Varicocele embolisation stories - How long did it take you to get pregnant after?

[olivetulips]

Hello everyone,

We have been on the journey of MFI and had a varicocele embolisation around 3 months ago. We would be grateful to hear about positive stories after embolisation, what improvement you had and how long it took you to get pregnant?

Any insight would be super helpful!! 💜

Hey! I'm really sorry to jump on with no answers. But I'm wondering whether I could ask you a question? Did you consider IVF before this? Sorry if it's an evasive question!! My husband and I are on the waiting list for both (IVF and surgery). We're leaning more towards paying privately to get it done, and have a consultation this coming Thursday. But this morning, we had a phone call from our ivf clinic to come in for March time to start all the bloods etc.! Typical timing. X

Hello!

Yes, we chose to do the embolisation first as it can improve sperm quality and increase the chances of IVF/ICSI if that will still be needed. We are on the list for IVF too.

Do you know what grade varicocele you have? It seems to be that the worse the varicocele is (and the SA results) the more likely an embolisation will have a big effect.

At least getting the phone call is a step forward for you? I know how difficult it can be making these decisions!

Have gone to see a fertility urologist? I'd recommend Dr. Ramsay.

Hi my DH had a varicocele embolized in November '23 (unsure on the grade but it was a big one) and we got pregnant naturally 11 months after this, unfortunately it turned out to be an ectopic which was gut wrenching! I have no idea if having it embolized improved his sperm as we have not had a re-test since but hoping to have one soon to see if anything has improved or if the pregnancy was a fluke!

Hello, thanks for taking the time to reply. So sorry to hear you had an ectopic. I've heard of a few people that had success after the 10 month mark. Were you getting only negative tests upto that point? If so, I hope you see it as progress getting pregnant, although of course, it's painful when it doesn't last.

Did your husband get an illness at all in that time? Even a cold can significantly alter the quality for at least 3 months!

I hope you get another positive soon and let us know about your results. 💜

Honestly we weren't really trying properly after the op as during that 10 months I used up 2 of our frozen embryos from a previous IVF cycle, I had 1 successful transfer but ended in MMC and then a negative transfer but then the month immediately after failed transfer is when I got pregnant naturally. He hasn't had any illness during that time no, just a common cold.

Thanks for replying! Yes he has a grade 3, which I believe is pretty bad. I'd love to see Dr. Ramsey, but unfortunately it's not doable as we live in West Wales, his nearest clinic is about 4/5 hours away.

Yes it's deffo a step in the right direction, but im just terrified that we'll chose IVF for all the embryos to fail due to bad quality. I know the realistic answer is to have the surgery and wait, but the idea of waiting another 6-10 months (waiting time and recovery) kills me! It's such a tricky choice. I'm going to explain everything with the consultant when we have the IVF consultation in March.

I so hope you get some positive news soon 😊

Are you trying now? Every month is a new chance! :)

Aw, thank you.

Yes, grade 3 is significant I believe. Do you know if you are able to delay the IVF at all? We also have an appointment in March but that's to get our funding application completed I think and we are debating on whether we should delay it. So we are a step behind you. :)

Sounds like you have a good plan. Is your clinic good with MFI? I guess one thing to keep in mind is that if not, a lot of clinics dismiss varicoceles as they don't have the expertise to understand the impact they can have but also because it's in their interest to get the NHS funding.

If it helps, the embolisation for us had incredible results 3 months after, still not optimal but we now have significantly better chances if we have to go ahead with IVF. Before the embolisation all parameters were severely low and we were still encouraged by the NHS to proceed with IVF but it didn't feel like it was the right thing to do. It really depends on how long you are happy to wait really depending on your ages.

I hope your appointment goes well tomorrow, do let us know. :)

We are now yes! I had my ectopic in November (had surgery to remove a tube) so they advised to wait a few months for everything to settle down but giving it a good go now trying!

Hello,

I appreciate your post was quite some time ago now, but me and my husband are in the same boat. He had a significant unilateral varicocele embolised 3 months ago and will be getting an up to date sperm analysis soon. I am terrified to receive the results as his pre embolisation results indicated significantly low count and poor motility. I wondered if you had any update's on how things went for you? Best wishes

@EchoLoom will be keen to hear if there’s been an improvement as we’re chasing up for an embolisation.

OHs analysis is super poor at the moment so I’m not sure it will make a drastic improvement but hoping it will make a difference.

Sorry to hear you are in the same boat, are you in the UK?
Do you remember his results? And has he had his hormones etc checked?
I know it can feel lonely at times so happy to help in any way I can. Good luck to you both

@EchoLoom yes we’re in England!

From memory his results were 1-2 million count, 2% morphology and 60% motility. So reallyyy poor count.

Hormone and genetic testing was all fine thankfully.

I think we might try proxeed or impryl but with results so low I’m not sure if they’ll help drastically.

When do you have another analysis?

We were 1.47 mill per mL / 5.59 mill per ejaculate, 36% motility and 4% morphology pre embolisation. He can book updated semen analysis any time from now but tbh we are a little scared to find out as have been holding out hope for this x

@EchoLoom I think the 1-2 million was per ml, it was over a year ago now his last SA so I can’t properly remember! So similar to you, not sure on the per ejaculation from memory though.

I feel the exact same though and he’s not even had the embolisation yet, I don’t want to get my hopes up but I’m really praying it makes a difference!

Just thought I'd jump in, my partner had a count of 2 million, can't remember the other factors but were all lower than they should be, we had our first round of IVF before he had the procedure done and got 1 poor quality embryo which ended in mmc, we then had the procedure and waited 5-6 months and had another round of IVF where we got 10 embryos, so big difference, he also stopped drinking for 3 months and took impryl, I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant from our second embryo from our second round! Even though we still had ICSI it really seemed to have helped! His count on the day of egg collection was 8mil and other factors had improved!
Also, embolisation was done through the NHS but tbh think we got lucky because not many people seem to be able to!
Best of luck xx

Congratulations! These stories bring tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing your experience. It gives me a little bit of hope when things feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Do you mind if I ask if your husband had his hormones tested beforehand? My husband has slightly elevated FSH which has worried me a little xx

@EchoLoom there defo is, just have to unfortunately ride the rollercoaster first! To be honest I can't remember, I don't think so but then again he did have bloods done at the clinic as well as the GP so could well have done but I can't remember xx

@waitingforourmiracle Ah congratulations!! And thank you so much for sharing, as EchoLoom has said these stories make me feel so much hopeful! We’ll push for an NHS embolisation!

Yes do! The clinic also proscribed him clomid at one point but he literally started it about 2 weeks before my first egg collection so it made no difference but that might also be something to ask about! X