Azoospermia support - Part 2

[WhiskeyInTheJar33]

@2022ttc
@Ljp2022
@lemons44
@IslaO
@Carla2601
@TheFanciestPants
@HoustG
@Sleeter0893
@Creatingspace
@Nats140
@pomdownunder1
@Annies1992
@Lily1994

As the old thread is almost full, I thought I'd start up a part 2 so that we can all continue our journeys together!
Apologies if I have missed anyone x

Hi Ladies,

It’s been quite a long time since I posted on this thread but I’ve been keeping up with your updates. I feel like now is the right time to share my update as it may be helpful for some of you.

Quick recap on my story. OH has a long medical history with lots of surgeries along the way. Doctors were originally baffled as to whether it was obstructive or NOA and basically gave us a 50-50 chance of a successful microtese. We went through a very difficult few months waiting for the procedure; like many of you have experienced my OH found it difficult to talk about and became quite aggravated when I raised the issue or the idea of sperm donation. I felt very alone. The microtese was successful, which was just incredible. However we then went through the highs and lows of IVF. After two unsuccessful transfers I was starting to feel like it may never happen for us. Thankfully the third transfer worked and I’m now 13 weeks pregnant. It still feels surreal! I’m very grateful and so blessed to be here; I know so many of you are still waiting for your good news.

I hope that sharing my update is helpful for those who have had several failed transfers. I too wondered if the surgically extracted sperm was of a lesser quality or would make it harder to conceive. While that certainly could be the case (we had big drop offs in numbers from day 3 to 5), it also seems that IVF in general is a numbers game and sometimes success only comes after a few more spins of the dice. That was certainly how our consultant saw it (I should add that I’m 37 so the consultant expected it may take at least 3 cycles).

Please reach out if you have any questions. I have everything crossed for all of you x

Hi everyone,

Hope you are having a good weekend.

I wondered if I could ask some advice and guidance from those who have gone down the donor route? Whilst my husband and I don't know for sure if this is the route we will be taking, 3/4 samples have shown no sperm and so we will be scheduling an MTese for the near future and want to be prepared should the procedure be unsuccessful.

I've had a look at the London Sperm Bank website but wondered if anyone had gone done the route of sourcing their donor from a different country and if so, what's the best approach? I also noticed for London sperm bank, you only get descriptions but I've heard of being able to see photos of your donor as a child. Is this specific to certain countries?

Any advice welcome as we just want to gain as much knowledge and information as we can 😊.

Thank you in advance!

@2022ttc that's good that he is in a better place than a month ago and picking up the meds is a huge step! I really hope you're both able to relax and enjoy the holiday.
I know it's easier said than done but please try not to worry about the next phase or let experiences like mine worry you. I've heard of soo many stories of people using surgically extracted sperm for IVF and it working on the first embryo transfer. Including a few ladies on here. There's a big element of luck with IVF and you've got just as much chance as anyone of getting lucky first time and the whole IVF process going smoothly without any hiccups 💗
That's so lovely to hear that you pray for us all. Honestly, hand on heart, the resilience and strength of everyone on this group is what has kept me going many times 💗 everyone on here is an absolute warrior to keep pushing through and putting one foot in front of the other when it's so emotionally difficult.

Big congrats @Runner77 another win for the azoo club 💪🏼💪🏼 you must be thrilled. Sending you a massive congratulatory hug xx

@StarJasmine93 We went done the donor sperm route and now 13 weeks pregnant.

Used Cryos in Denmark. All the clinics work with Cryos or European Sperm Bank. I'd suggest going with these over a UK one as you have a much larger choice then the UK ones not to mention you can see pictures. With Cryos of you upgrade for 3 months at a cost of £200 you get too see adult photos as well which I would recommend personally.

Process was really easy, basically you let your clinic know you are going there, then just sign up to the site and buy online. Cryos will then liase with the clinic in regards to delivery.

I'd highly recommend if you see a donor you really like them do not wait as the popular ones sell out quickly.

@Runner77 congratulations ♥️♥️♥️ really really happy for you!! I hope you have a smooth and healthy pregnancy ahead of you, you truly deserve it! Well done on getting to this stage and hope you never have to look back xx

@lemons44 thank you so much xx

@OfTheForest my husband has had a very complicated medical history from the age of 3 and he's been under the knife so many times, so that added to the fact that this surgery would be in such a sensitive part of the body (he's worried something could go wrong) and all the potential side effects that MAY occur he's really got himself in to a anxious overthinking nightmare.

Thanks @donnie12 that was all super useful!

Congratulations on your pregnancy 🥰. That's amazing news x

Congratulations @donnie12

I spoke to clinic yesterday, assuming husbands tese goes well, we are looking to start ivf around October. I'm quite happy with that timing, I've got so many events lined up this summer that I feel I can just look forward to them, though I'm still absolutely itching to start.

@2022ttc sounds like our husbands are in simular situations. His issues were surgery caused. Mine is not coming across anxious about the surgery, just more fed up that he has to go under the knife again, but he's got a good sense of humour about it

@wateringcanface that's brilliant news as I know it's been a very long slog for you to get to this point. x

Yayy congratulations @donnie12 and @Runner77 💖

Loving the positive energy this has brought. Glad to hear so many of you taking good steps forward, even when we’re in or have been in a wobble. We’re there for each rollercoaster!

I’m also hoping for around October @wateringcanface so let me know how you get on xx

Congratulations @Runner77 !! I really appreciate the success stories being shared so thank you.
Congratulations @donnie12 hope things are progressing well. Also really helpful to hear about the donor process, as we've finally agreed we will explore this depending on mtese results. I wouldn't have a clue where to start. Thank you.

My partner is getting really anxious and stressed about our consultation next week. I think it's really hitting him about what may be suggested and the next steps. I think he's struggling a lot with worrying there won't be any sperm when they do his procedure, but that's going to be some weeks/months away yet. He's not the best at talking about how he's feeling but I can see it's taking a lot out of him. He's spoken about some guilt about how he could have /should have tried better with the weight loss, supplements, avoiding the sauna etc etc.
I think things should feel a lot better once we've been for the first consultation as we really need clear info about timelines and next steps.

@Magix86 I'm sorry your partner is feeling that way. Mine was exactly the same, he cycles and saunas often, but the Andrologist said the amount he did it would be unlikely it would cause it. This was before we knew it was a chromosome issue. The first consultation really helped my partner as she really explained everything and realistically how much he could have controlled. I hope the appointment brings him some peace too.

I also found walking and just asking one question helped my husband open up. My brain works 200 miles an hour but I figured out that was overwhelming him. Not sure if you can ask how he wants to talk about it.

Do let us know how next week goes xx

Thanks @Disco24 I'm glad your consultation helped you both. It's also a good reminder about the chromosome issue - as we have that too, so realistically there's not a huge amount he could have controlled really. And there's obviously still time to make some extra changes before we get an mtese booked. He has started acupuncture alongside me so i was hoping if nothing else it might help him feel calmer...
I am certainly with you with the brain working overtime!! Look after yourself. Will update next week xx

I think it depends on your postcode and what the local trust policy is. Where I live it was 1 fresh IVF cycle + 1 FET if applicable. My clinic insisted on a period in-between. Initially we had the same mind set as you, lets get those embryos in ASAP but in reality its taken us 2 years to do 3 cycles with 5 embryo transfers (6 total embryos) Hope this helps and good luck.

Please keep us updated on this I have been wondering the same after 6 failed embryos. I have 3 autoimmune conditions and feeling this could be my problem

@wateringcanface meant to tag you here sorry!

How are you doing @Bran90 ?
Did you try with fresh sperm in the end?
xx

Thanks @Bran90

Yes, thank you that makes sense, I understand needing a break in between full cycles, but not between transfers, if the first cycle yields enough quality embryos to do multiple transfers, I don't see why they cannot be transferred month after month. I do not know what my hospitals policy is though, whether they limit it to one frozen transfer or not.

I would recommend doing some research into immune modulating supplements. My husband has autoimmune diseases (luckily he has been very well for a couple of years now) and because of that I did a lot of research at the time into supplements, and there were some studies out there that strongly support them and discuss the science behind it, it's important to look for immune regulating/modulating though not boosting. Most of the recommendations that come up are completely harmless and no doctor would have any qualms about you taking them, but the odd one pops up where there are risks associated so read into it.

I don't have any autoimmune issues that I am aware of, but I did take lactoferrin for a while last year and felt so good while taking it, so I plan to re-start that.

The only reason I mentioned it in regard to fertility, is when I was trying to learn more about the IVF proccess I read a few threads on here with women going through long term infertility, and there were quite a few women surprised to learn in that journey they had autoimmune issues, and steroids/lifestyle changes really helped.

So my thinking is, there is no harm in trying and covering all basis!

Hello all. Been holding breath to send this but we have had a positive result! After partners mtese in Jan, I had my cycle pretty quickly privately w CRGH. 16 eggs retrieved and 5 day 5 embryos. I can't quite believe it but the first transfer is looking good as the weeks go by after a positive pregnancy test. Just wanted to send some good news for all the NOA men out there - it can work! I know it's early days and I'm keeping all under wraps for now but we have everything crossed.
Husband found the recovery for the mtese ok (sore for 2 weeks but able to move around and work fine). Mentally it was a struggle but obviously the positive result did wonders for how he was feeling. This has been such a rollercoaster for both of us - I feel for you all. Always worry about posting good news as I don't want to make anyone feel worse. Can't recommend Pippa Sangster enough (https://maleinfertilityspecialist.co.uk maleinfertilityspecialist.co.uk ) and we found CRGH really helpful.
I'll let you know how the next few weeks go but sending you all love and luck x

@lulu899 - many congratulations! really happy for you! must feel like such a heavy burden lifted - hope you have a happy & healthy pregnancy!

Do you mind me asking what % success rate you were given for the MTESE?

Huge congrats @lulu899 💗xx

Because of the mumps, Dr Sangster said 30% chance of success in face of normal genetics. If he hadn't of had the mumps, it would have been 50%. Difficult to put yourself through surgery with 30% odds but we decided it was better than the 0% chance that we had though after the initial azoospermia result!

@lulu899 we have also been given a similar %.. but it's all so scary isn't it. Sorry for so many questions but can I ask if your husband was put on any meds like Anastrozole?

Yes.... he had clomiphene for a number of months as his testosterone was low to start with

@lulu899 Wow that's amazing....similar my partner had the mumps when he was 20 which caused the NOA. We were given around a 30% chance of finding sperm and then a small chance the sperm that was found (if any) would be usable...so odds upon odds hence us going donor.....that is absolutely amazing that your partner has beaten those odds! Fantastic to hear... .how much sperm did they find??

Honestly if you can I'd urge yourself or your husband to post this good news story on the male fertility forum on Reddit as loads of guys on there with similar conditions would love to hear a success story like this.