questions

DH's job for today was to call the urologist. I asked him to email me with the appointment day/time, but have not heard from him. Because I don't know how quickly it could come up, I would like to have a list of questions ready for the appointment. I know it's early, but I want to be prepared.

The facts:
  • s/a 12-30-08 showed count = zero
  • pH was high (That is what dh says, but I don't have a number)
  • DH referred to urologist
  • new labs 1-6-08: FSH, testosterone, karyotyping, and one other I can't remember
I'm new to this whole land of if. From what I've read about azoospermia, there are two types- obstructive and non-obstructive. What should we expect/ask from here? Are there any tests missing? I know a lot of what we'll need to ask will come from what we hear from the new lab tests, but I would like to know more about what is to come. What is in store for us?

Comments

  1. 'Murgdan'January 14, 2009 at 6:22 PM

    Yep. These are the right tests. I'll try to explain the gist of it.

    The other test may be LH or prolactin level. The FSH and LH will check that his pituitary glad is making the right hormones to stimulate sperm production.

    The testosterone level checks to be sure the testes are responding appropriately to the FSH and LH.

    The karyotyping will check to be sure his genetic makeup is XY, because there is a condition called Klinefelter's syndrome, where there is an extra X chromosome XXY and azo is a symptom.

    In case those tests are normal, they may do an US of the testes or some other scan to test for absence of the vas deferens, which is the tube that allows passage of the sperm from the testes.

    Well. Here it is probably explained in more detail.

    http://www.ivf.com/shaban.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Somewhat OrdinaryJanuary 15, 2009 at 10:53 AM

    I think Murgdan did a great job of explaining everything. It has been 2 years since we were doing all these tests so that was a good refresher course.

    I just wanted to stress the importance of finding a urologist that has experience with azoospermia. We live in a small area and our first urologist has a specialization if male infertility, but didn't deal much with azoospermia. Thankfully, our clinic which is an hour away works with one that specialized in azoospermia! There is a huge difference between male infertility and azoospermia.

    I found your blog through Mel's Lost and Found and wanted to introduce myself. I've been blogging for a few years, but went PWP about a year and a half ago when someone IRL found the blog. My husband has non-obstructive azoo due to cancer treatments as a child. We're currently the parents of a 10 month old son conceived via donor sperm. If you are interested in reading my blog e-mail me at somewhatordinary at gmail dot com

    I wish you all the best!

    ReplyDelete
  3. LesleeJanuary 15, 2009 at 12:21 PM

    Murgdan got it all down... it's been over three years since our diagnosis, I barely remember anything!

    Ditto to what Somewhat said. Make sure you have a urologist experienced in azoospermia and male infertility in general. If the first doctor isn't, ask for another or go to another group. Also, consider going to an RE if you can't find a urologist with enough experience. (I wish I could tell myself of three years ago that).

    My husband underwent two biopsies (TESA) to get sperm for us to do IVF/ICSI. We weren't successful and moved to donor sperm 5/2007. We're still trying. Keyword is persistence!

    This isn't the end, please know that. There are many possibilities.

    Good luck!
    Leslee
    babyattheend

    ReplyDelete

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