Count: 5 million (normal 20 million)
Motility: 22% forward movement
Morphology 0%
2 Varicoceles (small to medium)
So, no surprises. The varicoceles were new info, but not a huge surprise to me. I really liked the doctor. Very matter of fact, while still not unnecessarily scaring us. And, he gave us a ton of information to read and think about...which I LOVE!
Basically, we were told that right now our only/best chance was IVF w/ ICSI. However, he's not ready to send us down that path just yet. First, we had bloodwork done today and will do a second SA to confirm the first on Thursday. Dr. B has a hunch that hormonal imbalances may be at play and the blood work will show that. If that's the case, he suggests Tamoxifen to increase count (and possibly morphology). His hope is that he could get us into the range that made IUI possible (20 million count/4% normal morph). He made no mention of getting pregnant naturally as an option for us.
There is also the option of varicocele repair. However, based on what research I've done so far, and Dr. B's description of it's efficacy, I'm not exactly jumping on that train just yet. If the bloodwork comes back normal, I'd almost rather put the money that would go toward the varicocele repair towards the IVF clinical trial going on locally. I don't know...
So many what ifs still. Tamoxifen or not. Varicocele repair or not. IUI or not. Clinical trial or not. I'm not sure what's too early to at least start investigating or get the ball rolling on the clinical trial. I don't want to wait so long that the trial is closed to new patients. But, I also realize that any improve we can make betters are chances of successful IVF if it comes to that. I'm torn on this one. I think I'm off to do some research on Tamoxifen's success rates with morphology improvement...
In the meantime humble readers...did you or someone you know deal with MFI due to varicoceles or hormonal imbalance? If so, what treatment did they choose and did it work?
983rd Friday Blog Roundup
1 day ago
6 comments:
Hmmmm...lots to swallow. Unfortunately we had no hormonal imbalance or varicocele to repair, so I can't help you there. I will say, had there been real options, I probably, looking back, would liked to have tried them. Only to IMPROVE our chances of success with IVF/ICSI (since any improvement in morph may help improve odds of success). I would definitely try to correct any underlying hormonal issue. As for the varicoceles, it depends. I would recommend reading Dr. Silber's book "How to Get Pregnant"...you'd never know it from the title, but this book is really mostly about IVF, and has some great info on male factor, where he specifically addresses some of these questions.
Thanks for the book recommendation! Will definitely pick that up. I also agree with you about the hormonal imbalance, if there is one. We'll find out for sure hopefully by next week. I'm thinking that if Thursday's SA comes back the same, I'm going to at least call CAR to get the info on the trial. Can't hurt to be well-informed...
Sorry it wasn't better news for you. We also didn't (as far as we know) have varicoceles or hormone imbalance.
I think if we'd been given any realistic hope of improving DH's sperm count, we'd probably have had a go at it, provided it wasn't going to take too long - we also have the issue of my high FSH and AMH, which introduces a certain amount of urgency for us to get the treatment done before I run out of eggs.
I'm so sorry about the bad SA results. I don't have the answers for you but I hope someone does. I wish you the best in your journey.
Tammy
www.twondra.blogspot.com
ICLW
You are lucky to have options. Due to Mr. Jem's low count (600K) we only have IVF w/ ICSI as an option. We are doing vitamins, chinese herbs and acupuncture right before he gives a sample for fertilization.
My DH was diagnosed with Varicocele and had them "removed" in August of 2007. It did NOTHING! And he was in pain, and still is, because of it. He would never do it again. I don't really think it makes much of a difference. Our RE suggested he try Fertility Blend to try and improve his numbers. (Although DH does not have any hormonal issues.) I will be anxious to see when we do our IVF/ICSI in Dec/Jan if it has helped at all. Good luck and hang in there.
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