Where do I start?

[KarmaJane]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum and new to the assisted fertility route.:wave:

DH and I have been trying to conceive naturally for the past 2 years to no avail. So recently we decided to get ourselves checked out to see why no new little person had joined us yet. DH is obese so I knew at the beginning that there would likely be problems.

Well, results are in. After a scare of possible PCOS, we found out through ultrasound and blood work that I appear to be fine. DH, however, is not :(

He has very few sperm and of those none in the sample we gave were alive. In addition to this, he also has extremely low levels of testosterone. Unfortunately, due to his weight, the doctor was unable to give him testosterone as it could lead to heart problems.

Luckily DH is very understanding and wants a baby as badly as I do so he's willing to go the donor route. The problem is, we have no clue what to do next...:confused:

We'd rather not go for IVF if we don't have to but I'd like to know opinions on the success of home insemination and IUI. Then there is the issue of procuring some viable sperm...:freakingout:

Any help would be well appreciated.

[RunningWithScissors]

Hi KarmaJane!

We have been on a similar track :) My DH has no sperm either. It was an awful thing to discover. We discovered he had a chromosomal condition...Has your DH had a karyotype blood test done? Thats how we discovered DHs...some of the markers for it were low testosterone and weight issues.
Also testosterone inhibits sperm production, our fertility specialists made that very clear to us!
We have gone the donor route too, we chose IUI ahead of home insem. IVF was out as Im fine, its very invasive and for issues I DONT have seemed pointless! Its also much, much cheaper! 1 IVF cycle would have cost us roughly the same as 3 IUI cycles. The success rate is not all the different (in my eyes! 17-20% for IUI 20-22% for IVF) so I figured that 3 shots was better than 1 for the price!
IUI has more red tape than HI, but we are also protected from law suits by the donor if he changes his mind, wants to access the child etc. Plus the sperm is thoroughly tested, screened and quarantined for 6 months to make sure there are no hidden nasties. Its washed to get only the best swimmers too.

We fell pregnant on our first IUI...currently 19+3wks pregnant :smiliedance: so as you might guess I'm a big advocate for it!

[felicita]

Also testosterone inhibits sperm production, our fertility specialists made that very clear to us!
Yep.
The low testosterone is because your partner has low sperm, not the other way around.

I know you want to avoid IVF, but you might be able to get sperm surgically direct from the testes, but then you have to do ICSI through an IVF clinic. (Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, where they inject sperm individually into the eggs.)

[KarmaJane]

Thanks for the advise ladies. Hubby and I returned to the GP to get a referral for a FS. While we were there the doc told us that, contrary to what I had thought, hubby's sperm were not motile rather than dead (I don't see a difference there :S ). So she said ICSI might be a good option.

Now I'm happy that hubby and I still have a chance to have a bub that's ours but I'm terrified that we won't be able to afford it and also scared of what the hormone treatments will do to me (not to mention that twins run in my family and fertility drugs are notorious for making multiples!).

But at least we're started and I guess we'll see what the FS says...

[Flamecatcha]

Hi KJ,
Do some research on the internet & read other posts on these boards & you will gain a lot of additional info to help you be more informed. Being more informed will be really helpful when you see the FS, as some are better than others at explaining things, or presenting options to you. I wish that I had had access to these boards when I did my ivf courses, as it would have helped so much.
How motivated is your DH to lose weight & get fit? If he's not very motivated, maybe you could help by going to the gym together, or going for regular exercise together etc. And look into taking supplements for sperm health, lots of different ones available.
Anyway, Good luck :babydust1:

[lissyann]

Hi your story sounds similar to mine, it took us a lot longer to get to the bud of our fertility problems though, I have had 3 rounds of Donor iui because my partner has 0 swimmers ( due to a major bad virus) he wasn't all for using a donor but i was determined to be a Mum & i know he is a good Dad to his other children, we have been together 9 yrs & i really didn't want to seek out someone else to have children with I wanted to be with him he is starting to come around but using a Donor is a complex issue & sometimes requires some counselling etc. My experience with my fertility specialist in Brisbane has been a very positive one full of excitement each time i started a new cycle but then of course you do have dissapointing moments too, it really can be a rollercoaster. I'm 31 the last 2 cycles I had I also used follicle stimulants the last cycle proved to be a success:smiliedance: I am sooooo happy, I think I was in shock for a while. So they have a donor department at the fertility group that i would go to they would give me some pretty detailed profiles of donors that would be a match to what i was looking for, you can browse through the profiles & pick out your preference so i'm currently 14weeks due in August & excited! All the best with your journey:goodluck: