DH has Zero sperm count.

[Sillyshell]

Hi, we found out on Thursday that DH sperm count is zero. The dr examined him and said he is under developed and that we will probably need to use a sperm donor.

We're both devested and I'm trying to keep positive as he's very upset, but I just wondered if any one has had the same experience and has any words of advice as to what will happen next etc.

The dr has refered us to the hospital and I'm having my blood tests tomorrow, so fingers crossed that's all good.

[fanjodisfunction]

oh hun I didnt want to leave you post un-answered. I had a great friend as a kid who was conceived thanks to a sperm doner, his father couldnt produce sperm either. I can understand why he is upset, I hope some one comes long soon with better adive and experience.

[FellatioNelson]

Hang on, are you saying that he was given a diagnosis of zero sperm count on the strength of a physical examination? I don't know much about these things but that doesn't sound right!

(And I am sorry to hear of your problems btw, but don't give up hope, there are many people with lovely families who have been in your position.)

[Sillyshell]

Hi, sorry He gave a sample that came back as zero then the dr examined him.

At the moment, he wont even discuss the idea of a donor. It wouldnt be he's child etc, I know it's just because he's in shock at the moment so I'm hoping we can talk about it properly once it's sank in.

I'm just so sad at the thought of maybe never having a baby of our own. xx

[FellatioNelson]

Oh I see. He will need some time to recover from the shock. I know it's hard but try not to put too much pressure on him just now - he needs time to make sense of his feelings. I have not experienced problems like this but I know there will be loads of MNers who have, and that can be of huge practical and emotional support. I'm sure by this evening you will have lots of helpful advice. Good luck.

[whereismywine]

Dd your gp discuss next steps? I'm not expert but I would have thought that there would need to be more samples, a urologist apt made etc etc. I'm so sorry you're going through this x

[EssentialFattyAcid]

I'm sorry to hear you have had this news.
I think you need to take some time to come to terms with this before moving onto thinking about other alternatives - possibly even more important for dh to take this time than for you even?

Maybe later on you can consider lots of different options but not yet. Maybe a relative of your dh could be a sperm donor so that the baby will still share some genes with dh?

[freelancescientist]

You are being referred for further investigations as a couple, so they should check DH out more thoroughly there. Make sure you are not just being sent straight for donor insemination.
There might be a possibility of collecting sperm surgically but this would only be attempted after blood tests to check his hormone levels (FSH and LH) and an ultrasound of his testes and scrotum. Also another look at a sperm sample in an IVF lab - we can sometimes find sperm where general labs record it as zero.
Please try and reassure him that it is not necessarily the end of the road. Sperm donors are also very hard to find at the mo. Fertility units are investigating men a bit more thoroughly these days - a few years ago men were pushed down the donor sperm route just for having a low count, but now we have made big strides in our expertise of using ICSI and retrieving sperm direct from the testes.

Good luck

[Pocket1]

SillyShell i'm so sorry about your news, i really feel for you and DH. But its early days, you've got your tests tomorrow and you may well get positive news.

I found out this year that my egg count was practically zero so if DP and I were to ever have a child, we needed go egg donor route. i know this isnt quite the same as yourselves but i have empathy with your DH as its a real kick in the teeth to realise that something you took for granted isnt working. its also an incredibly personal thing to deal with.

i bawled my eyes out for ages, then slowly got my head around it all. I got a second opinion (same result). i looked up lots of stuff online and found a great support from some MN threads and have come to terms with the notion of a donor - which we're progressing with now. Give DH time, and encourage him to do a bit of searching online - and do go for all the tests you can. Hopefully you'll find a solution that means you get the baby you so wish for. The very best of luck to you both

[Fluffycloudland77]

Right my dh has zero too but he had chemo and they didnt freeze his sperm because he was 16 so it wasnt a huge shock. I still cried for 3 days though.

He had 3 tests to confirm it, two standard ones where they just take a small amount of sample and just check that bit and a total volume sample where they search through the whole sample for sperm.

But I had a patient whose son in law didnt ejaculate sperm but did produce sperm in the testes but due to some problem they didnt travel so the clinic they went to took a sample of testes surgically and extracted the sperm from there and then used IVF. It was only a small piece of tissue match head sized not a huge chunk.

This is a bit tmi but how is he underdeveloped?? surely if its that noticeable you would have noticed yourself?.

I dont see how anything can be decided just by a dr physically examining him.

[Sillyshell]

Thank you for your replies. Fluffy, I wouldnt say he was underdeveloped. It has been a few years since I've seen anyone else but from what I can remeber he's ok!

I had my day 21 bloods done today, and DH is having he's testorone (?) levels checked today and various other things so once we have those results back our GP is going to refer us to the hospital and we'll take it from there.

Fingers crossed everything is ok with me and we'll see what happens. Thanks for your help. x

[Chelly71]

Hi Sillyshell

I wanted to post and offer some words of comfort/advice. My DH and I are in this situation. We TTC for years before tests revealed he had no sperm (at all). That 100% is so hard to deal with because a lot of couples who struggle do at least have some chance of conception at the end of the day. In our case my DH had a genetic disorder that was very mild and he never knew until these blood tests, side effect was no sperm (amongst other things which may hit him later in life). But others are right, the sperm may be there but not getting out. We had biopsies to check all this to be absolutely certain - make sure that happens. In our experience we were referred to Spain/Belgium/France for donor sperm (quicker, accessible and cheaper). In the end my BIL volunteered (DH's brother)... we have a beautiful DS now and a little DD on the way. It was a long, difficult and emotional journey (I'm welling up) but once you hold that baby you forget all of that other stuff... my DH doesn't think about the fact it wasn't his sperm, he is so happy and we are so grateful and appreciative every day. If you want to PM me after all this feel free. Things take time, no rush for either of you.. you'll know what to do x

[Fluffycloudland77]

My dh had low testosterone on his medical records, but our dr said he didnt know why as dh has facial hair and a deep voice.

I have zita wests assisted conception book, its £10 delivered on amazon, its really helped me.

Could they do a total volume sperm count for him? it's always worth asking they did 3 for my dh and offered the operation too.

You could research supplements that help sperm production eg selenium and zinc.

Good luck.

[hairtwiddler]

When he's ready to think about it a bit more here is a lovely article about what makes a father. Hope it's useful, and things work out for you.

[Sillyshell]

Thank you for all your replies, it helps to know that other people are going through similar things.

Guess we just have to wait until we see the hospital but it's nice to know there still may be some options for us. x

[freckly12]

Fluffycloud- How long ago did your DH have the chemo? My hubbie had cancer 4 yrs ago, had 6ths of chemo but refused to get his sperm frozen even tho i begged him to. Now we hope to TTC mid 2012 and im terrified he will have zero count but he refuses to discuss it or get tested etc!

[difficulttimes]

Would Adoption be a better Idea ?

[wannaBe]

There is a poster on mn whose dh doesn't produce any sperm at all but who took some medication to enable sperm production for the period they were ttc. I can't remember her name now, she was on the ttc boards at the same time as me and she fell pg within about two months of her dh starting his medication iirc.

My dh was told that he had a very low sperm count (we have a ds so he has obviously produced at least one at some point ) and that his fertility was limited. I think the problem with men is that it makes them feel like failures. And IMO it's different for them than for women because with women there is a biological need to be pregnant/to cary and to have a baby, and if that can't happen because of the man it makes him feel both inadequate as a man but also inadequate as a partner in not being able to give his partner the thing she so desperately wants (and IMO the need for a baby is not the same for a man as for a woman).

also male infertility is still an area that is vastly behind female infertility in terms of understanding/treatment, so men often feel as if there's much less that can be done for them which in turn makes them feel even more helpless.

We wouldn't have gone down the donor route - not just because of my dh but because it wouldn't have felt right for me either especially as we already have one child, and I wasn't keen for IVF treatment for lots of reasons so we came to terms with things and stuck at one dc. (we have actively stopped ttc now although we did so for five years).

[Fluffycloudland77]

Freckly, it was 1981.

Is your dh going to get a sperm test done??? is he shy about going to do it?

[freckly12]

Ah ok, my hubbie had his 4 yrs ago. He doesnt want to get it done full stop. he thinks that it will all be fine. i said, its best we know now than go through the heart ache of trying and trying and no success, then we can just find out, and deal with it early on, and find alternative options. But he thinks that it will be all ok beacuse he saw some pyshic who said we will have 2 kids, so he is convinced all will be fine! [confushed]

Im frustrated, i cant make him do anything but im sad too. i know he is scared but i cant make him see that its best if we know early on....

[Fluffycloudland77]

Ok well moving forward research the type of chemo he had and see if fertility returns in men, I did this for us and some types of chemo don't damage the sperm as much as others. My dh had MOPP chemo, but that's an old treatment. They classify them by the first letter of each drug used.

You could start him on pre conception minerals now, zinc and selenium are meant to be good for men.

Sorry op no more hijacking I promise.