Sadly, my husband’s SSR has not gone as planned. To cut a long story short and the explanations - we were told initially after ‘we have some sperm but not as much as we hoped’. Sadly after thawing this, it wasn’t able to be used and it has been injected with something - I don’t know what, my brain is too jumbled to think, and it still hasn’t responded.
We have been advised to contact the Virologist to see if there is something that can be done after this. Has anyone else been in a similar boat? I know there’s another treatment we can try. Sadly, I am also trying to come to terms with the fact that even this may not work and to consider what our other options may be.
Has anyone else been in the same boat? My head is spinning, I feel very shocked. It has been a nightmare of a day.
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Terrierlover123
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So sorry to read your post This forum is a great source of support and information - I am sure you will get some helpful replies Hope you have people around you for support Take a look at our website fertilitynetworkuk.org Access Support for information on Regional Support Groups
I’m sorry it hasn’t gone as planned, it’s an absolute rollercoaster going through IVF. My husbands a type 1 diabetic and we needed SSR due to azoospermia and retrograde ejaculation. He first has the Tese (one with the needle) which wasn’t successful but we had success with the Micro-tese and got six vials in the end. Ours was all very stressful due to time constraints with nhs funding so we had the mandatory counselling for donor sperm at the same time. I think what helped us was knowing all of our options and agreeing on them beforehand. Do you know what your other options are?
Try to take things one day at a time as impossible as it sounds. Sending lots of love!
Oh I am really pleased you have had the Micro-tese and that it was successful for you. So, have you been able to use your Husband's sperm for IVF? Where are you now with things?
We had a consultation yesterday and we were told we need to have the Micro tese, which should enable him to get to where the sperm is made and hopefully give us a higher success rate. The problem was the dr got sperm, though not huge amounts, and it was bad quality. He also found small cysts he had to get rid of due to my Husband's vasectomy.
We have 12/09 provisionally booked for the Micro tese in which gives us just under a month to really get my husband's diet in better shape (not that it was that bad to begin with tbh) and to just give us every possible chance, so have Wellman on order. He had been taking Proxeed but feel like they haven't been much help for what they are. I very much feel like the Micro tese is last chance saloon and I just cannot contemplate donor sperm right now. I need a stern talking to because at the moment I feel really negative. x
Honestly it’s so hard and you are doing so well! I was pretty negative about the whole ivf process the whole way through but often the odds aren’t in our favour and I needed to mentally prepare myself.
We were so pushed for time with the Micro-Tese as we didn’t know if we’d get it done before our funding run out so it was a massive stress and hence the need for the mandatory counselling for potential donor sperm at the same time. I’m glad we did that though because always had a ‘fall back’ plan.
My husband had a few sperm in his samples (he had to do urine samples for this) and we knew the odds for the Tese was really really low for him. Still was devastated when it didn’t work though. The micro-tese was a real success though, 6 vials and we only needed to use one of those. First embryo ended in a chemical and the second transfer (frozen) I’m currently 14 weeks pregnant with two embryos in the freezer. Still an absolute anxious wreck about it all but if it wasn’t for the Micro-Tese my husband would have likely gone through life thinking he was infertile unnecessarily. So please don’t give up hope just yet.
Wow this is absolutely brilliant news. Congratulations. Your reply made me well up - it has definitely given me hope and something to hold onto. I am just worried about my Husband’s age. He also had a vasectomy but the dr seems keen that we will find sperm I just hope we have sperm we can use. How old is your husband if you don’t mind me asking?
You will be able to relax fully when baby is in your arms. I think it must be incredibly anxiety provoking for IVF parents because you have been through so much to get to that final point. You have been through so much though. You should be so proud of yourself! X
Thank-you so much! Oh I’m so glad I could make you feel a bit more hopeful! It can feel so isolating going through this. This forum has been a lifeline for me at times as I’m such an anxious person anyway, add in ivf and it’s recipe for disaster. It took me almost a year to be able to do another transfer.
We’re both 36, he had his micro-tese last year. I don’t have any fertility problems myself but we knew for a good few years we would need IVF / ICSI as my husbands azoospermia and retrograde ejaculation was progressive. Pretty sure we got the call the same day letting us know it was a success. We had definitely come round to the idea of donor sperm too, when we spoke with the counsellor about it she advised most men donated their sperm because they knew someone who had fertility issues and understood the hardship, that’s made us feel a lot better. The operation was hard going but well worth it!
We can look back at some of our early appointments and laugh now, like the first semen analysis when we asked if the numbers were good or bad ( pretty sure it was about 100 and as the years went on and his conditioner progressed we were in single figures. We had no idea the norm was millions!
Feel free to reach out whenever you need! I’ll have everything crossed for you and your husband 12/09
I’m definitely going to make use of this forum so thanks so much for that. I have not been able to tell anyone about this experience but I am hopeful that if things go well, I will be able to. Did you let people know what you were doing?
Honestly, feeling much better this evening. I feel determined to keep positive and keep going. I so hope the micro Tese works for us. I don’t know how much good sperm we need for IVF but I just pray we have enough. How was your husband’s recovery? X
So sorry I missed this! I told my closest friends because i needed the support and also I found the whole process really difficult so it definitely isn’t something I could have hidden. Having the support of a few close people really was invaluable (and still is).
He recovered really well in about 1-2 weeks which was great, pretty sure we found out the outcome of the SSR on the day also. I hope you are doing ok and will be thinking of you on the 12th! X
So, the treatment went well yesterday and we have sperm we can use! So I am really happy with that - best outcome! So pleased we won't need to consider donor sperm as this had been playing on both of our minds and I know we would have considered it if we needed to, but I am so pleased we can take that off the table now. We haven't exactly been told huge amounts on information about it all, maybe there isn't much to say lol. I want to say 4 vials were collected when I spoke to to the embroyologist. All I know is that they just needed to go into the left rather than both left and right to retrieve sperm so I am assuming this is a good sign.
My Husband also seems to be recovering really well so far. Interestingly this procedure, despite the fact it is more in-depth and invasive, seems to have been conducted in such a way that my husband has actually said he feels better, less groggy, feels his aftercare was better - interesting. As a result, this has got us thinking about whether we move the sperm back to the original clinic we were intending to have all our treatment at or whether we remain at this new place. This new clinic is further away and is in London (not sure if we're able to say clinic names on here but it has a very good reputation nationally). It took us about 45 minutes by taxi whereas the original clinic is 20 mins drive away. Really not sure... I know what I would like to do deep down but it is the practicalities of it all.
The questions I have for you are - what happens next? We will have a follow up appointment with the virologist in 4 weeks to see how my Husband is recovering but I am not sure what to do about me! Do I contact the original gynaeocologist that we saw? I am awaiting a phone call from our original clinic but that is unlikely to be for another week as the lead nurse is on holiday. With this clinic, I have had a few issues and concerns about them in the past in terms of communication, organisation and general care and attention so it has got me feeling uncertain about what to do with the sperm. Decisions decisions!
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Over a year of trying and wanting to give up :( In desperate need of advice!!
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