Azoospermia - HELP!!! feeling very sad...

[Cris76]

Hi everyone,

I just happened to come across this site and decided to join this forum.

My hubby and I have been TTC for 5 years and over the past year, we finally decided to seek help from our doctor. The initial tests that were done on me came out fine so the next step was to do a semen analysis. You can only imagine our surprise and disappointment when the doctor told us there was no sperm AT ALL in his samples! Especially considering that he has 2 children (ages 13 and 11) from a previous relationship.

I was devastated. I am very new to this and haven't even gone to see a fertility specialist yet. Our doctor referred my hubby to a Urologist first. Has anyone ever heard of something like this? Where there is no sperm even though previous pregnancy was attained naturally???

The one thing the doctor has identified is that he has low testostorone and he recently had him do a "free testostorone" test. Has anyone ever heard of this test? What exactly are they checking for?

Once this test has been completed, the next step will be to be referred to a fertility clinic.

The hubby is quite upset and doesn't like to talk about it much..I guess that is his way of dealing with things...

Please write back soon...feel like I am going crazy trying to make sense of this!

Cris

ps - I am 30 years old and he is 33.

[FionaA]

Cris

I am sorry to hear about your news. Unfortunately I don't know much about your problem but I'm sure someone around here does. The people here are a great support and may be able to help you through any difficult times.

Fee

[meg12]

Cris--My situation is not quite the same...We do have male factor (he does have sperm, but it's a VERY low count and not great motility) and everything seems to be okay with me. It's hard, isn't it? When we first found out that he was the one with the problem, I didn't know if he'd make it through. He kept telling me that I should just "find someone who can give me children" and leave him alone. Obviously that's not going to happen.

Sorry for the ramble. The point I'm trying to make is that although I don't have any answers to your specific questions, I just wanted to make sure you know you're not alone. And make sure you and your DH keep talking--although this is a huge strain on any relationship it can bring you closer together than you've ever imagined!

[shantala]

hi cris

i'm so sorry to hear about your results...i can relate a tiny bit as my dh has children from a previous marriage and we have found out that we cant conceive as he has a low sperm count and terrible motility. i know its not the same as your dh but from what i know, sperm counts can fluxtuate and change every 3 months. so it may be worth him repeating a test in 3 months, especially as he already has children!

i wish you all the best and keep us updated!!

xx

[Lis]

Hi Cris

Just wanted to send you big hugs and let you know I am thinking of you. OCt 2005 my dh and I were told he had zero sperm in his sperm analysis. He had a sperm retrieval which as negative and also lab tests which confirmed he has never produced sperm due to undescended testicles - both sides - which was detected too late. We were so so sad and quite frankly devastated - the shock was unbelievable and I felt like we were grieving the loss for a very long time so I know where you are at. Hugs xxx

Obviously our situation is different. If it helps, I heard from someone on anther board that their dh who had kids from prev relationship had mumps later on in life unbeknown to him and developed smae problem as your dh. Sorry I don't know anymore than that but someone on here will no doubt.

Take care xxx

[NickiMark]

I am totally understanding you, my hubby has no sperm in the semen, he was refered to a urologist for sperm retieval, but decided not to go ahead and we are going with donor insem, the men dont speak about it so much, but you must support him, its odd he's fathered 2 kids already, that must be so much harder for him!!!

Sending you so many hugs, I know how you feel, it's not easy, but there is hope!! and you muct be positive!!

We dont know why hubby has no sperm, it totally unexplained.

I am here often so hope to hear from you some more, let us know how you get on. x x

[Julie2039]

Sending you big hugs and am sorry to hear your news.

My DH was diagnosed Azoospermic too...it was devastating and it took him over twelve months to even open up to me so know how hard things are for you. We were lucky in the respect that he had a sperm retrieval op and it was successful and we are in the process of our first IVF 4 years later......suppose I am saying there is some hope.

i too cant help on the fact that he has fathered children previously....could be a blockage that has developed....or an illness afterwards.

Take care, you will get the support on here so keep talking

[Cris76]

Hi Everyone,

Can you believe it...I am sitting here crying like a baby and feeling so touched by all of your kind words and encouragement. THANK YOU ALL...I can't tell you how much it means to me.

I am trying to be strong for DH becuase I know he feels horrible about this and I try not to be too emotional about it in front of him becuase I don't want him to be even more upset.

I am still at the very beginning of this long journey and I already feel like a basket case sometimes! I admire each and every one of you for reaching out to others and making me feel so welcome.

DH went to see the Urologist today but the results for the "free testostorone" test were not in yet so we have to wait another 2 weeks before he can go see him again. The waiting is killing me! I guess I should probably get used to that!

Depending on these test results, the doctor may want to put him on some type of drug...
I am not sure which one but guess we will find out in 2 weeks. He also wants to do a biopsy of the testicle to see if there is any sperm there. Oh...I forgot to mention last time that the doctor did say that he has "mild to moderate" varicocele. Does anyone here know much about this? Is it worth going through surgery to try to repair it?

Please write back soon...hugs to all of you...

Cris

[meg12]

My DH had a mildvariocele too--his urologist told him that it can be removed surgically, but that in his opinion it wouldn't make a big difference. He said that he knows men with them that have fathered 10 kids..blah, blah, blah. That's all I know about it. Luckily, we were able to get 9 eggs fertilized with ICSI, so keep the faith!

[Cris76]

Thanks Meg!

The doctor also said he didn't think it was worth operating on to fix the varicocele...did your DH have to do a testicular biopsy too to find sperm?

Cris

[meg12]

No, he did have some--just a really low count and questionable motility. In fact, it was so low that our doctor suggested we just skip IUI and go right to IVF. It was a tough time, but at the same time it was good to finally have an answer as to what was going wrong. Knowing is better than not knowing--now you can get a battle plan together!

[Lis]

Cris you sound just like me one year ago - what you are saying is so similar - I wrote all the same things you are writing. The wait for the test results was one of the worst waits for me - but the worst was waiting 4 months for the testicular biopsy. Not knowing whether or not they were going to find sperm. It felt like our whole future depended on this one op. You are going to have to become very patient in this game - everyone said that to me too and thay are so right. If it is any consolation I found it much easier to cope once dh had had his biopsy and we could at last proceed (sadly for us) with donor sperm (but remember my situation is different) beacuse at least we knew what route we were taking. The first 2 months when dh was having the testosterone and fsh levelks checked as well as genetic tests I couldn't concentrate and felt sad all the time - the shock of it al I think and the grieving process. When I llok back on it I think I might have benefited from a few weeks out from work. Instead I carried on but goodness knows how much productivity my employer got out of me! So please please keep chatting if it helps - you need all the support you can get and this forum is amazing. There is someone on here for just about every stage of what you are going thro that can help and support you. Feel free to pm (private msg) me if you like

Lisa xxx