Hi I am new to this forum. My DH was diagnosed with a varicocele. Our RE wants to put DH on Clomid for 3 months and then do another analysis. I am so confused! I dont want to waste time or money if this is not the right route to go. I scheduled him an appt w/ a Urologist to see about surgery to correct it. Does anyone have any success stories of DH taking Clomid to improve semen or any success stories of DH counts improving after surgery. I wish there was a for sure way to know you will conceive! Thank you

My DH has varicocele also. He is scheduled for surgery June 4th. I heard a lot of success stories with varicocele repair. The urologist did not put him on anything. They think the surgery will do the trick. His count is 1.5mil. the urologist said someone came in with a count of 1 mil before the surgery at 3 month after the count was over 20mil. Good luck. I will keep you posted and welcome.

Hi bree-
My DH was diagnosed with a varicocile too and had surgery March 2. He is also on Clomid for 3 months. His testosterone levels were very low and our urologist thought that perhaps with the varicocile surgery and the clomid stimulating his hormones, that would make his count go up. We will find out if the surgery worked next week-we know that the Clomid has made his hormones better.
Do you know what your DH's counts were? I am just wondering if it is a count issue, or a morphology issue or what?

Don't worry, there are a lot of us here that are dealing with MF and you will get lots of support here!

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[b]DH MFI low sperm count 5 million
Had SA on 1/22/2008-found out low sperm count.
2/8/2008-DH starts taking Fertility Blend and L-Carnatine to assist in low count
2/14/2008-SA analysis again-yep-count still sucked!
2/21/2008-appointment with urologist found varicocile
3/3/2008-Surgery for varicocile-Doctor found TWO varicociles and had the buggers removed.
DH on Clomid for the next 3 months
4/9/2008-DH's testosterone went from 303 to 827!!
June-DH's counts are to 23 million!!
IUI 7/9/08 count 9 mill post wash
7/19/08
7/22/08- BETA 50
7/24/08 BETA 116
8/14/08-First Ultrasound-baby measuring fine and heart beat perfect-RE Is thrilled with results!
8/28/2008-Ultrasound 2

My husbands count was around 20 mil. I know everything was low. The RE said his hormone levels were w/ in "normal" ranges, but I went on our insurances website and brought up his blood work results and I was a little confused! The blood work showed that his testosterone levels were around 380? I looked this up online and seems low. I think the normal ranges were 350-1000 somewhere around there! Keep me posted on DH results. I need some incouragement! Thank you

Hi bree-
That was about the same as my DH's testosterone level, but his count was 5 million. Your DH may not need the varicocile surgery if his count is that high, and the clomid very well may stimulate the hormone levels enough for him to start making more sperm. Were any of your DH's other hormones off, or was it just the testosterone? Usually when one is off, another is off. In my DH's case, it was only his testosterone though. Anyways, when we had his hormones redone the clomid had made his testosterone double so we were thrilled about that.
Your DH may not need the testosterone. Did your doctor ask you guys to come back in after 2 months or so to have his blood redone? That is what I would do to ensure the Clomid is doing something.

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[b]DH MFI low sperm count 5 million
Had SA on 1/22/2008-found out low sperm count.
2/8/2008-DH starts taking Fertility Blend and L-Carnatine to assist in low count
2/14/2008-SA analysis again-yep-count still sucked!
2/21/2008-appointment with urologist found varicocile
3/3/2008-Surgery for varicocile-Doctor found TWO varicociles and had the buggers removed.
DH on Clomid for the next 3 months
4/9/2008-DH's testosterone went from 303 to 827!!
June-DH's counts are to 23 million!!
IUI 7/9/08 count 9 mill post wash
7/19/08
7/22/08- BETA 50
7/24/08 BETA 116
8/14/08-First Ultrasound-baby measuring fine and heart beat perfect-RE Is thrilled with results!
8/28/2008-Ultrasound 2

Hi Brookelyn
My DH blood work came back with Testosterone being 383.47 ng/dl, Thyroid was 1.20 and FSH was 2.5 MIU/ML. I have no idea what the normal ranges are. I looked up the testosterone online and it said normal ranges were 350-1200. Do these seem low? I just want to make sure were making the right choices and not going around in circles. DId your DH have any sife effects w/ Clomid?

bree08, I post on this board occasionally, but mainly I post over on the cycle buddies forum...anyhow, my DH had a varicocele and his uro originally put him on Clomid. This did help tremendously, his count was normally around 5 mil and after 2 mths on Clomid it went up to 22 mil. We still didn't conceive though, so DH had the varicocele repaired in February.

Your DH's numbers are on the low side of normal, but they are still normal. I would think that the Clomid will probably help alot!

As for side effects, DH did have some... the main thing was it made him gain weight and he said that he just didn't feel well when he was taking it. It would have definately been worth it if we'd gotten pregnant, so I'd say its definately worth a shot! Good luck! Keep us posted on how things progress!

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dmg05
Thank you for the response! After the Varicocele surgery did your DHs numbers improve? Were going to the uroligist on monday about the surgery. I'm hoping that maybe he can take clomid and do the surgery and hopefully get pregnant naturally or by IUI. I'm TRYING to have a good out look on this whole thing.

Yes, after the varicocele surgery, DH's numbers improved dramatically! It takes about 3 mths to see the improvement though because thats how long it takes sperm to mature. We just had his post surgery s/a done yesterday when we went for the IUI. These are the results:

______________________________DH's Stats ___________________Normal Range
Volume ________________________2.9 ml ________________________> 1.0 ml
Visocity ________________________normal ____________________discrete droplets
Non-liquefaction __________________0% _______________________0% at 30 min Sperm concentration ___________38 million _____________________> 20 million
Forward progression ______________58% _________________________>50%
Activity (0-4+) ____________________2++ __________________________≥ 2+
Round Cells _______________________0 _________________________< 5 million
Agglutination_____________________ 0% ____________________________0%

This is a HUGE improvement because before the surgery his normal count was around 5 million and his forward progressional was only 36%. The doctor says that we should continue to see greater improvement in the months to come!!!

Good luck with your appt Monday! I think that the Clomid and surgery (if needed) should be very successful for you, especially since your DH counts don't have too far to come up! Let us know what the URO plans for you all!

BTW - if you don't mind me asking, have you had a fertility work-up? Are you clear of any problem?

I think that's why we've had so much trouble because I had a uterine septum and I have endometriosis plus DH had the varicocele and very poor numbers. We've both had our problems corrected now, so we're hoping to have some success before my endometriosis returns!

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We did all the work ups. I got blood work done, ultrasound and HSG. Everything is good on my end the RE said. I thought I was going to have endo because I get such bad cramps. Come to find out I have a fibroid in my uterus. I'm going back to the RE next Thursday about having surgery to remove it. I figured I might as well remove it because it is causing me soooo much pain and it could interfere w/ fertility. DH had 2 SA and blood work and physical exam. I think the only problem is his varicocele and his testosterone levels seem a little low. From what I've read though it seems like Clomid helps men w/ testosterone. This is really encouraging to hear that the surgery did help you guys. My DH asked if maybe he could just take Clomid, but I talked him into both! I'l keep you posted on what the Urologist says. Thanks

So we went to the Urologist appt today. I really didn't care for the DR! He asked what the RE recommend and my DH said Clomid for 3 months and the Urologist was like then I also want you to take Clomid for 3 months. If that doesn't work well consider surgery. I was soooo upset. I feel like were wasting time and money! errrrr....

I think the Clomid is definately worth a shot! Don't get down... the Clomid may be all it takes.

One of the gals over on the Cycle Buddies forum had a uterine fibroid removed and is now due the end of December!

Now that you are seeing an RE, I'm sure they'll find a way to help you get pregnant! Best wishes!!

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dmg05
Thank you! I just am a little annoyed because I feel like the DR's are taking there time. I'll try and get more positive! I was joking around w/ DH this morning and I asked him if he feels like he's making more sperm. Just to lighten it up a bit! Talk to ya soon. Keep me posted on you guys!