# What to do next????



## cleozulu (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi there 

My husband and i have been trying for a baby for 2years now, but with out any luck, so we both did a home fertiliy test, my results were fine , but my husbands said he had to see his doctor , So off to the doctor my husband went. 
The doctor sent my husband up to the hospital to leave a semen sample with them for testing. 
The results of the semen test from the hospital was that my husband "apparently has NO sperm or VERY LITTLE sperm in his semen". We are both completely gutted   . the letter also says my husband needs to go in for a blood test and to repeat the semen test in 2 months. 

My husband has now done his 2nd semen test at our local hospital. The results were he has no sperm in his semem again   , we have an appointment wiv his doctor next tuesday to talk more in detail. 
I am so so so so scared we will never have our  baby.       

I have been doing some research on the internet and have found out that our doctor will only offer us using a sperm donor first of all, this is not an option for my husband, he doesn't want to use this option at all coz it will mean using someone else's sperm and my husband wants the baby to be his. 
So i continued my research and found out if you push your doctor for more we can have a treatment called ICSI where by using a needle they can find sperm in my husbands teste's, take the sperm out then take some of my eggs out and fertilise the egg in a pot which my husbands sperm, then 2 days later put the egg back inside my womb, with a 46% chance of a sucessful pregnancy. 
This treatment cost roughly £4,000 to £8,000 so unless we can have this treatment done on the NHS then there is no chance i will ever have the chance to love and hold my own child. 
I didn't find any other ways for me and my husband to have a child on the internet. 

What i need to know is what are our options for having our baby?? 
Can we still have our own baby by using the sperm in my husbands teste's? 
Is ICSI our only option   
Can we have treatment on the NHS?? 
And how do we go about finding out about if we can get funding on the NHS?


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## Fairy Fi (Nov 2, 2008)

Hi hun,
Just read your post and really feel for you. Our story is fairy similar ....
We have been ttc for about 3 years (while evryone around us have been having baby 1 and even 2!) we went for test at our docs, who then refered us to our local hospital for more tests. They found out that i was fine but DH has low motility and morphology - which broke our hearts. My DH feels the same as yours - he couldn't have a sperm donor / adopt or foster as he wants a child of his own. He doesn't even believe in IVF, he has always said "if you can't have kids naturally, then don't have them" But of course this had to change for us to have IVF, he knew he couldn't deny me what we both really wanted.
Anyway we filled in paperwork at out local hospital for funding and received a letter confirming we had got funding. (You will normally get one go on NHS if neither of you already have kids) When you next go to your appointment ask them about applying for funding. We got referred to a specialist clinic, more tests and we did ICSI. Which is when they select the best sperm and inject the eggs with it, before replacing it. As you can see below from my details, i was extremely lucky and still can't quite believe it - dreams can come true. You can always do sperm retrieval (sorry i don't know much about it, but it is a possibility for men with very little sperm).
I hope that i've helped you a little - there are ways, so don't give up hope yet. Once you get referred to a specialist clinic they will give you your options.
Take care sweetie - and be strong and stay positive.
Fairy Fi x


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## carole (Jul 21, 2003)

Hi cleo

Welcome to FF hun - you will find lots of helpful information and support on the site 

My DH was also gutted to find out he had a zero sperm count (azoospermia). He had surgical sperm retrieval and we did five cycles of ICSI, the 5th being successful.

A mod will be along to point you in the right direction, but in the meantime, here is a link to the Male Factors board

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=35.0

The first step for your DH may be blood tests to test his hormone levels - these may show whether he is likely to be producing sperm at the factory but it's not getting to the outlet  and it may then be viable to do surgical sperm removal. It is a big downer to the male ego to find he is "shooting blanks" (I hate that phrase), so be kind to him  . It is early days yet and all is certainly not lost. There are many options open to you, and I hope you will have fun exploring the boards and meeting all the lovely people on here. If you need any help, just shout 

love from carole
xxx


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## Spaykay (Nov 29, 2006)

Hi there!

So sorry to hear you've got to go through treatment to have your family...but the good news is that you've found a wonderful place for support and that it IS possible for your husband to conceive his own genetic child with you! I know of 2 couples who had "no sperm". It is not very pleasant a journey for the man unfortunately. Both couples I know managed to retrieve enough sperm for ICSI (where they inject the sperm into the egg for fertilisation) and they both now have twins!

I won't give details as they'll probably be wrong! But there will be people on here that will be able to help. Do you think your DH would come on here for support? Because there is a great mens thread ... Carole has already sent you there! You can also find out more about male infertility there.

My DH took a ages to accept that he had fertility probs, but because I had them too he focussed on that instead  Might be a wives tale, but get him on wellmans vitamins to give any sperm a helping hand...it is a man's full vitamin so is good for health and energy anyway!

Good luck

Kay xxx


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## mcat (Jan 1, 2009)

Hi cleozulu,

I have just joined this site and my DH has no sperm. I got so much info from this site it is great. 
When we found out it was devestating, but we are trying to stay very positive. My DH has an appointment 27th Jan for Messa, a procedure to try and get sperm from inside. So PM me and I will keep you informed.  I have joined in alot of conversations but mainly on one thread but look for me if need to talk.  Also talking to AmyK her DH has problems with his sperm and she is further along in the path so she is helping me lots.

Big smiles for you 
Mcat


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

cleozulu, welcome to Fertility Friends. 

Firstly a big  for you because I know how daunting this whole minfield must be. 
I think a lot of your questions have already been answered and you have a greta link there to the Male Factors boards where you'll find lots of members who can advise you on what your options are. 
Carole's advice is excellent. Depending on whetehr your Dh actually is making sperm or not will depend on your treatment options. If he is making it but not getting through for some reason you may be able to remove a phsyical blockage or circumnavigate it with surgical sperm retreival. If there is any sperm in the sample at all, even if it's very few and quite poor then you could possibly only need ICSI (which is different from SSR are the sperm is produced the normal way - i.e. in a little room with special magazines  - and the embryologist picks the best ones to inject into your eggs.
If the issue is hormonal then there's still a possibility this can be addressed depending on the underlying causes. Some of our members are having treatment to produce sperm naturally. It's really hard to say without knowing why he's not producing persm but you should push for a referral to a consultant who can investigate both (urologist and endocrinologist). 
It's also worth bearing in mind that it takes 3 months to make sperm from scratch so SpayKays's advice about fertility friendly vitamins / lifestyle is valid too!
What you are actually entitled to fertility tx wise is going to very much deppend on where you live and what your PCT will fund. You can proabbly reasonably push for investigations into your DH's azzospermia on the NHS if you try. At the leats you can push your GP to refer you.
I understand your DH's reluctance to look into donor conception, however you may find his views change as investigations and dianosis continues.Often many men (and women) start out with very negative views on donors but find the need/drive/desire to fulfill their dreams of parenthood can overidde the fears and doubts they have about it. At the end of the day, donor eggs/sperm is just a genetic thing and your DH would still be your child's father in every possible way that it matters. You might find your DH would benefit from talking to other men in the same situation - yes I know men don't generally do the talky thing like women do but there are some guys here on FF who would be more than happy to talk about their donor conceived children which may help.
The last thing I wanted to meention, because you mentioned costs, if you are under 35, was have you looked into the possibility of egg sharing? Egg sharing is a scheme whereby you undergo a cycle of IVF/ICSI and donate half the eggs you produce to another couple - one that, for whatever reaosn, cannot use or have no eggs of their own. Many clinics offer fantastic reductions on treatment costs to egg sharers.My clinic, for instance, did standard basic IVF tretament for free to egg sharers (including costs of drugs). The only additional treatments we had to pay for was for our ICSI and also for embryo freezing/storage. I think my fresh egg share cycles cost aproximately £1200 which was mostly the cost of ICSI, and that was one of the more expensive London clinics so you can see it does make a huge difference to the cost!

Here are some links you might find helpful at the moment. Please do have a look around and explore and start posting around the boards and making friends. FF is a wonderfully supportive community and you can only get the best out of it if you start posting and joining in so, please do so.

*What Every New Member Needs To Know (includes a list of common abbreviations) ~ *   CLICK HERE

*FERTILITY INFO GUIDES ~ *CLICK HERE

*Donor sperm/eggs ~ *CLICK HERE

*Egg Share ~ *CLICK HERE

*The Mens Room ~ *CLICK HERE

You can have a bit of fun or just gossip while you are on FF too so check out the general chit chat / jokes / hobbies area:

*Girl & Boy talk - Community & Fun Board ~ *CLICK HERE

You can also chat live in our excellent chat room. We have a newbie night in the chat room every week (*Wednesday at 8pm*), where you can meet other new members and get technical support with navigating the site and using all the functions available here.  CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON NEWBIE CHAT 

You can also "meet" and chat with people in your local area through the *Location boards*. This is especially useful to find people who may be using the same clinic and or in the same PCT area.

Wishing you lots of luck! 

C~x


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## cleozulu (Dec 9, 2008)

Hi ya people,

I just want to say a big THANKYOU  to everyone for your lovely words and for giving me hope, you really are lovely people.
I also want to say good luck to you all on your own situtations.


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## Fairy Fi (Nov 2, 2008)

Hi Cleozulu - just tried to pm you, but your inbox is full so couldn't send it!!!! So i had to reply to you on here instead, so hope you pick it up ok!!!
Not sure about the bloods, so you'll just have to wait and see what they say when they come back. Let's hope it's all good so you can get going.
That's great that you have your first appointment- it's nice once you get started as you feel you're doing something to achieve your goal. I really hope it goes well and you can start soon. It's suprising how quickly it goes once you start the roller coaster ride. 
Let's hope and   that this is the start of very exciting things to come.
Thinking of you - take care and let me know how it goes on Tuesday. 
Always remember dreams do come true.
Fairy Fi x


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## Fairy Fi (Nov 2, 2008)

Hi Cleozulu,
How did your appointment go? I hope all is well and you feel positive and reassured about your journey.
Take care
Fairy Fi x


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