Sperm issues

[Nickon]

Hello everybody. I'm Nickon I'm new here, looking for advice, support, and someone who is in the same boat with me. I have a boyfriend, he is actually my fiancé, and we cannot get pregnant. I never thought that we could be faced with such problems, and now we are here looking for a way out. ((He has problems with men's health, and he needs to undergo special tests, such as the FISH and TESA procedures. I read something about this, but I'm not sure if I understood everything correctly. Any thoughts?

[Cinderella5]

Hey, sorry to hear of your struggles conceiving! Those tests do indeed sound correct, to extract sperm?! We havent been through this ourselves but I have seen quite a few people on here that's partners have had to go through this. Hopefully someone can get back to you that has been through it! Welcome to the forum, we are a good supportive bunch!xx

[Nickon in reply to Cinderella5]

Thank you, Cinderella. It's so nice to get support. I really hope to find answers from those who have already gone through similar things.

[Italy300618]

Hi there, sorry to hear you are having troubles. My husband has azoospermia, due to being a CF carrier. Because of this he has had to have his sperm surgically removed. He had this done via PESA rather than TESA. Have you heard of PESA? This is where the needle goes in and the sperm is taken from the epididymis, and TESA is when they take a tissue sample from the actual testicle and hope to retrieve sperm that way. We were able to get 5 vials to freeze. Last year he had this done, and the vials were then thawed to fertilise with my eggs at egg collection. This time he will be having a fresh retrieval on the same day as my egg collection. If you have any questions please let me know, hopefully I can help. Sending a big hug your way, it is so incredibly difficult xx

[Nickon in reply to Italy300618]

I have never heard about PESA. I'll read about that, thanks. Our Dr told us only about TESA and that it may work out for us. So have you already had your embryos done or waiting for the fresh retrieval? How long did the procedure take and how did he feel after it?

[Italy300618 in reply to Nickon]

I'm waiting to do a fresh retrieval. I start down reg next week, will be our 3rd cycle. The procedure took about 30 mins and was off work for a few days. Super tight supportive pants really helped, he was a bit sore afterwards but he said it really wasnt that bad xx

[Nickon in reply to Italy300618]

Not so bad as I thought, thanks. We have good chances, if so

x

[Stephybivf]

Hi Nickon, yes we had TESE as my husband had azospermia (unknown cause).

We managed to get 6 vials of sperm. This was then frozen until I started the IVF process.

I was lucky enough to get pregnant on the second attempt of ICSI (where they inject the sperm directly into the egg) and we welcomed our daughter in feb this year.

Happy to help if needed xx

[Nickon in reply to Stephybivf]

My congrats, dear!!!! Wish you all the best! Thanks for inspiring xx

He is having his med tests in a week or so after which we'll know for sure what to do.

If we do chromosome analysis it must show us possible chromosomal rearrangement since it can be one of the reasons for weak indicators. Maybe the analysis of genetic diseases will be needed too.

[Perello]

Hi Nickon,

So sorry to hear about your struggles. My husband also had sperm issues (I think they call it azoospermia). On sperm analysis he had little or no sperm. When he was young he had undescended testes and he had an operation around 10 years old to rectify this. On later tests it showed he was a CF carrier too.

He had a TESE operation to extract sperm under general anaesthetic. Regrettably what they did extract wasn't viable to freeze so we couldn't use his sperm for treatment. We were told it could be because he had his undescended testes operation too late when he was a child which caused issues with his sperm.

Years later we went through iui and icsi treatment with donor sperm.

Everyone's journey is different and wish you all the best with everything.

Take care x

[Nickon in reply to Perello]

Quite agree with you, each case is particular but there are many options now and we are to decide whether to try them or not. It is great that you have tried, at least you know that you've done everything you could. And how are you now? What is the result of your icsi and iui treatment?

[Perello in reply to Nickon]

Hi Nickon,

I won't lie, it's been an emotional journey but we have to take each step at a time. There are many many people who have successful sperm retrieval operations, it just wasn't meant to be for us. Like I say, everyone's case is different so it may work for you.

When it came to my treatment I had all fertility tests done too and my AMH was low... Just over 3 I think. I was given less than 5% chance of it working, but still wanted to give it a go. I didn't want to regret not having tried.

After 3 failed IUIs with donor sperm we decided to try ICSI. I started 3 rounds of ICSI but I didn't respond to the drugs despite being on highest dose. They changed protocol each time.

I wish I could give you a happy story but it just wasn't meant to be for us. But in a way I'm happy and at peace knowing that I tried everything I could. My chances were low in the first place.

All the very best. It is an emotional journey but take each step at a time and make sure you look after yourself.

Xxx

[Nickon in reply to Perello]

I understand you, dear. It is really hard to realize that you've tried everything but nothing helped. But I believe that everything will be alright with both of us. I just believe and ask you not to lose hope. I know that because I have a great example of a good outcome in a hopeless situation. A friend of mine has low amh too. Don't remember numbers but lower than even 1 and they were managed to conceive their own baby after several ICSI cycles. I think their Dr made a miracle so, I am sure that you will succeed too)

[aamiller405]

Hiya.. my husband was diagnosed with azoospermie but had a successful sperm retrieval. We went on to have 7 fertilised embryos frozen and are currently waiitn to start oir next FET x

[Nickon in reply to aamiller405]

That's great! I like to listen to happy stories, they inspire. I wish this cycle works out for you!