I am sorry that it has been a while since I posted on here.

Well Ty had his bilateral testicular biopsy last Friday and he did well. I was a nervous wreck! It was his first surgery and I cried like a baby. Too emotional! Scared, helpless, loving, anxious.

We went this week for our results and he has Partial Testicular Failure. That means that he does creat some sperm, they just don't fully develop and mature. Both sides were the same and they said that he was born with this.

We are being referred to an endocrinologist to get more help. They did mention Clomid would be what he would possibly take.

I know that we are not out in the woods yet, yes!

Anybody know anything about this?

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I have no clue..but I wanted to wish you sooooooo much luck. And you are def right..God is so good. Just remember that he will bring you thru one way or another. I def got my miracle baby....a total miracle. I will keep you in prayers.

That is so great! It's not the worst news we've heard around here, there is still tons of hope for you guys! When do you see the endo? Ours was great and really explined everything so much better than the other doctors. I hope you get the answers you are seeking.

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Molli - I caught you over on cy buddies, but I wanted to post here, too! I don't know much, but I think partial testicular failure means they found areas of the testicles that do produce sperm, and even though most aren't mature I believe that some must have been - did you ask if they were able to retrieve some mature sperm? I'm sure that it means you can do IVF w/ ICSI, even if the medicine doesn't help. The medications/endocrinology appointment may make it so that he can increase his production to the point he wouldn't need to do another biopsy to retrieve the sperm for IVF. If they can even get him to have 25 sperm make it out, then he could just "produce" a sample the day of for IVF! I actually think this is really good news and that it means you should be able to have your own children.

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Here is one thing I found online:

While the biopsy is an easy test to perform, it is difficult to interpret properly, unless done by an expert. The doctor looks for evidence of sperm production in the seminiferous tubules. In some cases, there is no sperm production at all (absent spermatogenesis); or the sperm production is arrested at a particular stage (maturation arrest). This implies testicular failure, which is usually irreversible, and there is no treatment for this malady. The key question is whether there is partial testicular failure; or whether the testicular failure is complete, which is why examining multiple areas of the testes is important. Men with complete testicular failure have no sperm production at all in the entire testes. Men with partial testicular failure will have a few areas of their testes which still produce sperm normally. These sperm can be used for TESE-ICSI treatment. However, their testicular sperm production is so poor , that the testicular sperm do not reach the ejaculate, as a result of which the sperm count is zero.

So . . . it does mean there should be good sperm in there as is, even if medicine doesn't improve the situation. So, I think that is FANTASTIC news!

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I agree. I think that maybe medicine will hopefully give us answers after a "work up." They didn't mention any mature sperm and I know they didn't freeze any. I was doing research and I think I am pleased with this diagnosis.

Our tentative appt. is June 9th. Foever away if you ask me, so I am going to call myself Monday to see if we can get something sooner.

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Ugh - are these doctors programmed to torture us??? I hope you can get an earlier appt!

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It's interesting they may want him to take Clomid. I've never heard of that. I've had to take Clomid to get our baby #2. I wish you much luck and keep us posted

Kara

It must be of some sort of relief knowing now whats the "issue".. I hope your Reproductive endocrinolgoist helps you and your DH and you get your baby!! Keep us posted!!

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Hey Molli-
My DH is on Clomid too. He was also diagnosed with testicular failure. He had varicocile surgery about 2 months ago. His hormones were all messed up so he wasn't producing testosterone. He is on Clomid to make his LH and FSH go up which tells his body to make testosterone.
We were going to go to an RE in Raleigh but DH's urologist said he had just sent a couple there the week prior and all the RE did at first was put the man on Clomid so that is what he wanted us to do. He wasn't sure if the varicocile was causing the mess or what-but this is where we started.
Hang in there.

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[b]DH 30-low sperm count 5 million ~Sobs~


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
BETA 7/22/08

Every night you cry yourself to sleep thinking why does this happen to me? Why does every moment have to be so hard??

Oh yeah Brookelyn510! I am so glad to know somebody in almost the same boat as us. Where in NC are you? I am in Winston-Salem. Did he have a low count or no sperm at all? My DH had no sperm present for 2 different s/a's several months apart. He doesn't have a v. problem. Did they do a certain workup/bloodwork to determine what his testosterone numbers were? My DH had a testicular workup of bloodwork done and it was normal. I am not sure if that is the same or different. When I was on Clomid, it was for certain days. Does he take it everyday?

Sorry for so many questions. I just don't know anyone else with our problem!

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I HATE that freaking word-testicular failure. I freaked the heck out when it was said to me.
Anyways-I am in Morehead City-which is the beach love it. I went to high school in Greensboro so I am very familiar to where you are.
DH is on Clomid every day. He has put on 10 lbs and gets hot flashes sometimes. (Poor thing)
He has been on it since March 2 and will continue to be on it until at least June 2nd because that when his next SA is.
His counts were low-never 0 though. They did a hormone test where they found he had extremely low testosterone. His testosterone has more than doubled since being on Clomid.
Have they checked for varicociles?
Hang in there.

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[b]DH 30-low sperm count 5 million ~Sobs~


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
BETA 7/22/08

Every night you cry yourself to sleep thinking why does this happen to me? Why does every moment have to be so hard??

Oh my gosh Brookelyn, my cousin lives there and we vacation there every year. My aunts house is in Pine Knoll Shores! It's a small world!

Thanks for the Clomid info. How many mgs is he own?
They haven't checked for varicoseles yet...I guess one problem at a time.
I bet the endocrinologist will do a hormone test, to help get to the bottom of it.

I am so glad to know you!

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Hugs to you. I've been through what you are dealing with..it is rough. I hope your DH is taking everything in stride. When we got our dx, it was a crush to my DH's ego. He felt like less of a man.

Anyhow, is your RE handling all of his testing? We used a Urologist that specialized in fertility. Unfortunately I don't know anything about he male use of Clomid. Although I hope it is an option for you.

Good luck!

Lori

We are not seeing an RE, just an endocrinologist.

How did your DH "get fixed?" Did he have testicular failure?

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Molli - I just posted this on the other thread with Mandy, but the key word is "partial" which means there is some sperm and some working areas. So, you can't get the parts that are failing working again in most cases (it is often genetic), but you can either retrieve sperm from the working areas for IVF through TESE, or sometimes the meds cause the working areas to increase production sufficiently that some will come out in the ejaculate (or just make it easier to find them doing TESE).

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Hi Molli-
My DH is on 25 mg of Clomid every day.The urologist is who found the varicociles-you may want the RE just to take a look. Also, if he does have them, discuss how much help removing them give you, etc. Some couples elect to not remove them and just go on to IVF.
We elected to have them removed first-I may be kicking myself for that in the long term-we will have to wait for the SA in June.
That's awesome that you come to PKS. It's starting to get busy around here, we had a crazy warm weekend. Soon everyone from Ohio will abandon their state and come to Carteret county.
I'm here if you need me-if you need to vent or whatever.

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[b]DH 30-low sperm count 5 million ~Sobs~


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
BETA 7/22/08

Every night you cry yourself to sleep thinking why does this happen to me? Why does every moment have to be so hard??

Molli - when DH was taking Clomid, he took 25 mg every day for 25 days and then was on a break for 5 days. It did make him gain weight and he didn't feel well when he was on it, which is why he no longer takes it, but it really helped his count and motility. I don't remember the motility numbers but I know his count went from 5 million to 22 million. He opted to have his varicocele repaired in hopes that he wouldn't have to continue to take the meds. Hopefully this will be a solution for you!!! Good luck! You're in my T&Ps.

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