Friday, October 2, 2009

Male Factor Infertility and IUI

I'm just in such shock, I always thought it was me that had the problem. We got the S/A and Morphology results and they were very very bad. He had 16Million, hardly any motility, and the shape of his sperm are not conducive to fertilization. We have less than a 1% chance of conceiving naturally, basically 0%. I can't believe it.

I got a positive OPK this month, not that it matters much now, but that's 4 months in a row that I've ovulated on my own.

We are going to be starting medicated IUI with Letrozole for me, next cycle. I just have to wait for AF and our IUI journey begins. In the back of my mind I always knew we'd end up doing IUI, but it's still hard to swallow. We will try this for 3 months and then move on to IVF. This is unreal.

9 comments:

  1. *hugs* I'm sorry about your husband's results. I hope the IUI works for you.

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  2. F*ck.

    I'm so sorry Melissa. I unfortunately know all too well what it's like to get that news. It's devastating to say the least. Did they order a repeat SA? Because believe it or not there is something they call "A Bad Day". You should have him test again in a month. It may also be possible to improve his counts, motility and morphology through suppliments and acupuntcure. But it can take up to three months to see improvement.

    I know it's hard to look on the brightside but his counts are not too low, (brian's were less than 1 Million) I think an IUI is a very good place to start. For the IUI's I'm doing they like to see a count over 10 million. So if he's around 16, you still have wiggle room... And welcome to team Letrozole. Here's to hoping it does the trick for both of us.

    I know its overwhelming. Spend some quality time with Rob this weekend. It's really important to support eachother right now.

    Big, BIG Hugs.

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  3. Sorry to hear your news.

    We're dealing with male factor too. Just wanted to second Melissa G's excellent advice above. Would be worth doing a repeat SA. Might also be worth considering having him checked out by a urologist. Reading your timeline at the side - see that his SA done in 2008 was 'flawless' - this makes me want to investigate further. Sometimes there can be an infection or something that can easily be cleared up. Just my $0.02 but worth looking into if you can.

    I too can relate to the overwhelming feelings and the "I thought it was just me." Hang in there...I'm always here if you ever need to chat!

    Sending lots of good thoughts your way.

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  4. Great advice from both Melissa and Fertility Chick. Definitely get him to do a repeat SA. And be seen by a urologist. Mr. T and I wish we had done that earlier. Mr. T was greatly helped by supplements and acupuncture. Though it still comes as such a shock. It's a hard time right now, hard to process, but it will pull you closer together. Sending hugs your way. Hoping that IUI is just what you need!

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  5. Ah, Melissa- your experience sounds all too familiar (remember I was on Clomid for 6+ months and with prometrium- Jake's first SA's were fine, but the strict SA showed 0% morphology about a year later). Like the previous posters said- a repeat SA is important. There are too many variables that could attest to the lower levels this time, especially since it was so long since the last one. Read the chapter on Male Factor in The Infertility Cure- it will give you amounts of vitamins that Rob can take. A urologist appt. is also a good idea- try to get a urology fertility specialist- they can rule out varioceles, or hormone issues that may be easily fixed. I have read about several cases where the male partner went on meds (clomid or other) and that did the trick. Did the RE give any suggestions to improving the SA results before jumping to more medication for you or any sort of idea why he thinks Rob's counts are the way they are? What were the actual motility and morphology %? From personal experience, I'd have the RE give you his % chance of concieving with the Letrozole and IUI- if it is really unlikely to work (a lot of REs will still have you try those before IVF no matter what), you may be better off in the long run saving the $ from the 3 IUIs and using that $ towards IVF (knowing that you will have to pay out of pocket for both). Just my two cents from my frightenly similar experience.

    Hang in there- I know you've had a rough week. Try to be as supportive as possible for Rob as he adjusts to this change in the situation too. Go see a movie together to get your mind off of it, if just for a little while.

    ((HUGS))

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  6. It isn't much, but I have a little award for you to brighten your day- on my blog. :)

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  7. I hope that the IUI process helps with your sweetie's low counts and motility. I know that they can do things to help enhance the good ones for an IUI. I hope that things start to look up for you guys.

    *Hugs*

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  8. I know that it can be very difficult to hear knews like that. Take a few days to get use to the idea. I hope this brings you your sticky BFP asap!

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  9. Oooh, you are a popular girl. I have an award for you on my blog too!

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