I am new to all of this

Hey, let me tell you my story. Hope you find it of interest… I’m from Sussex, UK and my husband and I found out he was suffering from severe azoospermia a few months ago, so we are still in shock but we gathered enough strength to smile in trouble so we got to find a solution for ourselves to become parents.

I’m 26 and he’s 28 so we are still young, aren’t we? Since we knew we can’t remain idle we decided to resort to a sperm bank. We’ve thought over it again and again and the truth is we don’t see much difference at all… At the end we are the ones who are going to bring our children up, so who cares about the biological origin? We are going to love our baby wholeheartedly at any rate.

Unlike my husband, I’m a very healthy woman, I took a series of analysis and the results were totally uplifting. This encourages me to get pregnant by donor because I know I can take a pregnancy to term. According to what I read, sperm from sperm banks are of optimal quality, am I wrong? Basically what I’d like to know is if some girl here did it before and if so, how was it, did you achieve pregnancy right after the very first attempt? It should’ve been marvelous, wasn’t it?

I’m about to start the treatment and I will do a 3-embryo transfer. I don’t care about the risk of having a multiple birth because I’d actually like to have twins. I’d like to find out further info about embryo transfer as well, especially if I should rest after it is performed or any other special indication.

Any help would be most welcome… Thanks!!

Dear Clemency,

The following article shall provide you with all the information you need regarding azoospermia (diagnosis, causes, treatment, types, its relation to fertility, etc.): Azoospermia – Can a Man Actually Have Zero Sperm Count?

Try not to become obsessed with pregnancy symptoms in the following weeks, stress is not helpful at all in these situations. In fact, the most helpful would be to schedule a series of entertaining activities for the following weeks. Complete rest is unnecessary, but physical efforts are not advisable either.

Visit the following post for further information about rest: Rest Following In Vitro Fertilization.

Hope this helps!

Good luck.

Hi there! For me it seems incredible that all of a sudden we have to get involved in such a tiresome journey, but I think we should struggle to achieve our own peace of mind, otherwise we’d go insane. Don’t let it become painful!

4 days ago I did my first attempt of AI and now I’m waiting for the results… Of course I can’t stop thinking about it but I try to keep my mind busy at the same time, so despite having a mix of feelings on my head I can cope with it to some extent and I think I’m rather satisfied by now…

Wish me good luck! Thanks!

I’m so sorry to hear about your ordeal.
Don’t be bogged down by situation yet… because azoospermia can be undone depending on its cause. There are basically two types… one due to physical blockade and another caused by the inability of the testicles to produce matured sperms. For the blockade, surgery is the only way and the success rate of conceiving are high enough once the sperm passage is cleared. The second condition is mostly due to DNA fragmentation… though there could be other reasons like genetic defects, degenerated seminiferous tubules etc but then those are super rare.
For DNA fragmentation, however, medicines, nutritional supplements and healthy changes in lifestyle can improve the situation. A friend of mine was prescribed L-carnitine and letrozole which worked for them. So, as of now, it’s very important that the cause of azoospermia in your DH is determined to decide on the fertility treatment. Yes, IVF will definitely improve your chances of conceiving and it’s even better to go for ICSI+IVF. Wish you good luck for your fertility road ahead!