pyjamas I totally agree, it definitely makes it a lot less scary to hear a 'normal' person's experience of the whole process. Even though I know lots of people who have been through it, it does still seem quite scary and like it's a massive deal but you've coped amazingly with it.
jamon I'd never heard of it until we had our follow up with our consultant. He had an actual examination with the urologist and then had to have an MRI to confirm and apparently it's medium sized but I'd never even noticed it before. He does get very hot down there though which is a symptom of it.
Not sure if this will be of interest but might be relevant to others... I wasn't sure what the DNA fragmentation thing actually meant but the dr explained that there is a fatty/greasy layer that protects the head of the sperm, which houses the DNA. If that layer isn't strong or it gets damaged, then that's what causes the DNA to fragment and subsequently means it takes longer to get pregnant and also higher risk of miscarriage because when the sperm does fertilise the egg, it's not solid and it's a bit fuzzy/fragmented so doesn't stick as such.
As well as the varicocele problem which causes the area to overheat and damages that protective layer, it's also down to lifestyle as too much fat in the diet can be a problem and obviously the usual suspects - alcohol/smoking/stress etc. They can all affect the PH levels and cause too much acid/an imbalance in the semen which can break down that protective layer.
For us, I'd been banging on about all of this to DH for ages but it wasn't until he was actually sat in front of a dr that he's fully taken it on board and really kicked his arse into gear but I guess at least we're on the right road now.
I asked the urologist why the test isn't available on the NHS and he was pretty sceptical and said that most of the directors on the NHS are tied in with the fertility clinics so it's not in their best interests to offer these tests, they want people to go straight to IVF. Not sure how true that is but for us, we were fully prepared to go straight for IVF and it's doubtful that would've worked.
I am still slightly sceptical as the urologist has said that diet/lifestyle definitely plays a part and combined with the varicocele, once that's treated, we should be able to conceive naturally whereas the consultant at the Lister has said no, it's irrelevant, you'll still need to have IMSI so not too sure. Guess we'll just wait and see what the result actually comes out at in a month or so after treatment and after DH has continued on his health kick.