Male factor + ivf success stories

[thislittlebird]

Hi all, I’m struggling to be optimistic right now about our chances with ivf in the coming months, it’s coming up to two years ttc for us. Would love to hear from anyone who has a story of male factor infertility ivf success to share. I’ve just turned 38 and DH is 39. TIA!

Hi all. This thread appears very helpful. We have male factor infertility due to my partner having 0% morphology and reduced motility although count is good. We are awaiting his ultrasound results. The plan is to have ICSI IVF at Bourn Hall. Just wondering if anyone has experience of successful IVF with this profile? All my results are good including high AMH. Downside is that we are in our 40s. My partner has a 6 year old from previous relationship.

@Lulu106 I'm in my 40s too. It's great you have a high AMH. There're way to extract sperm so you'll be fine. Where are you having the scan done?

@Delectable thank you so much for the reassurance. The ultrasound was done via NHS. We saw a great NHS consultant who seemed to take pity on us because we were not eligible for NHS treatment and put OH forward for scan. Hopefully it might give us a steer on cause of low morphology and motility.

Absolutely. Even if you do icsi you want the sperm to be as healthy as possible so you can have a live birth.

Hi all, just checking in really. DP had surgery on Friday so the weekend’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but he’s doing well today which is a relief.
Hi @Lulu106 👋 interested about what you and @Delectable mention about sperm quality - we’ll be using my partner’s sperm that’s been in deep freeze for 15 years and was “below average” when it went in the freezer so not holding out too much hope 😕 Does anyone else have experience of sperm quality after freezing? I know so little about it, do same-sex couples use frozen sperm? Surely it’s not like it miraculously springs back to life once you whack it in the microwave 😂 ? Or is it just genetic material soup at the ICSI stage? So many questions, not getting much helpful info from the clinic and they keep delaying our appointments til we know how things are shaping up for my partner so I’m turning to Dr Google and the MN hive mind!

*obvz being flippant about the microwave defrost setting - I’m clueless, but not that bad 😂 I’ll blame the lack of sleep.

Hi Ladies, can anyone recommend a clinic to use for private surgical sperm retrieval? We have been referred on NHS however looking to speed up the process, the one private clinic in Glasgow that I can find who do this procedure are not taking any "outside" patients. Would be grateful of any suggestions - and if you are willing to share costings that would be even better :) Thanks!

@BeachPeach I've just spat my tea out - humour is much needed at this time. Sounds like we're all as clueless about this as each other. We noticed that our consultant at the fertility clinic wasn't confident in discussing chances of successful ivf with poor sperm quality and wanted to discuss it with an andrologist. I will keep you posted.
@Hopewishprayer sorry not sure about surgical retrieval. It hasn't been discussed with us as an option yet. Will let you know if it is.

We haven't used frozen so I don't have much info though we have some stored in Greece just in case.

Perhaps contact a urologist's office to ask about extraction. I think Jonathan Ramsey does.

Yeah I also think he does @Hopewishprayer @Delectable. London might not be convenient for you?

We’re just waiting for our COMET results etc now.

@Lulu106 hi, we also have high AMH but poor motility and slightly reduced morphology. I’m clinging on to the high AMH hope for dear life lol

@thislittlebird we're going to see Jomathan Ramsey next week in London

Oh that’s good @Delectable. how long ago did you book? I emailed his office recently and he was on leave

Must be early June or end of May.

@Delectable probably before he went on leave, that’s good, avoids the holiday wait. I’ll email them as soon as it’s July!

Another silly question perhaps but I note that many on here are seeing a private urologist. Is this as well as consultations with your IVF clinic?

Ivf clinics seldom have urologists. So you can do a few cycles before realising that you needed to get the sperm in as great a shape as possible. Some get pregnant naturally as a result. Cos of my age I don't have a lot of time to wait so I need to get my DH's sperm in the best shape for each month I release eggs including none ivf months.

@BeachPeach glad your husband is recovering well. It is so difficult to watch them go through it. I really struggled emotionally for a long time. 6 years later he was diagnosed on the other side, so we went through it all twice. That is SO rare though. Let me know if you have any questions. Our ivf was done when he had 1 testicle and it went really well. Lots of embryos! Good luck xx

@Lulu106 yeah it’s in addition to the ivf clinic

@Lulu106 our NHS clinic work closely with a urologist and I was a bit stubborn that since seemingly all is well with me and DP had a history of testicular cancer perhaps they’d better check him out. Took a bit of nagging but I’m SO glad we persevered! Ultrasound caught his second cancer way earlier than we would otherwise and will hopefully mean it’s not spread.
@Scottishgirl85 sorry to hear you’ve been through the same thing, it’s seemingly so rare for blokes to get it twice (DP’s cancers were 15 years apart!) but it does happen. Just so glad he’s got frozen lads from first time round otherwise we’d be in even more of a pickle!

My partners ultrasound results arrived today and it clearly states bilateral scrotal varicoceles which I understand can be the cause of abnormal sperm quality. Looks like I will to press for a urologist appointment. Has anyone any experience of this problem. Looks like surgery for him could be an option. Trying to remain positive

@BeachPeach ah sorry I missed that it is also your husband's second diagnosis. I've never come across anyone else like us! I hope you are both OK, it is very tough emotionally. My husband has used Tostran Gel for past 2 years and is happy with it. Hope you can find best replacement plan. My heart goes out to you x

Thanks @Scottishgirl85 , he had his first testosterone injection on Monday so we’ll see how he gets on. Quite the emotional rollercoaster, but I don’t think I’ve fully processed it yet.

@BeachPeach it is so difficult, it took me a long time to accept it. It was the lifelong replacement therapy that worried me more than the cancer! I worried that my husband's personality would change, or he'd look different (amount of hair, weight etc), but I can confirm he is exactly the same 2 years later! My husband opted for the daily gel, it took a while for them to get the right dose (my husband could tell he didn't feel himself) but we're there now. It may be same for the injection to get optimal dose, but all short term niggles that are overcome. Hugs to you x

Male factor was our issue tried for over 7 years and not even a late period in all those years, I honestly didn’t ever think we’d have children. One ivf round on fresh transfer and only one embryo left on transfer day she is now 8 months old. These forums were a life saver when I was going through it, fortunately male factor is commonly “fixed” with icsi good luck op X

@Ladyraven0483 what a wonderfully uplifting story. How inspiring. Thank you for sharing. Hope you're enjoying baby snuggles.