Welcome ICLW'ers (otherwise known as IComLeavWe)!! So glad you found your way over! Here's a little bit about us and the tightrope we currently find ourselves walking. We recently found out that hubby has low everything: count, volume, motility and 0% normal morphology. That last bit is obviously the most disconcerting. Thanks to Murgdan's super spiffy blog (best of luck today, btw!), I believe this is called oligoastenoteratozoospermia, but we'll find out for sure next week.
Hubby also suffers from chronic depression. The catch there is that when the meds are working well, life is almost "normal." Of course, it is highly likely that those same meds are causing our MFI problem in whole or in part. Going off the meds is a non-option. Changing them considerably is an almost equal non-option. So, I'm not really sure where that leaves us. We've been waiting about a month for the first urologist appointment, but I'm happy to say that it's almost here! 8/25 can't get here fast enough, because I'm driving myself crazy in the meantime!
So ICLW'ers, I have a question(s) for you. I know that many of you have dealt with MFI and I appreciate your "been there, done that" expertise. What questions should we ask at the first appointment? What should we expect to hear/have done?
(By the way, the hand read to catch the wavering tightrope walker in the picture above represents all of you....my dear online friends (from the blogosphere and iV. I'm so very grateful to have each of you in my life. I learn and gain strength from you every single day! Thank you for offering your experiences and insights in such honest and vulnerable ways! Cheesy? Maybe. True? YES!)
(pic from: http://zfginc.com/tightrope.jpg)
15 comments:
((hugs)) We also dealt with MFI (morphology was okay, but everything else was dismally low), and my husband has chronic depression. I know it can be frustrating, not knowing how much the meds play a role, but also knowing that even if meds were the sole cause of the issue, you couldn't really do anything to change it.
One thing I would ask about is hormone levels- testosterone, FSH, LH, etc. I think for men, low testosterone can actually play a part in depression, and low testosterone definitely isn't good for sperm production. Depending on what the different hormone levels are, clomid can actually be helpful for men, in increasing testosterone (and, in theory, increasing sperm count).
I don't really know of any specific MFI type questions I would ask...but Mel has a great reference as far as questions to ask at a first RE appointment...IF you saw a uro I assume they did all the hormone and genetic bloodwork on hubby? If not ask them too. Sounds like you've had a bit of a work up as well with the endo, but expect to get the same treatment as him...there will likely be a full round of bloodwork for you both.
http://stirrup-queens.blogspot.com/2006/07/questions-when-choosing-reproductive.html
Good luck, I know it's nerve wracking and heart breaking.
Kitty...thanks so much and (((HUGS))). It's an awful catch-22 we've both had to deal with with the MFI and the depression! Thanks so much for the info on testosterone!
Murgdan...thanks so much for stopping by, especially today of all days! No bloodwork or hormone testing yet for DH, but I assume it will happen at Tuesday's appointment. Thanks for the link to Mel's RE resource!
I've pretty much decided that if the uro even mentions IUI/IVF, I'm going to ask for a referral to a RE. I'm sure there will be a waitlist for the clinic I want to use, so might as well get the ball rolling. Does that seem appropriate? Of course, insurance issues may temper my speed there a bit.
I'm glad to have found you too. I hope that your urologist appointment goes well and he's able to help you two.
Happy ICLW! I hope your appointment goes well!
Haha, I knew there was a reason I liked you :)
Lin - thanks for your comment on my blog! :)
To answer your question - I was actually hoping that increasing testosterone levels might help with my husband's depression, but the clomid didn't seem to affect his mood much either way. When he first started taking it, he was super irritable (for 2-3 days, maybe). And he had to deal with hot flashes the whole time he was taking it(poor guy). But other than that, no huge side effects.
((hugs))
I don't have any advise on MFI...we have to complete opposite problem, plenty of sperm but no egg. I do know how crappy the wait for a DR is though. I hope the time goes quick and that they can come up with a great plan for you! Good luck!
ICLW
Hey there, thanks for the comment on my blog!
I'm sorry to hear that we are in a similar boat. We were diagnosed with a chromosomal abnormality by our RE, so we never made it to a Urologist. I don't mean to be preachy, but I have heard that acupucture can do tremendous things for Depression and reversing the effects of medications. It would definitely require some commitment, but may be complimentary to whatever the Urologist can suggest.
I look forward to hearing about your appointment, and good luck!!!
Hey there! It sounds as though there are many challenges to overcome. I pray that when you least expect it, God will surprise you with a miracle.
Blessings,
Belinda
ICLW
I agree totally what murgdan said. Get the blood work- including the chromosomal deletions, CF status. I would go ahead and get an RE appt. on the books- just check first with your insurance to make sure you don't need a referral or prior authorization. You would need to have the RE appt. after the urologist though....they will want him to go see one.
We saw an RE first and we had to wait for the next steps until we got all the urology testing out of the way (TRUS,etc.)
Good luck sweetie!!!
Happy ICLW!!!
I'm sorry that I don't have any suggestions or an answer to your question. At this point in our journey it's looking like a combination of bad luck and rotten eggs. I hope and pray that you get some answers and direction soon.
ICLW
I hope your appointment goes well unfortunately no help from me but I'm glad so many others have been able to give you some pointers!
ICLW
My husband also has severe MFI and severe depression. He's been on antidepressants, antianxiety and sleeping pills for over two years now.
I wish I had researched MFI more before we saw a urologist, but sadly we were being thrown around in the military's system and they were a bunch of tools who knew nothing about MFI. (Funny... you would *think* a urologist would be well-versed in reproductive medicine...)
All the urologist did was feel him up and repeat over and over again: "No varicocele, can't help you. No varicocele, can't help you." Thanks, dude... shouldn't you at least know what our next steps could be? Or give us some sort of advice? Argh.
Anyway, I JUST within the past 10 minutes, realized that acupuncture may have actually helped us. (I'm slow!) We did it for awhile then did IVF. His counts were miraculously higher at IVF and I'm just now realizing that it was about three months before that we had been doing acupuncture. They say it takes three months to see any change with sperm... coincidence?
Good luck! I'm adding you to my Google Reader to see how your appointment goes on Tuesday!
-Carrie
http://welayinrepose.livejournal.com
Carrie- Thanks SO much! I'm worried that our uro appointment may go similarly but we've been told that he's also a male fertility specialist. I hope that's true. I might dissolve into a puddle afterwards after this crazy wait for the appointment if we get nowhere, although I won't be surprised either.
Hmmmm....need to start getting hubby comfortable with the idea of acupuncture!
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