March ICLW

A big hello to all of my regular blog readers and to those who might be stopping by via ICLW. Welcome! The long and the short: I'm an Irish guy married to a Canadian girl living here in the Great White North. I have azoospermia (no sperm); she has PCOS. Together we're attempting to start a family with the help of donor sperm and IUIs.

Unfortunately our last cycle resulted in a BFN so we're starting over yet again. The result of our last cycle was rather tough on the both of us. Everything came together so well, I'd be lying if I didn't confess that our hopes were definitely up.

But together we look towards the future and another opportunity to create the family we both want so very much. Here's hoping that this next cycle is the one. I make myself useful by giving the best intramuscular (I.M.) injections in town. It's true. The self-proclaimed "Injection Master" is back in the game, baby! Injections start up again on Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope that you'll consider sticking around. My goal is to bring a male perspective to male infertility because I don't just get it, I live it. We definitely need more men blogging about this - here's hoping that I can support and maybe even inspire someone else to share their story.

Cheers and Happy ICLW!

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February ICLW

Happy ICLW everyone! I'm glad to be participating again and I hope to do more commenting than I usually do. If you're here for the first time, welcome. If you've been here before, thanks for coming back!

Quick ttc background: I'm 38, my wife is 34. We're trying to conceive our first child and have been on this quest for over four years. My wife has PCOS and I was diagnosed in the last year and a half with azoospermia, or no sperm. After varicocele surgery (ouch), numerous tests and drug therapy with no new results, we made the decision to go forward using donor sperm. I know that this would not be every one's cup of tea but this is what I love about the blogging world. We can all make different choices, but we can still all support each other just the same.

Other background: I'm Irish, born and raised. I came to Canada just over ten years ago when I married my lovely wife. I started this blog to help other guys (and their partners) get a glimpse into male infertility from a guy's perspective. I also blog with my wife over at Conceive so please stop by there too.

After taking a number of months off, my wife and I are back to fertility treatments this month for dIUI #3. She is currently in the midst of a protocol of Femara and Follistim. She is also not a fan of needles AT ALL so I'll be blogging about my experience on the other end of the needle in an upcoming post.

Again, thank you for stopping by. I hope that you'll consider staying a while by becoming a blog follower. I promise to take some time this week to ensure that I'm following all of you new followers back.

Happy ICLW everyone. Please keep your fingers crossed for us this cycle.

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Virgin Territory

Easy now. Not trying to raise any eyebrows but I am indeed in virgin territory. This is my very first ICLW!

If you are stopping by for the first time, welcome. I hope that through ICLW I get off my arse and actually start commenting on other blogs as well. I confess, that is not my strong suit. But that doesn't mean I'm not reading. I do. I promise.

So a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Ireland and after university spent a few years living and working in Dublin. I met my lovely Canadian wife at a party in the U.S. (go figure!) and after a couple of years of long distance dating we took the plunge and got married and I've been living here in Canada ever since.

We married young. My wife was still in school and wanted to finish that before starting a family. We then decided to wait a wee bit longer as we got established in our careers, bought a house, and got ourselves "ready". That took about 7+ years! Had we known what we know now.... well, you can't go back, so I guess that doesn't matter much does it?

After a year of trying unsuccessfully on our own we started seeking help at the fertility clinic where my wife was diagnosed with PCOS. We thought that was our only fertility obstacle when my semen analysis (SA) came back with zero sperm. You read me right. Zero. We were floored. Since then I have had varicocele surgery in the hopes of producing some swimmers but haven't had much luck. My azoospermia is a result of testicular failure. Not exactly what a guy wants to hear. No man wants to be known as a failure in the 'junk' department.

While there is a very small chance that a testicular biopsy (aren't you glad you're reading all of this?) may produce some viable sperm to use via IVF with ICSI my urologist, who is an awesome and honest guy, has recommended the use of a donor in my particular situation.

While this wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, my wife and I have made the decision to go forward with IUI's using donor sperm. We've been off treatment for a little while as she focused on some other health priorities but are heading back into it all in the coming month.

So there you go. I'll be honest. Sharing all of this stuff isn't exactly easy. But male infertility needs a voice so I'm hoping that I'm one of them. I hope that my blog provides some solace for other guys out there dealing with IF issues of their own as well as their partners who are maybe looking for a male perspective.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you will again. Cheers.

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