Azoospermia support, stories and timelines

[Ljp2022]

Hi All,
Hoping to get a chat going with some advice. My husband and I started TTC 9 months ago but had an inkling something was wrong. We had a private fertility assessment which showed he had no sperm in his semen (azoospermia). We are incredibly overwhelmed and shocked but are keen to explore further testing.

We have gone to our GP however he has explained the wait will likely be several months until we are seen in infertility clinic. We have therefore decided to go privately. My husband has had blood tests for genetic testing and hormones this week (not sure how long it will be until we get results?) and he has a urology appointment in a month’s time for a physical exam.

Id be so grateful if people can share their experiences of azoospermia, outcomes, success stories, other options explored, tests but also timelines if private? How long does it take for tests to come back? How long until he has his sperm retrieval test? What’s next and how long?

sorry for all the questions - so overwhelmed and no one seems to have any answers…thank you in advance.

@Sleeter0893 that's amazing 🥚🥚🥚!!! Fingers crossed you get some fabulous embryos. Will you be able to have the fresh transfer or are you still waiting to see?
Definitely, a nap sounds in order. I get tired out just ovulating with one egg 🤣

Amazing news @Sleeter0893 💗 xx

@lemons44 @TheFanciestPants so our fresh cycle is canceled and will need a frozen cycle in a few months... I'm ok about it, obviously not the intended result, but I'm dealing with OHSS.
Of 30 eggs, we ended up with 18 mature, and 8 fertilized normally. I'll have updates on Tues, Wed, and Thurs next week with results then!

8 fertilised is wonderful news @Sleeter0893 I will be keeping everything crossed that they develop well over the next few days! How are you feeling? x

@lemons44 I'm ok.. a migraine today, cramping, bloating.. just kind of hating myself for being glad I have a little break before trying to be pregnant with how rough the retrieval was for me. Hope are you doing? When are they planning your cycle again?

@Sleeter0893 8 fertilised eggs is BRILLIANT news!!! Well done. Definitely enjoy the rest and hope the migraine feels better. I had a tension headache this morning so had a lunchtime massage and it was wonderful ❤️
That's annoying about the fresh cycle getting cancelled but still seems like you will have a good clutch to FET from.

@lemons44 the procedure I was thinking of is called duo stim. I am sure you won't need it but always good to have things in your back pocket.
Major fingers crossed your upcoming cycle gives you some fabulous eggs! xx

Hello lovely ladies! We just received news that all 8 of our fertilized oocytes have made it to a day 5 blastocyst! They will send us another update tomorrow, and Wednesday before freezing. Not sure when we'll get grading info.
Just now starting to feel better from the OHSS. It was difficult over the weekend to sleep from the pain and discomfort. Hope everyone else is doing well and having a great week 😀

Well, turns out they haven't frozen any of our embryos, but 3 failed to develop, 3 are early blastocysts, and 2 are part the initial stage of cell development so they're hoping giving 1 more day will help the 5 embryos right now. Still horrible news, even if we end up with 3.
Crazy going from 30 to possibly 3 lol

Hi @Sleeter0893 how are u feeling today?
I totally get that it seems a big drop from 30 to 3 (although hopefully 5 🤞🏼🤞🏼) but if you get 3 for freezing that is still amazing news! Have they given you any more information on them? Xx

@Sleeter0893 glad you are feeling better. I agree with @lemons44 3 (or maybe even 5!) frosties is amazing. Fingers crossed you get some good news today.
@lemons44 how are you getting on? Are you starting your new cycle soon?
We are still awaiting tests to come back so no progress here (yet)

@lemons44 @TheFanciestPants thanks for checking in! No news yet.. not sure if I should consider no news good news.. or if that means there's bad news... lol
Feeling very nervous and I'm glad the fresh transfer was held off to give us the best chance of good implantation.

Wow... a lot of emotions today between stress, panic, worry, excitement.. all over the place. Here's my final cycle summary:
32 follicles
30 eggs retrieved
18 mature
8 fertilized oocytes
4 frozen blastocyst embryos
4 discarded- didn't develop normal

We have 4 possible chances whenever we transfer!!

Amazing news @Sleeter0893 so happy for you 💗 do you know when you will do a frozen transfer?
@TheFanciestPants hope you're doing ok? When is your next appointment with Dr P? We are slowly moving forwards. I have my appointment today with the IVF nurses on my new treatment plan. They are also going to retest my AMH as it's been just over a year since my last AMH test so will be interesting to see how that's changed. Not sure when I will start injections but I am booked in for the august egg collection so it will be about a month I think before I start stims xx

@IslaO how are you doing? Are you back on the stims? Keeping everything crossed for you this cycle xx

@lemons44 that's great news. Good luck with your appointment.
Just my 2 cents, as there's so much focus on AMH (I got in a flap as mine isn't amazing!) but when I spoke to the gynae she said it really isn't as major a factor as people make out and as long as it isn't super low (or high!) it's not something to worry about. Anyway, I am sure yours will be fine but please don't worry if it's lower or higher than last time (my friend who had all the fertility cycles said hers fluctuated loads depending on testing lab and just through time too).

Thanks for checking in. We are off to see Dr P again on 19 July. We are going to get a new SA and new hormone analysis as well as my husband's liver function results (he had some odd results last time, especially as we are pretty much tee total and super healthy), so that combined with the genetic tests and ultrasound results (so many tests!) should hopefully help her to suggest some steps forward.
Dr P said we will have the noticing all the pregnant people phenomenon and unfortunately that is also getting us down. We are both struggling with where we are so hopefully after the appointment we will have some clarity.

@Sleeter0893 that's amazing news. 👏

@lemons44 Good luck with your appointment today! Hopefully they can give you some dates that you can look forward to. Idk when my FET will be, but I have an appointment next Wed to make a plan with my Dr and see just how quickly we can get on. I'm hoping either Aug or Sept. I wouldn't mind a Christmas birth announcement if it goes well! Staying realistic that all 4 could fail..
@TheFanciestPants I hope you get good news on the 19th! I will say, my husband has always had higher than normal liver results and was diagnosed with a fatty liver around age 25 or so, which is pretty unusual and has a horseshoe kidney. All of that function is related to the endocrine system so they think as he was developing and or born, everything really didn't fully develop. Maybe that'll help anything they say for yours?

Hey everyone,

ive been tipping in and out but just having a bit of a break from all of this for a while after the cancelled cycle. It has felt like a long wait between then and now but it’s only been two weeks. I’m back on oestrogen and start stims again tomorrow. They are upping my stimulation dose from 187ui to 300ui so I’m hoping that will have a much more positive effect.

@lemons44 it sounds like you are moving again which is great. It’s mad, I feel like going into this second cycle I know so much more and I’m constantly reflecting on my previous cycle to see what could have been changed. Like you I’m unsure if they are changing enough this time but I’m going to just have to trust. Are you still convinced you should have stimmed for slightly longer? How many days did you in total last time? My clinic only do retrieval on certain days so I feel like this could be an issue my end too. I don’t know about you but I feel a little hard done by- like I’m robbed of the excitement of even IVF in this whole thing. However, I’m trying not to indulge in self pity!

@Sleeter0893 thanks for the liver info. Is your OHSS feeling any better?
My husband's liver results came back. He had raised bilirubin levels and it continues to be high but has come down a bit. It does look like this can contribute to fertility problems but our GP wasn't too sure what to advise. Everything else looks ok but they want to do an ultrasound to check. Probably Gilbert's syndrome but unclear. So frustrating to never get any answers 😵‍💫
@IslaO how are the stims going? 🤞 for a good clutch this time.
@lemons44 how are you getting on? Is your protocol for the next round tweaked?

@TheFanciestPants it sounds like you’re definitely getting the puzzle pieces together but this whole journey really highlights how little doctors know about MFI- your GP not knowing what to advise is just proof of this. Are you going to see a MFI specialist and go with all of your collected information?

I am on day 6 of stims- seventh injection night tonight and first scan tomorrow. I’m so nervous because I don’t feel any different really and that happened last time and I had a really low response. I’ve almost doubled my dosage this time and I am hopeful but small follicles on the scan tomorrow will be so worrying because I’ll feel like ‘well what now?!’. I don’t know if there is a different protocol for poor responders and I don’t really want to have to find out. I just said to my OH today that I’m just so so exhausted mentally from this whole process, it’s hard to stay positive and optimistic when it’s been so long. I know you will all understand that feeling.

@Sleeter0893 are you doing ok?
@lemons44 where are you at?
@Ljp2022 often think of you and hope you’re doing great!

Also @lemons44 i would be so interested to hear how your Amh has or hasn’t changed in the year! Mine was done last august and I am considering getting it redone!

Hi @IslaO I've been really thinking of you this week. I am petrified about having similar issues in my next cycle as I did in my last cycle so I can only imagine you feel the same. It really is so hard to experience everything we have with the azoo and then have additional challenges we have to face.

I bet you do feel exhausted as your two cycles have been pretty much back to back haven't they? That's a lot of hormones in a short space of time. My clinic told me the other day part of the reason they make women wait two cycles before the next round is to give them time to mentally heal. So go easy on yourself as you've had all the mental stress of two cycles squished into a short space of time.

I will honestly be keeping everything crossed for you for your scan tomorrow. 💗💗 I am rooting so hard for you.

@TheFanciestPants sorry you're still trying to get answers! It's not long until your next appointment with Dr P as I think you said this was July? Will your hve the next SA by then?Thanks for your comments on my AMH. I have also heard that it can literally be different depending on the lab that is used 🤷🏻‍♀️ I have asked my clinic if they have the results as it's been a week now so I will report back when I know!

Not a great deal to update on this way. I will start northesterone on day 2 of my next cycle (approx next Saturday) and then start stims roughly 9th August for egg collection week of 21st August.

Xx

@TheFanciestPants thanks for checking in! I'm so much better and started AF on Sunday. Started BC on day 3 of my cycle and will just let me body heal more, hormones regular, and have a meeting with my IVF nurse on the 19th to plan our FET cycle and choose a date. It will probably be August or September since the lab is under renovation.
@IslaO became an aunt recently and was super exciting! Had a full blown 2 day breakdown and couldn't stop myself from crying this past week. Was so hard with the coming down of hormones and the thought of being an aunt when all we've wanted was to be parents for the past 8 years and was still running into delays.
@lemons44 praying for a successful second cycle! Faith and trust 🙏

Spoke with my doctor after she reviewed my cycle yesterday. We had expected numbers and received our embryo grades
3AA
5AB
4BB
3BB
All are high quality, according to my doctor, and we'll see how well the transfer goes.. said we're 90% of the way there and just need chromosomally normal embryos to successfully implant.. really all I can do is wait now, and I'm not a very patient person lol!

Amazing news @Sleeter0893 so happy for you - you're giving us azoo girls some hope 💗

So AMH update! My AMH was 14.3 pmol/l last March so it's been 16 months since I had it done. Got my result back yesterday and it's gone up to 15.83 pmol/l !

I googled and it can naturally fluctuate slightly each cycle but also apparently diet, nutrition and vitamins can actually increase it. I've been on about 8 different vitamins for 8 months now, including COQ-10, taking them religiously. Also stuffing myself with healthy foods... so I am wondering if this has made a difference.

I am taking this small bit of good news as you have to take the positives where you can on this journey.

Keeping everything crossed for you today @IslaO
xxxx

@Sleeter0893 amazing news! Definitely a good news day 👏

@IslaO good luck today. We all have everything crossed for you 🤞🤞🤞

@lemons44 that's wonderful news and you are right to be happy! 🙏
Mine was 6.4pmol in October (which isn't amazing), but all my other hormones were really good and my AFC was above median (I am 35) so I asked my gynae (and my IVF expert friend!) so many questions and felt reassured so wanted to share the love. But i think yours is very good anyway ❤️
So for my friend (who had all the IVF) successful cycle she had a lot more monitoring and adjustments to her stims. She had a couple of cycles with only 1 or 2 eggs and with her final try she got 5 PGT-A tested embryos! Not sure if that is a possibility with your clinic, but could be worth asking?
Obviously, not a medical professional (so feel free to ignore me!), but as we all know advocating for yourself in this journey is so important.
I take the coenzyme Q10 expensive equivalent (ubiquinol, I am so vulnerable and am getting upsold left, right and centre 😵‍💫). I upped my dose so fingers crossed it works for me too!
We are off to see Dr P in a couple of weeks, my husband did another SA we will have back before then and it was at the better hospital. He also is going for a liver ultrasound but that is NHS so could take a while. We are going to message her assistant and ask if it's worth waiting for that before seeing her again.

Hi ladies! Been reading all of your updates, hope everyone is feeling ok!

Good luck @IslaO, I felt no different and had a good outcome so fingers crossed yours is the same 🤞🏻

We're 12 days away from mtese. I've started progynova to help thicken lining incase of FET. Not letting myself get my hopes up though.

Any tips of things to buy to support dh after mtese?

@Sleeter0893 love your updates, crossing everything for you!