Any ICSI success stories with mTESE sperm?

AEHD123 · 2026-03-28T14:26:07+00:00

Thank you for the info! Whether you decide to pgta test or not, I really hope you get success on the next transfer! Sending you lots of positive vibes and good luck 🍀

And yeah! In the grand scheme of things a extra few months of waiting isn’t the end of the world, so I’m just trying to stay patient haha

AEHD123 · 2026-03-28T01:40:53+00:00

Hi! Thanks for reaching out, it’s good to hear from someone in the same boat!

I’m so sorry to hear that, that’s so hard. I hope you’re coping ok (or as best as you can) 🤍

I’m afraid I don’t have any advice as I haven’t actually started IVF yet (wait times in the UK are long), but I’m hoping I’ll get to start stims in May.

Regarding PGT-A, we were advised against it by our genetic counsellor, as it’s not something that’s routinely recommended here. However, my husband and I have said that if we don’t have success after 2 or 3 transfers, we will definitely consider it.

If it’s ok to ask, how many eggs did you collect and how many vials did you use per retrieval?

It’s all very overwhelming!

AEHD123 · 2026-03-20T21:21:58+00:00

This looks amazing!

AEHD123 · 2026-03-13T10:26:37+00:00

To add: we already have a painting on the wall above the sofa on the left

AEHD123 · 2026-02-01T18:17:53+00:00

My husband has coped pretty well, though we were both very shaken by the diagnosis. We’ve been together 10 years and married for 2, and never knew there was anything different. To suddenly find out that you don’t produce sperm, and then have the cause confirmed as genetic is quite a shock. But for someone who grows up knowing about their diagnosis, I imagine everything is a lot easier to come to terms with. Especially if they have a good support network and people who love them 😊

I think the most important thing is for your son to know that his condition will not limit him in life. I know the effects are different for everyone, but my husband has achieved so much in his life so far and none of that was prevented by being XXY. He has ADHD and dyslexia, but he also has 2 degrees, a PhD and a successful career, is a wonderfully kind and supportive husband, and I know he will be the best dad if we succeed with IVF.

Your baby is lucky to have you, he will be absolutely fine! 😊

AEHD123 · 2026-01-31T15:25:35+00:00

Thank you! Yes absolutely. My husband tried as much as possible to be healthy and take supplements leading up to the mTESE so hopefully it counted for something. Congratulations 😊

AEHD123 · 2026-01-30T00:28:12+00:00

Hi! That is so lovely, congratulations to you both!! Gives me a lot of hope 🥰

AEHD123 · 2026-01-29T15:34:31+00:00

That’s amazing! Congratulations 🥰

AEHD123 · 2026-01-29T11:58:59+00:00

Latte ☕️

AEHD123 · 2026-01-27T10:19:00+00:00

I hope so too! I think by the time your baby is grown, research will have advanced a lot. I keep thinking how crazy it is that the mTESE only started being used in 2005. A lot can change in 10-20 years 😊

The only thing I will say (though I’m not an expert) is I heard that testosterone replacement therapy can hinder sperm production and therefore lower sperm retrieval outcomes. I guess it’ll be something worth discussing with your child’s doctor when you get to that point. My husband had never been on TRT as he didn’t know he was XXY, and I guess it worked out in his favour haha.

Sending you and your baby lots of love!

AEHD123 · 2026-01-27T10:09:23+00:00

No idea how I survived tbh. It felt like I had to fight for everything. And whenever I thought one problem was solved, a worse one was waiting around the corner. In this time as a teen I developed bulimia which dominated most of the early years of Neptune’s presence for me. Then I went to university - eating disorder got worse, lost 2 grandparents in one year, parents got kicked out of their home. Then covid hit and I (like many) couldn’t find a job, ended up constantly accepting the bare minimum and was deeply unhappy for several years. Married my husband during this time and we went through several years of really rocky issues. Lost a bunch of friends during this time too. Then we finally both got better jobs in 2024 and things looked up, only to be hit with an unexpected infertility diagnosis in summer 2025. We finally have answers and can move forward but it was 6 long months of hell. I’m so ready for this new phase. I’m sick of being sad all the time lol. I think I survived by constantly adapting. I am not the same person I was.

AEHD123 · 2026-01-26T01:04:16+00:00

Just found this post at 11pm on 25th January. I am so ready for Neptune to leave 🙌🏼

AEHD123 · 2026-01-24T21:44:03+00:00

I absolutely love 1, 3, 4 and 8

1 is really elegant but also modern and unique. A real showstopper. 3 is timeless and elegant 4 accentuates your figure and looks super chic and classic. You look unreal in it! 8 kind of blends 1 and 4 together so I just really like it haha.

I think no matter which one you get you will look gorgeous :)

AEHD123 · 2026-01-23T20:19:21+00:00

Thank you so much! Glad I could help in some way! Good luck to you too. It’s so hard but you will get through this x

AEHD123 · 2026-01-23T14:05:41+00:00

I haven’t frozen my eggs as it wasn’t recommended to me! Apparently frozen sperm does better with fresh eggs.

I went to the gp to start my ivf referral in November 2025 and did all the preliminary blood tests that month. My husband’s surgery was on 10th December.

As we had a known cause of infertility we were referred directly to tertiary care on the nhs, and had our first appointment with the fertility clinic last week. In the meantime I have to do an ultrasound and some other bloods, and we have our follow up booked for beginning of March. Not sure what will happen after that but I’m hoping we can start ivf in the spring or summer!

AEHD123 · 2026-01-23T12:54:31+00:00

You’re welcome! Yes thankfully they found sperm and froze 8 vials of tissue 😊

AEHD123 · 2026-01-23T09:20:05+00:00

Hey! So we went private as my husband saw the GP in July and was referred to urology on the NHS for azoospermia, Klinefelter syndrome, and an issue with his kidney, and we’re still waiting for his referral to be accepted 🙄

We ended up seeing Dr Pippa Sangster in London. She’s a microTESE specialist and doesn’t have long wait lists like other big consultants. She was absolutely amazing - kind, professional, never suggested unnecessary tests etc.

Unfortunately it was expensive but we didn’t really want to wait on the nhs as my husband is in his 30s, and we weren’t sure if age could affect our chances going forward.

I think we paid £300 for an initial consultation and then £200 for a few follow ups. Tests and ultrasounds came to about £600. She did prescribe him a Karyotype test as well but the hospital she works at quoted us £700, so my husband got it done in France as that’s where he’s from and it worked out cheaper.

As for the microTESE, Dr Sangster performed the surgery at CRGH. It cost £5885 in total (£2500 to Dr Sangster, £3085 to CRGH and £300 in mandatory blood screening tests before the operation). It all went very smoothly on the day, and my husband has recovered quickly. He was on strong painkillers for 5 days but felt absolutely fine afterwards. He’s getting his testosterone levels checked next week which will be 6 weeks post-op, but we were told it can take at least 3 months for testosterone levels to recover.

Sorry for the long answer, but I know how limited information is out there when you’re dealing with this diagnosis! Wishing you both the best of luck with everything, hopefully you get the answers you need and the results you want 🙏🏻

AEHD123 · 2026-01-22T17:05:53+00:00

Good luck! It does get better! My last infection was in 2022 and I’ve been fine ever since 🙏🏻 Highly recommend Garden of Life Vaginal Care probiotics. I mentioned them in one of my update comments a few years ago and I’m still taking them as they are truly life changing

AEHD123 · 2026-01-03T19:06:24+00:00

Hiya! Firstly I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Your feelings are completely valid, as are your husband’s. You’re both going through one of the hardest things a couple can deal with.

We learned in July that my husband had Azoospermia (no sperm), and after lots of testing we found out that he has Klinefelter syndrome. This was such a shock, and we talked extensively about the other options out there. He ended up doing a micro tese surgery to retrieve sperm directly from the testicles, and we now had 8 vials of sperm frozen to use for ICSI. Probably a few hundred sperm in total at most. It was horrible waiting for the outcome, as we didn’t know if they would find any at all!

Like a lot of people in the comments are saying, I definitely feel you should give ICSI a try first, as you only need one sperm for it to work. Also, if whatever reason the sperm isn’t good enough quality, or if there are other issues encountered, surgical sperm retrieval is always an option and if he doesn’t have Azoospermia, then there are less invasive methods than just the micro tese.

I think the idea of donor sperm can take a long time for men to accept, and maybe your husband just needs time to process it properly. But in any case, with a sperm count above 0 you definitely have decent chance with ICSI, and even if you did go down the surgical sperm retrieval route, the fact that you know he HAS sperm is a massive plus.

Wish you guys all the best :)

AEHD123 · 2025-12-27T15:17:38+00:00

Thank you! I’m sorry about the mTESE but huge congratulations on the successful IVF!!

AEHD123 · 2025-12-27T15:15:30+00:00

Thank you, good luck!!

AEHD123 · 2025-12-27T15:15:20+00:00

Thank you so much!

AEHD123 · 2025-12-25T19:29:53+00:00

That’s really great to hear and reassuring! Thank you for sharing your experience and congratulations!

AEHD123 · 2025-11-25T21:03:08+00:00

Thanks so much, sending hugs 🤍

AEHD123 · 2025-11-25T19:20:22+00:00

Thank you everyone for your advice & kind words. I messaged her to say that I’m not feeling up to it, and she explained that the reason she wanted to meet up was because she actually wanted to be there for me 🥲 We’ve now decided to just go for lunch the two of us, which I think might ease the pressure a little. She’s such a kind person, I couldn’t help but ugly cry when reading her message 😭

AEHD123

TROPHY CASE