# hello...



## colzybob (Jan 26, 2010)

Hi everyone, I'm new on here so thought I'd tell you a bit about me and my husband to see if anyone has been in the same position. My DH had a vasectomy six years ago in a previous marriage but (following a divorce and meeting me!) had it reversed last February. We've been TTC ever since and are just going into our 12th month. We had a sperm analysis done about six weeks ago and the results weren't great, a count of 11 million and really poor motility. Despite all of that, we're still hoping to conceive naturally and even thought that this might have been our month because I had EVERY symptom possible. Period decided to wind us both up by being two days late, arriving in the middle of last night as a nice surprise. Been sitting at home feeling miserable and bubbling at everything, nothing and even adverts on television. I'm 34 in ten days time and just feel that time is running out for us to have a family....and don't think that we can afford IVF etc. I know that a lot of you guys on here will have been through much worse than me but I just feel so sad today.


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## karenanna (Dec 27, 2008)

Just wanted to send you a 

I know how you are feeling - my DH had a vasectomy reversal which failed 4 years ago (at the time I was 33). We bit the bullet and went for IVF with ICSI. I am currently going into a 4th attempt, as since all of this we have discovered I have problems - see my profile.

Anyway, we had no choice but to go private for the treatment, as DH already had children from previous relationship - so not entitled to NHS funding.

Life just feels so unfair sometimes. I have attached a link to the male fertility issues board - as there may be others on there who can give you so advice on whether or not your DH's sperm quality can be improved.

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

  Karenanna


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## newfeelings (Nov 25, 2009)

Hi hope this help me and DH are in similar position just waiting ( can't sleep) to get his test results back tommorow .
Had his reversall in November , I'm 36 and no kids of my own so  understand every year counts but don't panic yet you're younger me  .
I was 4 days late this month i think our bodies just like to remind us who's in charge ( not us)  we can do all we can do but then we just have to cross our fingers a hope.
I've been reading up a bit like all us girls do they seem to think zinc can help, my Dh isn't one for tablets thou so may have to pop it in his tea. 
Good luck


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## Ceri. (Sep 6, 2004)

Colzybob and welcome to Fertility Friends 

   Huge hugs for you hunny. It's so hard when our periods mess us about, it's mental torture isn't it?  Have you had any blood tests done yourself from your GP? The basic one are to test your hormone levels on certain days of your cycle, ie to check whether you are ovulating. Do you normally have pretty regular periods? Do you have problems with it normally?
I'll leave you some useful links shortly hun 
Please have a good look around the boards, feel free to post in any area, and make yourself at home. Fertility Friends is such a huge support. There are many who are on their TTC journey, and others who have been fortunate to have little ones with assistance. You will soon discover that our members are very encouraging of one another and offering advice or just simple hugs. There's a vast amount of information here for everyone, so start reading, posting and getting to know others. You will make some great friends too (add them to your buddy list in your profile!), lots of members often have meet ups locally too, for chats, coffee, shopping or even nights out! You can share conversations with one another freely, simply because we all understand each other. It's hard when family and friends don't fully comprehend what this journey entails and the emotions that go with it. That's where we come in!

Here are some links which you should find really useful at the moment&#8230;&#8230;

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

*Peer Support (for asking fertility and treatment related questions of your fellow FFers) ~ * CLICK HERE

*Starting out & Diagnosis ~ *CLICK HERE

*Investigations & Immunology ~ *CLICK HERE

*Complimentary, Holistic and Spiritual Approaches ~ *CLICK HERE 
(Info here on vits you could both take, along with other articles which are an interseting read!)

*Male factors ~ *CLICK HERE

When you do have a consultation with a consultant at a fertility clinic, here's some useful Q's to ask 
*Questions for your first cycle consultation ~ (use the ones that apply) *CLICK HERE

*A Rough Guide To IVF ~*   CLICK HERE

*IVF General ~ *CLICK HERE

Usually if there are male factor issues, the consultant may bring up going for ICSI with IVF, instead of the eggs and sperm being left alone to fertilise the embryologist will directly inject one good sperm into one good egg ( and repeat this until all are used) this is to maximise the chances of fertilisation, BUT 11 million for your hubby's count isnt drastically bad, yes they will look at motility and morphology too though. Have a look at the male factors links for more info on count and m&m  Plus they will usually repeat his sample, as they differ.

*ICSI ~ *CLICK HERE

Its not all just serious stuff here, you can also 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 day in the chat room every Wednesday where you can meet one of our mods for support, 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. It's a small world!

Wishing you lots of luck    and 
Keep in touch
Ceri xx

PS I have also sent you a pm (private message)


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## colzybob (Jan 26, 2010)

Thanks everyone. Sorry that's me just posting a reply.....i have only worked out how to find my original thread without having to scroll back through them all!
we have a docs appointment tomorrow am because hubby's second sperm analysis was horrendous. dropped from 11million in the first set of tests to 260,000 and too few to check motility etc. to say we were gutted would be an understatement.......and, since starting all of this, now realise that we won't get any nhs funding because dh has children from a previous marriage.
on our last visit to the docs she prescribed my husband a course of ibuprofen incase there's any swelling. it was three 400mg tables a day for two months. could that have affected his reading?
really don't know what we're going to do now because not sure we can afford ivf privately. how much roughly does it cost?
and is it cheaper if we've already had the sperm retireval done? hubby had that procedure done as part of his reversal op......

feeling REALLY miserable today. just eaten a huge slab of carrot cake, so bang goes the diet, think it's just nerves about tomorrow!

Thanks for all of your kind posts by the way, it helps to know that other people have gone through this kind of thing and it has still worked out.

c x


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## Ceri. (Sep 6, 2004)

I'm sorry to hear this hun   The average for IVF is around the 5k mark, (ICSI you can usually stick another £800-£1000 on that too) I would imagine if you have S Retrieval done then, no probs for that, but you would have to pay for the storage of it. 
Which area are you in. I'll find some nearby clinics, or are you willing to travel?
Most clinics also do an Egg share scheme, which bring the costs down considerably, This is where you go through the IVF procedure, collect your eggs and if you respond well then you donate half of your eggs to a recipient who needs dodnor eggs. This isn't for everyone, and there are obvioulsy legal issues. 

x


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## colzybob (Jan 26, 2010)

I'm up in Scotland, Edinburgh to be specific, but don't mind travelling about a bit.

if we have to save up then there's nothing else for it, we're actually in the process of selling our house just now (not on the market yet but should be in the next four weeks or so) so that might help, I suppose.


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## Ceri. (Sep 6, 2004)

In that case have a look at the Scotish boards too, you'll find lots of help there. There's athread within the IVF boards too where the Royal Edinburgh lasses chatter, so if you join in they'll give you a warm welcome and you can quiz them too  http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=227653.0 and theres a general Scottish girls thread too, so ask them theeir opinions on which clinic too  
http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=218777.0


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