[Atiz]

Hey, Angiefl, keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[tuie]

SFBaygirl - Thank you for the well wishes. I hope so too.They do an SA 4 weeks after surgery to see if it was a sucess. Please God let it be a success . The Dr told us we have a 60% chance. And it could take us anywhere from 3 to 15 months to conceive. I really hope it doesnt take that long. We have been trying for 3 years already.

Dreamer - The nurse also asked me if my Dh had a vasectomy. I thought it was a mistake. I got another refferal and took it to a different hospital. I was shocked when the second one came back 0 also.

Schatzi - Thank you. I would really love to be able to conceive the old fashoned way. But if I have to do IUI im ok with that too. Im prepared for whatever comes next.

Sarah - .

[SFBaygirl]

Tuie: Would the 3-15 months be for the chance of a natural conception? Would it be possible to do IVF/ICSI if there are even a few swimmers in the interim period?

[tuie]

SFBaygirl - The 3 to 15 months is for natural conception. We could do IVF at any time. But we cant afford to do that. After his surgery if he has his flow back but his count is low we will do IUI.

[Jessymica82]

Hi ladies,
I don't post too often just lurk a lot, but thought I would since things are moving along for us. DH will undergo mTESE Nov 25, the day before thanksiving yikes! I am really excited to get this surgery done, but I am feeling extremely nervous. I am really trying to prepare myself for the worst. If the dr. finds nothing I know it will devastate me, but lately I have really been thinking about DH and his feelings. It breaks my heart that if they do not find anything he will never have his own biological children. That doesn't bother me as I am ok with ds, and if our roles were reversed I would be sad, but ok with donor eggs. I don't think it will be so easy for him, and I really worry about what it will do to him and the strain it may have on our relationship. We haven't discussed the what if's, I figure we will just wait and give it some time after the surgery before we decide on anything. I guess I am just wondering how the ladies who had the surgery with nothing found, how did your husbands react? I just really have to prepare myself because he doesn't act worried or really talk about any of it at all, which I know is normal, but it just worries me that maybe he isn't preparred for the possible outcomes.

Also for all those who have undergone IVF, in the chance that we have a positive outcome I am wondering if I should go off the pill. I presently take it to regulate my cycle since I have a mild case of PCOS, so I don't want to go off because it will mess up my cycle, but how long before IVF should I be off the pill, does anyone have any experience with this? DH wants to go through IVF as soon as possible if we have a positive outcome, so I was just wondering. Sorry for the long post, and thanks so much for all your help. I keep you all in my prayers

Jess

[Kris79]

Jessy - I'm glad your DH is scheduled for surgery!! The next month will be one of mixed emotions...lots of excitement and hope, mixed with anxiety and fear. The worst for me emotionally was the week before...so be prepared...and it's perfectly normal to feel all these feelings. We had decided before the mTESE surgery that if there were no sperm, we would go for donor sperm. This was a tough decision to come to, but one that has worked out for us. My DH was sad to not find sperm, but he told me that he had pretty much come to terms with it in the five months between dx and surgery that it was probably unlikely he'd have sperm. I would have never guessed he felt that way because he kept saying he didn't want to consider other options because it felt like we were giving up on him before the surgery. After the surgery he dove into researching potential donors and he said that was actually healing for him...I'm sure not every DH would feel this way. He said once he knew there was no way he could biologically father a child, he wanted to put his energy toward moving forward with the next steps so we could be parents, the ultimate goal. He has since told me that he just felt a peace in knowing that there was nothing he could have done to change his situation...he was born with a chromosomal abnormality and therefore God must have had some reason for this, whether we understand it or not. He felt that it was not worth the energy to be angry about it, but that he needed to accept that this is the way it is. Now that we are pregnant, we talk about how much the baby is going to want to be like Daddy and do things with Daddy. He is so excited. The pain of the previous 18 months is not forgotten, but the joy we feel now is so much stronger than the pain. I hope you don't have to go through the pain of not finding sperm, but if you do, just know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Praying for you...

Also...I didn't do IVF, but BCP are part of the protocol usually for IVF...however they may want you to be on their schedule so when you meet with your IVF coordinator mention that you are on BCP for PCOS and see what they suggest.

Good luck!!

Hi to everyone else...sorry I haven't posted much lately. I've been checking in though and keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers. Not much new with me...we'll be finding out if we're having a boy or girl on Monday so I'll keep you all posted.

[Sarahlouise1980]

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone. I am so glad I have found a place like this with people who understand what I am going through. The hardest part so far has been not being able to talk to anyone. I finally told my mother what was going on and she looked devistated. Her face is something I wont soon forget. But what was worse then that was my sisters reaction, she just said "there are worse things that can happen", umm ok. Sure there are worse things that can happen, but for me and my life this is the worst thing that has happened so far. I guess she just doesn't understand.

tuie- GL for the surgery, 3-15 months is along time, but at least you have a goal, hopefully that's comforting on some level. I understand your feelings about IVF, we could afford it if we absolutly had to but since we would have to give up buying a house to do it, it would be a huge sacrifice and we would only do it as a last resort.

Kris- Congrats on your pg, I'm sure this is a really exciting time for you. Do you know if you want a boy or a girl?

Jessy- GL for your IVF, you'll be in my

SFbay- I left you a message on the other thread too, but I just wanted to say how happy and sad I am to meet someone in my situation. Happy that I'm not the only one, but sad that someone else has to go through this.

Sorry if I seem to personal too fast, I am just so happy to have mett you all, I feel like we are kindered spirits already.

[SFBaygirl]

SarahLouise: My DH is just getting started on the Clomid, in fact he just picked up the Rx today. I don't expect levels to go as high as they did on the Androgel. Dr. Turek would be happy with 250 because DH feels really lousy at 150.

I am in the process of doing cycle day labwork including progesterone right now, actually had my day 21 labs done today. They are checking for everything and Dr. Lipshultz will want to know your levels most likely. It is important when you get the the IVF or IUI treatments if they are necessary. But, you have plenty of time for that.

Has your DH had any genetic tests run? Did your DH get FSH and LH levels tested as well? Those can be a bit helpful but Dr. Turek is not that worked up that my DH has a high FSH surprisingly. Geez, there is so much to think about!

Don't worry about being too personal, there is no such thing here!! This forum is the only place for most of us to vent because we don't want to upset our DHs as they go through this in their own way.

Best of luck and feel free to ask any questions. I learned so much from this thread, Dr. Turek was impressed when I told him about it.

Tuie: That makes sense, I hope you can go au naturale or at least IUI. IVF is so expensive, I think we could swing 1 round but would have to borrow a bit.

Kris: Hi! I hope you are doing well. Are you feeling good in your second trimester?

Hi to everyone else, seriously close to Friday now.

[Sarahlouise1980]

Thanks SFbay, I am so glad I found you guys too. So you are really early in the process too then. I guess we'll be kind of going through this together then. We have our first appointment with Dr Lipshultz next week, hopefully if DH can manage to get off work. My DH did the androgel and the shots so it might take him a little longer to regain sperm production. Also he took it for a long time, over a year! Arrrg if only we would have known.

I wonder why your doc put your DH on clomid and Crobs doc out her DH on HCG? I wonder what the difference is?

Well keep me informed about how things are going with you and your DH, when do you go back to see if the Clomid is working?

[SFBaygirl]

Sarah: We are definately on a similar time line. DH and I have known about the azoo for several years but were deep in denial for a long time. DH was on the Androgel for just about 6 months and went off of it in August which Dr. Turek seemed to think was long enough.

I think we are starting with the Clomid because it is a pill and the hCG is a shot and more expensive. hCG is the next step for my DH if the Clomid doesn't work. He is going to retest in about 3 weeks after starting the Clomid, if the T levels aren't going up the hCG is the next step. We are also in the process of trying to get our insurance to cover the genetic tests. They are expensive and we are trying to save every penny for an FNA mapping, mTESE or IVF etc. I imagine that Crob's DH did try the Clomid first but I could be wrong.

Don't feel bad about not knowing about the T supplements. We didn't either until I looked on this thread. Our UR wasn't too helpful which is why it is so important to go to a male factor specialist like you are. I really hope your DH can get the time off work. Our consult took about an hour and was pretty pricy but so worth it. It wasn't covered under insurance unfortunately as most IF stuff isn't unless you are really lucky and have a good plan from an employer.

Do you live in Texas like Crob?

I think you will find that worst thing about IF is the waiting around!!!

[tuie]

SFBaygirl - I hope so too. I think Im gonna try for 4 or 5 months then move onto IUI.

Sarah - We have already been trying for 15 months. im not going to wait that long. Thats just the statistics. There is actually only a 30% chance we will conceive naturally. But I will take 30% over the 0% we have now. Its comforting knowing my Dh is going to be fertile again.

[Sarahlouise1980]

SFbay- I am in the process of finding out what our insurance will and will not cover. I am hoping that since we are technically seeing a urologist that specializes in male infertility and not a RE, that we might be covered but I am not sure. hey told me that they cover testing but I am not sure what tests that includes or if it covers medication.
I was really disapointed because Texas has a law stating that insurance companies have to cover IVF when couples are infertile, but since our insurance is self pay (meaning that the company pys our medical bills rather then the insurance company itself) they don't have to pay due to a technicality.

I think from reading back in posts that crobs DH was on HCG first and then he was put on clomid. He also took some kind of estrogen blocker at the same time, I can't remember what it was called though.

Tuie- Wow, 15 months is a long time. We have only been technically trying for 9 months. Sorry that you are going through this. 30% chance is definitly better then 0. Gl to you sweetheart, you'll definitly be in my prayers. I am with you, I have been wanting this for so long that I think I will probably try IUI's if we can get DH's sperm count high enough to try.

[erinvt]

SarahLouise--I havent gotten a chance to welcome you yet...so, welcome! As everyone else said--this forum is a lifesaver. It's been the one place I can go vent and know that everyone actually knows what I am feeling at that very moment. We've all been through similar things, and none of us will ever pass judgment! Don't worry about getting too personal too fast...I felt close to everyone on this board after my very first post. It's a great feeling to be greeted with open arms when it feels like the rest of your life is crashing down on you.

I have to go for now, but wanted to introduce myself and say good luck in your journey, and we'll all be here for you every the step of the way--as much as you need us to!

e

[SFBaygirl]

Sarah: I wonder if the estrogen blocker was Arimidex, Dr. Turek mentioned that as well. I am thinking the same thing about insurance and getting as much done through the UR rather than the RE. It seems to be working so far. CA is a mandated state but it is pretty easy for employers to get out of having to provide IF coverage especially for small buisnesses.

Tuie: 30% sounds great to me. IUIs aren't too expensive especially if you wouldn't need to use DS and you can do them each month so that would be a great option too.

[Sarahlouise1980]

Thanks for the welcome Erin. I feel the same way, I feel so welcomed and helped already!

SFbay- I went back and looked at Crobs signature and the only name of a medicine that I found was repronex, but I am not sure if that was something that she took or that her DH took. Do you know anything about it?