Azoospermia

[TwinkleStars15]

We've just found out that DH has no sperm, not one! He had a SA last week and the GP wants him to have a blood test to check his hormone levels. We've got an appointment on Thursday to discuss his results.

Is anyone else is this situation? I'm panicking a lot now that this is the end of the ttc road for us and I'm devastated Any advice would be gratefully received.

lucie would I need to take a copy of the results with me? Or do they have access to our medical notes? If they don't, do we just ask our GP for them? Thanks for the advice

Twinkle, I don't know the cause of his azoospermia (I don't know him that well ), sorry. There may have been a history of childhood surgery to his netters? Nope, not sure.

NHS fertility clinic should have info from your GP and also some access to lab results via IT.

Twinkle you just ask your gp for a print out of them. I rung and asked the receptionist for mine and she was more than happy to do it and I picked them up an hour later. It's a good idea to get copies of all your results any way incase you do go privately later. You will have to complete forms with all the information and it's good to have a hard copy to refer to. If you did want to go to a private clinic then it's best to google ones close to you, they normally have price lists on their websites and you can ring up and say you would like to book an initial consultation with one of the doctors. You will probably get an appt within a week.

Your DH can ask for a copy of the results, it's his information, don't let them make you wait till 15 June. 29 July is ridiculous when you're in shock and need answers. As Lucie suggests, why not pay for a private consultation, it's not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. If you can't or don't want to do that then at the very least with the results in front of you you can do a bit of googling to understand them.

We have just discovered my DH has less than 1% morphology so am in a comparable position to you.

Thanks ladies, I will ask for a copy from the GP on Monday when we call for the results of his FSH levels. His next SA is booked for 15th June and then we'll have to wait a week for the results, although it's highly unlikely to have changed Also, I received a letter today to say that our fertility appointment for 29th July has been moved to 10th August! I know it's only 2 weeks but every day is so hard. I haven't cried yet because I'm really scared that if I do it'll all seem real and I'll never stop, I'm also scared that I'll fall into some sort of depression or breakdown situation. I know it's not healthy to keep it all in but I don't think I'm ready yet.

jessie sorry to hear about DH's results, what is the next step for you? Are you under the care of a consultant?

Twinkle, one of the things that you might want to ask about if it's non obstructive azoospermia is the possibility of m-tese which I think gives a better chance of getting sperm than tese. My dh is also being given clomid to alter his hormone levels to increase the chance of finding sperm through m-tese. This is all available on the nhs in our area but there are long waiting lists.

Thank you popple I appreciate your advice and I have just been researching m-tese, it seems this has good results, apparently in around 45% if cases they find sperm Do you mind me asking what the reasons are for DH's lack of sperm? We are no where near getting these answers yet but I have been looking and it seems there and a few different reasons. How long has it taken you to get this treatment on the NHS?

Twinkle - phone the consultant's secretary and say that you are happy to take a short notice cancellation appointment (if you are able to do that).

We saved ourselves several months of waiting time by doing that.

Dh has low testosterone levels. They also tested for fsh and lh and found them to be borderline abnormal. The first time he had tese with no clomid and that took about two months from initial consultation to operation. This time we are going for mtese and clomid and it took about four months to get an appointment. He will be on the drugs for around three months. So, quite a long wait to start icsi but hopefully worth it.

twinkle we are seeing a private specialist as we are not in the UK. We're having IUI at the moment (insemination tomorrow actually). I have actually had a very early miscarriage once so there must be some sperm in there capable of doing the job.

If it doesn't work then our next step is a second SA and an initial consultation with an IVF clinic to find out if ICSI is worth trying.

Once you get the info from the GP you really should look at going private, it doesn't matter if you can't afford more than the initial consultation but at this stage as you say every day is bringing you closer to cracking so it really would be worth the money to have an expert look at the information sooner rather than later and five you a better sense of where you are.

Good luck for tomorrow jessie! Where do you live, if.you.don't mind me asking? How do I go about finding a private clinic? There seem to be some around the area, do I just email them?

I am in Asia twinkle, but British and familiar with the UK system. Yes,you just email or call the private clinic and you'll get an appt very quickly. Their websites will have details and they will tell you the price for an initial consultation on the phone. You pay ny cash or card at the reception when you leave. It's no different to any other service you'd pay for (physio
dentist, acupuncture etc).

Got DH's FSH levels back - 64. This is really high, the norm is between 1-14. This confirms that his sperm analysis was current and there was no sperm. He still needs to have a repeat one on Monday though. Then he'll need all sorts of other blood tests (LH, prolactin, testosterone etc) for a full diagnosis but it's not looking good. I'm still hoping they'll suggest TESE, or even better m-TESE and find some sperm there we can use, but there's a real possibility they'll advice no further action

Oh Twinkle that's really tough news and I can't imagine how your poor DH must feel as well. At least they are already lining up the next tests. Will they do the LH , testosterone etc before you see the consultant? Have you looked into private at all?

I went for my IUI on Monday and the doc said that DH's sperm sample had the same morphology as the previous SA, so it wasn't great. We whacked it in anyway, but I am not optimistic and fully expect that we'll be seeing an ICSI specialist soon.

Try to stay strong Twinkle.

It's so hard isn't it jessie I've got my fingers crossed for you though. I just hope and pray that he has some in there somewhere and that they can find them to use for ICSI. We haven't considered private yet as we want to see what the NHS can offer, once we've seen the consultant we will know. I'm fully prepared to go private though, I'll throw any money we have at it.

Yes they are doing the bloods next week and then the consultant after that. It's not until August but our GP said that if they don't agree to bring it forward then to call him and he will make them!

twinkle I'm really sorry to hear it wasn't great news. It has been 5 years since we got the diagnosis but I still remember how difficult it was.

It might be worth looking at the noa threads on fertility friends. There is a wealth of information there which I found really helpful.

In my experience the nhs has been excellent at dealing with us. Hope you get some positive news at your next appointment. . Even though we are having private treatment for icsi they have still continued to treat dh.

Take care

Thank you popple I really hope your ICSI is successful, when will you be starting this?

I've decided to email a few private clinics to enquire about prices but wait before taking any action until we've been seen by the consultant, got a formal diagnosis and listened to their suggestions. I'm still hoping it's all a big mistake and there's a solution grasping at straws.