IVF with Low Sperm Motility

[allgood427]

Hi, my DH and I met with a specialist today about IVF.  We have been TTC for almost 2 years and I have had all the tests done on me and they come back normal.  My husband's SA shows very low motility (15%) and a borderline low count.  We have done 2 Clomid cycles and 1 IUI with Clomid and trigger shot (failed).  Our OB advised us not to try IUI again due to DH's low motility and went ahead and referred us to a specialist.  Does anyone out there have any advice or experience with IVF and low sperm motility?  The meeting this morning was a little overwhelming.

Thanks

[hopefulmiranda]

It's hard to cut caffeine, I was a total addict. Diet coke daily and coffee almost every morning or evening (frozen cappuccino)....I cut out everything cold turkey. I didn't really crave it much up until now. I'm craving it almost daily. My doc said the same that I could have a small cup once in awhile but I choose not to since caffeine makes the baby's heart race and it's not good. I did have a piece of chocolate yesterday :) and when I crave coffee I just have Ice cream instead. I drink a caffeine free diet coke once a week to curve the craving. I can't even have tea :(...oh well when the craving gets really bad I just think about my baby and it makes it much easier.

If you have questions u can always ask me. This Ivf thing is hard stuff. Where do u live? In California there are no rules and regulations of how many embryos u can have transferred. I had 4 grade 2 embryos transferred with assisted hatching, we could have sworn (hubby, dr and me) we were having twins but it's only one. So I'm a firm believer to put as many as possible to increase your chances specially if u only have one shot at it.....good luck and tons of baby dust!!!!!

[trying2conceive]

We are going for IVF this time and I'm hoping it works it out because we are only able to try this once. I have been praying and am optomistic that this will work out.

I read in another post from you that you stopped caffeine intake at least a month to starting meds right? My nurse told me I could still have 1 serving of caffeine, but I decided right before starting on Lupron that I would be off of it 100%. If all goes as planned this would mean I was off caffeine for 3 weeks prior to ER - although she did say if I eat chocolate that too contains caffeine :( It's been difficult to let go of the "bad" habits of drinking coffee/soda, but I think it'll all be worth it. If I do become pregnant, I'm gonna have to ban soda from our home (my hubby has to be supportive even though he's a soda lover)

Well, I hope things continue well with you and your baby...keep us posted :) You don't have too long before 1st trimester is up!!! Best wishes...

[hopefulmiranda]

thank you. I had to drink tons of pedialite or whatever is called. And water to clean out my ovaries from all the fluid, the fluid went up to my chest it was just awfull. At first I did not eat much protein since I was constipated due to the meds but once I did eat lots of chicken it helped a lot. They told me not to have sugary drinks since that dehydrates you more....are u doing IVF or another IUI???

[trying2conceive]

I hope you are feeling much better today and that each day that little one continues to grow healthy - best wishes!

You know I'm so glad to hear succes stories, especially with first try IVF's. This truly does give me hopem but I am being cautiously optomistic. When I went through the IUI, I think it was more difficult the second round since I had initial signs of it taking the first time (during first IUI I spotted, big bright red dot, which could've been a sign of implantation - who knows?) Of course, this gave me hope the second time around, but it was BFN :( I leave it in Gods hands...

By the way, what did you do to help with hyperstimulation?  

My nurse mentioned I need to eat foods high in protein as soon as I begin Follistim, since a side effect of this med can cause you to retain fluids.

[trying2conceive]

As you know, not all doctors work the same. I currently am on Lupron (this does not hurt at all, since the needle is very small and thin and dosage is only 10 units for me, later will decrease to 5 units) Just last night, I started dexamethasone (this is a steroid which is used to help the embryo) I was concerned about the side effects and after once again speaking with my nurse, she said a typical side effect is feeling jittery. She noted that I am taking a low dosage so it shouldn't be too bad. She was right - SO FAR! I took the pill before going to bed and did okay. My next step will be Follistim and soon after adding Menapur to Follistim. The DR didn't prescribe high dosages for me since she thinks my body responded well during IUI. Of course, both IUI's failed, but I did have mature follies. I hope this information helps you.

To be honest, the night before going in to get my meds and pursue this, I broke down and cried. I was very worried about side effects of the meds, the procedure, the outcome. It was a relief, but my poor husband became so worried as well. Frankly, I think I was more afraid of the unknown. I was scared to inject myself the first time (husband was at work), but I called my nurse and she walked me through it. I was so proud of myself :) Of course, I'm not looking forward to the Follistim/Menapur (bigger needle, who knows what side effects) I think what has helped is calling my nurse the night before or day of and asking her a million questions about the meds and its side effects. Sounds neurotic,but it truly eases my mind.

Wow! Did I just type all that - LOL!

[hopefulmiranda]

I'm 27 and my husband is 38 has the exact same problem as yours. We tried tc for 18 months and then we did an IUI in April and got pregnant but it was ectopic. So my OBGYN recommended we moved on to IVF. I had my first IVF in september and now I'm 7 weeks pregnant. It's good to wait after the holidays to beging because it is not an easy thing. Both u and ur hubby need to be mentally prepared. U will need him every step of the way. The drugs suck, and on top of it all I hyperstimulated and that was pure torture but in the end it's all worth it for ur baby...good luck to you!!!

[allgood427]

Thank you for your comments t2c.  Please let me know how IVF is going for you.  How are the shots...do the meds make you feel horrible?  I am so intimidated by the intensity of IVF for the woman (especially since I am fine!!!).  I am 28 and my DH is 31.  Neither one of us have children and we aren't aware of any problems in our families.  
IVF will be a one shot deal for us too...at least for awhile!  Since we just met with the doc yesterday, I think that we are going to wait until after the holidays to start the process.  I just don't want to ruin the holidays with drugs, needles, egg retrieval, etc and then be in the 2ww during Christmas!  

[trying2conceive]

Our situation is similar in that all my tests came back normal, but his sperm had low motility and somewhat of a low count. We were told IUI was an option (we tried twice and they both failed), but that we had better % of getting pregnant with IVF. I am in the initial phase of IVF cycle this month. Both my husband and I are in our mid 30's, neither one of us has prior children. All of our siblings have children and we are hoping IVF works out for us - it's a one shot deal for us!