Dem Balls

Currently my wife and I are on a spawning break until the new year. We're both trying to get healthier and have tried to get serious about exercising regularly, eating better, and keeping up with our acupuncture and TCM stuff.

So this isn't exactly a pressing matter, but as we think ahead to future fertility treatments, I've been wondering about this "small testicular tissue sample" that Dr. Balls is recommending I do should we move on to IVF/ICSI.

Fellow bloggers and good readers does anyone know much more about this? Because all I can think about is OUCH.

I haven't had an opportunity yet to discuss this more with my urologist, Dr. Balls, but I'm curious to know if there are any other azoo/MFI guys out there that have braved this? I'm also wondering what the chances are that this would produce viable sperm that could be used? In other words, is it worth the pain and agony for someone in my situation?

I'm a numbers guy. Anyone got numbers for me?

Advice appreciated. I figure I may as well start my researching now before I stock up on bags of frozen vegetables for post-procedure numbing.

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Answers

Somehow I managed to survive my "no sex" weekend and made it to the SA on Monday.

That alone was a feat in itself! Pat on the back for me.

Was able to do the deed in the lab. Again. It's still awkward and somewhat embarrassing but dare I say it feels somewhat routine since I've had to do so many of these now?

Dr. Balls (my urologist) emailed me with the results the next day. He's good that way since it's a good hour drive for me to get to his office.

Unfortunately, my SA shows no real change from the last post-surgery test. I still only have rare non-motile sperm showing up.

My FSH and testosterone levels are better but Dr. Balls feels that at this stage, this is as good as it's going to get for me.

He recommends me going into the lab once or twice a month over the next little while so that they can freeze any possible sperm that show up in the samples. He also recommends that I arrange for a small testicular tissue sample to be taken as a back up in case there are not enough sperm in the ejaculate. There is a possibility that this could be used with IVF via ICSI should we end up going that route.

Testicular tissue sample? Umm...OUCH!

Even with all of that, it is recommended that we continue with donor sperm as back up. Even if we do move on to IVF.

So that's where we're at. I know it's not exactly great news, but we're actually doing okay with this.

As I've said from day one, my particular case made it pretty rare for any of this to make a big difference for me.

But we've got the answers we need now to move forward and there is still the slight hope that I might be able to take part in biologically creating our child.

No matter what though, I am confident that some day we will have our baby. And sperm or no sperm, I like to think that I'll have a good hand in creating it. Maybe not the biological way. Or even the "traditional" way. But love has got to count for something in all of this.

And that's enough for me.

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What Do You Mean, "No Sex?!"

I know that I probably won't get much support from the ladies out there when I moan and groan about my upcoming semen analysis (SA) on Monday.

Yes, I know your tests are much worse. Yes, I know that your tests are much more invasive. More painful. More awkward.

I will give you all that. And then some. No arguments.

But the SA is no walk in the park either! Even tossing aside the embarrassment of walking into the lab and trying to work up the courage to do the deed with Mr. Righty or Mr. Lefty, the SA is absolutely, positively no fun.

Why? Two words. No sex. The two scariest word to ever be uttered to a man. What do you mean, no sex? You mean for a few hours? Minutes?

Wait. You mean days? As in plural? As in a possible multitude of days?

Yes, I have been banished to the land of no sex until my SA on Monday. This is brutal. I'm a guy. I have needs.

My wife rolled her eyes and laughed when I lamented this news.

But surely someone out there feels a tiny bit sorry for me?

Someone? Anyone?

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Waiting Game

October 26 is the day. Yet another semen analysis (SA) is booked and from there we'll have some sense of what (if anything) we're working with.

Should there be any swimmers in that deposit, I will start doing SA's monthly in the hopes of freezing whatever we can. There won't be much (if any) and ICSI is definitely our only option if we use my sperm.

There's still a really good chance that donor sperm will be the route we have to take. A donor will always have to be on back up in case my boys don't come through.

But it's kind of exciting to think that maybe - just maybe there's a chance.

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