I'm new here...

[lou6]

Hi everyone, my husband has been diagnosed with azoospermia (absence of sperm in the semen), which means we won't be able to conceive naturally. It's hard to come to term with this but we're getting there. We've been given a few options and decided to go for sperm retrieval + IVF/ICSI - I'm scared and hopeful...I'm joining the forum because I find it hard to talk about what's happening to us to my friends and because so far, health professionals have been very 'matter of fact' about it. Hope I can find a bit of support and reassurance here. Lou6 x

[katya38]

Hi Lou. It is a shock but you ll feel better now you've made the decision. Everyone here is so supportive it helps to feel you're not in your own. Just ask if you're unsure of anything am sure there will be plenty of good advice. Xx

[lou6 in reply to katya38]

Thanks for your kind words x

[LMN30]

Hi Lou

My husband also has azoospermia as he is a cystic fibrosis carrier meaning the tubes releasing sperm are missing. We are awaiting our first IVF appointment in the next few weeks. I wish you luck and feel the same way as you. It is a scary time. Xx

[lou6 in reply to LMN30]

My husband isn't CF carrier and we still don't know why he has azoospermia. Hormonal tests are all fine so hopefully we'll find some sperm in his testes. I have a question: are you doing all of this under the NHS? If so, is the NHS going to fund the sperm retrieval?

[SnottyCow in reply to lou6]

Hi Lou the NHS funded our first sperm retrival but not our second. I'm not sure what the situation would have been had we not been successful with our first but as it was successful they definitely woudn't fund the second.

We also had 3 rounds of IVF on the NHS. We live in Hertfordshire, it is such a postcode lottery.

Good luck

[sipidania]

Hi lou

My friend's husband had a similar scenario without the CF, and they have just celebrated their beautiful boy's first birthday - so it definitely can work.

Good luck! If you have specific questions I am seeing them tonight so let me know!

X

[sipidania in reply to sipidania]

Oops just re-read it isn't your husband with the CF that was LMN but good luck to you too LMN!

[Sunny_skies]

Hey hunny. Welcome to the group. Everyone here are in different situations and the support is great. You will have questions and everyone is very helpful.

Best wishes for your treatment. Let us know how you get on. Xxx

[lou6 in reply to Sunny_skies]

Thank you so much for your message x

[Skybid]

Hi there, my husband & I had been trying for a couple years when he was diagnosed with this. It is heartbreaking, he suffers from depression also so IVF amongst other things is driving him lower and lower down. It's our third cycle now and our last negative last year was a real blow for us but him even more so. He keeps saying that he's not a real man and he wants me to leave him and find Someone else.... it's really hard and I know it's hard for a man to deal with. I'm just hoping this time round it'll work....time isn't on my side in regards to egg quality & I also have poly cystic ovaries so I'm feeling the pressure.

We were told that this condition was hereditary but as far as we know my husbands dad or brothers have had no problems and he passed away a couple years ago so we can't ask.

They also told me polycystic ovaries were hereditary too but there is no sign of that in my family either.

If u need to talk anytime just message me.

[lou6 in reply to Skybid]

Thanks for your kind words. good luck with you 3rd cycle. xx

[lou6]

Hello Ladies, thank you for your messages. It has cheered me up. Thanks for sharing your friends' success story sipidania; it makes me feel positive. Katya - yes, we both feel better now we have made the decision. I'll let you know how we get on. We're doing the assessment + paperwork on 2 Nov. This should be pretty straightforward. xx

[Sammy-h]

Hi lou6, my dh was diagnosed with Azoospermia last September. It was a real shock to us and took us a long while to get our heads around. Since then he has had blood tests, ultrasounds and more blood tests. We were told back in June that we would be put on the waiting list for M-these and it could be 7-8 month wait. We phoned the Nhs hospital in September to see if they had a date for us as the waiting is the hardest part for me. They told us it would be in March. This news set me back a bit because it was still 6 months away.

On Friday just gone we received a letter from the hospital telling us his surgery would be on the 6th December. I'm so happy it's only 5 weeks away but my dh is struggling as he is really worried it's going to be bad news.

I'm here if you need to talk x

[lou6 in reply to Sammy-h]

Hi Sammy, thanks for your message. Sorry to hear you are going through the same journey - I hope you get some good news on 6 December. hope we get a date for the surgery soon. Take care x

[SnottyCow]

Hi I know exactly how you feel. My husband has Azoospermia which hit us like a tonne of bricks when we initially found out. We were 99% convinced that the problems we were having would lie with me.

First I'd say it's important to have a back up plan. We were initially told there was no way we'd have our own biologic child so we went down the route of coming to terms with that. We went to a talk on sperm donation at a fertility show which we found enormously helpful. This was a family where the children were all born from a sperm donor all talking about their family and how they felt about their Dad, the donor etc... I can't explain properly but it really help my husband and I too see that using a sperm donor would not be the end of the world.

Thankfully another consultation lead us to sperm retrieval and IVF/ICSI. My husband had his surgical sperm retrieval and we retrieved 5 ampules. We had 3 rounds of ICSI with success on the third attempt with our little boy.

Now we are back on the ICSI train or should I say rollercoaster. My husband has had a second sperm retrieval and we've had 5 unsuccessful attempts so far.

Buckle up it's a bumpy ride but when it works it's so very worth it and if it doesn't then a donor baby is every bit as wonderful.