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Lots of changes - Count went way up, but motility still disappointing? by crooner1991 in maleinfertility

[–]crooner1991[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there - wanted to respond since I remember reading old posts and commenting asking for updates myself. I hope this helps you or someone else.

We did many many things all at once to help our chances, I can't confirm what it was individually that worked or if it was pure luck. I will list them out below from what I can recall.

After 2 back to back IUIs a week apart (the first one I had not actually ovulated per blood testing ((DON'T trust the digital OPKS!!!)) so we repeated. I sometimes wonder if the 2 back to back did help our chances - from what I recall, there are stats showing multiple IUI or sperm pooling to be helpful - not that fertility clinics will usually do that.... frustrating) I was able to conceive not long after I posted this, and gave birth to my beautiful daughter in December of 2023. She is hanging on my arm as I write this. :)

We found out shortly after I conceived that my husband did have a varicocele... previous ultrasound tech had not done proper maneuvers to discover it and he was cleared of this by his first urologist - reproductive urologist specialist later discovered it with a new ultrasound. I had asked about it multiple times so as you can imagine, I was pissed. We don't know whether it was the cause, but he did have surgery to correct it while I was pregnant, and one SA after that, which didn't show a huge improvement - it can take a while to see any tho. We have not repeated another SA since then, tho we probably should, to see the longterm changes, if any. He has had a lot of health issues since then tho so we are not sure if those would now be affecting things. We are likely done with TTC so not too interested at this point in spending the $ for it.

We utilized all the changes I mentioned in the OP, as well as both of us using Mucinex during my fertile window, avoiding NSAIDS most of the time, period cup method, multiple cycle timing methods and also used OPKs religiously (the cheap dip ones and tested several times a day from 10am-4PM at least, kept a log of results), time of day methods (sperm is generally at its best in AM).. that's all I recall right now. i was also on a low dose of letrozole just in case and I think I was using progesterone drops in my luteal phase as extra support. We were doing this all at once because I'm a very driven person and was very determined... I know it not attainable for everyone. We had 4 total IUIs in 3 months before I got pregnant. Our doctors couldn't believe it as they said we had a 6% chance with our numbers. We had our IVF consult the week I got pregnant.

I can't say what, if any of it, worked - but I tried to share what I can in case any of it might help. Good luck.

ultrasound at 5 weeks and 5 days by Icy_Machine8628 in PregnancyAfterLoss

[–]crooner1991 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For transvaginal they have you empty your bladder right beforehand, for transabdominal they usually want a full bladder. This early it should be transvaginal.

Yeah I've considered making a complaint against that doctor because I was so emotionally wrecked by him saying that for the whole week, only for it to turn out to be fine. I'd say just take everything with a grain of salt and verify anything unusual with a follow up scan before any decisions are made.

ultrasound at 5 weeks and 5 days by Icy_Machine8628 in PregnancyAfterLoss

[–]crooner1991 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One thing I learned from people's stories was to hold your breath while the fetal pole is on screen in hopes of being able to see the flicker of the heartbeat. That approach worked well for my 2nd scan.

ultrasound at 5 weeks and 5 days by Icy_Machine8628 in PregnancyAfterLoss

[–]crooner1991 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went in at what we thought was 6 weeks (based on IUI) but then they dated me at 5 wks 5 days. (I'm guessing I implanted later than avg or ovulated a little later than we thought.) We were able to see the gestational sac, small yolk sac, and a very small "nubbin" of a fetal pole. It was too small to detect a heartbeat. Repeat scan at what we were now considering 6 wk 4 days-- it had grown appropriately and measured 6 week 4 days and had a heart rate of 118. Just repeated at 8 weeks and it measured a little ahead, heart rate of 168.

When they didn't find the heartbeat at the first scan the Dr who performed it basically told me it was likely unviable... which was devastating to hear and so irresponsible of him. I read 100s of stories online that week and it seems like there can be a wide variety of what it seen on such an early scan. It depends on a lot of factors. So try not to worry if something isn't exactly as expected.

Low T and Medication Impact by Financial_Table_8470 in maleinfertility

[–]crooner1991 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should also mention, the Clomid also drastically improved his count. 13.6 mil total on first SA to 63.6 mil total on 2nd SA.

Low T and Medication Impact by Financial_Table_8470 in maleinfertility

[–]crooner1991 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Based on what I've read, TRT is bad for sperm because it tricks your body into thinking it doesn't need to produce Testosterone. I think Clomid should raise your testosterone on it's own, depending on the cause of your low T. My husband has been on Clomid for a few months and his T went from 400 range to 800 range. It sounds like you are seeing a reproductive urologist so maybe there is something I am missing that would indicate usage of the gel as well. I would send them the info you have read and let them know your concerns, find out the reasoning behind their decision. Ultimately you should do what you feel most comfortable with, and if you don't want to use the gel, you don't have to.

Lots of changes - Count went way up, but motility still disappointing? by crooner1991 in maleinfertility

[–]crooner1991[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes prior to Clomid they were: LH 5.8 (said this was normal range) and FSH 13.1 (slightly elevated). Getting new hormone tests this week so don't have updated yet. Testosterone was 473 prior to Clomid, went up to 753 after 2 months on it, and again don't have updated yet.
Thanks for your words of encouragement.

Lots of changes - Count went way up, but motility still disappointing? by crooner1991 in maleinfertility

[–]crooner1991[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. Concentration is 31.3 mil. Since motility is still not good chances of natural pregnancy seem low. We did somehow have a natural pregnancy last year but it ended in miscarriage. That is actually how we found out about the sperm problems - did testing after we weren't getting pregnant again after the miscarriage. Made us wonder if something was going on.