levels. He also has a very high FSH so it could still be testicular failure or genetics and the opioids are just a coincidence too. I am not convinced that the opioids are responsible for his azoo but it would be interesting to explore and wonderful if the cause were potentially reversible. I am not keeping my hopes up however.

I hope you are doing well Crob and that your pg is progressing nicely.